Questions about chewing/ training a dog to retrieve.

dtmowns said:

Hello, I have a few questions.

First, if a dog has not been introduced/trained in retreiving, she he/she be allowed to chew on toys?

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When I decided to produce a puppy program, one item that was essential is instruction about this very point. I think it's generally a good thing for puppies to have toys. But a common error is to mix toys and fetch objects. The objects you will have your pup fetch during his career need to be handled properly and according to a set of rules. Toys are toys, and your pup should be allowed to just have fun with them. It doesn't really seem fair to confuse him by mixing them, does it?

dtmowns said:

When should "force-fetch" be employed? After the dog is retrieving for fun? What if the dog doesn't naturally bring an object back/drops objects?

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Before beginning force fetch, your pup's standard obedience should be rock solid. There is a formalization process for this than normally begins at around 5-8 months of age. At 1 year of age, your pup is certainly not too young, nor is it too old.

Once obedience is solid, and your pup is finished teething, that is an adequate time to begin force fetch. Carefully and patiently follow a sound, proven program for this. As with all training, don't put your pup on a schedule to complete it.

dtmowns said:

Where can I find information on how to perform force-fetch correctly?

Basically, I am a complete novice who has recently acquired a 1 year old golden and I want to give training for retrieval a go!

Thanks for all info!

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Welcome to the addictive world of retriever training! By far the most detailed information for this process of training can be found here http://rushcreekpress.com/page3allproducts.html . Please let me know if I can be of help.

EvanG