Retriever Won't Retrieve

[birdshooter]

This comment was from a Trainer on Gundogs.com I could have said it better myself. I believe in FF and always will, there are people out there that disagree with FF but I believe (don't take this wrong) they can't stomach the process of FF. It sucks yanking on a dogs ear listening to him yelp but to me it is a necessary process if you want a good retriever.

There are different methods of FF, some that use ear pinching or toe hitch, but many pros use an e-collar only. Starting on a bench teaching the fetch command then transferring it to the ground. The dog learns how to turn the collar off by complying to the "fetch" command . Once this hurdle is accomplished (and this can be quite the hurdle for some dogs) most dogs can't wait to get the object in their mouth and back to you. From there the hard part is over and transferring to birds is usually easy and fun for the dog.

 

[Mr Hyde]

There are different methods of FF, some that use ear pinching or toe hitch, but many pros use an e-collar only. Starting on a bench teaching the fetch command then transferring it to the ground. The dog learns how to turn the collar off by complying to the "fetch" command . Once this hurdle is accomplished (and this can be quite the hurdle for some dogs) most dogs can't wait to get the object in their mouth and back to you. From there the hard part is over and transferring to birds is usually easy and fun for the dog.

I should have worded differently pinching instead of yanking :nutz: