My dog digs and chews his frisbee. How do I get him to retrieve it?

Many times, digging can be a sign of boredom and understimulation. This can also be a behavioral problem. The things you can do to help prevent digging are as follows: 1. Increase exercise and get Duke to play more. Dog parks, increased walks, playing fetch, etc. can all be beneficial 2. Don't allow toys outside. Many dogs dig and bury toys outside so not allowing toys outside can prevent this. 3. Provide an area that you permit digging. Train Duke so that he knows it is okay to dig in a certain area of the yard. 4. Get Duke enrolled in dog sports or training classes I hope these help! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

I would recommend working on a 'drop' or 'leave it' command with Charlie. You can give him a toy, then offer a treat and when he drops the toy say the command. Once he will do this consistently during training time you can try using the command when he picks something up and wants to chase. It is important that you don't chase after him when he's doing this (unless he has something that will truly hurt him) as even the negative attention can reinforce the behavior. Look away, find a treat, and wait for him to drop the item and reward him. Since he seems to like chase you could also have a special toy that is the only one you use for chase - you could ask him to drop whatever he has and replace it with this toy and then chase him for a bit as a reward.

Many dogs have trouble letting go of the ball when playing fetch! :) I would suggest playing the game with two balls for now. Throw one, then when he brings it back, throw the other one for him. Most dogs will drop the one in their mouth when you bring out the second ball, and will chase the one that you throw. Pick up the first ball as he runs away to chase the second one, and continue to repeat this so that you always have a ball waiting in your hand to throw as soon as he gets back. Over time, many dogs will get into the habit of dropping the ball when they come back to you, so that you may not need to use both balls forever.

Some dogs don't enjoy playing with toys, or may not have learned to play at all. You mentioned he was a rescue, which if he was kept in a shelter too long or didn't have much interaction with toys previously may have stopped him from learning. If he enjoys treats and chew bones, you can try hiding those inside toys to get him to start interacting. If he likes other objects such as sticks or a bone to play fetch, then using that is just fine. As long as he is happy, you are happy and he's getting plenty of exercise and play time, then it's not really a requirement to play with a toy.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is Cori showing his extreme excitement and joy of receiving this treat. All animals react differently. There is probably not much you can do about the whining/crying. For the trying to bury it I would make him calm down and lay down to eat it. As for stealing other dogs bones, I would have your friends pick up their dogs bone and be sure to teach Cori how to listen and come. If he sees a bone he should know to "leave it" and "drop it." I hope this helps!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I have two comments for you. One is, he could be doing this for attention or because he is not getting enough exercise. Perhaps try extra time with practicing tricks or playing. An extra walk or run can also help keep boredom and pent up energy under control. 90% of the time, this is the issue. If you feel you are already doing a great job in these departments, consider crate training him so that he has “quiet time” while you’re working etc. The other comment is redirection. When he runs off with your shoe (or whatever) tell him no firmly and immediately offer something he CAN chew/play with. Then praise him and maybe play with that toy with him for a minute or two. If those are not working, it’s timw to involve a trainer. Best wishes to you and Stitch!

This is normal puppy behavior but it does require training. Also remember that Charolett is a puppy so you should expect the training process to be slow and that she may revert sometimes. I recommend to read up on dogs training. There is a trainer I like named Victoria Stilwell who has written many books about common bad behaviors and training. Generally this behavior is addressed by being on a leash and counter training. I hope this helps.