Viewpoint

Is Your Dog Really Ready For Force-Fetch?
by Butch Goodwin

ardly a month passes that I don’t get a phone call from a retriever owner inquiring about sending his dog to my kennel for force-fetch training. The owner usually explains that he either doesn’t have the time or the inclination to do the training, or he feels that he doesn’t have the expertise to do the job himself. Similarly, many owners have been told that force-fetch training (also called “force breaking” or “conditioned retrieve”) isn’t for the squeamish and is best left to a pro. Some of the callers even go so far as to tell me they want to get their dog through force-fetch training at an early age because the result will be some sort of a “super dog” that will never, ever put a foot down wrong, even with minimal training, in the future. (If only that were true!)

Before the owner can continue, I ask the question, “Is your dog ready to be force-fetched?” To which I always seem to get the same reply, “He has his permanent teeth.” But when I respond with, “That’s good, but is he ready to be force-fetched?” most callers are left stumbling for an answer.

A youngster having his permanent teeth is definitely a prerequisite to any form of mouth conditioning or force-fetch training – you don’t want to make him fetch or hold if his adult teeth are coming in and his mouth hurts – but it certainly isn’t the only consideration.

Subscribe Now!
Request a no-obligation Issue.
Back to explore page