From the Clicker Gundog mailing list:
A one-year-old golden retriever had a solid retrieve a few months ago, but lately he has been letting the dummy slip from his mouth and hasn't been returning directly to his trainer. His trainer believes he is stressed by the training but is unsure how to fix this problem.
The Clicker Gundog list offered several suggestions, but one struck a chord with the trainer: Don't be so serious. She realized that her worry that he might develop habits such as mouthing the bird had caused her to treat retrieving so seriously that her dog wasn't having fun, despite the overall positive approach. She relaxed and began praising her dog for picking up any object from the ground and treating for delivering objects to her. Soon her dog was retrieving smoothly and eagerly once again.
