8yo doodle girl. I'm quite sure she used to know the difference between these two commands/places as she's very smart but as I'm trying to get her to distinguish now, it seems like she's only going by the tone of voice I'm using to say each one (that's how she was trained, not on purpose, by the person who taught her).
So at this point, if I say either phrase neutrally, she just thinks "okay he wants me in one of these places, I'm just gonna run there immediately" without distinguishing one from the other. Even if I try using the specific tone of voice, sometimes she gets it (maybe by accident) and other times she just goes to either one.
She DOES get it immediately when I point towards either place and say the command, but then she's really just following my gesture and not my voice, so I'd like to be able to just say it and have her go to the right spot. I've tried using a clicker and high value treats + hand gestures simultaneously with the voice command to show her exactly what means what. When she matches the phrase to the place, she gets the click and treat, when she doesn't, she doesn't get the treat etc. Still doesn't seem to be sticking.
Maybe relevant background, maybe not: the person who taught her most of these commands was her former companion and my ex, who passed away recently. She (my dog) but also I went through a ton of trauma in the aftermath that I don't really want to get into but suffice to say is she survived and I am thankful.
I'm not sure if the confusion is coming from something to do with her dad passing away or the aftermath of it.
Anyway, any step by step suggestions on how to train her how to distinguish between these two beyond what I've already tried?
Thanks
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