ridgebacks and water?

[benb]

Do all ridgebacks not like water?  Can they grow to enjoy it?  Also, what is the best way to get a ridgeback to play "fetch"?  I've always owned labs and am about to pick up my first ridgeback so any information would be helpful!  Thanks!

[Kapani]

Do all ridgebacks not like water?  Can they grow to enjoy it?  Also, what is the best way to get a ridgeback to play "fetch"?  I've always owned labs and am about to pick up my first ridgeback so any information would be helpful!  Thanks!

Plenty of RR love the water, fetch no idea I never wanted to play fetch with a dog.  When I throw a ball my boys go after look at it and then move on..LOL

[oscarsmom]

Welcome - is it Benjamin?

I second the statement that plenty of RRs love the water - mine does! In fact, about the only time he really "fetches" is in the water! He trembles until we chuck a stick in and then he dives in after it (not very graceful, but he has fun ). He'll swim out, grab the stick, swim back, then climb out of the water and run away with the stick.

RRs may like water, but they are not retreivers. From my experience, if an RR chases and picks up something you've thrown for it, the goal is not to bring it back to you but the KEEP IT AWAY from you! My boy LOVES to be chased, and he only ever wants a ball or a stick if he thinks I want it. Be prepared to run around and duck and dodge a lot - it's a favorite game around here. If you stop showing interest in the toy, most likely they will to. I always kind of liked it that way - it's like the goal of the game for my dog is to play with ME, not obsess over a tennis ball (like a lot of labs I know - no offense!).

RRs are PEOPLE dogs, not only do they have to be with you at all times, but they have to have their nose in everything you're doing, and they want YOU to be equally interested in them. Very interactive companions.

Best of luck with your new pup - please share pics when you have some! Do you know if you're getting a male or a female? Pet or show? What fun - I'm envious!

~Natalya

[melissap]

 

Welcome to life with a ridgeback

Brando will swim, and we take him to northern MI for our annual up north trip ~ he skirted in and out of the water the first day (he was 9 months then) and the 2nd day, once I went into the water to swim, with out any hesitation he was RIGHT there behind me - all the way out     He did look a little shocked when he started to paddle LOL . He really got a kick out of the boats and played quite happily with a lab he met at the beach that day...but the lab did  have a little different Zest for the water.

I have also had labs before ~ you will LOVE your ridgeback SO much & I am sure if you love the water, so will your RR. He/She will most likely not enjoy the rain; but hey - who does!

I can tell you that Brando enjoys the beach and lakes VERY much so!

Melissa

[Rosebud]

Welcome - is it Benjamin?

I second the statement that plenty of RRs love the water - mine does! In fact, about the only time he really "fetches" is in the water! He trembles until we chuck a stick in and then he dives in after it (not very graceful, but he has fun ). He'll swim out, grab the stick, swim back, then climb out of the water and run away with the stick.

~Natalya

Rocket does the exact same thing. He brings the stick back, we play chase, he usually wins and I have to find another stick to throw. So while he is retrieving (or is it saving) the second stick I go and get the first one back. He won't go get a stick on land for nothing.

His favorite land game is soccer. He just has an absolute blast trying to keep me from getting the ball away from him. He will actually use his feet to move the ball back and forth in front of and behind his front feet to keep the ball where I can not get my foot in to pull the ball away from him.

[melissap]

 

hi rosebud, yup - I get the infamous wrinkled head tilt if I throw a stick

He did steel the labs stick and played keep away from him, thankfully the labs owner was well versed in "stick rotation" LOL

Brando does like the soccer ball ~ I thought it may have been due to the many we have ~ as my son is a soccer player!

Melissa

[benb]

Thanks everyone for getting me "in the know".  Wow, this is really cool.  I'm so excited to have people to talk to about RRs because nobody i know has one or knows anything about them.  THANKS!

[oscarsmom]

No doubt, RRs are the BEST!!

Sometimes Oscar will get tired of running around with the stick and he'll just stop dead and drop it in front of him. If I walk up to him he'll lower he head over the stick and wait for me to try to pick it up. The game: whichever part of the stick I reach down for - that's where he darts down to grab it. If I stop mid reach and go for the other side, he darts over there. He doesn't even want the stick - he just doesn't want ME to have it! Bratty little beast ... It's a good game. Then I have to distract him and make him "Look Look!" over his shoulder while I snag the stick and run away... to funny...

Michelle, I love the idea of a dog using "fancy footwork" on a soccer ball !

~Natalya

[Porga]

Welcome - is it Benjamin?

