# Dog more enthusiastic to retrieve from water



## green branch (Oct 24, 2020)

Hello,
Our 11 month boy is much more interested in retrieving from water than from land. On land he gets distracted and starts sniffing or runs after a bumper but does not come back. In water he eagerly waits for the bumper to be thrown, goes for it and then brings it back. We did a fundamentals class in field work and we liked it. Compared to other dogs in the class he seemed to have less interest in retrieving, but he was also the youngest. Can the interest and focus come with age? We did try different things to raise his enthusiasm and it seems that overall there was some progress, but there is always a difference in enthusiasm level on land and in water. Any ideas on how to work on this?

We want to do a sport with our dog, but we don't necessarily have to do the field work if that is not a sport for him. I am not sure how to find the one that would best match his talents. How would newbies like us figure this out? Would taking different classes be a way to go? I worry that we don't end up just trying different sports without ever focusing on one of them.

Thank you.


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## Max's Dad (Apr 23, 2012)

Our Max's favorite thing was to retrieve in the water--whether it was a pool, lake, river or ocean. He was obsessed. After 40+ retrieves at the beach, we would have to hide the Chuck-it Ball. On land, a couple of throws, and he was done. My theory is that Golden Retrievers are bred to retriever water fowl, so the water is where they want to be. I can say that I have seen Goldens that are obsessed with tennis balls







on land. I can offer no advice on how to get your dog to show more interest in land retrieves. I do not think it has anything to do with age, however.


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## SRW (Dec 21, 2018)

green branch said:


> Can the interest and focus come with age?


Yes it can.


green branch said:


> Any ideas on how to work on this?


Use birds.


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## CCoopz (Jun 2, 2020)

Same as Max’s dad says. Teddy understand retrieve but will only do it properly and over and over again when a river or sea retrieve.

On land he is (but not for long) interested in chasing and getting the ball but not in retrieving. He loves to carry the ball. He loves it even more if he thinks you want ball, then he parades around with it.

But with water he loves swimming after it and retrieving it so will drop it for you to throw again.

I agree with Max’s hypothesis as to why.

There are a lot of golden retrievers around my area. I don’t notice them being land retrieving machines either, the dogs that are, are springer spaniels and working style cockers, working style labradors.

Admittedly not many, but noticed a small handful, of working golden retrievers in the area. Haven’t noticed them being land retrieving machines either but I don’t think they are actually trained and used in a working capacity.

My hairdressers has a working golden who he did train and does use for retrieving birds, she loves ‘working’ and interestingly he says his bitch isn’t that bothered about retrieving Tennis balls!


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## lkmunoz80 (Jul 28, 2021)

Our girl Scout is 9 months old and also prefers retrieving in the water. She’ll go get her bumper or duck in the pool as many times as we‘ll throw it. In the grass she’ll go get it a few times, maybe a few more if we’re offering treats on the return.

We haven’t done any classes, so hearing that the field work class didn’t get your guy more interested has me wondering. Maybe try dock diving? We’re thinking about giving that a shot.


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

That is common for immature dogs...there is nothing else for them to do in the water except retrieve the thing so they typically do. On land there's all sorts of smells and other things to investigate so they can lose interest quickly. Age helps, force fetch fixes.


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## SRW (Dec 21, 2018)

green branch said:


> We want to do a sport with our dog, but we don't necessarily have to do the field work if that is not a sport for him. I am not sure how to find the one that would best match his talents.


If you are interested in trying Hunt Tests or Field Trials, find a retriever club in your area. If you don't know where to look tell me your location and I may be able to help.


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## lkmunoz80 (Jul 28, 2021)

K9-Design said:


> That is common for immature dogs...there is nothing else for them to do in the water except retrieve the thing so they typically do. On land there's all sorts of smells and other things to investigate so they can lose interest quickly. Age helps, force fetch fixes.


We play in the pool with Scout. She likes to race my son across, or she’ll climb onto a float and just hang out with us. She likes to try and get dive sticks off the shelf too, which is about a foot deep.

She just really loves the water, which makes sense considering her breed.


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## green branch (Oct 24, 2020)

Thanks everyone. It seems that this is not unusual -- Max, Teddy, and Scout are like our boy. Anney, I think you pinpointed the problem. It always looked to us that on land there are so many things to distract him. smelling being one of the biggest ones. As you said, in the water there is nothing to distract him, plus he obviously likes water and is happy to have a reason to go in. Glad to hear that this can be worked on. SRW, we are in Boston and took the fundamentals class through the local golden retriever club. If you or anyone else have other suggestions for where to look for training, we’d be happy to hear.


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## SRW (Dec 21, 2018)

green branch said:


> SRW, we are in Boston and took the fundamentals class through the local golden retriever club. If you or anyone else have other suggestions for where to look for training, we’d be happy to hear.


Field trial and hunt test clubs in the Boston area. You can find more information and contacts on Entry Express. If you are interested in field training these clubs will be a better resource than any classes you could take.


Colonial Retriever Field Trial Club, Woodstock, CT
Yankee Golden Retriever Club, West Thompson, CT 
Labrador Retriever Club of Greater Boston, Simsbury, CT 


Entry Express Event Management Systems


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