How can i teach my border collie puppy to fetch?

My border collie puppy is 9 1/2 weeks old and despite following all guidelines on various websites, will not fetch a toy. We have tried everything from praise, food, pats etc. to reward him but when we throw the ball/toy/bone/socks he just runs to it and begins to chew it. No matter what we do, he will not pick it up and bring it back. We really want our pup to learn to fetch but nothing is working. What can i do???

9 1/2 weeks is really young but a border collie will eventually learn to fetch, you may have to wait until the pup is about 5 months old to get it to fetch.Give the pup a ball, small enough he can get it in his mouth but not too small he can swallow it. when he puts it in his mouth praise him and give him a treat. Do this over and over again until he takes the ball in his mouth then gives it back to you consitantly for his treat. Toss the ball a short distance (within your reach or have another person with you and toss it towards them) he should chase after it and when he picks it up he should bring it back for is treat as ball in the mouth equals reward to him. Make sure you give lots of praise and alternate treat praise with just praise, then make the praising all the time with occasional treats.Hope this works!

My border collie learned to fetch on his own. I don't know how long I spent throwing toys to him. If he would run after and pick it up, I would praise him tremedously. He was smart enough to figure out that if he ran to get the toy he would get a treat or praise. Then I would make him run a little towards me to get his reward. It took a few months for him to figure out to bring it all the way back to me. It might just be a patience game. Nine and a half weeks is a little young to be expecting a true fetch.

Start with rolling a ball for about a mouth. everythime they chase after it, treat them and countinue slowly

That is WAY too young for a dog to be fetching and unsafe. You don't want a puppy a puppy fetching too much at a young age because you could cause many joint problems. Right now, you should let him play with toys ant take him for a short walk.Have you done any research on raising puppies? On the Border Collie breed? When the dog is older, you can teach him to fetch. I really wouldn't do anything with a young puppy since growth plates are open and could cause so many problems with your dog latter on.Border Collies will need lots of exercise when they are older. It will need daily runs after a year of age. You need to take an obedience class. You might consider herding, agility, obedience or some other dog sport when he's older.Don't over do your puppy this young. You want him to live a long happy life. Don't ruin his joints because you started too much physical activity when he was young. Get some books, do some research and get into a class.I saw someone start their Border Collie in agility too young and at the age 5 has horrible hip dysplasia and can't compete any longer because her growth plates weren't closed and she had too much physical activity too young.