Did you teach hold as part of a force fetch program? What I mean is have you forced the dog to hold things with pressure (ear pinch)?
I teach hold as the beginning of force fetch and get it rock solid before moving one step further. I like having that hold down pat. It sure makes things a lot easier. I would hold off until you get your material. Once you see someone teach it it's a lot easier.
One trick I've used with great success is incorporating casting into force to pile. Once I have the dog solid on force to pile at say 50 yards I'll go back to the pile only being 10 yards and I do a modified baseball. I start only a couple yards adjacent to the dog/pile line and slowly move out until I have the dog running force baseball with the over or back command rather than force to pile. It's a pretty natural transition for most dogs. Then it's water force time.
I teach hold as the beginning of force fetch and get it rock solid before moving one step further. I like having that hold down pat. It sure makes things a lot easier. I would hold off until you get your material. Once you see someone teach it it's a lot easier.
One trick I've used with great success is incorporating casting into force to pile. Once I have the dog solid on force to pile at say 50 yards I'll go back to the pile only being 10 yards and I do a modified baseball. I start only a couple yards adjacent to the dog/pile line and slowly move out until I have the dog running force baseball with the over or back command rather than force to pile. It's a pretty natural transition for most dogs. Then it's water force time.
