How do you teach a dog to play fetch?

Start with a toy on a rope or string. Drag the toy with small starts and stops or sudden changes in direction to stimulate the dog's innate prey drive. People don't realize dogs have to be taught to play with and enjoy toys. Once he is willing to chase the toy and pick it up, you are ready to move on to the next step.

Try a game like "two ball." Take two identical toys. Toss the first one. Once the dog has picked up the first toy and turned to face you, you can throw the second toy, but throw it behind you so he must run right past you to get to it. When he sees the second ball thrown, he is very likely to drop the one in his mouth. Dogs observe the principle of "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." When comparing two identical objects, the one the other guy has is always better than the one in the dog's mouth.

Once he drops the first ball, you pick it up and again throw it away from the dog behind you. Your goal is to time the throwing of the other ball as the dog is approaching you so that he'll drop his ball right in front of you.

Once he's playing two ball well, try taking one ball and throwing it. Wait until he returns to you, expecting you to toss the other ball. Pick up the first ball and toss it again instead. Now you have a dog playing fetch!