Just a note about your tennis balls. I talked to someone who has a blue heeler and he said that when he took his blue heeler to the vet that his dogs teeth were quite prematurely worn down and the vet asked if his dog played with tennis balls. When he said yes, he asked how he knew that his dog played with tennis balls? The vet said that what makes balls fuzzy will prematurely wear dogs teeth down. He said to stick to the non fuzzy type balls. The hard plastic ones instead. I just thought I'd mention it as you love your dog so much. And through your videos we do too. 👍 All the best.
If a vet said so it's likely false. They should ask the vet where is the study that shows this is proven. The most likely cause of prematurely worn down teeth in dogs is the lack of calcium in the dog diet which most vet don't tell pet owner about. Also dry kibbles may also be a factor which again vet don't discourage feeding industrial food to dogs. BTW a tennis ball is essentially a rubber ball, the yellow material is nylon which is the same material our toothbrush are made of, so anything tennis balls help to keep the teeth clean!
My heeler destroys tennis balls in 2 minutes so we get her the rubber chuck it balls! We got a pack of three and they’ve lasted for months. They bounce really high and she loves jumping up to catch them 😊
The best toy is free. It is a one gallon, empty plastic bottle (e.g., empty water or milk container). Dogs love it because of the sound it makes when they attack it.
I place the empty water bottle inside of a fuzzy socks and that works wonders. Once my heeler gets the bottle out of the sock, he takes it to me so I can fix his toy🤣
I used to do the empty jugs. Then my heeler learned how to open the fridge... Along with full jugs, she has realized that the magical cold box makes sliced ham happen. So yeah lol. NEVER UNDERESTIMATE A HEELER!
I love your videos, we got a rescue Australian cattle dog 2 years ago and he is the best. We got him 2 years ago and we knew nothing about the breed. My daughter got him so he was “ her” dog. You are right about them picking one person because he was attached to her only. Well she is off in college now so he is attached to me!!! I don’t think I am gonna give him back. Lol!
My red Heeler Loves her Jolly Ball with handle, can’t live without it. Gets up every morning and runs out to it. Try one, it’s so fun she uses her nose to push it back to me to throw. It’s a jolly time , every time.
Bless you for adopting! Sadly, many heelers end up at shelters because they are misunderstood. My first dog adoptee was 20 years ago, a sweet, very misunderstood red heeler we named Ringo. I only had cats before him, and it helped that we loved the independent nature of cats. My then 9 year old son and I fell in love with this 4 month old pound puppy, but the shelter staff said he couldn't be adopted to a family with kids because he was "vicious". By vicious, they meant he bit ONE mean witch-woman who worked there. After talking to her a minute, I had a strong urge to bite her too! We went back every day, they kept telling us "No". We came back on his last day, 30 minutes before he was to be put to death, and we refused to leave. We gave them a choice; either let us adopt him or let us be with him as he took his last breath because he deserved to have people who loved him present. My son has these big beautiful green eyes that could melt ice, so they relented by letting us meet Ringo in a room so we could see for ourselves how aggressive he was. Thankfully, that mean woman wasn't there that day. My son and I sat on the floor as he was brought in, and Ringo very calmly walked to my son, sat his furry butt in his lap (after shaking hands first, something my son had taught him through the chainlink). Ringo stared back at the staff member with that stubborn look that says, "MY human, and I'll kill anyone who hurts him!" They let us adopt him, but still they assured us that we would be returning him when we saw how difficult he was. Nope! I guess we never saw that! I forgot to mention, my son was a special ed student because of severe emotional trauma and abuse he suffered when he was kidnapped as a toddler and was missing for a year. He still doesn't trust people now at age 29, but has a gentle way with animals that's a gift. 5 years after we brought Ringo home, we moved to where we live now; a 20 acre ranch in the mountains with goats. He loved that place, and all the other animals, and we loved him. 5 years ago he had to be helped over the "rainbow bridge", and my heart's never been the same. We have a gorgeous, very smart border collie we adopted 8 years ago; another "problem dog" whose owner sadly had to give him up because he bit a neighbor (who entered their yard without permission!). I've stayed in touch with his former owner, who loves seeing video of Joey being awesome. I have a video on my channel of the day he rescued two lost baby goats. Joey is 9 now, still energetic, and still bites any mofo who dares trespassing on the ranch. He's a big help with getting our goats in the pen at night and an excellent watchdog, but I missed that cattle dog trait of always being wherever I am at all times. There's no more devoted creature than a heeler! Besides, Joey needs a helper. 