Why Do Dogs Like To Fetch?

My 8 year old son asked me this the other day and I didn't really have an answer why most breeds like to play fetch?

Playing fetch engages a dog's chase instinct in a harmless way and it additionally gets them lots of positive exchanges and interactions with their human when giving and receiving the ball. You'd be amazed how infrequently most people interact with their dogs when out for a walk, wherea in a game there's eye contact, strokes and talking to them every time they bring the ball back.

Lots of clever dogs like the challenge of plotting the path of a frisbee or similar too, enabling them to correctly predict where it's going to come down and then race to that spot so they can be standing underneath it with their mouth open at the appropriate time. When it's not too windy, Molly is good enough at catching her frisbee that she regularly gets a round of applause in parks from the humans near by

I shall tell him your answer - our little poodle/JR fetches like a demon - I taught her to sit, fetch, sit drop when she was 10 weeks old - I have a video somewhere, will dig it out, it is sooo cute!

If you think about how the relationship between dogs and humans developed, it isn't surprising that the domestic dog of today still retains those attributes

This is a hunting partnership for the most part, where the dog's role is to find, flush and retrieve quarry. From this, selective breeding has given us specific breeds with specific functions, which is why your collie will herd your children, your Labrador loves to swim, and your JRT bites anything that squeaks

Beagles hunt in packs. They're bred to hunt hare. It's the huntsman's role to pick up the hare afterwards, hence a retrieving beagle being a rare beast. Throw a ball for a beagle, and you'll get more exercise than your dog!

It's because their rubbish at throwing (w00t)

Hahahaha