Does your dog play fetch?

beveragelady · 31-07-2020 3:57pm #1

Poll is multiple choice for owners of multiple dogs.

I have a six-month-old dog who is obsessed with playing fetch, and two older ladies who never showed much interest. I had a chap until two years ago who was also obsessed with fetch until he lost his eyesight. I've been thinking of other dogs I know and there seems to me to be a clear divide along gender lines; boys play fetch obsessively, girls don't.
A few of the girls will enter into the spirit of it in a good-natured way but just don't have the same commitment to it.

What do I mean by obsessively? They will persistently bring you a ball or a stick and enthusiastically indicate that they're ready to chase it. They will pester strangers in the hope they'll throw a ball, and go to absurd lengths to retrieve a ball that has been thrown. Once you throw a ball you are doomed and they will follow you around dropping objects at your feet because you're in the game now and there's no way out.
If your dog will chase a ball and maybe bring it back but then loses interest you are not the owner of an obsessive fetcher.

This is not an attempt to claim that gender roles are hardwired in animals and draw an analogy with humans. I'm just amused by how similar my current pup is to my last fellow in this regard and I'd be interested to hear if others have the same experiences. All mine are collie crosses, so that might be part of it.

Wanderer78 · 31-07-2020 4:00pm

My dog only plays mine, I.e. throw something and she ll chase after it, grab it, hold onto it, then proceed to fight you for it, it's good fun, she seems to like it anyway, regularly instigating a game of 'mine'

tiredblondie · 31-07-2020 4:03pm

i throw the ball, she runs after it, gets it, then fecks off with it!!

i throw the ball, he runs after it, and lies down beside it!!

beveragelady · 31-07-2020 4:04pm

A girl, doesn't play fetch obsessively.

Wanderer78 wrote: »

My dog only plays mine, I.e. throw something and she ll chase after it, grab it, hold onto it, then proceed to fight you for it, it's good fun, she seems to like it anyway, regularly instigating a game of 'mine'

That's about involving you in the craic. Obsessive fetchers are all about the projectile, they're not bothered who throws it.

beveragelady · 31-07-2020 4:06pm

A girl, doesn't play fetch obsessively.

tiredblondie wrote: »

i throw the ball, she runs after it, gets it, then fecks off with it!!

i throw the ball, he runs after it, and lies down beside it!!

Not obsessive fetchers then. Interesting. There might be a PhD thesis in this for somebody.

tiredblondie · 31-07-2020 4:06pm

beveragelady wrote: »

Not obsessive fetchers then. Interesting. There might be a PhD thesis in this for somebody.

i basically play fetch with myself!!

beveragelady · 31-07-2020 4:10pm

A girl, doesn't play fetch obsessively.

tiredblondie wrote: »

i basically play fetch with myself!!

That's a whole other poll and a whole other thesis...

Choc Chip · 31-07-2020 4:10pm

A girl, doesn't play fetch obsessively.

beveragelady wrote: »

I've been thinking of other dogs I know and there seems to me to be a clear divide along gender lines; boys play fetch obsessively, girls don't.

Lol. Nope!

I have a female mixed breed dog right now who will sell her soul to retrieve and tug. She would work until she collapsed if i let her. She used to bring me random items to play with until i made it clear that if i was at my computer, they would just be collected and not thrown. I think 13 items on a 30 minute call was her record. She'll hunt down anything I've thrown, going over, under and through any obstacle in her path. If you ask her to hold a position and put a ball in front of her, she'll stare, quivering, until released. She is a machine of a dog.

I've also had female spaniel pups who were retrieving random items at less than 6 weeks, it's hardwired into gundog breeds.

alroley · 31-07-2020 4:28pm

A girl, plays fetch obsessively.

I have a male maltese that is absolutely obsessed with fetch. He'll bring a toy over and keep dropping it at people's feet until they play. He's 11 and will keep on playing for so long! He has always been that way. I remember on his first day home at 10 weeks he was running after a little ball.

I had a girl dog who passed away a few years ago and she'd run after a ball, but rarely actually bring it back!

borderlinemeath · 31-07-2020 9:39pm

Coco, Female - 13 in a few weeks. Loves throw the ball. Or the apple, or anything round. Will drop with a hand command, or will also roll it towards you to rethrow.

Benson, Male - 11ish. Will only play if Coco is playing. Won't give the ball back, takes the ball off for a little chew.

