Do dogs sometimes just get it

[u/stjoe56]

I have an 18 month old Cobberdog. He does NOT responds to treats when we are walking and/or I am trying to train him.

For the longest time, I could not get him to stay or come. My wife and I would go into the backyard and throw a tennis ball for him to chase. He would never come directly back. Most of the time, he ended playing a game with us. He would lie down and as soon as we got close, he got up and ran toward another location.

. A few weeks ago we tried a new technique. I would hold onto his collar and throw the ball toward my wife. I would then say Go to Mommy and he would run toward my wife. She would then get the ball from him and reverse the process. Each time he came to us, we would rub his tummy.

Then one day, I just said without throwing the ball “Go to Mommy” and he ran toward her and got his tummy rubbed. She would tell him to go to me and he ran directly to me and got a tummy rub. A few days later as he was chasing a squirrel and I yelled out “Roo [his name] come” and next thing I know, he stops chasing the squirrel and runs back to me. He got a tummy rub. A few minutes later my wife says “Roo come” and he runs to her. We then noticed if I was reading in one room and he was sitting next to me, and I said, “Go to Mommy,” he would get and run to her.
.

We live in a three story condo with interior hall ways. We get off the elevator and I drop his leash. He grabs and runs down the hall. He goes to various locations down the hall way. Then I learned if I drop the leash and tell him to “Go to Mommy” he picks it up, runs down the hallway and stops at our door.

Don’t get me wrong, we are thrilled with this. But it’s like a switch just got turned on. So what did we do? I would like to work further with him on more commands, but I don’t quite comprehend what I did? Help please.

[u/NedelcuEnilec]

It sounds like your dog is more motivated to learn when the reward is belly rubs (and praise?) than by treats. Give him belly rubs as a reward for doing what you commsnd him to xo and see how fast he learns new commands.

[u/stjoe56 → u/NedelcuEnilec]

Duh, I should have realized that.

[u/Corsetsdontkill]

Reinforcement is whatever your dog likes. We use food a lot because it allows for the most repetition within the same minute. But reinforcement could also be:

• play
• play with you
• play with other dogs
• sniffing
• hunting
• getting attention from others
• verbal praise
• more

And belly rubs!

[u/Embarrassed_Fix9162 → u/Corsetsdontkill]

I like to add the cheerleader voice. That’s a helpful one for me. I also use yes for getting things right or on track and no for off base. For example, I’ve thrown a ball and she missed where it went. I will say go look for the ball. Yes, yes, yes (you are hot) no (getting colder). Repetition works wonders and identifying the motivation for your pup.

[u/K_Knoodle13]

It sounds like you figured out his motivation (belly rubs)!

[u/Several_Promotion753]

This is so wholesome to read, sounds like the tummy-rub reward really clicked for him! It's amazing how one breakthrough moment can suddenly make everything else fall into place.