Just looking for some feedback on an issue i have with Keely - i say "issue" but i'm not sure if i should just let it be because she's still a pup enjoying herself.

I am hoping to introduce her to hunting in the future but really just for fun (initially).  She's always been really enthusiastic, motivated and focussed when it comes to retrieving, and for the first 4 months of her life she was retrieving (a tennis ball) to hand without any problems.  I had spent a lot of time playing fetch in the house and garden, making a point of not touching her head area when  she came back and after spending a few days swapping whatever toy she had for another toy to get her to leave she began letting the toy go into my hands without me offering an alternative.  This went on for a while, but we became rather over-enthusiastic with the ball chucker because she loves fetching so much.

To begin with we would chuck the ball with it, she would bring it back, but then she became possessive of the ball if i tried to pick it up with the chucker, i reverted to offering another ball in the chucker if she let go of the one she had brought back.  As you can imagine, this has now become a game to her and i've lost the lovely retrieve to hand we had initially (although i think it was partly puppy trust more than a genuine retrieve to hand ).

I have now rearranged the furniture in the house to allow us to practice the hallway retrieve (back to basics) to see if i can get that trust back again.  Should i just leave her be and let her enjoy the game of fetch it has become because she's still so young or should i try to reign it in again and re-gain some of the trust/control?  Her enjoyment is paramount, but i'm sure she would enjoy doing hpr activites in the future.

Ok, there has been a new development in this issue.  Other half's friends arrived just after  my last post to pick up my other half to go cycling.  Keely was initially rather wary of one of them (having never met either before), but she's usually very quick to warm to people but she kept away until i enticed her through with her tennis ball.  When he threw the ball for her, not only did she warm to him but she delivered it back to his hands almost straight away   He doesnt look, sound or act in any particularly dominant or aggressive way.  He's friendly, easy-going and loves dogs so i'm not sure why she was wary of him and not the other guy.

I'm thinking her issue with me is because i play fetch with her tennis ball for a while and then i remove the ball once she has dropped it and put it away - otherwise she'll continually throw the ball at me, push it under furniture to get my attention, bark at it, etc - so i make a point of ending the game.  I dont grab the ball from her mouth, but i dont actually ask her to leave it, i pick it up when she drops it of her own accord.  I dont (need to) do this with other toys.  Do you think this is what has affected her bringing items back to me?  Or did my other half's friend maybe just encourage more respect from her?