Wilma, Female - just gone 10. Loves playing throw, specifically tennis balls, will return the ball to your feet. Will bark with the ball in her mouth too.

Buddy, Male - 7. Has never played with toys. In fact he ducks if you throw a ball in his direction. The only thing he won't duck for is a treat.

PsychoPete · 31-07-2020 9:42pm

One dog doesn't but he will play football using his nose. The other will kind play fetch in a sense that I throw the ball but she wants you to chase her to get it back

dashoonage · 31-07-2020 10:01pm

Jessie, Duskie ( dunno & huskie) 11 ish , plays its my ****ing ball now not a chance youre getting it back

i have overcome this by having multiple bright orange balls.... cant keep them all from me dog...cant keep them all.

Cherry Blossom · 31-07-2020 11:38pm

A girl, doesn't play fetch obsessively.

My two never had any interest in fetch. As puppies they both played let's rip stuff up while mums asleep in the same room obsessively. Then I eventually learned not to leave things of value in reach at bedtime. :pac:

Wanderer78 · 01-08-2020 9:10am

PsychoPete wrote:

One dog doesn't but he will play football using his nose. The other will kind play fetch in a sense that I throw the ball but she wants you to chase her to get it back

My dog plays an interesting game of ball, I call it 'angry football', introduce a football, and she will proceed to chase it around the garden, growling and barking at it, oh she tends to turn it into a game of 'mine' also, it gets a waggly tail, so she must be enjoying it at least, she likes being chased also

Darc19 · 01-08-2020 9:45am

2 girls, both bichon Maltese crosses. One plays fetch, the other looks on laughing.

But more interesting, we have about 10 small dog balls. All the same (Kong squeaker). Same colour, same size and usually all together.

She'll pick one, put it at my feet and that has to be the one I've to throw. I try throwing some of the others which she would have fetched a couple of hours previously, but her senses are so strong that only the ball she picked at that time is the ball she will fetch.

spurious · 01-08-2020 9:50am

Rescue dog runs hysterically after thrown soft toy, brings it back but won't let go of it. Older pug looks at me as if I am off my head if I throw anything.

volchitsa · 01-08-2020 9:52am

A boy, doesn't play fetch obsessively.

I made the stupid mistake of voting before I read the OP and then discovered that even though she’ll run for hours and fori miles, when playing fetch, and has some amazing in-air-catches and stuff, she doesn’t count as obsessive.

How can i change my vote please?

cocker5 · 01-08-2020 3:10pm

A girl, plays fetch obsessively.

My cocker whom we lost last year to cancer would look at me as if to say ‘you fetch it’.. he never ever returned anything

Our rescue springer (Ex gun dog) is phenomenal at fetch and his recall is outstanding.. he loves balls and sticks but the frisbee is his all time favourite.. but they can become very obsessive about fetch (which is not good for h them and can lead to anxiety) so I limit it and put balls away after we play .. he then moves onto his Kong and teddies..

em_cat · 02-08-2020 10:57am

A boy, doesn't play fetch obsessively.

Our Pom cross will do anything to run after her ball, also anyone can throw it but she’ll always bring it back to me. There are times I’ll be in the loo or the utility or at the back of the shed; OH will try to to engage her by tossing the ball, she’ll go retrieve but then hunt me down to drop it.

Choc Chip · 02-08-2020 11:06am

A girl, doesn't play fetch obsessively.

em_cat wrote: »

Our Pom cross will do anything to run after her ball, also anyone can throw it but she’ll always bring it back to me. There are times I’ll be in the loo or the utility or at the back of the shed; OH will try to to engage her by tossing the ball, she’ll go retrieve but then hunt me down to drop it.

Lol - I do all the training with our dogs and I'd taught my newest one to come running when i called her name. My husband called her one day and she about-turned and ran straight to me... I'd obviously taught her that her name meant, "run to Choccy", rather than, "run to the person calling you". :pac:

Cows Go µ · 02-08-2020 11:06am

A boy, doesn't play fetch obsessively.

I have 2 girls. The first one, Pepper, didn't give a damn about fetch or playing tug or anything. I tried everything to get her interested as I was doing agility and it's so much easier if they play. Then I got my second dog, Disney. She was obsessed with all kinds of play and loved fetch.

Pepper became jealous that Disney always got the ball so started going and getting it. Now she loves it and both obsess over the ball

tk123 · 02-08-2020 1:54pm

Mine would retrieve but not compulsive obsessive "omg throw the ball now" kind of play - low impact only. I'm totally fine with that - tbh I cringe when I see people with ball launchers having seen videos/articles about how bad that type of play is for joints(!)

