I believe that 'hold' and 'fetch' are fundamental skills for a retriever. In my opinion, if your dog doesn't do both reliably, your dog isn't a functional retriever.
The force fetch process covers both 'hold' and 'fetch'. But, I see so many threads/posts about dogs (including those that have completed force fetch; or are in the process, but have moved past 'hold' to 'fetch'), and are having 'hold' problems, that I wonder whether sufficient attention is being given to 'hold' before moving on to 'fetch'.
There are many who hold (no pun intended) that there are four phases to learning for a dog. Acquistion, Fluency, Generalization and Maintenance. In acquistion, the dog learns the basics of a new skill. In fluency, he shows understanding and the ability to perform the command easily. In generalization, he learns to perform the command in a wide variety of circumstances. And, finally, in maintenance, he is reinforced at appropriate but, infrequent intervals.
Is 'hold' trained to the level of generalization, or do many trainers stop at fluency, and then move on to 'fetch' too quickly? The scenario that raises the question sounds something like this:
I put my dog through force fetch, and he never fails to pick up the bird/bumper, but he (juggles it, munches it, cigars it, or drops it at my feet).
Or, I'm putting my dog through force fetch, and we're working on fetch, using ear pinch/toe hitch. So, I throw my dog a couple of fun bumpers, but he (juggles it, munches it, cigars it, or drops it at my feet). Should I stop retrieves until I finish force fetch?
It seems to this relative novice that in these scenarios 'hold' has not been attended to sufficiently, especially in terms of generalization. 'Hold' means 'hold' - always. And, if taught properly 'hold' means more than 'don't drop it', it means hold it properly - always.
If it's true that 'hold' is not being sufficiently taught, why is that so? I think most will agree that, at least sometimes, the 'fetch' part of force fetch process can be difficult for both dog and trainer. Is it possible that we're in a hurry to get the whole unpleasant force fetch business over with, so we move on the 'fetch' too soon? Or, is it that 'fetch' has unwittingly been given a disproportionate emphasis as in '...my dog will pick up a turd if I tell him too!', that is rendered moot if the dog won't hold onto the turd? Or, are we just in a hurry for lots of other reasons?
Would it not be better to train 'hold' to the generalization or even maintenance level, before moving on to 'fecth'?
Your thoughts?
Speculatin' with fried brains...Snick
The force fetch process covers both 'hold' and 'fetch'. But, I see so many threads/posts about dogs (including those that have completed force fetch; or are in the process, but have moved past 'hold' to 'fetch'), and are having 'hold' problems, that I wonder whether sufficient attention is being given to 'hold' before moving on to 'fetch'.
There are many who hold (no pun intended) that there are four phases to learning for a dog. Acquistion, Fluency, Generalization and Maintenance. In acquistion, the dog learns the basics of a new skill. In fluency, he shows understanding and the ability to perform the command easily. In generalization, he learns to perform the command in a wide variety of circumstances. And, finally, in maintenance, he is reinforced at appropriate but, infrequent intervals.
Is 'hold' trained to the level of generalization, or do many trainers stop at fluency, and then move on to 'fetch' too quickly? The scenario that raises the question sounds something like this:
I put my dog through force fetch, and he never fails to pick up the bird/bumper, but he (juggles it, munches it, cigars it, or drops it at my feet).
Or, I'm putting my dog through force fetch, and we're working on fetch, using ear pinch/toe hitch. So, I throw my dog a couple of fun bumpers, but he (juggles it, munches it, cigars it, or drops it at my feet). Should I stop retrieves until I finish force fetch?
It seems to this relative novice that in these scenarios 'hold' has not been attended to sufficiently, especially in terms of generalization. 'Hold' means 'hold' - always. And, if taught properly 'hold' means more than 'don't drop it', it means hold it properly - always.
If it's true that 'hold' is not being sufficiently taught, why is that so? I think most will agree that, at least sometimes, the 'fetch' part of force fetch process can be difficult for both dog and trainer. Is it possible that we're in a hurry to get the whole unpleasant force fetch business over with, so we move on the 'fetch' too soon? Or, is it that 'fetch' has unwittingly been given a disproportionate emphasis as in '...my dog will pick up a turd if I tell him too!', that is rendered moot if the dog won't hold onto the turd? Or, are we just in a hurry for lots of other reasons?
Would it not be better to train 'hold' to the generalization or even maintenance level, before moving on to 'fecth'?
Your thoughts?
Speculatin' with fried brains...Snick
