I have FF several of our dogs but started at a later age. Our new pups are now 5 mo. old, have lost all puppy teeth and all adult teeth are in but not completely grown. What are opinions on when to start FF. From what I have been reading and seeing on training videos I should be able to start the pups now. Their obedience is good and they are retrieving marks to hand.
I start all my dogs on FF at that age and I think you will find it is sometimes more difficult for a young dog to complete the program because of maturity issues. Some will cruise right through it and others will balk at one point or another. The #1 rule is be gentle and never forget you are working with a baby. If you ruin the pups attitude here, he may never recover. Don’t try to keep the same timeline you do with older dogs.
It's more about mental maturity than teeth IMO. Some 5 month olds are good to go, others aren't until they're 8 or 11 months old. I find myself ffing more pups at 7-8 months than 5-6. A lot of times they handle the ff part well but bog down in the force to pile and T work.
I just had this experience with 2 well bred pups. Went thru FF in a breeze at 5.5- 7 months. Usually go right to FTP and baseball.
Both had a hard time with FTP. Finally got thru that but really bogged down when teaching hand signals.
Took a few weeks off to let them catch up mentally and then we were back on track.
What is the hurry?
Not trying to hijack a thread but what do yall look for in a puppy to see if he/she is ready to be force fetched. I will be home Tuesday for fourteen days and want to start my pup on FF she is seven months.
I don't start mine on FF until they are completely CC on formal OB.
I thin k if they know how to accept e collar pressure and are enthusiastic in their OB drills and also enthusiastic chasing bumpers that ii is time.
Sometimes a slow to mature pup will show its immaturity with a some what less thn stellar atitude toward OB drils and on this type of dog, it might be wise to wait a while on FF.
If you have one that is hair on fire and does not mind the e collar, go for it.
Got to read the individual dog.
Thanks Mike that was the answer I was looking for. That explains it all to me in detail thank you for taking time to post.
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