Quote: ian bunbury

the chuck-it thing is a pet peeve of mine . . . it could be such a great tool to further strengthen the bond between handler and dog but so often i see lazy owners who feel that just by mindlessly lobbing the ball they are " training " their dog , when in fact the dog is training them .

Good points, Ian. I should have elaborated. What you said can actually apply to any play with a dog regarding who is running the show. Using a ChuckIt is much more than a simple game of longer distance fetch. We work lots of obedience into our sessions. With our girl, it's a great way to proof her obedience training because her drive is so high with the higher intensity fetch game, the last thing she wants to do is follow obedience commands. We work on perfect outs, gives, positioning commands before being released to fetch, and downs while on the move chasing after the ball. I also position her in a sit or down in the middle of the field and send the ball flying right by her, working her implied stays associated with down, sit, or stand and her leave it commands. We even do blind fetches where I make her look at me while I send the ball out into the field. She then has to search the entire field and we work on directing her from a distance. Lots of stuff you can do that is only limited by your imagination. She loves it. Again, very important not to overdo, allow plenty of cool down, and, as Ian mentioned, not to let the dog run the show.

good on ya greg , that's a chuck-it workout i'd like to see more often . you are someone who knows the power of using the dogs' motivation to play the game to strengthen the relationship .

Greg and Ian . . . I'm so glad I posted my query! The ChuckIt is in the mail and I found a rope tug that I used today. Molly is already showing progress to the "out!" We did not tug long today ... only a few minutes. The tug is too rough, IMO, and I got tired out quickly (due to back! damn it!). But, I DID leave it that she wanted more!

Amazing how much you can learn here!

DITTO on what Greg added. I do that with 2 dogs on the field....as it creates even more distraction & need for the dogs to focus on commands & me.