3 weeks ago, I dreamt that I went to our local shelter and found another heeler. I checked their website, but saw only pitbulls, a german shepherd, 2 huskies, and other nice dogs but no heeler or collie. I couldn't stop thinking about that dream though, so I went there 2 weeks ago and there he was! I saw him before I'd parked the car, the most beautiful little blue heeler with a stubby tail. He was also the most terrified dog I've ever seen. All the other dogs barked like mad, but he cowered in his house, shaking. I was told he'd been there 2 weeks, but they never gave him a name because he couldn't be taken to adoption events, he was just dog #205 (that's why he wasn't on their site!). He would have been put down in a couple of days because no one wanted him. I pay attention to dreams, especially the "nagging" ones! I immediately filled out an application, explaining that I have a 20 acre ranch and a love for heelers, and the sweet lady who worked there and also loved heelers made sure I was accepted right away. She had to carry him to my car, he was too scared to walk on a leash. She was the only one there he trusted at all. I hope that shelter appreciates that they have an angel in their midst. I watched him in the mirror as we drove up the mountain for home. He transformed before my eyes! By the time we reached the last 2.5 miles which is a rough dirt road, that stubby tail was wagging, he was grinning, and licking my arm (all he could reach). He's a challenge, but he's going to be a great dog with more time. He hates my border collie, because he's very jealous, but he's great around the goats. He's a bit intimidated by their big horns, and that's good. Now I have a constant companion who watches my every move, and is constantly looking for danger so I don't have to. I talk to him as I work outside fixing things, and I'm teaching him the names of tools. My goal is to have him bring me tools, like a hammer or wrench. I'm wrapping the handles with tape so he can pick them up easily. I'm getting more work done outside now because he makes it so much more fun! I have a smart companion now who listens to my every word, and even grins when I sing to him. My ex-husband hated my singing, so that's a big plus! LOL. I named him Blaze, after Blaze Foley, a singer/songwriter I love who died way too young. Blaze Foley died while protecting a friend from an attacker with a knife. He saved his friend, but lost his life. Heelers have that kind of bravery and devotion, but I pray that my buddy never has to protect me like that, but I know he would. Sorry, I didn't mean to write a dang novel! I'm pretty excited about my new BFF, obviously! Blaze sure seems to love his new and forever home and family of misfits. We all need each other!
Chuck-It balls are the best toy I ever bought for my ACD. Nearly indestructable and they are so bouncy, he loves them so much he sometimes holds one in his mouth while he is sleeping.
My Red Heeler can only have extremely durable toys. He can destroy anything NOT made of hard nylon, steel or titanium within 15 minutes. His nickname is Bandit the Destroyer.
jscott2700 I know that feel man... my girl is nicknamed Shelby the shredder for the same reason. At 40lbs, she can shred a black Kong thing for Great Danes 😱 Before I finished building my house, I lived in a mobile home. Had a typical mobile home metal door, and one day while I was separating cull cows from the rest of the herd, she decided to chew a hole big enough for her and her cone to get through. (She developed a rash which led to the vet putting on the cone) Knowing exactly what I was doing, she ran in tail curled over her back and went to work. Ignoring ALL commands, as if to say she had something to prove, she continued to nip at the culls. Damndest thing was that the cone was sooo big, she couldn’t bite the culls on their heels and just ended up kinda rear-ending them🤣😂😄
All heelers are hyper and will not only dig holes all over your yard they will attempt to tear up everything that you don't take away from them. So, get an empty, one gallon, plastic jug for them.
