Rip liked to chase things but not so much bring them back…lol
This is a MAJOR understatement. BradyBuck has transformed Rip into something unrecognizable compared to when we dropped him off. Chasing wasn’t a problem. It was that he would chase something you threw, then drop the bumper and go chase something else, like a bug or leaf…or would just parade around and play keep away. Very frustrating, even with a long lead on him. Once I started trying to get him to come back to me, he would drop whatever I’d thrown. Tried adding treats to the training out of desperation and that just increased his dropping habit.
It was a struggle to get more than 3-4 retrieves even in a controlled environment like inside in a small area where he only had a choice between bringing it back or chasing and then standing with it where he found it (refusing to come back, almost out of spite). After a few retrieves, he would just end up standing there and, if he did come back (even from 5 feet away) he would drop whatever he was supposed to retrieve. I was really struggling to figure out what motivated him and how to build on the positives we did achieve.
Bryan has done an incredible job in a very short amount of time (I think Rip being able to observe Bryan’s dogs do incredible work has also helped). We couldn’t be happier.