6 month old Puppy advice needed

[sibbyu]

I have a 6 month old female lab. I am trying to train her for duck hunting. I have successfully trained one dog in the past who worked for many years and retrieved a lot of ducks so I have a basic understanding of the process. The last dog was trained 100% following the old water dog method and was never shocked at all. I personally think I got lucky with that dog because she had an amazing natural desire to get my approval so the positive reinforcement method worked well with her.

My new pup is coming along pretty well. We have hit a few days where she is just not into it and I am getting frustrated. I vaguely remember those days when training my last dog but as normally happens, I don't remember the bad days nearly as much as I do the good days. So, with the new dog, I have begun to question whether or not I should have her force fetched. I have read quite a bit on the topic and have heard both sides of the argument. My questions are basically these I guess:

1. She is retreiving decently for 10-15 minutes daily now with the exception of some days when she just doesn't have the focus. Give me your opinions on whether or not I should have her force fetched please.

2. How long does a trainer need the dog to force fetch her. I can handle the other training aspects but I ruined a dog once trying to force fetch her so I would much rather pay to have this done.

3. Who do you recommend within two hours of Madison to do the force fetching for me?


4. When should I send her to be force fetched?


Thanks in advance for your input.

[Karen Klotthor]

Where is Madison. Yes you should do force fetch. You might want to join a local club and ask the old timers for help.

[waterdoc]

Have you tried following a program like lardy or evan gram.

[B3]

No you don't have to FF to have a reliable hunting dog. I don't know how practical it will be for you to find a pro for ff only. They will need to do formal obedience for maybe a month or so prior to ff. I would expect at minimum 2-3 months with the pro depending on the dog