I would like to teach Kenzi to catch things like treats but she doesn't seem to have a natural catching skill. I grew up with a weimaraner that was stellar at catching anything but she picked up on it after just a couple times being hit in the face with a piece of popcorn. Kenzi hasn't after several times. We've tried different things thinking maybe she can't see what we started with and it hasn't made any difference. Usually she doesn't even try to catch it and on the rare occasions that she does her timing is horribly off. She's usually more content to just let it hit the ground then pounce on it. Is throwing little stuff at her until she finally gets the hang of it my only option or has anyone else tried something different? Maybe if she's content with it hitting the ground then I should be too.

never thought about teaching catch, our 2 are really good at it and im not sure i had to teach them to do it. are you giving her a code word before you chuck the treat so she knows to look for it? maybe saying something like Kenzi- catch, and toss the treat, and just keep that up? or have you ever had her eyes checked, maybe there is a sight issue there?

Siku just naturally catches things, and Nikolai never did and I just kind of was bored one day while we were waiting in the vets office, and I started just tossing things at him (had his full attention) and I started close and then got further and further away, and he caught on eventually, but he still isn't the best at it 100% of the time. You could keep trying, and just keep tossing treats really close to her and use a code word like stated above. Maybe she is just happy pouncing on it though, and that's her fun!

Bode did not have that natural catching ability either. For awhile, I would toss a treat and it would just hit his nose and fall down. lol. To help him coordinate his catching, I started going slower. I would stop, show him the treat, hold it still so he could focus on it, say "catch" and give it a nice high arc. Now he is getting really good at it! I think the high arc was the most helpful to him.

Okami had the same issue with catching, so I have been taking a chew toy ball that has some bounce to it, and bouncing it on the floor so it goes straight up. I would say after the first few days of practicing it she has gotten the idea to try to catch things, now she tries to catch anything I throw at her.

Ha ha ha. As far as fetch is concerned Shaqua gives me the "I don't feel like chasing after that right now, Mom" look. Ha ha. She doesn't care. Now catching her treats: she is a pro at that. She has that typical husky independence when it comes to playing fetch with a ball or other toy, though. LOL

Usually when I'm going to throw something at Kenzi I get her attention and say 'Ready, catch it' and she never even gets close. She does try. She moves and snaps but never gets it. I've tried little things like cat food and assumed she couldn't see that so I stepped up to fluffy popcorn that falls a little slower and is big and bright but get the same thing. She wants it but missed or it bounces off her nose and shoots across the room, then she's chasing it. I've tried tennis balls bounced off the floor and her stuffed rabbit lobbed high into the air but I think she's nervous about grabbing larger items. I have wondered about her eye sight. The whole acting like you threw something but not really throwing it gets her every time and she will go bounding off through the house after something that never left my hand, but another part of me thinks she's just a little ditzy when excited. I think the only way to get the treat thrown high enough for her is to buy a house with 30ft ceilings. lol.

I taught Evie by using a long toy. It was one of those stuffing free raccoons and I would count, "1, 2, catch" and she had success pretty quickly. She'd get it as long as she snapped in the general vicinity. We did it with popcorn too. I really think the counting helps because they learn after you say catch, the treat/toy is coming.

Kai will sometimes catch a basketball with his front legs. I toss it up in the air and he gets under it on his hind legs and catches the ball between his legs and under his head. Then bites it and runs away haha

Besides that he catches almost everything, even bouncing off the wall.

wow, my dog is always, bonk in the nose, and pow on the ground, and then a long minute, and than she eats it finnaly

This thread is sounding a little like Jethroe fetching the stick for old Duke. My Springer Reba never caught food in flight, but she could catch a Kong as it whizzed by. Maya on the other hand will catch popcorn all day long and never miss a kernel.