Why force fetch

As an example, I recently was observing a field trial in which a dog escaped from the waiting area and was running around exploring the parking lot.

The dog would turn to face the handler and display a hunkering, slinky, submissive body posture. Each time the handler got close enough to the dog to grab it by the collar, the dog would dart a few feet away from the handler, his ears laid back and tail tucked tightly between his legs — always staying just out of punishment-range. I often acquire clients whose dogs washed out of a traditional gun dog program by failing the forced fetch element of the training.

These dogs either have a hesitant or sluggish retrieve, or they adamantly refuse to retrieve at all. This is not uncommon, particularly with softer, more sensitive dogs. In essence, these dogs have learned to dread the very thing they were bred for because it was paired with force and too much pressure.

Why would a dog love doing something to avoid punishment? Why would you? In other words, the dog loves to retrieve because it finds the act of retrieving very reinforcing, not because it was force fetched. The invention of the shock collar certainly worked to the benefit of the forced fetch process. It essentially gives the handler a very long-range way to apply pressure a shock instead of an ear pinch to an uncooperative dog, thereby making negative reinforcement uncharacteristically effective.

The risks include the dog developing hard mouth if a shock is applied while the dog has a bird in his mouth , blinking or ignoring birds if the dog is shocked while approaching a bird ; fear of the patch of ground he was shocked on; confusion leading to shutdown if the dog has no idea why he is being shocked; and negative associations made towards whatever he was looking at when he was shocked.

But from a performance and reliability standpoint, by far the biggest risk of using a shock collar is the loss of reliability when the shock collar is removed. While forced fetching claims to be able to make a dog do something he may not want to do a claim that is particularly without merit in the absence of shock collars, which are forbidden in most field trials and hunt tests anyway , consider the possibility of altogether bypassing the problem of a dog not wanting to retrieve.

Because positively training a retrieve builds drive and desire for retrieving, it creates a dog more naturally reliable and motivated than one whose primary motivation is avoiding punishment. Dogs who work to avoid punishment have a tendency to do the bare minimum required of them; dogs who work for an outcome they enjoy tend to raise the performance bar on their own — just like humans.

Advertising on GundogsOnline. Kennels and Trainers For breeders and trainers that want the most cost effective way to market to our audience our Classified Ad area offers an affordable alternative to newspaper ads. Twitter Facebook Join us on. Retriever Training. Force Fetch by Amy Dahl, Ph. When a dog does not respond, do you need to apply more pressure, less pressure, ease up on requirements, shorten the session, or perhaps bear down and keep trying until he gets it?

Even experienced trainers can find it hard to read a dog that is doing nothing. To force fetch more efficiently, with less distress to both dog and trainer, consider what you are trying to accomplish. You want the dog to "fetch" from the ground on command, reliably, carry dog training dummies and birds without dropping or mishandling them, and deliver properly.

Finally, you are teaching a constructive response to "pressure" for use in future retriever training. The majority of force-fetching struggles arise from the trainer's failure to recognize that dogs do not automatically understand pressure.

You must teach the dog that he can make the pressure stop by finding the right response. While some dogs can be force fetched in a few days, others must be taken slowly, to bolster the notion that they can, through their responses, control what happens to them. Many of us have heard that noncompliance means dogs are resisting and require convincing that the trainer's will is law.

We no longer wholly agree with this interpretation. If force is involved, we think refusals most often mean that the training foundation is inadequate. Either the action called for is over his head, or he does not understand that he can "turn off the pressure" by his response, or both. Obvious as the required action is to us, we have failed to get the message across.

A question we have not yet answered is whether resistance is essential to force-fetching success. Force fetching is something of a black box-the focus is on bringing retrieving under the trainer's control, but along the way other things happen.

Most notably, obedience improves sharply; we don't know exactly what causes this. We have had some retrievers, particularly bitches, come through force fetching smoothly, with little resistance. Better stick to Ducks, Delta Waterfowl!!! This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Previous Next. Gentler Force-Fetch Is it time to ditch the ear pinch?

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