How to Teach My Dog to Fetch Me a Soda

There are times in any man's life when the thought of getting off a couch to get a drink from the refrigerator seems like too much effort. With training and patience, however, it's possible to have your dog do all the hard work for you. You'll need to break down the trick into smaller tasks to get your dog started, but once your pet has mastered each one, you'll be able to join them together.

Things You'll Need

  • Dog treats
  • Refrigerator
  • Rope
  • Soda
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Instructions

  1. Opening the Refrigerator Door

    • 1

      Tie a rope to your refrigerator handle. If you have a tug toy that your dog enjoys playing with, this would also work well.

    • 2

      Take your dog into the kitchen and give it the command "get me a soda" while encouraging it to play with the rope. Reinforce this behavior by giving it a treat every time it bites the rope.

    • 3

      Step the task up a level by encouraging your pet to pull the rope, thus opening the refrigerator door, every time you give your soda command. Again, reinforce this behavior with a treat.

    Selecting a Soda

    • 4

      Drain a soda can and use it when you play fetch with your dog. This will get the canine used to having a can in its mouth.

    • 5

      Keep your sodas on the bottom shelf of your refrigerator so that the dog can easily reach them. If you have a big enough refrigerator, it's a good idea to use this shelf only for soda.

    • 6

      Give the order to "fetch" while standing with the refrigerator door open. Hopefully your dog will go for the soda can but if it doesn't, you can help the dog understand by repeating "fetch," picking up the can and moving it towards your dog's mouth.

    • 7

      Give your dog the "drop" command so that it places the can in your hand. One way to convince a dog to drop something is to offer it something else -- such as a treat -- that it would rather have in its mouth. Once it lets go of the can, give him another treat so it learns that letting go of the can is a good thing.

    • 8

      Repeat Steps 3 and 4 until your dog can pick up a soda can and drop it in your hand with only a verbal instruction. As your dog gets used to the action, move farther away from the refrigerator and repeat. Keep going until you're on your couch or sitting by your computer, or wherever you're most likely to want the soda delivered.

    Closing the Refrigerator Door

    • 9

      Open the refrigerator and dangle a treat above the door. This will encourage your dog to stand on its hind legs and place its front paws on the door for support. This will naturally close the door. Say "close it" while doing this so your dog learns what it is doing.

    • 10

      Reward your dog with a treat every time it closes the door.

    • 11

      Repeat this trick until you feel your dog is comfortable with the action and fully understands what to do.

    Combining All the Actions

    • 12

      Stand in the kitchen and tell your dog to "get me a soda." This should make it open the door.

    • 13

      Tell it to "fetch" while the door is open. It should take out a soda and put it in your hand. Reward the dog for its work.

    • 14

      Repeat these steps but this time add "close it" before you reward the dog. Give it more treats than normal so it realizes that the full procedure is a bigger deal.

    • 15

      Move farther away and say "get me a soda." If the dog opens the refrigerator door and nothing else, repeat the "fetch" and "close it" instructions, only rewarding the dog after closing the door. Soon the dog will learn to combine the three steps.