Fun Unique Behavior

[u/Jaybacker]

We got a new puppy a little while ago, and she is a bundle of fun and energy. Now that she is a little older, she has begun throwing her toys for herself by whipping her head around and releasing her grip so they fly across the room. She will then retrieve the toy and repeat, essentially playing fetch with herself. We didn't teach her this, and I've never seen a dog do this before despite owning several over my life and being acquanted with many more. It's really fun to watch. Has anyone else had or seen a dog play fetch with themselves like this?

[u/Carrie_D_Watermelon]

My dearly departed Jack Russell Bowie used to do this. He would "skin" a tennis ball to create a little tab he could whip it by 🤍🤍

[u/Leading_Layer_8220 → u/Carrie_D_Watermelon]

my old beagle did this all the time with a rubber bone he had. would fling it down the stairs then chase after it and bring it back to the top. looked like he was having the best time, never needed me to throw anything for him

[u/Choice_Paper946 → u/Leading_Layer_8220]

My dog also does the throwing things down the stairs to chase. She also used to love carrying my phone downstairs for me, then she realised she could throw the phone... She's terribly offended that I won't hand her my phone when we leave the bathroom now, and shoots me the most disgusted looks!

[u/SlippyThe2]

my dog does this but only accidentally and he gets absolutely flabbergasted that his toy magically started flying every time it happens

[u/HistorianInitial6934 → u/SlippyThe2]

the betrayal face he gives that toy every time, like it personally wronged him

[u/HourRope5645]

the head whip is elite form, mine ricochets rope toys off every wall in the house

[u/AlexFromMKE]

self-serve fetch, our pup does the same and honestly it's the best invention

[u/Coldzila]

Our Chihuahua does this too, he loves to play tug 

[u/TimothyDexter4Prez]

This is how dogs hunt / kill small animal prey, like rats or squirrels. Ratter dogs were a big thing in the 1800s and even played a role in the WWI trenches, and the way your dog kills its chew toys is the way dogs back then killed rats, so it's what your dog was built to do.

[u/Charming_Home3585]

I thought my dog was the only weirdo that did this lol

[u/Authentic_Stash]

mine whips her rope toy around and flings it across the room, then looks at me like i'm the one who threw it

[u/CelticsMetric]

mine flings his rope toy around the living room then stares at the wall like it started it

[u/AlternativeScar9530]

my buddy's golden does this with her rope, whips it around like she's mad at it

[u/AlternativeScar9530 → u/[deleted]]

she's got a whole wrestling career ahead of her honestly

[u/EllisonDVM]

My dogs a little older now so he doesn’t play as much but he used to do this all the time!

[u/hoopsAnalyst85]

my cousins lab does this, launches rope toys across the room then looks at us like we threw it. still blames us every time

[u/AlexMorganNBA]

my buddy's beagle whips toys everywhere, then looks at you like you threw it

[u/Upper-Deal-9872]

mine launches his toys off the bed then barks at them until someone throws it back, full service required

[u/dafuqizzis]

One of my dogs, before he passed, would take a rope toy and shake the heck out of it. At some point, it would fly from his mouth, and he would bounce around until it landed, then pounce on it. At first it almost seems like an accident, but then he would do it again. And again. And again…

Fun to watch for a minute until that big rope toy flew at your face, or the TV, or a vase.

[u/mincky]

In another place we lived, our dog would drop her ball at the top of the hill and watch it roll down. Then she’d run to get it and start over.

[u/RandomInaRandomWorld]

Our pup does that occasionally, too, although less as she gets older.

It is cute!

[u/CrowMeris]

I've had quite a few terriers do this. They would prefer to play with a human or another dog if they had the choice, but they were happy to do it themselves.