Lisl learned to play catch today

[MichaelE]

After work today I found her tennis ball I'd given her a couple of weeks ago.

I put her in a sit/stay about eight feet from me and bounced her tennis ball about four feet in front of her. At first she didn't catch on, but she loves that ball and soon started catching it almost everytime.

Now when I hold the ball up she automatically walks away from me and sits to wait for me to bounce the ball to her so she can catch it and bring it to me.

This helps to reinforce 'drop it' because she can't catch it if she doesn't give it to me first.

Late last week I taught her 'hi-five' in about 20 minutes. She is so darned smart.

[Jag]

Very cool!

[doggiedad]

i worry about a large dog playing with a tennis
ball because of the size of the ball and the dye.
now that your dog is retrieving i bet you can start
hiding the tennis ball and she'll learn "find it" or
whatever you want to call it.

[MichaelE]

If she were bigger I would worry too. I'm going to buy her nice rubber ball that's slightly larger in a week or two.

Ossie got a tennis ball lodged way in the back of his throat while we were playing ball one afternoon. It scared the heck out of me. I had to stick my fingers way down his throat behind the tennis ball to sweep it out.

No more tennis ball after that.

Lisl is still pretty small to worry about that, but I haven't forgotten what happened to Ossie.

She's been retrieving for weeks, I just never taught her to play catch until today.