Playing with Dog that does not play with toys

Hi,

I love herding dogs. They are very focused and smart. They need jobs so it would be good if you can get your Blue Heeler something to do with you!

I take her being interested in food/treats so how about this:

Have her sit in front of you (sitting too). Put a toy in front of her. Tell her to "take it" (I usually sugget to teach "Leave it" first but your heeler is not interested in toys thus "take it"). I assume she would not take it so you will have to pick the toy up and give it to her. If she grabs it, praise and give her a treat. Put the toy in front of her again and tell her to "take it". You might have to pick it up again but she will eventually learn to pick it up herself. Every time she will get a treat (make sure your treats are smaller than your pinky nail size!)

Now, you toss the toy 2 feet away instead of in front of her, and "take it". You will make the distance bigger and bigger. She will eventually have to stand up and go get the toy and bring it back to you in order to get a treat.

After she masters this, you can put some toys in a different room and send her to get a toy. By this time, she will be able to understand your intention. If not you can lead her saying "come on this way" and show her the toys and tell her to "take it (or "get a toy"). Once she grabs a toy, lead her again back to the room you were before with a happy voice "good girl, come on this way!" and praise and treat as you receive the toy. Pretty soon she will be able to go get a toy from the next room by herself with a command of "go get a toy".

Among toys you can include a ball. Throw the ball and have her go fetch.

This whole thing might take a week or so if you train her 10 minutes every evening but once she learns what is expected she and you will be able to communicate much more efficiently and it will be a lot of fun to have a dog that can understand your language/body language and sometimes can even read your mind! Blue heelers are very smart dogs too.

Enjoy