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4%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!
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8[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/MyGymPartnersAMonkey https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/go_fetch.jpg]]]]
9 [[caption-width-right:350:Works on dogs, monkeys and gym partners!]]
10
11There's an AngryGuardDog on your tail, what to do? Grab a stick, say "here boy" while waving the stick and whistling, and [[ThrowingTheDistraction throwing it as far away from you as possible]]. (Especially if it is a lighted dynamite stick, which is practically [[RuleOfFunny mandatory]] in animated settings.)
12
13Sometimes, this will not be limited to a dog and a stick, possibly due to AllAnimalsAreDomesticated, AllAnimalsAreDogs, or for werewolves, WerewolvesAreDogs.
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15Unlikely to work in RealLife. Professionally trained attack, bomb/drug-sniffer and guard dogs will [[SuperPersistentPredator ignore such distractions and stay on target]]. Needless to say, [[JustForFun/TelevisionIsTryingToKillUs don't expect to successfully use this trope]]. That said, {{Series/Mythbusters}} tested this one early in the show's lifespan and found out that your standard-issue guard Doberman can be [[DeliciousDistraction distracted by raw meat]] for a little while, and they'll get completely obsessed over [[{{Squick}} the urine of a female dog in heat]] (Guard dogs are rarely, if ever, fixed since it makes them more docile) to the point where Tory was able to successfully complete his objective. But with even stricter training it's possible to get them to ignore these as well.
16----
17!!Examples:
18
19[[foldercontrol]]
20
21[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
22* ''Anime/DoraemonNobitaAndTheBirthOfJapan'' have [[ADogNamedDog Gri the Gryphon]] who enjoys playing fetch with it's master, Nobita, despite being, well, [[OurGryphonsAreDifferent a gryphon]]. Justified since it's an artificially created pet made from Doraemon's gadgets.
23* ''Manga/DragonBall'': Jackie Chun tricks the Man-Wolf into going out of bounds at the 22nd Tenka'ichi Budokai by throwing a bone. Man-Wolf was not amused.
24* ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'': Kagome once got the eponymous character to fetch a stick.
25[[/folder]]
26
27[[folder:Comic Books]]
28* In ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroesBugsBunnySpecial'', Brin "Timber Wolf" Londo wants to catch Bugs Bunny. Bugs looks over Brin, notices his wolf-like traits, pulls a giant bone out of nowhere and throws it out of the window. Timber Wolf enthusiastically leaps after it, forgetting that Brainiac's lab -where they are standing in- is not located at the ground level.
29-->'''Timber Wolf:''' ''"Listen up, you scrawny beast! I'm going to tear you to shreds if you don't--"''\
30'''Bugs Bunny:''' ''"Mama...! Sit, Fido! Who's a good boy?! Fetch the bone, bowser! You ready?!"''\
31'''Timber Wolf:''' ''"Throw it! Please, throw it!"''
32* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'' story "ComicBook/TheSuperDogFromKrypton": When Krypto innocently approaches Clark Kent carrying a steel girdle in his mouth, Clark quickly throws the girdle away so that Krypto flies after it before somebody sees him and his dog and puts two and two together.
33[[/folder]]
34
35[[folder:Film -- Animation]]
36* In ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon2'', Hiccup (accompanied by Astrid and their dragons) willingly gives himself up to Eret and his hunters so that they could introduce them to Drago. When gives them his FlamingSword to hold onto, Eret responds by throwing it far off into the ocean, only to find that Stormfly brought it back. He proceeds to do this again and again until Stoick comes in and overwhelms the crew.
37* Carl uses a tennis ball from his cane to clear Muntz's dogs out of Kevin's room in ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}''.
38[[/folder]]
39
40[[folder:Film -- Live Action]]
41* In ''Film/Alpha2018'', Keda [[ShooTheDog attempts to shoo the eponymous wolf]] by grabbing a stick and throwing it towards it to scare it off. Alpha just grabs the stick and brings it back to Keda.
42* ''Film/JurassicPark'':
43** Grant is able to stop a pissed [[UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex T-Rex]] from crushing a stalled jeep (with children inside) with a flare. Unfortunately Malcolm decides he's going to do the same thing... it doesn't go as well for him, as he keeps moving after throwing it. Justified in that the Rex's vision is supposed to be so bad in the dark and the rain that all it could follow was the movement of the flare.
44** Dennis Nedry tries it with a Dilophosaurus. It looks at him like he's an idiot before it starts spitting venom at him.
45* A running gag in ''Film/NightAtTheMuseum'' is that the T-rex skeleton can be distracted by throwing one of its ribs for it. [[AllAnimalsAreDogs It acts exactly like a dog anyway.]]
46* ''Film/ThePredator'': one of the alien dogs brought by the Ultimate Predator to track down its prey gets shot in the head, which lobotomises the creature so it starts acting like a BigFriendlyDog instead. One character gets it out of the way by tossing an unprimed grenade for it to fetch. The alien dog returns with the grenade at [[ChekhovsGun just the right time for it to be useful]].
