Force fetch

[awest79]

My black lab has progressed well. She stays and is steady under fire comes to heel very well. Of course she is still got a lot of energy at the start of the training session so we usually start with a couple of fun retrieves. I think I am ready to start the force fetch process and I can't remember where I heard this but it was said that during force fetch not to throw any fun bumpers is this true?

[mudminnow]

I think learning a system from a trainer who you can understand their style is important. Some trainers might say yes, some might say no to fun bumpers. Follow your program and don't try to wing it.

[Duckman#1]

No fun bumper. Why give your dog the chance to undo what you are doing. Dog goes and gets bumper, drops it a couple times coming back, You have no way to correct it or enforce a command. If you've never done FF you may want to get some help.

[Tha Dick]

No bumpers or marks until FF is complete

[LabLuvR]

I think there are mixed views on this topic. After Rhett initially did the ear pinch portion and Gunner would reliably return with the bumper, then I threw marks with no problems. But, I would do marks in the evening and force to pile etc in the morning, separating the two.

At any rate I agree with the above post, get someone to help you if you've never done it before.

[Tha Dick]

Happy/fun bumpers are WAY overrated. The only time a dog needs one is when you've tightnened the screws so tight they almost shut down or loosing motivation; Not every time you finish training for the day!!! Call me an ass or whatever, but I don't reward for a dog for doing his job. I only use them when they need a pick-me-up.

[FEETDOWN]

No fun bumpers. Follow your program.

I FF my first dog, God bless her, took a month longer than it should have had somebody that knew WTH they were doing had done it.

When I got Kate, I let a trainer do it, and will do so with every other dog I own the rest of my life.....

[BrownDog]

If you have never done it before then you need to work with a trainer to learn how it is done. You need as much instruction as your dog.
If you have some experience then follow Evan Graham's smart fetch.

[straightline]

50% of FF is reading the dog. Not being able to read the mutt and knowing when to turn it up/back off is why it takes some forever. Fun bumpers only if she gets a bad attitude which falls in line with my previous sentence.

[awest79]

She has a lot of energy to burn after I get home from work. She is still all pup. Once she gets to run around a little and burn some off she does very well. Probably will just stick to excercise on the four wheeler in the fields for a little bit. Like I said before she knows what coming to heel is after she is put on place and before she retrieves. She releases well on her name. She is definitely bumper crazy and responds well to some pressure. I realize FF is a process that requires consistency and time luckily my schedule is about to slow for the winter.