02-08-2020 2:02pm

Mine will fetch a few times (more in the winter) then it's all "mine".

ShaShaBear · 02-08-2020 2:32pm

A girl, plays fetch obsessively.

Opie, who is 6, would happily play fetch all day every day. We once toyed around with the idea of getting one of those toys that you can train your dog to load the ball into, and we agreed that he would very likely end up dead. A friend visited recently and threw a toy he brought for him for 2 consecutive hours - Opie didn't even break his obsessive fetching for a drink :pac:
A ball, toy, stick, blade of fecking grass - it doesn't matter what you throw, he will bring it back and drop it right at your feet and then lower himself into the classic collie almost-down position and hold it until you throw it again. He will also present you with whatever he can get into his mouth in an identical fashion if you so much as make eye contact with him when he's feeling playful (between the hours of approximately 6am and 12am).

Our last dog, Shadow, was also a male border collie and had absolutely no interest in fetching. He was taught the game, and could do it well enough if asked, but his interest was literally zero. He also didn't like tug games or chase games. He didn't guard toys or anything like that, but just preferred to play with them on his own.

maximo31 · 02-08-2020 2:45pm

spurious wrote: »

Rescue dog runs hysterically after thrown soft toy, brings it back but won't let go of it. Older pug looks at me as if I am off my head if I throw anything.

Is there a reason why rescue dogs do this? This accurately describes our rescue dog. Goes crazy for a certain soft toy but no way will he give it up without a fight!

Idle Passerby · 02-08-2020 2:52pm

Our two rescues will sometimes chase something that's thrown but once it lands or comes to a stop they've lost interest.

Choc Chip · 02-08-2020 5:30pm

A girl, doesn't play fetch obsessively.

maximo31 wrote: »

Is there a reason why rescue dogs do this? This accurately describes our rescue dog. Goes crazy for a certain soft toy but no way will he give it up without a fight!

Because you take it off him?

I dont take anything from my dogs without a trade. 2 of my own and 2 fosters. One foster is still hesitant about giving stuff straight back, but the rest actively seek me out to give me things to see what might be offered for trade.

If its something really good I'll go and find a special toy or treat before I accept it. Dont get me wrong, they'll all give things back if I ask, but I try very hard not to ask unless I need to or unless we are training that thing. Most of the time they just offer.

Obviously that's different if your dog is guarding!

Choc Chip · 02-08-2020 7:56pm

A girl, doesn't play fetch obsessively.

tk123 wrote: »

Mine would retrieve but not compulsive obsessive "omg throw the ball now" kind of play - low impact only. I'm totally fine with that - tbh I cringe when I see people with ball launchers having seen videos/articles about how bad that type of play is for joints(!)

I specifically chose my new dog because of that drivey behaviour, because i can use it for sport. BUT I totally agree, watching people use that to physically knacker a dog and drive the adrenalin up without giving them a way to come down or some way to tire themselves out mentally makes me cringe.

tk123 · 02-08-2020 9:09pm

Choc Chip wrote: »

I specifically chose my new dog because of that drivey behaviour, because i can use it for sport. BUT I totally agree, watching people use that to physically knacker a dog and drive the adrenalin up without giving them a way to come down or some way to tire themselves out mentally makes me cringe.

Ball flipper in one hand phone/coffee in the other lol. Somebody we know is still throwing a ball for a dog with a ruptured cruciate ‘he’s not in pain because he’s running after the ball’.

em_cat · 02-08-2020 11:33pm

A boy, doesn't play fetch obsessively.

Ahh that’s terrible, bet they wouldn’t do that if they’d ever suffered a ruptured ligament! I do kettle drills with Esmae simply because I didn’t want to encourage her becoming obsessed. I also give her loads of time to do sniffing and finding stuff in the grass for calming plus we do rollercoaster games which is good cause she’s done her paw in AGAIN, same one as last but this time it’s the palm pad instead of the carpal.

I finally got a chance to see our site yesterday for the first time, OH sprayed out the dims of the courtyard for me so I can start plotting out the dog enrichment areas, my OH thinks I’m a bit mad tbh

MsQuinn · 02-08-2020 11:35pm

My cat does.

Does your dog play fetch?

What sort of dog do you have? 46 votes

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