Gun Dog Forum

I have been force fetching my dog, and I am now on the third day of ear pinch. He knows to open his mouth when I pinch and say fetch, but it is almost as if I have to place it in his mouth for him. He doesn't grab it on his own. Is this normal? Will he eventually understand he is supposed to grab it, or is there anything I need to do differently?

How's he gonna understand he's got to grab it if you're giving it to him?

Are you following a program or are you just winging it? Knowing the program will help folks here give sound advice that fits with the program.

First, you begin with the jowl pinch, not the ear pinch with FF. Then when he's opening up and holding, progress to the ear pinch. Hopefully you're following Smart Fetch.

As you apply pressure to the ear you should be moving his head/mouth forward to the dummy at the same time

Yes I'm following the Tom Dokken's Retriever Training. I did start with jowl pinch, and once he started doing well with that I moved on.

And I was giving it to him because that's what the program said. It said he will start to reach for it after a little while. Thanks for the help

Sounds like your progression is correct then. As long as he was POPPING his mouth open when you touched his muzzle on the jowl portion and was reaching for the bumper with not pressure.

Then, the ear. Don't just pinch the ear, pinch it against the buckle of the collar or put a gold cleat or small bolt through the collar to exert pressure with. Exert enough pressure to get him to whimper and open his mouth and put the bumper in it. Make him hold. Once he'll do that EVERY TIME, extend the bumper an inch at a time directly in front of his nose, not down to the floor. Before you go to the ground, he should DRAG you do the bumper when you grab his ear. You will also want to get him moving now BEFORE progressing to the ground, walking at heel with the bumper in his mouth and coming to heel with it from a stationary position. If he spits it out, pick up the bumper, pinch the ear, and command "fetch". After he'll do all of this reliably, then proceed to the ground, again, an inch at at time toward the ground. Try all of that and see how it goes.

Remember to use ALL THREE COMMANDS: Fetch, Hold, Drop. Each command has a very specific purpose.

Thank you. Much better today. Seems to be understanding what to do now.