Force fetching

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Cmf
Rank: Just A Pup
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Mar 16, 2016 8:36 pm

Force fetching

Post by Cmf » Wed Jul 27, 2016 6:52 am

Hey guys,
A couple of questions for you. When do you recommend starting force fetch training? Also, does anyone have plans or suggestions for a training table? I'd like to build something that has multi purposes in the garage, a training table, work bench and ideally have some storage shelves below.

cjhills
GDF Junkie
Posts: 2529
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Location: aitkin,mn

Re: Force fetching

Post by cjhills » Wed Jul 27, 2016 8:11 am

Make it a comfortable height for you and as long as you can. Not hardly worth building to force one dog. You can do it on the ground.........................Cj

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gonehuntin'
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Joined: Tue Dec 12, 2006 5:38 pm
Location: NE WI.

Re: Force fetching

Post by gonehuntin' » Wed Jul 27, 2016 8:21 am

Age depends on the dog. I believe that starting too young is more harmful than starting too old. I put a plank between two card table chairs; easier on this old back.

Timewise65
Rank: 2X Champion
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Location: Missouri

Re: Force fetching

Post by Timewise65 » Wed Jul 27, 2016 10:40 am

I agree with the above comments, better a little later than to early. A young dog that has not mentally matured enough for FF can be harmed by the process. The general rule of thumb that I use is no before 6 months, but if the pup has not been thoroughly trained on basic obedience then do that first. When teaching obedience, if the dog is slow to pick up some parts of that such as the recall command, that can be an indication that the dog has not matured mentally enough. If the dog has picked up on all basic obedience commands and is hitting them 90% +....and the pup is over 6mo. probably ok to proceed with FF...............

My current youngest Golden Retriever was primarily trained by a professional. We took her through obedience at home before working with a pro. We had a few problems with her during basic obedience in that sometimes she would just 'shut down' and refuse any command. Other times she would refuse to 'lay down' on command, but is was sporadic in that other sessions she would perform perfectly. I let our pro have her for a couple of days at six months. He called me saying that she is not ready for FF. He thought it was a case of mentally not quite mature. It scared me thinking maybe she is not as good as her blood line suggests...?? I took her home and worked obedience for a few minutes every day for two months, keeping the stress and pressure to a minimum, keeping it fun play.....then back to the pro.....

She got her JH right out of the box after 90 days and Her SH the following season.....she is ready for MH, but I am instead focusing her on going hunting with me, was my overall goal anyway. Any retriever that has passed the field tests for AKC Senior Hunter is a gun dog ready for hunting. She performed well last winter including working blinds over 150yds., I am already looking forward to this winter with her have a full week in North Dakota already planned, so we start hunting in October this year a go through December....

Good Luck

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