Trent DeLucia: Training Your Dog 2

When you think of dogs playing fetch, I bet you don't really associate any training going along with it.  I did too until Bear came along.  When I try playing fetch with him, he runs to get the ball or toy that I threw and never brings it back.  He either starts to play with it or he picks it up with his teeth and trots away.  This took all the fun out of the game because I'd be the one chasing him down to get the toy back.  Bear's odd way of playing fetch inspired me to teach him the right way to do it.

"I used to wait up to ten minutes at the door calling Tucker's name [her dog] for him to return back inside.  I grew very impatient so I decided to do something about it.  After countless trial and error procedures, I finally discovered that the best solution was luring my dog back in with a treat (Fugazza 2)."
Fugazza, Claudia. "Imitation." Do as I Do: Using Social Learning to Train Dogs. Wenatchee: Dogwise, 2014. 2. Print.

This personal story from the author of Do as I Do can tie in perfectly with what I am trying to accomplish.  Claudia's whole goal was to make her dog come back to her easier which is very similar to Bear's problem when we play fetch.  Bear has no motivation to return the toy back to me after I throw it because he has what he wanted.  A treat would entice Bear and give him incentive to return the toy I threw him.  Claudia Fugazza included some tips for going about her training with Tucker:

"Only give your dog a treat every one or two attempts so they don't become fully accustomed to receiving one.  If this doesn't work for your dog I also recommend rewarding a treat two trials in a row, then the next two trials only give encouragement (Fugazza 2)."
Fugazza, Claudia. "Imitation." Do as I Do: Using Social Learning to Train Dogs. Wenatchee: Dogwise, 2014. 2. Print.

I tried rewarding Bear with treats every other time I threw him the toy to fetch.  This didn't work too well at first because he only came back to me when a treat was involved.  I then decided to try Claudia's method of two trials with a treat, then two without.  This was a lot more effective because Bear started to understand the motion of coming back with the toy.

I did Claudia's method for about thirty minutes and then started to only give Bear a treat every four or five times he ran back to me.  By this point, Bear was hurrying back to my feet right when he retrieved the toy.  He finally started playing fetch and after about an hour I didn't have to give him anymore treats entirely!  Was it unusual for Bear to need training on how to fetch?