47[[/folder]]
48
49[[folder:Literature]]
50* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
51** Sam Vimes did this to a werewolf with a signal flare in ''Literature/TheFifthElephant'', fatally [[MyInstinctsAreShowing overriding his rational judgement]]. Even though this werewolf had been playing [[HuntingTheMostDangerousGame the Most Dangerous Game]] with Vimes for a large part of the story, Vimes had the decency not to utter the obvious BondOneLiner.
52** In ''Literature/CarpeJugulum'', Death plays fetch with Scraps, Igor's Big Friendly Franken-dog. Had Igor not used lightning to resurrect the animal, he might never have gotten his scythe back.
53* This actually works in ''Literature/{{Duumvirate}}'', because the dog likens the stick-thrower to his masters.
54* Attempted in ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'' against Cerberus who ignores it. Then they pull out a ball and play it completely straight. He actually whines and looks disappointed when they leave.
55[[/folder]]
56
57[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
58* Subverted in ''Series/The10thKingdom''; Wolf snarkily attempts to do this with Prince after [[spoiler:he's been turned into gold]].
59** The same thing was again done later, by Tony, after using the magic wishing well. [[spoiler:This time it seems to be the key that does the trick, since Prince breaks out of the gold right afterward.]]
60* In an episode of ''Series/{{iCarly}}'', Sam saves Freddie from a pair of [[JerkJock Jerk Jocks]] by getting their attention with a steak.
61-->"Meat?! ''PROTEIN!!!''"
62[[/folder]]
63
64[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
65* ''TabletopGame/{{Munchkin}}'' has the Pit Bull, whose card says:
66-->If you can't defeat it, you may distract it (automatic escape) by dropping any wand, pole, or staff. (Fetch, Fido!)
67[[/folder]]
68
69[[folder:Theme Parks]]
70* At Ride/UniversalStudios:
71** At one point during one version of ''Theatre/BeetlejuicesGraveyardRevue'', Beetlejuice throws a bone for the Wolfman to catch, which he does later on.
72** In, ''Theatre/UniversalsHorrorMakeUpShow'', when one of the hosts' werewolf robot comes to life on them, he/she tries to make it go away by playing fetch (with an arm prop as the bone). It doesn't work.
73[[/folder]]
74
75[[folder:Video Games]]
76* In ''VideoGame/BloodCrusher2'', the enemy attack dogs will chase after any grenades you throw. If they are also [[SuicideAttack bomb dogs]], throwing a grenade at the enemy and having two or three dogs follow behind can generate enough damage to gib even TheBrute.
77* This is how to get past the H.R. Giger-ized dog in the Dark World in ''VideoGame/DarkSeed'', or else it kills the player.
78* Early on in ''Videogame/DivinityOriginalSinII'', you can find a kennel full of {{Angry Guard Dog}}s while exploring a fortress. One of the ways to avoid fighting them is to offer them a squeaky toy ball to play with.
79* In ''VideoGame/HugosHouseOfHorrors'', the cellar is guarded by a large vicious guard dog and the only way to get past him is to throw him the chop that you receive from the butler earlier in the game.
80* One of the puzzles in ''VideoGame/KingsQuestV'' involves throwing a stick for a dog which has been terrorizing an anthill.
81* One of the omake comics in the strategy guide for the remake of ''VideoGame/LunarEternalBlue'' has Lucia do this with [[BeastMan Leo]].
82* At one point in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3: Citadel'', Shepard attempts this on a biotic varren (a sort of Tuchankan animal broadly similar to a big, lanky, angry dog) with a ''frying pan'', that being the first thing s/he had had on hand to fend the varren off with. It ends poorly, not because the varren doesn't want to fetch, but because it throws things ''back''.
83* In the ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor'' games, it's not advised to do this with the attack dogs and a hand grenade. Unless you run away so it detonates before the dog catches up to you...
84* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' gives you a stick. It also gives you encounters with guard dogs who, without exception, love to play fetch.
85* Wyatt does this with a Panzerhund and a grenade near the beginning of ''VideoGame/WolfensteinTheNewOrder''. The catch is that the Panzerhund is a nine-foot-tall attack robot shaped like a dog.
86[[/folder]]
87
88[[folder:Webcomics]]
89* ''Webcomic/ExterminatusNow'': Virus sabotages Morth's attempt to summon a Patternari demon (a giant floating eyeball) but instead summons a demon of the Hound (a huge three-headed HellHound). Morth manages to distract it by pretending to throw a tennis ball, but this only works once (and the demon is not amused), so the next time he does throws it... into the demon-containment trap he'd set up just in case. After Morth's demonic ascension succeeds, he's tricked into heading into the very same trap.
90--> '''Morth:''' Hoho! The fox has gone to ground!
