I had the same problem this past summer with my dog. He is turning 5 next week. He made his Master Hunter title at 3 1/2 years of age. He has a RJ in a Qual and is thoroughly forced. I would consider him a pretty finished dog, as much as they can be in my opinion. I know where the problems began. He is not a water cheating dog, but he is very "gun dependent" with standout guns in a field trial setting. Hidden guns in a hunt test setting he is obviously less gun dependent, but to some extent as he marks off of whatever tee, hay bale or holding blind set in the field to hide the gun. And he is very steady for the most part and has good focus on the line. The gun dependence however is a different problem not related to the concern by the OP. I have a plan for that already. Let's not get off topic. The problems arose when I gave him some stout corrections for flaring his line when retrieving in-line marks, or giving a wide berth on a short retired gun enroute to a long gun, or occasionally backsiding a gun or something like that. you know the type of correction one would make when the dog makes a bad decision. I mentioned my problem to a pretty successful pro in our area. This is what he showed me. He told me he does this procedure with all of his dogs about 90% of the time. Throw the multiple mark test so the dog gets in the habit of watching the marks go down and develops the steadiness and focus we desire. Pick up the go bird. When the dog comes back to the line, point in the direction of the next retrieve and have the gunner automatically rethrow the bird on your signal without a shot or sound. Send dog and make retriever. Do likewise on the third mark. The theory is the dog has lost some confidence because of the corrections they have faced. They show us they remember the bird, but no go as they are afraid of making a mistake. Even a handle with no pressure can be interpreted by the dog as a correction in my mind. By rethrowing you reinstill that confidence and desire. And, if the dog does cheat or take a bad line or something you know they are in need of correction and they understand what they are being corrected for. If the dog is making mistakes without the rethrow, the trainer has to consider is the dog making a bad choice or are they truly lost. If they get a rethrow and still cheat, now you know they are making a bad choice and deserve a correction.
It worked for me. I started doing the rethrow a lot in the month of July. My dog really did well with it. He ran a bunch in August and September and we picked up 2 master passes, two NAHRA Senior passes, got a RJ in a Qual, and got second place in the Minnesota Retriever Championships. It really seemed to boost his confidence.
Before doing the rethrows, when he would no-go I would go to the heel a step or two and nick and resend. That just made him go but didn't add to his confidence.
I would give this a try and see how it works for you. My dog obviously could do triples and quads. He is a Master hunter. It is not that he can't count, it just that he had lost confidence and enthusiasm.
