FORCE FETCHING PART #1

When a dog comes in for force fetch training many things need to be considered before the work is done. The Idea behind force fetching goes way back long before it became main stream. Force training was a method used by professional dog trainers back at the turn of this century to help poor retrievers become better at handling birds at the field trial level. Like most things that develop at the higher levels of competition, force fetching has made many dogs become much better at the retrieving and handling of game birds.

Is force fetching a must? absolutly not. Do most dogs benifit from this training? Yes. Is my dog a candidate for this type of training? maybe.

Force training ( a difficult concept to grasp by the title alone) is not really all that bad. Force training is a method by which a dog is taught how to release pressure that has been applied by the trainer to compleat a given task. A dog is taught that when pressure is applied ( usually a slight pinch on his ear) he must open his mouth to accept a training object. When he does so, the pressure is released. As the process evolves the dog is taught that he must open his mouth and grab the training buck and hold onto it untill he is commanded to release it. Because dogs understand avoidance training,( fight, flight, or submission) he will learn how he can avoid the pressure by compliance. Example... the dog can avoid the ear pressure entirely by grabbing the training buck quickly and holding on to it untill commanded to release it to the trainer. thus he wins. Think of leash training as force training. you taught your dog he can avoid the chain getting tight around his neck if he walks nicely at your heel . force training is not for every dog. if your dog is retrieving in a way that your happy with then you wont need this work done. if your dog wont pick up a bird or carry it for long or chomps and chews on the bird this training can help you. if your going on to field trialing or hunt testing your dog then this training is a must. Dont confuse your self that force fetching will cure a dogs poor retrieving desires. but rather force training fixes the problems of sloppy retrieving in dogs that have good retrieving desires but poor retrieving skills. Soft or whimpy dogs with poor retrieving desires usually dont get accepted for this training. if your dog does not have the ability to accept this type of training the trainer is likely to wash the dog from the program. Good genetics promote good retrieving desires. but some breeds excell at retrieving naturally while other breeds struggle with it. When a dog is taught the FETCH word he is thinking that he must reach out and grab the training buck from the hand of the trainer, from the training table, from the floor, from where ever when the command is given. just because your dog retrieves sticks and balls that you throw for him does not mean that he understands what fetch means. if you think he is understands fetch then do a training drill where you place three objects, dummies, training bucks, frozen birds etc about ten feet apart. walk your dog on a leash up to to the first one and command him to fetch it and see if he will pick it up off the floor. he will likely look at you and say throw it for me and I will get it for you. Chasing things to retrieve is prey drive and not retrieving on command a dog that can pick up objects that the trainer points at or leaves alone objects the trainer does not want him to pick up. understands his role as a retriever. Think of the word FETCH as " to reach and grab".

Roger Hess