Pet Forum / Miscellaneous / Animal Health / November 2004

HOWEDY sindy SADIST mooreon,

You want COMPLETE FACTS, sindy SADIST mooreon?:

"Many People Have Problems Getting The Pinch
Right, Either They Do Not Pinch Enough, Or They
Have A Very Stoic Dog. Some Dogs Will Collapse
Into A Heap. About The Ear Pinch: You Must Keep
The Pressure Up," sindy "don't let the dog SCREAM"
mooreon, author of HOWER FAQ's pages on k9 web.

You think HURTING a HUNTING DOG to
MAKE IT HUNT is NECESSARY???

       Here's MOORE reasons HOWE COME HOWER
       Gang Of Thugs are EMBARRASSED by their own
       works. Here's the post cindy mooreon of our faqs
       page at k9web threatened to sue us for copyright
       infringement if we quoted it:

       What is Force Fetching All About?

       by Cindy Tittle Moore
       Copyright 1997,1998 by the
       author; all rights reserved.

       THE FORCE FETCH

       Alright! Now you are (finally) ready to force fetch
       your dog. I repeat, you want to have an experienced
       person help you out, someone who has already force
       fetched her own dogs whether for obedience or field.
       This step in the training entails what is termed
       avoidance behavior. In a nutshell, the dog is taught
       how to "turn off" a negative stimulus. He is carefully
       taught that he has complete control over it.

       This is a very effective way of teaching, but does
       require a more astute sense of timing than some other
       training methods and is very difficult for some people
       to do, for a variety of reasons. However, if the dog
       properly knows HOLD at this point, it's easily done
       with a minimum of fuss.

       Return to your quiet starting place, with the dog on a
       collar and leash in front of you, sitting quietly.
       Instead of opening his mouth as you have been for the
       HOLD, put your hand through the dog's collar (to hold
       him steady) and with your thumb and forefinger pinch

       the tip of his ears and say TAKE IT (or FETCH, or
       whatever you want) Watch his mouth closely -- the
       moment he opens his mouth, pop that dumbbell in, let
       go of his ear but not the collar, and PRAISE PRAISE
       PRAISE. Do this three or four times per session.

       When he is opening his mouth in anticipation of the
       dumbbell, the next step is to hold the dumbbell just
       past his lips. This next step is for him to move his
       head forward that inch (or half inch) necessary to get
       the dumbbell. At this point, he has a pretty good
       notion that getting that darned thing into his mouth
       is the way to turn off the ear pinch. Most dogs will
       lean forward and get it. That's his second milestone!
       Praise, praise, praise and repeat three or four times
       this session. Remember, I said these sessions were no
       more than 5 minutes or so each. That's still true.

       Gradually extend the distance so he has to reach
       further to get it. Now here is where a few subtleties
       come into play. It's not enough for him to merely
       reach out and grab it. You want him to commit to
       getting it. You want him to be intent on getting it.
       If he sort of limply reaches over and gets it,
       that's not what you want. If you pinch him but have to
       drag him toward the dumbbell, that's not what you want
       either. We're back to the visualization.

       What do you want him to do? You want him to, if
       necessary, bust through just about anything to get
       that dumbbell. So hold on to that collar until you
       feel him pulling out of it to get that. That's his
       committment.

       You want to say TAKE IT and have him just about
       explode out to get the dumbbell. As you get further
       along in this, you will release him when he's made a
       good committment -- this will help shape a speedy
       response nicely. I think you can see why it helps to
       have an experienced person around when you are
       doing this! It can be difficult to keep all these
       things in mind when you are actually sitting there
       with a dog in your hands.

       About the ear pinch: You must keep the pressure up
       until the instant he has the dumbbell securely in his
       mouth. Many people have problems getting the pinch
       right, either they do not pinch enough, or they have a
       very stoic dog in which case case a collar may be
       needed to help make the pinch more effective.
       Also some dogs are screamers, and if they find that
       they can stop the pinching by screaming, they've
       learned the avoidance technique just fine -- but not
       with the behavior you had in mind!

       Don't let your dog scream. Use your hand to hold his
       muzzle closed and tell him to quit moaning. Some dogs
       will collapse into a heap. Don't let them do that,
       that's why your hand is in the collar. Hold them up
       and get them back into a sitting position. What your
       dog is doing is trying to find other ways of avoiding
       the ear pinch.

       You need to be firm and consistent and demonstrate
       that getting the dumbbell is the only means of
       avoidance.

       Remember to keep him under control. When he gets that
       dumbbell in his mouth, pull him gently around back to
       you and sit him back down. You may in fact want to sit
       him at your side in the heel position (whether or not
       he actually knows the heel position), hold the
       dumbbell in front of him, command him to take it and
       then pull him back to a front or finish position
       as you wish. The pattern will do him good later.

       The next major milestone is putting the dumbbell on
       the ground for him to pick up. For many dogs this can
       be a big deal and may be difficult. Set the dumbbell
       on the ground just in front of them, with your hand on
       the dumbbell. He may not reach for it, he may refuse
       -- keep up the ear pressure until he finally picks it
       up. If he really doesn't seem to understand this,
       then break this down into an intermediate step where
       you hold the dumbbell, but about 1/2 way between the
       ground and his mouth.

       Once he's picked the dumbbell off the ground, that's a
       major milestone and you are just about home free.

       As before slowly place the dumbbell further away on
       the ground in front of him. Make sure he is pulling
       out of your hold on the collar before you let him pick
       the dumbbell up. If he drops the dumbbell from this
       point on, you will  get control of him (put him in a
       sit with a firm hold on his collar) and pinch him back
       to the dumbbell -- he can pick it up now so there is
       no need for you to put it in his mouth any more. HE
       is the one responsible for getting it.

       When he is reliably picking up the dumbbell a few feet
       from you, then you can stop using the pinch at the
       beginning of the exercise.

       You will instead reserve it for when he drops the
       dumbbell or refuses to pick it up, etc. So for
       example, you might go out, place the dumbbell 6 feet
       away, put the long lead on him, tell him to take it.
       Let's say he hesitates and doesn't go out. Then you
       pinch, force him to commit, send him to the dumbbell.
       Let's say he goes and gets it, but starts playing with
       it. Pull him in, and if he hasn't already dropped the
       dumbbell, take it out of his mouth, put it back where
       it was, and pinch him to it.

       There is one last problem you need to watch for. Many
       dogs, especially retrievers, will start pouncing on
       the dumbbell once they are able to run out a few steps
       to it before picking it up. So transition to this
       point with a long cotton lead about 20-30 feet long.

       With this you can spin him round the moment he scoops
       up the dumbbell, teaching him that he cannot play with
       it. If your dog drops the dumbbell, use the lead to
       pull him back to you (do not let him try to pick it
       up), and pinch him back to it. the basic rule of thumb
       is that if he drops it, he will be pinched back to it
       regardless.

       Thoughts to Consider

       Force fetching is never completely done, per se (as
       with any exercise taught to a dog). You may need to do
       a refresher course when it's something new to pick up,
       or if it's something disgusting (like a very dead
       bird) to pick up. He may also start to get lazy, you
       need to keep an eye on him. You may also realize you
       omitted some step in training him that shows up later
       so you will have to go back and fix it.

       But you should also take care to make sure he doesn't
       forget any of these hard-earned lessons! Make him
       carry things for you. He can carry his own ball out to
       the park. He can carry his own utility articles to the
       ring. He can help you carry a light bag of groceries
       into the house. He can help you carry firewood. They
       will just love this, and it's a good way to keep the
       talents honed. Use it!

       > --Cindy