Dachshunds are energetic hunters that love a good chase, whether it’s vermin or a ball. Fetch can be a great game to keep your Doxie trim, and if played correctly, is fairly easy on their back and joints. The secret is to throw easy tosses on a level surface that is not too slick or hard. Also, be sure you don’t toss it such a way that your Doxie has to change direction quickly, as that can cause the spine to get out of alignment, as well. Then, all you have to worry about is getting your Doxie to bring the ball back.
Many of them prefer to chase, catch, and then shake their toy. They don’t always want to bring it back to you. If you are having that problem, the following three tips will help you teach your Dachshund to play fetch.
#1 – Start With The End
In dog training, we call this “back chaining.” Back chaining a behavior means you start with the last piece of the behavior. So in this case you would start by teaching your Dachshund to pick up a toy and place it in your hand. This is done easiest through shaping with a clicker.
#2 – Use A Special Toy
At first, it can help to use a special toy your Dachshund loves and only use it for this training session. This helps for two reasons. One, dogs don’t generalize their learning so using the same object each time will help your Doxie recall the lesson from last time so you can move on quicker. And two, if it’s something he really likes he will be more likely to want to pick it up and stay focused on it for the training.
#3 – Build Up Distance
Once your Dachshund is picking up that toy and placing it in your hand, you can start to toss it for him to “fetch.” But don’t chuck it as far as you can the first time. Instead, build up distance by first just tossing it a foot away from you. If your Dachshund immediately picks it up and puts it in your hand, you know he has the concept and you can increase the distance of the toss. If he fails three times in a row, however, you may need to shorten the distance or go back and reinforce the picking up and placing in your hand some more.
