Quote:
Originally Posted by BigAl
My father-in-law used to be into dog training. I'm sure there are differing opinions, but he always had a friend force fetch his dogs and he forced his friends dogs. He did not think it was a good idea to force your own dog due to the intensity and negative reinforcement involved.
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I forced fetched my own dog and it has in no way had a negative impact. She would follow me everywhere I go if I would let her. In my option, your dog will perform for you better if you are the one working with her.
IMO force fetch is the only way to go. Its the only way to insure that your dog is going to retrieve when the going gets tough. Dogs retrieve because they like to retrieve, but sooner are later you are going to get in a situation where the dog doesn't want to retrieve. Force fetch turns retrieving into a command. Its no different than teaching sit. You command your dog to sit and he doesn't sit, he gets reprimanded. The dog learns that he better sit even if he doesn't want to. So when its 20 degrees out and the water is icy and you command your dog to fetch, he fetches because he knows if he doesn't there will be consequences.
Alot of retriever training is teaching your dog how to deal with pressure. Things are not always going to be fun for the dog, and you have to train the dog to deal with these situations. Naturally a dog may want to retreat from these situations or just quite. Examples will be a very cold day, very thick brush, maybe the dog is getting tired at the end of the day, etc. You are training the dog that to relieve the pressure, they need to complete the command. So when teaching sit, you apply pressure to the dog when he doesn't sit. When he does sit you relieve the pressure. When force fetching you apply pressure until the dog fetches and then you relieve the pressure.
Can you apply too much pressure? Yes. You have to read the dog and all dogs are different. If your not comfortable with this, a trainer is the way to go.