Force fetch training

S

Scott5019

New member
I have a 7 month old lab that I have started force fetch training. This is my first dog that I have done this with. I had several other labs but none of them had any force fetch training.

The dvds and books that I've purchased all have the same basic principles as far as training is concerned. Been reading quite a few online articles about the subject too.

Clark, my pup, is doing well as far as holding the bumper is concerned. He didn't really want to keep it in his mouth at first but persistance paid off. From the dvds and articles...keeping calm and not losing your temper is right on. At times I would get a bit discouraged that he wasn't getting it and I was doing something wrong. Then all of a sudden, he was holding the bumper and was happy to do it.

Now I am just starting the ear pinch phase of training. If anyone has done this training before, I would appreciate any advice for a first time trainer. From the books and dvds, light pressure is all that is needed to get dog to grab the bumper. I just don't want to make a mistake that will make it harder on the dog (and me) further down the road. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Scott
 
To me, the fact that you posted these concerns tells me that you have the appropriate personality to do this properly! I should say though, I am also the owner of my first gun dog, so I AM NOT AN EXPERT, just an interested gun dog owner/trainer.
I used the ear pinch to force-fetch Ruby (female lab). She is a pretty soft dog, so it really did not take much of an ear pinch for her to get the idea. To me, the key was to make SURE that she understood what was wanted from her. For example, I made the mistake of moving too quickly to forcing her to pick up the bumper from the ground (instead of taking it from my hand). I could "see" that she didn't understand why I was pinching her ear, so I quickly back-tracked to holding the bumper just a touch farther away from her nose every day until it was on the ground (I didn't use any kind of table). Also, because I really didn't like this phase of the training, our sessions were VERY short. Just a few per day and then some fun rewards to relieve stress for both of us... I wasn't keeping a good training diary at the time, so I can't say for sure, but if I had to guess I would say that I probably forced her to take it from my hand for very short sessions (maybe 5 times per session) for about 5 sessions (1, maybe 2 sessions per day). Then with each session starting with taking it right from my hand, then moving towards the ground a short distance at a time. Maybe took another 5 days to get her taking it right off the ground. Then another week or so go get her to walk a few paces to get it. Then I quit (I never took it to "force to pile"). For her forced hold I used the ear pinch a bit at first, but I had better luck just encouraging her with repeated "hold" commands and putting a couple of fingers under her chin. Then slowly moving up to stroking her face, touching the bumper etc... while repeating "hold" and giving her praise. If she let it go before I told her to I would say "WRONG" and start again. Couple of sessions a day with a good reward at the end of a successful hold and she soon had it very well.
Anyhow - these are just my experiences in case you find them helpful.
Good luck,
-Croc
 
Thanks for the reply Crockett, that is what I was looking for. Being a first time trainer, my biggest fear was doing something that would make things worse. I will definately take my time when doing the ear pinch phase of training. Thanks for all the help.

Scott
 
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