Gun Dog Forum

as a pup and young dog she would retriev sticks or a ball I thought she would be a natural retriever but she has yet to bring a bird back
she just turned 4 yr old ,so I started the force retrieve everthing went well from the bench to the ground she sailed right thru I could lay it in front on the bench say fetch she would go pick it up and bring back and hold untill I said give no problems
moved to the ground started holding it out in front say fetch she would reach out and take it untill I said give move father each time again no problems
laid it on the ground said fetch she would not pick it up on the ground soon as I touched it she will take and hold untill I say give
tried it again same thing she will not pick it up she will go to it but refuses to retriev it I'm useing three differant dummys still will not pick any that I lay on the ground, but she will retrieve a tennis ball I lay down or throw
I'm puzzled why she won't retriev the dummy or downs off the ground

Only saw the word "force" in your thread header. Does that mean you're commanding the dog to fetch without any force in front of it?

With a 4 year-old-dog, the persuasion's gotta go beyond one five-letter word ("fetch") rolling off your tongue - it demands that the other five-letter word ("force") ride shotgun and provide whatever physical tool needed for you to enforce the fetch. It's a process, not a pit stop to pick up a bird.

MG

I used the ear pinch to start didn't take long she would take the dowl
then move to e collar didn't take to many corrections she did great ,moved off the bench to the ground again she did fine just a couple corrections with the e collar I would move it father out each time with no issues as long as I held it in my hand
moved it close to her on the ground there's where the problem started, went back to what she was doing good on she performed great
finally went back to placing it on the ground she go's to it but will not pick it up even with stimulation
I know we have to work thru it and we will, thought I might get advise from someone that might have had that problem and make it easy for both of us

Here's an earlier thread from this forum sort of on the same topic with commentary from retriever training program originator Evan Graham and cameos by one of his acolytes, the wonderfully named "Del Lolo:" viewtopic.php?t=44667

At this stage, and working with a 4-year-old dog, you're doing all you can in a positive way to help the dog succeed at something you've thrown at her late in her working life. My only tip would be in walking fetch, slow it down to crawling fetch (not literally crawling but slowing the pace) so you can step on the end of the bumper nearest you and cause the end nearest the dog to go "stand up" so she can get a grip on it without having to put her muzzle or mouth on the ground to pick it. Ain't saying that will work, just that you've got to think out of the box sometimes/ most times imparting force fetch to an older dog, especially a breed not renowned for retrieving.

MG

thanks for the reply that was what I was looking for, I'll give it a try were at the last step I knew it was going to good there had to be a hitch somewhere