So spring paid us a visit here in snowy Colorado last Sunday for a couple of days. (Today it's back to blowing snow.) And a friend wanted to do some agility, so I pulled out the tunnels and set up a short course. The tunnels live on a garden cart in the garage and on that cart are some other items. While I was setting up my course, Zest found a tennis ball and started playing with it. I thought that was cute, but my friend arrived shortly there after, so I had to put my dogs inside. But after she left, I decided I'd see what Z remembered agility-wise and pulled her out and did a few exercises. My energy depleted quicker than Z's, and so I sat down on the table to enjoy the day. I found the ball and tossed it. Z runs out, picks it up and brings it back. Hmm. I toss it again. She brings it back again. I called to my hubby to watch, a certainty that the game would end since she could make a liar out of me. Nope, she retrieves. I toss it a total of 5 or 6 times before I stopped the game. I asked my husband "What I do with this?" Hubby thinks maybe she's part lab. If the AKC finds out about this will they revoke her basenji-status?
LOL, sounds like she was just feeling spunky
WOO HOOOO….Ladies & Gents our very own Basenji retriever 
Several of ours like to retrive things and it's a good winter exercise for them as they seem to enjoy retrieving indoors more than out.
I even have these Af puppies retrieving things and they're very good at it.
Several of ours like to retrive things and it's a good winter exercise for them as they seem to enjoy retrieving indoors more than out.
I even have these Af puppies retrieving things and they're very good at it.
Did you train them to retrieve or did they just start doing it? We took Dallas to the park yesterday & would throw his call. He would run towards it for a second then not go near it & so we'd have to go pick it up & try again. Haha.
Did you train them to retrieve or did they just start doing it? We took Dallas to the park yesterday & would throw his call. He would run towards it for a second then not go near it & so we'd have to go pick it up & try again. Haha.
I started training with one and they all seem to enjoy doing it after they watched for a while….some more than others. The Af's just seen the others doing it and caught on quick.
It's something I do with mine in the winter to give them exercise. We had snow and then ice the last couple of days. I won't let them out to run on that frozen surface......it's too slippy and dangerous. So when they have to be indoors to play......retriving is a good thing.
Ours don't like to retrive things after they hit the ground outside ......too dirty?????? I don't know why, but they run up to it, look at it and walk away.
I started training with one and they all seem to enjoy doing it after they watched for a while….some more than others. The Af's just seen the others doing it and caught on quick.
It's something I do with mine in the winter to give them exercise. We had snow and then ice the last couple of days. I won't let them out to run on that frozen surface......it's too slippy and dangerous. So when they have to be indoors to play......retriving is a good thing.Ours don't like to retrive things after they hit the ground outside ......too dirty?????? I don't know why, but they run up to it, look at it and walk away.
I agree…some seem to have more interest (aptitude?) than others. I think it would be difficult to train a B who had no interest in retrieving to do it. Of our six adults, two of them really seem to enjoy retrieving, until they are done with it! The others wouldn't dream of it 
My boy B will retrieve inside only. Our living area is on the upstairs of our house I will often throw things over the rail, down the steps and he will run down the steps and bring it back. Sometimes he like to chew on it awhile before he brings it back though. Tried to get him to retrieve outside. NOPE not interested.
My boy B will retrieve inside only. Our living area is on the upstairs of our house I will often throw things over the rail, down the steps and he will run down the steps and bring it back. Sometimes he like to chew on it awhile before he brings it back though. Tried to get him to retrieve outside. NOPE not interested.
I don't know if it's because they're that clean they know it may have passed over something dirty???? If there's snow on the ground, they'll retrive…..dry grass.......run up to it........look at it........but that's it.
Mia fetches, Nike not so much, if he does it's to go get it and bring it somehwere where he can chew it lol. But Mia does play with a little football we have, sometimes we have to go get it from her, but most of the time she'll bring it back, although she does get bored after 6-8 throws
@Mia:
Mia fetches, Nike not so much, if he does it's to go get it and bring it somehwere where he can chew it lol. But Mia does play with a little football we have, sometimes we have to go get it from her, but most of the time she'll bring it back, although she does get bored after 6-8 throws
Well when we have the pups meet maybe seeing Mia fetch will rub off on Dallas! :p
Mark said his dogs growing up always learned because they had an older dog who would retrieve & the pup would chase the older dog to play & just by association thus learned to retrieve. I wonder when I take him to the dogpark if he'll chase the other dogs who are going after the slingballs people had?? We're determined to get him to play fetch! Haha.
When I first got Sahara I read that Basenjis do NOT fetch, I was like oh yea, well we will see. I started teaching Sahara and she caught on fast. We play everyday in the house for excerise, she will go after it, and jump up on the recliner(where I am sitting) and jump back down to wait for me to throw it again, and again. But once she is tired of it, that's the end!!!!! She will even put it in my hand if I am not paying attention to her, sometimes she scratches at my hand if I am on the computer, I look down on the carpet and there sits her ball, or stuffed squirrel. Smart Furbaby, haha!!!!
Magnum will fetch, as long as it's a treat that's thrown. He never brings it back though {SIGH}.
:p :p :p
So with Zest's retrieving skills, if you ever enter her in a dog show, I suppose you can sign her up in the Sporting Group!
You got a cool B!
Yea, I've had b's that will retrieve inside, but this was outside on a dirt agility field. I don't have many tennis balls around (they're bad for teeth) and she's never shown interest in the malinois's soccer ball. She just does retrieve the blue bird (designated agility-only toy), but I worked really hard to cultivate that. My brindlewonderkid will retrieve a dumbell inside, but tends to do a little of the bone-dance thing with it. I clicker trained him to do that. It was just a "let's see what we can do with a clicker" type thing. But Z picked this ball up all on her own and brought it to me. It's not fuzzy, nor does it squeek, so I was really surprised she continued to retrieve it. She acted like it was a real prize and was so proud of herself. Of course I will try to cultivate this. But if it doesn't work out, oh well, like Camelot, we had one brief shining moment.
mia and rocky both fetch! only for a few tosses.. but its still fetching none the less
My b/iggy mix loves to retrieve. He will actually drop it on the ground after a few minutes if you don't take it from his mouth. Tennis balls are his favorite, but any of his stuffed animals will do too. I was surprised too when he started!
I had my blk/wht, Nika out in a very large field when she was about 7 months old and she showed up with a large jack rabbit and just dropped it in front of me. That's fetching!
Shaye will not usually bring things back outside, but inside, whatever we throw she brings back, so we'll keep throwing it - I don't think this is actually retrieval, it's her making us play so she can chase the toys and rev up for the Basenji-500 which eventually happens when she gets excited enough about chasing the toys and bringing them back to be thrown again.