Thanks for sharing this, I was brainstorming what to get my boyfriend's brother for Xmas (gonna freeze them til December unless you have any tips??), who loves his acd more than life itself! These will make a nice gift to Portland OR!
I'm so glad that you make videos about this type of dog, I have 2.I have a red heeler and a blue heeler but the blue heeler is handicapped. When he was a puppy I was getting ready to go to school and I let him go outside for a few minutes and all of the sudden I heard a dog crying and I go outside and a bulldog had him in its mouth. My dad went to go pick him from the floor. We took him to the vet and they told us that he needed surgery because his hip was broken. That broke my heart. They wanted to cut his leg because that was way cheaper, tbh I thought he was going to die but he didn't. I would spend nights crying for my dog. When he first got his first surgery I struggled a lot because my mom wouldn't take care of him but by luck I got expelled from my previous school and I stopped going to school for about a month so I was there for him. I was going through depression and by being with him helped me a lot. Like 3 weeks after that happened we took my dog to a pet hospital 3 hours away from my house .He stayed there for about 3 days and when he got back home he could walk but he couldn't fold his leg but now he walks funny but I'm so glad he's alive.
I'm on my second Heeler mix rescue. Asha was my first, and I fell in love with her energy, and willingness to follow me to the end of the earth! She passed in '15, and 3 months later, I adopted Gypsy, another Heeler mix. She will also follow me thru thick and thin, but not quite so crazy as Asha. She's much more chill. Even in the heat of an Arizona summer, they are ready to go! Regardless, both are (and were) great trail buddies! Camping, hiking, mountain biking.. they do it all and love it! Great dogs for the energetic person. Love your videos!
I found a blue heeler/Australian shepherd mix puppy... I'm learning! Sophia is amazing, just turned about 6 weeks old, and I'm completely amazed at how intelligent she is!
I have a rescue Heeler who absolutely adored playing with a tennis ball. When we got her we noticed that her teeth were worn down. This apparently happens when dogs are allowed to chew on tennis balls. The sand in the balls wear down the teeth. Better to buy a smooth ball
They wear their teeth down chewing on ANYTHING! WE got a soft plastic antler, with scent! Hopeful that we could get her to hunt sheds. No. ALL of your toys need to be durable. I mean, they chew on HORNED FRICKIN' CATTLE!!! Better be a toy tougher than Bluey!
We have a one month old puppy too. Now to train him and and stop the growling and biting. He was born on 5/6/21 and we got him at 27 days old but he is healthy. :)
Love my Cattle dog! She is a red heeler mixed with Australian Shepherd! Definitely high energy, and very smart! She loves guarding her kitties & momma! As well as running & playing! Want to train her some more this spring! She's so much fun , and constantly cracks me up! Such a silly girl! Very informative videos! Thanks so much!!! :-)
#1 toy herding ball. Best toy I have ever gotten for my dogs is a workout ball. There are various herding dog balls and they get out so much energy and have so much fun. The hard plastic ones can wear down their teeth btw.
What I learned with Thor (my red heeler) is he loves toys that make noise. Something that crinkles or squeaks gets their attention immediately. Even bringing a good squeaky toy on walks to grab their attention for training when they are distracted by squirrels, dogs, people, etc.
Hi! I appreciate the videos. I am a semi new red heeler owner. We got Sadie a few months ago. She is 5 months now. She LOVES the Kong frisbee. Its a little on the pricey side but we can leave her alone with it and she will be entertained for hours just chewing it and folding its and I won't have to worry about her destroying it because its practically indestructible.
