I walk a neighbour’s rough collie occasionally. He loves chasing a ball but then brings it back and drops it only to snatch it back if you try to pick it up. I have had some success in ignoring him until he really drops it, then doing the “good dog” bit. I think the problem is that he was a re homer at about a year old having lived in a stable yard so play training wasn’t a thing when he was young. Lovely gentle dog though with good recall.
He is unfortunately keen on picking up sticks, again learned before the neighbour took him on. Despite trying to stop this he had a horrendous accident last year (not on my watch) when he ran off with a substantial stick. He fell on it and it went through his throat and out of his neck. It was touch and go and several hundreds of pounds in vet’s fees. So I can vouch for the warnings about not throwing sticks for dogs. He was lucky to survive.
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