Fix The Fetch.

jeannie — Thu, 10 Feb 2022 18:22:24 +0000

Does Your Dog Chase The Ball But Not Return It?

And you find yourself chasing him all over the park? Frustrating, right. Well, I discovered a fool-proof correction for that problem totally by accident recently, and it seems to have a 100% success rate!

My little sidekick Bandit is super focused and insanely driven about his Kong toy, and he used to fetch it like a champ. But somewhere along the way, he decided it would be really cute to make me chase him instead of returning the toy to me like he had once been doing so well. I’ll admit it was cute, but for only a minute. I didn’t want to fall into that bad habit, so I tried to correct him right away to reinforce the right behavior. But Bandit wasn’t having it.

The Back Story.

A few months ago, Bandit hid his Kong ball in the house so well that neither of us could find it. After spending too much time searching, I thought it easier to just go buy a new one. So I did. A few days later, we found the original Kong toy.

That afternoon, I took Bandit outside to place fetch, and I took along both Kongs. He went after the first throw with a vengeance as usual. But, instead of bringing the Kong back, he sat down where he was at the other end of the yard, and totally teased me, little scamp, expecting me to chase him. Instead, without moving, I held up the second Kong and said “Look what I’ve got.” Oh boy, did that get his attention fast! He came flying back across the yard to me, first Kong still in his mouth, jumping up and down to get at the second Kong in my hand.

Bandit My Fetching Rock Star

Score!

I told Bandit to “drop it” and he laid his first Kong at my feet, then jumped up and down to grab the second Kong in my hand. I threw the second Kong, and he beat it to the other end of the yard. But then he laid down again instead of bringing it back to me. So I repeated again what had just happened a moment before — I held up the first Kong in my hand and said “Look what I’ve got.” Here he came, roaring down the yard again with the second Kong in his mouth, to get the first Kong in my hand — a relay, or trade-off of sorts. And that was all it took — only two times to make the correction and reinforce it. Problem totally solved, and in a positive, happy way for him.

Out of simple dumb luck, I had discovered how to “fix the fetch.” 🙂 And it works for us every single time. If your dog is as toy-driven as my Bandit, you probably can expect this trick to work for you as well. Happy Fetching Like A Rock Star!

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God Bless and Happy Pet Parenting!

With love and good wishes,
jeannie. ?

About jeannie: I’ve been pro-actively involved in pet rescue all of my life. I founded Milagro Senior Pet Refuge© (Phoenix) in 1998, and BareFootPets (TM) in 2008. Animal welfare has always been and will always be my heart’s work. If my only legacy is that I save a handful of precious souls that would not survive otherwise, I’m good with that.

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Lock Down, Lighten Up.

jeannie — Sun, 22 Nov 2020 21:54:32 +0000

Uh-Oh, Where Did All These Pounds Come From?!

If you are a pet owner, you already have the great advantage of easily staying in shape during the COVID lockdown. I noticed, when my company began its remote work environment back in March, that I right away began gaining weight, and it piled on fast. Took about a minute to figure out I was engaging in more than my normal amount of comfort eating. I knew I had to think outside the box to get that weight back off, because I hate exercising. And, for a comfort eater, dieting is a very ugly word.

How Bandit Is Helping Me Lose Weight.

But it wasn’t hard to figure out the perfect answer. I already take my awesome little dog Bandit out in the back yard every day for play time – at least twice a day, even three or four times a day sometimes now that I’m working from home during the lockdown. It’s our time together out in the sunshine and fresh air, and we love it. But he was the one getting all the exercise. I just threw the ball. So for me the answer was easy — I just started running with him. Boom – problem solved. Now I throw the ball and chase it right alongside Bandit. He thinks that’s pretty cool, by the way. Dogs love when you’re as excited about their toys as they are. Sometimes we just get down on the floor and wrestle. Bandit couldn’t be more thrilled for the extra attention and playtime, and I’m encouraged knowing it’s working for the good of my health as well.

How Gabriel Is Helping Me Lose Weight, Too.

I also have cats — Gabriel, SpeedBump, and Chelsea. Although they sleep a lot more than Bandit, they do have their moments during the day when they get tickled and zoom the house. So I’m taking advantage of those moments and zoom along with them, trailing long cat toys behind me for them to catch, or tossing squeaky toys across the room and running with them to retrieve. Or making it a game of tag you’re it. My cats love when I chase them through the house!

Better Than Taking A Happy Pill.

There are occasionally days during this never-ending lockdown when I don’t feel so much like running and playing, but I push on anyway. Once we start and I feel the energy flowing, I’m very happy to be at it; almost feels like I took a happy pill! And the pets are relieved to be shedding pent-up energy, too. Remember — exercise benefits both you and your pets by reducing, even eliminating, stress, which we all know is bad bad bad for your body. And Lord knows the lockdown has put a boatload of stress on everyone. So, with the new more interactive playtime in our house, the pets are happier, I’m happier, everyone’s healthier. And – the weight is coming off. It’s a win-win for us all.