I just rescued a heeler a couple days ago and you’ve been such a help! I feel like everything I found online was very black and white so it was refreshing to see somehow who actually KNEW!☺️
It all comes down to what won't be destroyed in 5 minutes which is pretty much everything. Best long term toy I have is a 14 inch industrial rubber gasket ring (food grade machinery rated) It is one of the few things they cannot destroy but is flexible and not likely to choke, hang etc. My Mr Patches wears them like a necklace and then shows off by taking it off and putting it back on etc. Best toy ever. Even kong toys don't stand up to more than a few months for me.
Hi Guys Paul here in Australia.I Breed Blue Heeler Pups and they are Best…Give them Love and they will give you back ten fold…The Best Ball I have come across was the Lacrosse Ball…they cannot destroy these Babies and the last one lasted 14 months 🤓👍🇦🇺
One of my three Heelers loves to pick his own rag from the closet and we have a tug-of-war with it. Sometimes the other dogs join in. She especially likes rags that will make a nice “rip” noise. Another fun game is hide and seek. It started with a pig puppet and I’d say, “Find the pig!” They all love this game. I hide it in all kinds of crazy places while they patiently wait in another room. Then I call them to ‘find the pig’. Since heelers love to have jobs to do, I have them bring down the laundry. They get super excited about this job and can hardly contain themselves! I dump the laundry out upstairs (but not nice clothing). I give them small treats each time they bring a piece down to me in the laundry room. I’m sorry I don’t recall how I initially got one trained to do this, but now he has trained the other two. Each time one brings a piece down I say, “I know you have more laundry than that! Go get some more”. I’m having such a difficult time with one of my heelers jumping up to bite people’s hands! She also will nip at heels. I have a muzzle she gets off in 2-seconds flat, I have a shock collar controlled by my phone but it is difficult to get the correction in in time. Why are dog trainers sooooooo expensive??
Just got a blue heeler a week ago. He's 9 weeks old, his name is Murphy, and I'm already in love with him. I can tell he's gonna be a challenge but I'm looking forward to it.
I have a 2 year old blue heeler/border collie cross. He destroys all toys that aren't hard rubber. He absolutely loves the chuck-it, especially in the dark with the glow in the dark ball. I charge up the ball with my headlamp (I turn it off after charging the ball) and he wears a flashing light on his collar so I know where he is. Looks like you've got a place that's nice and dark at night, I bet Lou would love that too. You can get flashing LED balls too.
I had a blue heeler when I was a boy, many decades ago. He was called "Buster" . He was a fantastic friend to me and my family. He was a stray dog who just wandered on to our small farm in Queensland Australia. We adopted him.
I've had my red heeler Luke for 4 years now and he's the best thing thats ever happened to me. I just got another blue heeler and he's got such a different personality. Luke is very attentive, uninterested in people, and only cares what mom wants. And Lincoln loves people, exploring and playing with toys. Opposite ends of the spectrum but they are the best, smartest dogs no matter what the personality type. I taught them both a trick a day for a week theyre so intelligent.
hi just brought home a 7yo female blue heeler named bella. she was a rescue. I love her she's very sweet and happy. i thank you for your videos because she has destroyed all our other dogs toys. I will get her these ones you recommend
Love your videos! I have a dog that is an Australian Shepherd/ Blue Heeler mix and she is an adorable member of our family. Her name is Shelah and she loves to play Frisbee, and loves fuzzy toys with a sqaueeky tummy;however, that may not be the best for most Blue Heelers since they tend to love chewing and may chew out the sqaueeky thing inside. Shelah is extremely intelligent, quick to learn and is a rock star with the frsbee.
Great tips. My ACD's get leg bones and antlers off my Deer too. Another great toy for your Dogs is a Teather Ball Pole. My dogs love it. Jumping up and hitting he ball back and forth.
I've found my guys all love a Kong on a knotted polypro rope. Careful with Frisbees - long throws can lead to high speeds, jump catches, and hard landings that stress crutiate ligaments and joints.
