Teaching Your Dog How To Hold Objects

If you want to play fetch with your dog, you’ll have to teach him how to properly hold objects in his mouth first.

Don’t use squeaky toys in this exercise, since many dog’s will want to chew them rather than play fetch with them.

Remember: You’re teaching your dog to hold objects here, so it’s best not to reward him with food treats as it’ll mean him putting the object down all the time. Instead, reward him with physical and verbal praise.

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Here’s how to teach your dog to hold an object:

Kneel down next to your dog (he should be sitting). Hold his leash under your knees and your left arm around his head. Gently open your dog’s mouth while you say “Good dog”.

Next: Hold your dog’s head up and put the object into his mouth. Then give the command “Hold”. I must stress that you need to make sure your dog is happy with what you’re doing.

Make sure you have shown him the object first, so he’s comfortable with what it is and that he knows it won’t hurt him.