GeoffreyPanek

This is terrific information and ideas. I also like the fact that not all dogs are retrievers. There are many other games I can play with him. Unfortunately, my golden retriever has passed away and when he was playing with Charlie (the poodleish) he was too old to fetch and retrieve without the little guy racing him to the ball, so not really able to do the modeling. And I have seen dogs that are obsessed with chasing the ball and it can become way too much, so I may be lucky he's not that way. I will try the back training and also playing with the tennis ball in the house, shorter distances. He does seem to be more receptive to bringing it back indoors. Have to teach him the drop it. Anyway, thanks so much for the tips.

How do I train my dog to return the tennis ball? He will chase it or catch it but either he simply picks it up and drops it or if he does bring it back, he plays "catch me if you can". Frustrating since my golden retriever seemed to naturally pick this up but my 5 year old poodlish doesn't get it. thanks for any tips.