Learning toys by name

Any tips?

Cain is struggling with this. He is too busy retrieving that he gets carried away and doesn't actually listen to the toy name. He appears to not register the command as he thinks he knows what I want...and that's just to bring me something/anything!!!

I started off with one toy on the floor. Click/treat/name (say Piggy for example) for touching at first, then retrieving. Repeated MANY times. Then added a random toy and he will bring the piggy correctly. Add another 1/2/3 toys and he will pull the piggy out every time.

Then tried a new toy, say pheasant. Same process, Cain can pull out the right toy every time.

Then I put piggy and pheasant on the floor together and it TOTALLY confused him. He doesn't appear to know their names and will just run back and forth bringing me any toy he can find. He's even been known to leave the room, when he doesn't get rewarded as he brought the wrong toy, to find a random toy in the hope it's the right one and he'll get the treat

We've tried this numerous times over the last 6 months and it just isn't clicking He can bring the right toy if there is only one named toy down but if two named toys are down, he just brings them indiscriminately. It's as if he hasn't made the name association properly yet, however in any other training he picks up association very quickly (learned to distinguish a round and a square bowl by name in one session).

I'd like him to collect his toys by name and put them away. He can retrieve, he can put toys in the box but we're really struggling with the name association and I don't know why...

You need to teach this with things which are not so arousing eg cup and fork...............

Imagines Cain running around with a pointy fork

Thanks, I'll try some different objects. I think the problem is that his retrieving was rubbish, so we worked really hard on that but now he thinks he just needs to bring anything that's in the floor rather than selecting the right item.

Poor Cain - he is trying so hard to please isn't he!

I don't know the technical answer to this, but will just say (in case it helps) that our last dog Bitz had a big pile of toys and eventually knew the name of every single one...........it took time though, and came about through daily repetition of play, not training. You know, "let's get the squeaky strawberry" then after playing with that and constantly repeating the words, selecting another toy "let's get the scarey monster" etc. etc.

Somehow it all just sank into her brain, and I suppose because it was play she was relaxed and not under pressure.
After a while, she was able to select any toy from the pile on request.

Good luck with the lovely Cain

But you WERE training your dog.

There is no need to use pressure in training.

No help Amanda but I have the same problem!

All toys are a bit unarousing to Kestral these days; she's just so desperate for the treat she runs and grabs one.
Again she can do it if there is 1 named toy in a group. I think this is becuase she learns that chosing the pig gets a reward out of the whole group.
If both the cow and the pig get a reward then she brings either expecting a reward

Sometimes she does it right quite a few times in a row and I think we're getting there, but no its just luck it seems!

Let us know how you get along with less interesting objects; what are you using?

You need to make sure that what makes the pig a pig is its overall piggishness and the cow a cow its overall cowishness.

So there needs to be something distinctily different between the two which the dog can discriminate.

Does the dog for example recognise the pig as the pig right side up, upside down, on its head, on its bottom etc?

Would it help if the pig and cow were given very different scents somehow?

But that is a different trick.............

And in fact how would you prevent other things becoming contaminated with this scent?

Keep them in plastic bags at each end of the house
Point taken...!