I second the statement that plenty of RRs love the water - mine does! In fact, about the only time he really "fetches" is in the water! He trembles until we chuck a stick in and then he dives in after it (not

My Bam does the same, he adores to swim for a stick. I usualy have two of them, he is hard to catch when he is out of wather with his stick. 

[Rosebud]

Michelle, I love the idea of a dog using "fancy footwork" on a soccer ball !

~Natalya

He will actually put his foot on TOP of the ball. He loves it. We actually use one of those jr. sized basketballs instead of an actual soccerball.

I bought him a frisbee a month ago and he is not interested in it. He caught it a few times and loved it, but of course he would run away with his prize and wouldn't give it back. As soon as he figured out I wanted him to keep chasing and catching it he would just watch where it landed and walk over to it and pick it up and run off.

[Breezybare]

Zuri doesn't like wet grass, but didn't seem to mind the light rain today.  She got all crazy when my girls were in a little inflatable pool this weekend, splashing around.  We haven't had her near any bodies of water yet, she is only 15 weeks old.  But most of Idaho's bodies of water are cold, so I am guessing she won't like it too much.  She liked her bath really warm the other night!

As far as fetching, I have had her bring back a ball a couple of times.  I think she has to be in the right frame of mind to do it.  The key is not to throw it too far away, only a couple of feet and I got her really interested in it.  Then once she went and mouthed it, I told her how good she was in a real sweet voice.  Then with her mouth still on it and looking back at me I slowly acted like I was going to run away from her.  She couldn't help but chase after me.  I turned HER game on her!   Then when she brings it back make sure you tell her how good she did, and make sure you end the game with her bringing it back to you and treats.  Not guaranteeing you it will work, but if you want to try that is what I have done.

Good Luck,
Sabrina

[sarah yates]

Sarah's Treatise on Teaching Ridgebacks to FETCH

i was told when i got my new ridgeback puppy that ridgebacks don't 'fetch', this is not true. however, they do have a vested interest in themselves and so 'fetch' will come to be 'ridgeback fetch' and soon you'll forget what 'classic fetch' is. 'ridgeback fetch' involves you trying to fetch the object from the ridgeback.

i taught my ridgeback 'classic fetch' by a technique called 'backchaining', which is essentially breaking down the components of fetch into each task and then teaching them backwards. i didn't know what backchaining was when i did it but it still worked fine.

so i taught DROP first. when my ridgeback had something in her mouth i would command DROP and if she dropped it she would get a treat (or a Good Girl!). i then taught GIVE, meaning she had to drop it into my hand. (the distinction between DROP and GIVE is that sometimes you don't want what's in their mouth.) if the object reached my hand after GIVE she got a treat. i then started the PICK command, meaning 'pick up this object', all she had to do was pick up whatever i was pointing at. the chase part is easy because she had a high prey drive. the hard part was COME, which you'll have to practice practice practice with a ridgeback (with a treat it gets easier and start them young!). the last part is getting eye contact (i call it the WATCH command). so with a treat or toy bring the dogs attention to you- a point between your eyes, and treat.

so the activity becomes:
1. WATCH (the toy in my hand)
2. throw the toy
3. FETCH! (as the dog is running toward the object)
4. PICK
5. COME
6. GIVE

all of these commands have lots of other uses, i'm trying to teach my ridgebacks to put their toys away, but i think that will be a long time coming. remember that a ridgeback will always try to get you to play by their rules. i've found i get maybe 2-3 good fetches in a session then the game changes to ridgeback fetch.

good luck!

[melissap]

 

I love the fetching stories Sabrina and Sarah ~ Just last night Zola brought back a ball ~ three times before she realized it may be  more fun to ram into her brother for a while 

Then, he stole the ball and layed on top of it so she could not get it agian ~ He is the anti-fetcher     

No sister of his is going to chase a ball 

JK

great fetching stories ~

Melissa

[oscarsmom]

He is the anti-fetcher     

No sister of his is going to chase a ball 

The "anti-fetcher" - that's hilarious!

This water subject had me going through some old photos of baby Oscar on his first trip to the lake - I think he was about 4 or 5 months old...

Here he is doing his best backwoods Baywatch pose:


And here he is rethinking his decision to be a lifeguard...:


boy do I miss those puppy days

~Natalya

[Lynn]

JC acts like water is hot lava. HATES it.  Took him to the beach, loved the sand wouldn't go near the water.  When the other dogs ran into the water, he came to a screeeeeeeeching halt and watched them until the ran back out of the water.  And he doesn't like moist grass.  He will walk on our landscaping rocks and do his business there rather than have his precious toes touch the moist grass.