Retrieving

The shaped retrieve is one of my favorite things to teach my dogs. In the past, Chimera has learned to retrieve small tennis balls, other small toys, a pill bottle (covered in duct tape so that it's not so slippery), his dumbbell, metal cannings rings, and small leather rings (for obedience scent articles). Just now, I did a generalizing session in which he retrieved, twice each: dumbbell, pill bottle, metal canning ring, leather ring, clicker, tiny leash tab. The last two were brand new items, and his first impulse was to play with them. With a little verbal encouragement, and after jackpotting a successful retrieve with multiple pieces of chicken, he decided that it was better to hand them over. Hooray!