My healer isn't interested in toys at all, but she loves to chew on bones and other chews. A really good toy I found is the flirt pole, think a cat toy with the stick, string, and toy at the end but very large! You spin around in a circle and it has a large radius and appeals to their herding instinct and can be useful for obedience and manners training as well!
Kong balls are cool too. My girls she's a blue and border collie mix. She to me is just a blue heeler . She has the collie Bodie but the entire stubborn beast of the blue. Lol gotta love her. So long hard rubber toys are still alive n well.
My cattle dog weighs 50 pounds (not fat, pure muscle) and he loves those chuck-it frisbees the best. We take him out for frisbee 2-3 times a day and he is unbelivably good at it. The vet is always very surprised how muscular that he is 😂.
I'm glad you talked about toy .I have a cattle dog mix and she always biting things and I do use the nylabones but I away wondered about frisbees and that throwing toy so now I know what's on my dogs Christmas list so thanks😊
I have a blue heeler/pittie mix and he is just the best dog ever! I'd have to say that his top toys are the chuck it ball thrower.. however the one I have is twice as long and throws twice as far, which is really great at tiring him out as I can throw it just over 100 feet away! He has an OBSESSION over ropes, he loves tug of war, and with him being part pit he has a slightly larger jaw and bite force than heeler, which I think is why he likes it so much. Getting on to number 3 would be bones, since he was 2 months old hes been chewing bones that weighed more than him at the time!! There are many others but those toys are the top 3!!
Well, my pup "Addy" (about 5 month) isn't a purebred heeler. The vet says shes heeler x black lab. Four weeks ago I was headed to town to finish my daughter's birthday shopping and I found her hog tied in a ditch in the middle of nowhere ! I hadn't planned on getting another dog after my basset passed away. This dog is amazing! I love her so much! She looks exactly like a heeler physically, but shes pure black! Shes 40lbs. And her only issue is she does not like other dogs!!! We are booked into a class for reactive dogs because I want to make her the best pup she can be!!!
Hollie De La Mare my dog is super sweet to humans, as long as they’re in the house, but if they are outside the fence, watch out! Also, when we are out for a walk, if someone in the family gets too far away she barks to herd them back in. She is antisocial as far as other animals go. She does not play nice. I can’t take her anywhere. I’ve had her since she was eight weeks old. I trained her to do a lot of things, but being overprotective was not one of them.
Wow you have a lot of property. My little guy is in a suburb: but luckily has a good backyard & tons of parks. Thanks for making this. Your baby is adorable 🐶❤️
Beretta our red heeler loves the chuckit type toy and it keeps me from getting super slobbery hands. Jolly balls for horses are also one of her favorites and at times I tether the jolly ball from a limb.
tennis balls die an ugly swift death with our blue heeler zoey, who is also a service dog.We now use racket balls and a ball bazooka, that launches the balls. no more sore shoulder, yay! Keep in mind ,she is always supervised with a racket ball , since they are smaller than a tennis ball.Also blue heelers make excellent service dogs.
my 7mo healer loves his chuck it flinger and ball. im going to have to get the Frisbee as I see the same issues you mentioned in with the old plastic Frisbee I have. I also have antlers for him to chew on and he likes those too. a couple corrections to what you mentioned about the antlers is that they are actually keratin like what fingernails are made from. also you are right you want fresh antlers not because they are soft but rather they are hard and will not break apart as we know the broken pieces can hurt the dogs mouth and possibly his digestive system. Another bad part of soft antler is dogs can get too much of the minerals and vitamins in the antler and it can make them sick and make a mess in the house. my two cents from being a taxidermist and having dogs all my life. another cool toy I actually made for whiskey is a plastic jar from the dollar store with a couple holes in it tied to a pole, I put a small amount of kibble in it and he try's to get it out, keeps him busy for a little while. im going to make a a little pvc pipe toy similar he can roll around the house.
