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Thank you to everyone for all of the helpful responses. I have been thinking about this all day and from what I see and a little self reflection, I need to slow down and use less force. I was...

I am working through FF according to Lardy. My dog is pretty good with hold and I am moving on to fetch. I have started teaching "fetch" with the ear pinch. I am working on teaching him that the...

Wayne,

Thank you for the guidance, now I know. I will keep my finger off the button during retrieves. It sounds like I need to work on some fun retrieves to get him enjoying it again and then...

Duckquilizer,

I have a time or two to get him to return directly to me instead of running off with it. I see your point. I didn't think about that connection before you brought it up. I guess...

Wayne,

I looked at the flow chart you mentioned. It looks like I need to go ahead and finish force fetch before I continue with the collar. Is that what you are saying? I had hoped I would not...

My 15 month old YLM is bird crazy and retrieved ducks very well last season. I have since taken him through "hold" training, not the entire force fetch process and I am now working through collar...

Howard, No, there is no real reason. He is my first dog to train and I am just now getting to it. It took me longer than it should have, but I am still learning.

Rick, I was wondering if it...

I have a 14 month old YLM who hunted with great success this past season. He has recently started to not come back on retrieves. His desire is still there and he runs hard off the line after the...

Thank you Roseberry, that's what I was looking for. Just a ballpark idea of what to expect and look for.

Thanks again,

American Ace

I am currently looking for a puppy. I am mainly interested in a hunting dog and while I would not rule out eventually being interested in hunt tests, it is not a high priority for me. I of course...

Thanks!!!!,

That really answers some of the questions I had about the details of moving on from teaching the commands to making them reliable and consistant. As I said, I really did not have any...

Thanks Steve,

I understand what you are saying and will work on this. Is there a rule of thumb as far as how long this should take for each command? Should I work on each for a week and then...

Anyone else?

Evan,

I have read and re-read this section of your response several times today. I just want to be sure I understand what you are saying. You talk about conditioning to pressure. Am I correct...

Wayne,

No offence taken. I appreciate the feedback as it is the only way to improve. I know that you can't cut corners, and any I have cut have been unintentional. That is part of my...

Of course I want to train him to the highest level possible, but right now I am trying to get him to be calmer and more under control so we can go forward. I do plan to take him through force fetch...

Thank you both for your replies. I was not clear in my post about what exactly he is doing so let me clarify. I am keeping him on a lead as we are walking from pond to pond. When we leave the...

Hello,

I am new to this forum and new to training hunting dogs. My dog is 1 year old and I think he is doing pretty well so far. I hunt ducks by jump shooting farm ponds and I am training him...