My new buddy-help on training

When I first brought Oakley home, he already new "sit". He would also retrieve and bring it back most of the time. I got him at 8 weeks and he is 10 weeks now. Lately it seems he has lost a little intrest in fetch and when he will, he will either go get it, start to bring it back then drop it about 8 ft short. Any suggestions? Is it too early to be asking him to fetch?

Nope, its not too early. Always make it fun for him to fetch. I used the "Game Dog" DVD and it works.

Remember to not over do it.
3-4 "hup hup" fun retrieves.

Definitely not too early. There are a several possibilities as to why Oakley is dropping the bumper. Here are a few:

1. Boredom. He's got it and wants to move on. Add something to the routine because he wants to learn more;

2. Too many retrieves. 3/day max. Make him live for it.

3. The way you are taking the bumper from him. I would need to know how you are taking it from him to know if you've inadvertently trained the drop into him, but many folks do, without realizing it.

Don't worry about sit or fetch while theyre this young. Make retrieving fun. When they get to be around 5-6 months old and retrieving good then teach them to sit, and fetch.

Robby

If he starts to drop it, run from him. He will start to chase you with the bumper in his mouth. When you take it directly from his mouth, praise him heavily. If he drops it or doesn't seem interested, don't praise him but also don't make a big deal out of it either. He's young, keep it fun for him. If things continue into adolescence , you could have to force fetch him.