There are two types of retrieves. One is the "Natural" retrieve. These are dogs that are bred for retrieving, and do it without much, if any, formal training. When I was growing up in a small town in mid-western Canada, there was a black Lab that would come up to you and drop a stick that he had been carrying in his mouth, in front of you. If you picked up the stick and threw it, the Lab would chase after it, pick it up and bring it back to you, waiting for you to throw it again. He would keep retrieving until you got tired of throwing the stick.
The other type is a "Trained" retrieve. If done correctly, almost any dog can be taught to retrieve on command. Depending on the technique, diligence and persistence of the trainer and the personality and breed of the dog, it can take as little as ten minutes to get the dog to understand the basics of retrieving, or as long as a month. It's a lot easier and faster if the dog already knows that the trainer is the boss or the Alpha dog and has already had some basic obedience training. He should know the commands "sit" and "come".
The first step is to get your dog to hold something in his mouth. When I trained my dogs, I used a wooden dumbbell because I was training for AKC obedience trials, and that's what they required. But you can use anything that is easy for your dog to hold in his mouth and is large enough that you can easily take it out of his mouth. A leather glove is ideal, or a ball or a dog toy will work. Keep a leash on your dog unless he has been trained to sit and come reliably on command while off lead.
Step 1. Give your dog the command "take it", "get it", "fetch" or any other word you would like to use but make sure it is no longer than two syllables and always use the same word. If your dog will not take the article in his mouth, you can open his mouth by putting your hand under his jaw with your thumb near the rear of his mouth on one side and your fingers near the rear of his mouth on the other side, and gently squeeze. When your dog opens his mouth, put the article in it and let him close his mouth, or you close it and hold it closed with your had around his muzzle. Give your dog lots of praise when he accepts the article in his mouth.
Step 2. After your dog holds the article in his mouth for ten to fifteen seconds, give him the command "give", "let go" or any other word you want to use, and take the article from your dog. If he doesn't give it to you freely, open his mouth like you did before, and take the article out. When he releases the article, give him lots of praise.
Step 3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 letting your dog hold the article for longer and longer times until your dog will readily take the article from you, hold it in his mouth until you ask for it, and readily give it back to you.
Step 4. Once you have completed step 3, start holding the article closer and closer to the ground (or floor if you're inside) until your dog will pick the article up from the ground (or floor).
Step 5. Once step 4 is completed, toss the article about a foot or two in front of your dog and give him the command to get it. If he doesn't go for the article, using your leash, walk him to it and give him the command again if you have to. Then, when he has the article in his mouth, walk backwards to where you started, guiding him around so that he is directly in front of you. Tell him to sit. Then give him the command "give". Take the article out of his mouth. If he doesn't give it to you freely, open his mouth and take it out. As soon as you get the article out of his mouth, even if you had to forcibly open his mouth to get it, give him lots of praise. You want him to know that he gets rewarded for giving up the article. Keep repeating step 5 until your dog goes out to the article, picks it up and brings it back to you, sits and lets you taker the article out of his mouth on command.
Step 6. When step 5 goes without a hitch, you can start tossing the article further and further away, but only a foot or two further at a time. If your dog always comes to you on command, you can take the leash of and toss the article further out than the length of the leash. If your dog has to be on a leash, you can get a 25 foot training leash or even just a long piece of light rope. This way you can throw the article 10 to 20 feet away and have control of your dog in the event that he doesn't want to return to you. You can also work your dog in an enclosed space such as a large room or a fenced yard. Even after your dog retrieves just the way you want him to, you must praise him after each retrieval.
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