Throw and/or Retrieve

Herding breeds are particularly keen on chasing moving objects as it stimulates their working instincts to seek and gather up livestock. They will often chase traffic, joggers, farm animals, or wildlife if they feel unfulfilled and not able to use their herding instincts. These toys will help focus these dogs attention on the movement of YOU & THE TOY instead of these other environmental distractions (if introduced and trained slowly and carefully without these distractions to begin with).

Terriers have a very strong hunting insticts and using toys that move can also help them to become focused on you rather than potential prey. However, I strongly recommend dragging toys along the ground so that they have an erratic bounce and can be tugged and pulled when caught (see Hold or Drag Toys).

Spaniels and Retrievers also like to have items thrown or surreptitiously dropped for them to pick up and return (soft textured items or toys with uneven surfaces are often popular with these gundog breeds - See Gum Gum range, for instance).

Toys do not have to be thrown and instantly chased after - you can hide them in long grass, undergrowth, snow, leaves, and even underwater (but not when it is frozen). Then your dog will find it far more satisfying to use its amazing sense of smell to hunt and find the toy, rather than the far too easy option of seeing where the toy is thrown.

We also recommend that your use these toys as rewards for a job well done. For instance, if you call your dog and it instantly comes back to you, throw one of these toys behind you for your dog to chase and retrieve. The movement, chase, and retrieve of the toy are the dog's wages and reward for obeying your command. This sense of achievement will help to build a bond between you and your dog, and make it far more likely that your dog will WANT to work with you rather than ignore you and not come back when called.

Please be careful that you do not over excite your dog by playing too much chasing or tugging games, as the build-up of adrenaline levels can make your dog over reactive, and sometimes even aggressive. A maximum of 5 throws or retrieves is the Golden Rule, then put the toy away in a pocket or bag, out of sight of the dog. This will enable your dog to switch off and calm down by sniffing the ground - resulting in lower adrenaline levels and then being able to concentrate on your commands later on on the walk, and the possibility of working for you once again for another session with the toy.