Usually played with a ball, stick or Frisbee, fetch is a game played by dogs, especially during the puppy stage, and their inferior human counterparts. Since said humans are one of the few species adapted to throw things and dogs have an ingrained predatory nature they will gladly chase down the object and in some cases return it to your feet. Other times they return it and then play a little game of tug of war as their human tries to pry the object from their jaws. In extreme cases, the dog will chase down the object and then play what is known in human terms as “keep away”. Much to the dog's delight, the human will then make a complete fool of himself as he haplessly tries to chase the dog down and retrieve the object.
When this occurs, I swear, one can almost hear the dog laughing at you or mocking you as you stumble around fruitlessly lunging at the beast's tail and try herding it into a corner.
Thankfully, there is away around this predicament. Instead of you chasing the dog, try running in the opposite direction. This will momentarily confuse the canine and in most cases you will have turned the tables to your advantage and the dog will try and chase you down. If they just stand there staring at you with a blank expression on their face wondering what the hell you’re doing, food usually works. Make sure you always have some doggie treats on hand and pretend to start eating them. This is usually enough to jump start the dog back in your direction.
Depending on the human’s endurance or attention span this little game can last for hours on end. When all is said and done it's good exercise for the both of you. The wagging tail and what appears to be a smile on your dogs face are rewards enough for the both of you.
Note: Some humans have a malicious streak in them and get their jollies by attempting what is known as a “fake throw”. They act as if they’ve thrown the object but in fact have just gone through the motions while never actually releasing it. This will cause the dog to take off in the direction of the fake throw and then suddenly turn around and look at the human in disappointment when they realize their mistake.
Not cool, not cool at all.