Force Fetching

[Finfeatherfur]

I'll throw in $0.02 here! - They have a lot of guys on this site that all have been associated with some world class dogs. I know a few on here (Ducktrickster, Duckaholic) and have seen some dogs that would have sold for several thousands of dollars when things were booming. Plenty of advice to go around when asking for help!

I currently have a young female at a trainers place for the exact same thing you are trying to get done. Force fetching solves several problems, but I can understand why a trainer says he does not just force fetch. It is part of the "big picture" and is used with other techniques that are worked at the same time.

My advice will be this: if you decide to go with a trainer, go visit him on several occasions. Don't just call and show up, show up w/o calling. Sit back and don't ask too many questions at first. Just observe! See how long he works a dog. Is he working the dog for 10 minutes and going to the next? Is he ending the session on a positive note? Is the dog owner getting his money worth of training when you watch this guy work a dog?

Off the top of my head, I can only give you one name of a trainer that I would want to use, that is currently still training dogs. That would be Ed Thibodeaux in Morse. I have several others that I know that are no longer doing it, and I wish my dog was with Ed right now.

Good luck and let us know how the progress comes along!