91--> '''Cerberus:''' '''[[PreAsskickingOneLiner Then release the hounds.]]'''
92* While not deliberately done, Florence from ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'', who is an uplifted wolf, as well as an extremely intelligent rocket scientist (in the sense that she's researching next-generation FTL-drives in her spare time) - is shown to be vulnerable to this. Despite being preoccupied with a major moral and technical conundrum at the time, when a ball goes bouncing by, she just goes "BALL!" and leaps after it. Having been raised as an ordinary puppy probably has a lot to do with it.
93** Later Blunt tries to use this against her deliberately. It seems he threw the ball in the direction she wanted to run off in anyway.
94* In ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', Jade attempts to [[http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=002880 retrieve the package John sent her]] but is blocked by her dog Becquerel. Every time she tries to shoot at him, he uses his RealityWarper powers to parry or deflect the bullets, so she does this instead, shooting in the opposite direction and fetching the package while Bec has teleported away to catch the bullet.
95* In earlier ''Webcomic/KevinAndKell'' years, this trick is used to "expose" canines that are suspected of having Domestication. This plotline is discontinued in later years when Domestication becomes more generally accepted (including [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything Domestication Pride Marches]]).
96* Misho from ''Webcomic/KeychainOfCreation'' uses it deliberately to distract his Lunar partner, Marena. She's basically a shape-shifting fox, but it still works... it is described as "A technique developed by the ancient Solars for controlling their Lunar partners", and Misho mostly uses it to distract Marena when she's frustrated by being in heat (and him being a ChasteHero).
97[[/folder]]
98
99[[folder:Web Original]]
100* Beau attempts this in one episode of ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'', throwing the remains of a toy sword in an attempt to distract some winter wolves that the party are fighting as part of a tournament. However, even though she gets a natural 20 on her Animal Handling check, [[GameMaster Matt]] counters that the wolves are too intelligent to fall for such an obvious trick regardless of how well she did.
101* LetsPlay/{{Videogamedunkey}} [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EvbqxBUG_c attempted]] this with a Hylian Retriever in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild''. It didn't react.
102[[/folder]]
103
104[[folder:Western Animation]]
105* In ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'', Monterey Jack uses a wrench for this trope in order to distract a robot AngryGuardDog.
106* In the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "Not All Dogs Go to Heaven", Meg tries to convert Brian to Christianity by having him fetch a crucifix (DVD version only; the TV version has her throw an ordinary cross).
107* This is how ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyTest'' tames Repto-Slicer, after learning that Repto's previous owner (Bling Bling Boy, AKA Eugene) didn't give it the love and attention a pet requires.
108* On ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'', [[{{Jerkass}} Mr. Cat]] throws a container of [[TrademarkFavoriteFood yogurt]] and tells [[NighInvulnerable Quack Quack]] to fetch it. When Quack Quack grabs it, Mr. Cat activates the explosives he had hidden nearby.
109* Done by WesternAnimation/BugsBunny in ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' episode "WesternAnimation/AHareGrowsInManhattan" and (with a stick of dynamite) "The Gray-Hounded Hare."
110* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/MuppetBabies1984'', Scooter and Piggy are pretending they're in ''Film/TheAfricanQueen'', and they both get attacked by a crocodile (actually Animal). Scooter leaves and comes back to find Piggy playing fetch with him. He asks how she was able to do it, and she explains that they both had gotten bored.
111* Tommy from ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' saves Chuckie from a rather large dog by doing this.
112* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Simpsons'':
113** In a ''Treehouse Of Horror'' episode, Kodos manages to get an eager-to-help Bart away from him by asking him to fetch a wrench that he dropped, which he throws as far as he possibly can.
114-->'''Bart:''' ''(chasing after it)'' I'm helping! I'm helping!
115** Subverted in another ''Treehouse Of Horror'' episode. In a world where Flanders rules, Homer gets chased by guard dogs. He gets an idea on how to get the dogs away from him, pulls out some hot dogs...and eats them to give himself a boost away from the dogs.
116* In the ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' episode "The Lost Mattress", [=SpongeBob=] tosses a spoon to distract a guard worm. The spoon hits [[ButtMonkey Squidward]], who puts it into his back pocket and ends up getting attacked by the worm.
117* Done in one of the ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' cartoons (and is actually one of the few times Tom talks). The dog falls for it.
118** The ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryKids'' episode "Flippin' Fido" has Tom distracting a large guard dog by throwing frisbees.
119* In ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama World Tour'', DeadpanSnarker Noah tricks a yeti into believing he threw something to fetch.
120* ''WesternAnimation/YogiBear'' did it in "Pie Pirates": He lured the guard dog into the cellar of the house where the coveted pie lay by dropping a stick therein.
121-->'''Yogi:''' ''[slamming the cellar door]'' That's a nice, ''dumb'' doggie!
122[[/folder]]

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