forced fetch/retrieve

charlie10

ok so been watching a few videos on youtube,and force fetching seems to be massive in america.basically this practice produces flawless retrieves{i think}so my questiion is
:is this a practice thats done in ireland and if so any one here ever done it and is it only retrievers

All seems a bit much doesn't it?
Punishing the dog to associate the retrieve with relief of pain or annoyance?

virminhunter

I used this method with my last lab when he was 7 months, he never dropped a dummy or bird after that. I looked at it as a transition between puppyhood and adulthood, from fun and games to work. I never used the string toe pinch thing just had a battle of wills with him.

charlie10

could this method be used to train a dog to pick a bird virminhunter?

virminhunter

charlie10 wrote: »

could this method be used to train a dog to pick a bird virminhunter?

I don't get the question charly sorry I'm only a novice myself, do you mean pick up a bird off the ground?

charlie10

ya cause i have a 14 month old pointer that last season picked up every bird that was dropped for him ,but didnt bring back,but now he wont pick up any bird but will retrieve balls dummies etc no problem. any ideas lads !

virminhunter

I remember advising a lad to use this method with his pointer and the late JWshooter gave me a bit of a slap on the wrists for saying it, I think its a method mainly used with labs. Pointers are very headstrong whereas a labs can be trained in 18month it could take you 3 years to train a pointer, I'm really not qualified for this question I'm sure a few other lads will fill you in better on it.

charlie10

wouldn ya know it shot a cock today and the pointer retrieved it to hand he must of been looking at my post last night!

Spunk84

my friend in the states who trains Labs uses the same method. He used to tie the dogs up and put the dummys in their mouth, then squeezed the dogs ear
if they dropped it. It was more repetition but the dogs never dropped a bird. The dogs soon realized that the pain/pressure would go away when they did what they were told.

Chesapeake

horses for courses, its all back to how huch time you spend with them too; always did the reverse, when the dogs brought the dummy back to me, give them an ear tickle and then take it from them.........never had a problem.

EPointer=Birdss

charlie10 wrote: »

wouldn ya know it shot a cock today and the pointer retrieved it to hand he must of been looking at my post last night!

I suspected as much Charlie