I have a 4 1/2 month old lab pup and she will fetch some of the time. I just cant seem to get her that interested in it. Sometimes she will only fetch once or twice, sometimes not at all, and sometimes alot (10 or 15 times in a row).
My question is how do I get her more motivated in fetching and retrieving? Is this normal?

Take her away from any distractions like other people, dogs, toys, etc. Then leave her wanting to fetch more, get 3-5 good retrieves from her a session and stop. Keep it fun and a game with her. She is still a pup and it should be fun. Also I would not try and steady her yet if you are until she is retrieving constantly for you. PM me if you have any other questions.

Also make sure you are not throwing the marks too far. At this stage it should be all confidence marks where she is able to get around 90% without any help at all. Don’t worry what you are experiencing is a problem that is easily fixable. When she gets a little older and she is consistently retrieving, you can force fetch her and that will help clean up her retrieve.

She is still a pup at 4.5 months and has baby teeth, I have always used live birds for any and all training, pigeons are best for a pup IMO. and they are cheap or you catch them yourself. If you are working her in a lane then it is a controlled fun session and she gets to play and you get a dog that retrieves maybe not to hand now, but as long as she is close then praise her to death, once she gets her adult teeth the time to find a Pro who does force fetching and get it done, better they do it then buggering up your pup, if FF correctly you can throw your cash card on the floor and she will spend all day trying to pick it up and that is what you are looking for. Have fun with her and also working with birds it is a very easy transition into gun work, no birds no gun IMO.

I agree on the force fetch. If done right she will pick up any thing on your command.

Additional thoughts to what has been said. Some dogs mature slower. Sometimes natural retrieving ability doesn't "blossom" out of the dog until they mature some. Keep trying by keeping the retrieves simple and fun and end on a good note. If you get 3 retrieves in a row, stop there. Many, short training sessions is by far better than one long one. So you can go play retrieve with pup 2, 3, 4, 5 times a day, just keep them short. If you keep doing retrieves until the pup loses interest, you do not end on a good note. Also, on the FF, you want the dog to be reliably and excitedly retrieving on it's own before FF or else it will make it a hard process. I know first hand since I have FF numerous dogs. Even though most people tend to start FF once the dog gets it's adult teeth or is at a certain age, it does not mean it has to be done at that time. Make sure pup is ready. Some out there have the false assumption that FF teaches the dog to fetch, it does not. It enforces it, improves it, among other things.

Good luck,

Eric W.

Back pedal a little bit and start in the hall way. Throw something and have a treat ready when she brings it back give it to her. This will accomplish two things:

1. She'll see retrieving as fun

2. It'll teach her to bring it to your hand.

She'll start to recognize an outstretched hand as a treat and you won't need to hold one everytime. Just every few times to remind her.

I have a guy in Iowa that sells nothing but training materials, and is super helpfull in squaring you away. I suggest giving him a call to get a good training DVD. Will save a lot of stress.
http://stores.mclabstrainingsupplies.com/StoreFront.bok

Yes, I do the hallway thing too, but surprisingly, not all puppies react the same to it. I had one pup that had more desire to play fetch when away from home. Another had to be outside. If the hallway doesn't work, try elsewhere. Other pups, if you go elsewhere, they rather investigate things instead of fetch. Personally, I try different things, including clipped wing pigeons.

Whatever you use for retreiving, make sure your pup only plays with it during retreiving. That way it is special. Use something the pup really wants.

Good Luck. You have plenty of time.

1 or 2 retrieves at a time. the put her up. you have to have drive before anything else

Did you get her from a hunting line? Not all labs are equal and some just don't have drive. You might just have an excellent family pet on your hands. I can't even get my gun or camo out without my girl going nuts. On the other hand my male will never hunt, he's not field savvy and has no drive.

But seriously get fowl dogs 1 or something

Yes she is out of hunting stock. Her parents hunt almost every day of the season as guide dogs and also compete in the super retriever series events. Thanks for the help guys I will give some of the ideas a try.

Ok good then you just have to spend time training her!

Is she teething meaning getting her adult teeth. Alot times the retrieving desire is diminished because their mouth hurts. Might try using a foam paint roller or something squishy. This is generally a time to concentrate on some obedience and just do a few retrieves a day as mentioned. Force fetch will help but you can't really do that till all their new teeth are in.