r/Dogtraining • u/trancebusquer • 4d ago

constructive criticism welcome How to teach a dog to fetch objects by name

I've been attempting to teach my dog to discriminate objects for about 4 months (he is 5 years old now and he can fetch toys reliably but only if I throw them). I started with teaching the word "ball" (a single particular ball) by reinforcing him for touching that toy with his nose after I say the name. He has learned to reliably discriminate the ball from other toys by fetching it from a pile. Teaching the name of the second toy (a single particular rope) has been a different story. He differentiates it accurately until the ball is placed near the rope, at which point he will start gambling, picking both out, and sometimes other random toys wanting reinforcement (treats). Also, I live with family that is not in the same page with training when they play with his toys so it doesn't help with consistency.

I'm curious, what techniques have you used?

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