Posted

I have a 2 year old Weimaraner hunting companion who just had her first real hunting season. She does pretty well except I am not satisfied with her retrieving. I first gave up on her ever retrieving, as she would run out to the bumper, sniff it, and then run back to me. Once I introduced frozen birds and bumpers with real feathers attached, she retrieved readily. It seems like she gets hot and tired near the end of hunts and just decides she doesn't want to retrieve anymore. I was reluctant to force fetch her due to her personality, but I can't stand the possibility of losing dead or wounded birds. My question is: Is she too old @ 2 yrs of age to begin forced fetching?? I have "The 10 Minute Retriever" by John and Amy Dahl and they seem to have a pretty good force fetching program laid out in there.

tailcrackin

2 is not to old, what about trying, not so many retrieves each work out, 1 or two, and alot of attrition on the retrieves, maybe back off on frozen birds, and go to birds thawed out, use one for three or four days, then pitch and get a new one,warmth can sometimes help,if the attitude is good with the dog, that wants to sometimes retrieve, alot of times the excitement from the hand, with little bit a work, will sometimes pay off very well in the end. The ff is a great training tool, but if not done correctly, you can ruin the dog in more ways than one. Just a thought, thanks Jonesy