Liz, great testing, my blue heeler wouldn't last 2 sec with any kind of tennis ball, I use the thrower and a dence foam ball, frizbies great I find challenging, I would stay clear of the hard wood look like toys, I know you have had them a long tine, but I did too and removed them when perished, my boy hid a piece , later swallowed it he nearly died, he is well now he gas just turned 2yrs ❤ videos thanks from Perth WA
Thank you for sharing! My blue heeler, Sweetie, is eight years old. She loves that chuck it, and does the exact same thing to the tennis balls. We tried to chuck it frisbee, but she chewed it up. That purple football is something I’ve never seen, and I am definitely going to look for. We have a really hard time finding toys for sweetie because she is such a chewer. Even the things from PetSmart that say they’re built with ballistic or special chew proof nylon, she still finds a way around it, and if it has any stuffing in it, it will be out within 10 minutes or less. We used to get her the deer Antlers as well, but after she broke two molars and had to have them pulled, we stay away from hard bones and even those plastic ones. The two things that she loves the most are her Kong bone That I put a dentasticks in each end. The other is What I call a wubbie that I filled with peanut butter.
I have a blue heeler and can confirm these are loved! I swear by the chuck it brand , we have the frisbee and the ball throwing thing, as well as this big ball the size of a soccer ball meant for dogs by chuck it it’s mines FAVORITE TOY. Definitely recommend a lot of chew proof things
I have 1 Red and 1 Blue as well ! A popular toy you can throw is a Kong Donut - go large size , also a Kong Wubba -go medium and large size- is a big hit. Kong also do a rubber frisbee that does fly well and is not as destructable as some others. I like that football you showed and that is on my Xmas gift list!
My heeler (Ranger) loves tennis balls too. He was also tearing the outer cover off of them. I switched to Wilson "extra duty" tennis balls and that solved the problem. Now I can leave balls out for him to play with any time he wants. I find him napping with a tennis ball between his paws all the time. Give them a try and let me know if they work for you.
Great content We use street hockey balls (the ones with no holes). The fuzz on tennis balls picks up small rocks and is very hard on their teeth. The hockey balls fit in the chucker. I use a 6 iron with the ball, it helps my swing. The balls are light and can be used in the house.
Noticed that a lot of Heeler owners seem to be having the same problem with their pups destroying things...get yer pup outside and running! These guys were meant to work all day on a farm herding freakin cows! Wear them out with fetch and tug, structured play and training then make sure they have a couple of SOLID chew toys in the house to keep them happy and not focused on things they aren't supposed to chew...I love my heeler because she won't let me be lazy :)
we have a red heeler and have gone thru several toys but the one that has lasted outside is a rinsed out "real well" gallon bleach jug, He will herd it all over the yard, try it its funny as can be, take top off wash out and throw it sit back and enjoy...……...stevie
I have a blue heeler mix (everything about her looks and seems full blood heeler but she's super hairy and has a beard and eyebrows) and she couldn't care less about balls. She likes anything that makes noise and anything floppy that she can kill (thrash from side to side). And a GREAT chew thing is an elk antler. They last for months!
G'day from Tasmania. I like your videos about Lou. I'm about to get a female blue heeler puppy from a breeder way up in the NW. I've had two male blue heelers, the first for 11.5 years, the second for 14.5 years. Awesome mates, and had lots of wonderful experiences together. I've been waiting for over 2 years to find another bluey, so I'm really looking forward to meeting my new buddy.
I have a Texas heeler who was the alpha of his litter, he listens to me great and knows I'm the boss( I've had him since he was 3 months and yes he is trained). Really his only trouble is listening to people if I'm not around ( store/work), great with other dogs that are are cool with him
I never knew about this breed of dog till now. Lou looks like a very smart dog and is lots of fun. My girl Dottie is very needy, however, she doesn't bark when someone comes to the house, ring the doorbell or anything. She has only shown aggression once when my play sister sent her son over and he just walked in pass me. I think she thought he was about to hurt me, but I managed to get between them and avert a problem. I've got to get use to her quickness. I wish I had a yard like yours to allow her running room. She plays well with my son's Yorkie!
