Do What Comes Naturally

Coulee was born to play fetch.  She loves the thrill of the chase.  Nothing makes her happier.  She doesn't play with toys, she chases them. When she catches up with them, she is all business.  She picks them up, brings them back, drops them and the fun starts again.  The whole point of picking the toy up and bringing it back is so that she can chase it again.  I've found the only dogs that are naturally good at "give" are those that love the chase, more than the toy.  It is completely self rewarding - you drop the toy, you get what you want - for the toy to be thrown again.

Lacey was not born to fetch.  She is not thrilled by the chase, she is thrilled by the fun that you can have once you get the toy.  The best part of playing fetch with Lacey is watching her frolic in the field shaking the toy back and forth.  The whole point of picking up the toy is to have fun with it, not to chase it.   So for her, giving up the toy is not self rewarding as what she wants is the toy, not the chase.  So yeah, I can bribe her with a cookie to get the toy back quickly, but why?  Does it matter if Lacey runs around the field with the toy for 10 minutes?  Not to me, but it would be a different story if she was an obedience dog!