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The
Sunday Fetch
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Edition 15
Your weekly |
The week in dogs, fetched for you.
Good morning, dog lover.
By late September, Sundays start to feel a little cozier. The mornings are cooler, the walks tend to last a little longer, and the dogs seem perfectly happy to settle into the slower pace. Add a warm drink, a quiet few minutes, and The Sunday Fetch, and that sounds like a pretty good way to start the day.
The Lead Does your dog only listen when you have treats? You may be teaching them something you didn’t mean to. Treat in hand? Perfect sit. Empty hand? Suddenly your dog seems to have forgotten everything they know. It’s easy to assume the treats have made your dog dependent on food. But that’s usually not what’s happening. The real problem is often one small part of how the reward has been used — and changing it can make a big difference.
Save This
The fridge-friendly training cheat sheet
We turned the training steps into a one-page printable you can save, print and keep nearby while you practice.
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Dog Travel
RetrievAir’s new MacArthur Airport service allows dogs of any size
onboard beside their humans — no under-seat carrier required.
See how the pet-first flights work →
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Dog News
Their former White House dog was remembered as a “force of nature”
who chased squirrels, loved belly rubs and hated getting wet.
Read the family’s tribute →
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Dog Science
New Research
Could the things you do together help keep your senior dog’s brain healthier?
Researchers looked at 858 dogs age 7 and older to see which parts of everyday life were linked with healthier brain aging. Dogs that regularly did things with their humans — including training and other shared activities — tended to show fewer signs of cognitive decline.
And it wasn’t simply a case of getting more exercise. The findings suggest that giving older dogs chances to think, learn and interact with us may matter too.
What you can do
Keep giving your senior dog little things to do. Let them sniff on walks, practice an easy cue, hide a few treats for them to find, try a food puzzle or take them somewhere new to explore.
This study can’t prove that these activities prevent age-related brain changes. But it’s another good reason not to stop giving older dogs opportunities to learn, explore and be part of what we do.
Read more about the study →Dog Life
Community
A dog walk that turned into a social life.
Dog Mom Walk started with a simple idea: bring women together while they walked their dogs. But the monthly meetups quickly became something more: a way to make friends, discover new places and build a social life that doesn’t require leaving the dog at home.
“Dog-friendly isn’t enough anymore.”
Their outings now move around South Florida, with everything from shaded walks and coffee stops to indoor summer meetups and dog-friendly brunches. The goal is simple: find places where bringing your dog feels like part of the experience, not an exception.
| See how the walks became a community → |
The Heartwarmer He offered a hungry dog a hamburger. The dog chose something else. Sam Goodrich was sitting in his truck as rain poured down when he noticed a blond dog wandering between the cars, apparently looking for something to eat. Sam opened the door, set a hamburger on the ground and tried to shield him from the rain with an umbrella. The dog didn’t touch the hamburger. Instead, he did something Sam definitely wasn’t expecting.
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COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHT
The Pack Has Spoken
Last week, we asked what you’d like to see more of in The Fetch. Behavior & body language led with 45.45%, with training close behind at 36.36%.
Message received: you want to understand your dogs better and know what to do next.
This week's question
Which one sounds most like your dog around treats?
Cast your vote. The Pack verdict returns next Sunday.
One last thing before you go.
A lot of life with a dog is built around what happens again and again: the cue they recognize, the activity that keeps them engaged, the people they learn to trust, the place they finally start to call home. None of it feels especially dramatic in the moment. Put together, though, those ordinary repetitions become a life.
See you next Sunday, and until then, give a dog you love something new to enjoy, a place where they feel safe, and a little extra time with you.