I just came across your channel and I’m so glad. I too have a blue heeler, Mr. Axl Rose. They’re definitely a special breed and the best dog I’ve ever had. He loves to play fetch with balls and loves his kong but his favorite is the frisbee. He will play with it all day long!
I found your channel a week ago and subscribed! 😁 Congratulations on 1K subscribers! 🎉 So glad you posted this video! I just got a red heeler puppy, Autumn, 2 weeks ago.💖 She's 10 weeks old. She loves to chew and play. We are working on house breaking which has been a journey for sure. I'm going to binge watch your other videos. Do you suggest different chews/toys for puppies?
Jantastic PJ omg I’m so excited for you and your new baby!! Is this your first heeler? Louie was my first dog. With puppies, I would suggest chew toys softer than the ones I talked about in this video. When Lou was a puppy we bought him a rubber bone from the brand KONG. The rubber is softer for their puppy teeth. I wish you good luck with your girl ! Thanks for supporting my channel :)
@@LizLife Yes, she's my first heeler. We got her from a breeder here in Virginia. Her mother is a blue and dad is a red. I'm surprised at how smart she is for a puppy. I've been working on heel and sit when we go for walks. She has really caught on to the heel command! She loves her variety of balls and squeaky toys. It has been like puppy Christmas around here..lol. I'm going to buy the kong bone as well as the treat "stuffable" kong toy! Louie is such a beautiful and smart blue! I am so looking forward to all of your videos! I just watched the video you posted about mistakes you made when you first got as Louie. I made the one about not setting boundaries. She's set up in the kitchen now. Was using puppy pee pads but got rid of those. We just take her out all the time.
Your videos definitely help thanks you for them. My bf and I are getting our first cattle dog in a couple months so I slowly been buying stuff nfor him or her
If you already know this or not here is some advice if your dog is to hyped up make him roll over and press on his chest for a few seconds and he will be calm if this doesnt work do it near his belly
I have a ACD/Lab mix. I tried to train him on dropping balls so I can throw them. That didn't work out well. He did enjoy the Chuck it, until it came up missing. I have a treat dispenser Kong ball which he loves! It is starting to show signs of wear and tear.. I'd love to find toys that make his mind work without dispensing treats, as he's 76# and doesn't need to gain any additional weight!
Train your dog to CATCH, LEAVE IT, and EAT IT with popcorn. Whenever he fails to CATCH tell him to LEAVE IT. Then when he makes a CATCH tell him to EAT IT and point to all of the popcorn he missed. Also, make sure to tell him that he's a good dog every time he makes a CATCH.
@@davidturner2072 the Lab Retriever in him is what makes him so big. Everything about him, other than weight and ears, is pure ACD! I wish I could upload a photo of Rocky, you'd see what I mean.
@@davidturner2072 it is not a good idea to let your dog eat the same thing you told him to "leave"! Defeats the purpose, don't you think? When I trained my Labraheeler, I would place a snausage in front of him, telling him to "leave it". After a minute or so, pick it up and give him a beef flavored treat! He learned to Leave it...
Best to get two of every throw toy. Getting them to chase is easy. Mostly, they'll start back with toy. Often dog wants to keep toy, instead of bringing it all the way back and dropping it. Purpose of the second toy is to motivate dog to bring the first toy back and drop it before owner throws the second toy. Dog always prefers chasing to chewing, so they quickly (and painlessly for the owner) learn to drop the first toy at owners feet.
My boy loves racquet balls and an old 6" solid rubber tire. I can roll the tire pretty fast and far (like a lawn bowling ball) and he loves chasing it down. On old hemp 3" ship rope for tug of war is a big hit. Anything with a squeaker is dead in two seconds. Can't leave those around because he will tear it out and eat it.
