Dog Doesnt like toys.... Needs to fetch

Good day Everyone,

I am new to this forum so excuse me if this has been asked or if I am in the wrong place.

I have a great dog Bandit that is a Terrier/Husky mix. He doesnt chew things. He is generally obedient. We have him trained to do basic things like sit and stay. He also will stay out of areas of the house that we have told him to stay out of.

Now here is my problem. My 7 year old sees him as "broken" because he doesnt like to play with him. He is extremely adverse to toys (literally no matter what I do with a rope toy he wont take it and will do everything he can to get it out of his mouth if I manage to get it in). He wont fetch.

So my question is. What is the best way to go about getting him to fetch? If I could get him to do this one thing I think my 7 year old would be in heaven. I would prefer not to get another dog just for this purpose but my wife and I have seriously considered it since our current dog just wont play with our 7 year old.

Thanks for the advice in advance.

v/r
-Keith

First, are there any activities your dog likes that could become a game for your 7-year-old? I only ask because we had a Great Dane who had been malnourished before we got her, and we think had some brain damage as a result. She was sweet as can be, but never "got" fetch. Or even "catch" - not even for food! We loved Gracie, even though we had to give up on certain things with her.

But does the dog respond to squeaky toys? Or food? What makes him interested?

If you can find something that piques his interest, you can try to teach fetch. Get him interested - I'll use a "squeaky toy" as an example. Have the dog on a leash, next to you. Tell him "sit" and then squeak the toy a few times so he is interested. Toss the toy a few feet away and let him go get it, then using the leash, encourage him to bring it back to you. It may take a lot of repetition, but even your son can help train him.

With Gracie, the one "game" she liked was "kill the leash" which in retrospect wasn't the smartest thing to play, but she enjoyed it, so we went with it! When she was on the leash, we'd shake it a little, and she'd "attack" and "kill" it, shaking back and forth, growling and in general looking quite silly! I only say it wasn't the smartest game because we did go through more leashes than with any other dog, and in public, have a huge black snarling growling beastie was not always a good thing - people would ask if I was in danger or needed "help" - but hey, she had a good time!

I have a mini pin who WILL NOT play with toys. Not squeaky toys, or ropes, balls, or stuffed animals. NOTHING. I thought it was the craziest thing! He was just bored. Have you tried a treat ball? All dogs have "currency" that they will do anything for. Mine turned out to be his favorite treats, I put them in the ball and he will "play" with it to get the treats out...find out what your dogs "currency" is and you will find a way to get him to play.

"Terrier" and "husky" don't scream fetch to me. I'll bet you gave him even more of an aversion to toys by shoving them in his mouth, a practice which he won't understand. Why not try something like hide and seek? Have the dog sit in one room and the child go hide somewhere (easy at first) like around a door and then call the dog. Praise wildly or give the dog a treat when it goes and finds the child.

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Originally Posted by IRescue452

"Terrier" and "husky" don't scream fetch to me. I'll bet you gave him even more of an aversion to toys by shoving them in his mouth, a practice which he won't understand. Why not try something like hide and seek? Have the dog sit in one room and the child go hide somewhere (easy at first) like around a door and then call the dog. Praise wildly or give the dog a treat when it goes and finds the child.

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Hide & Seek is SO much fun!
I use to play that with my old dog all the time. We would hide in leaf piles, snow piles, in trees, under the truck, & just about anywhere we could fit. After a while it turned into "Find so & so" & he would have to find them on his own. Then it turned into "sniff this, find it" & he would sniff everywhere till he found the item(s)... Easter egg hunts were a breeze for us LOL Mind you that dog loved fetch, but he was a lab, its what they do.

I agree with the hide and seek or chase game. I had a rotty for many years and I would throw the ball and she'd look at me with the "Now go get it dummy" look. But if she had a toy and wanted to play she'd run away all day, give up the ball on command and fetch it, but only if I ran chased after her.

But she loved to chew, tug and chase.

Edit: I know it sounds silly but is your kid involved in the feeding / reward process ?