I know I'm in the minority here but none of my dogs have been force fetched and fortunately they all love(ed) to retrieve. I just don't see the purpose of FF if the dog retrieves naturally and enthusiastically.
Ok now I’m confused. You say you have a Draht and obviously know the first step in the force fetch regimen but now you come on here and say you don’t force fetch your dogs? Do you test your dogs? I guess if you don’t it doesn’t matter but if you do, how do you pass an HZP?
Having the dog "fetch" my hand is something I came up with on my own. As stated above, I'm not familiar with force fetching a dog. It seemed logical that if the dog saw me as the alpha and wasn't aggressive, he wouldn't try to clamp down on my hand, and if he did, letting him know it hurt might change his behavior. Any similarities between what I did and force fetching are coincidental. I haven't tested any of my DDs for several reasons. I tested a number of WPG back when I was in the WPG Club of America. I haven't bothered learning the German acronyms for the DD tests. To me, calling them Natural Ability Test, Intermediate/Fall Breeding Test and Utility Test is a lot simpler and easier for those who speak English to understand. I know the mother club is in Germany, but to me it's silly and tiresome to have to be somewhat familiar with the German language to communicate. I could go on about other things the VDD does but it's not germane.
Battue, I agree that force fetch is not an absolute necessity, especially if your dog has a natural ability and drive for it. And I also agree that it starts when they’re pups. As far as a championships goes, I don’t do “field trial” tests like through the AKC, NAVHDA and the like. I test through the JGHV where the only competition, so to speak, is against the breed standard, not other dogs. I could’nt care less about a championship. I’m after repeatable characteristics and results, litter after litter. Flitecontrol came on and gave good advice about how to hopefully rectify some bad behavior in the OP’s dog, said he had a Draht himself , and then went on to say that the advice he gave, he doesn’t use himself. I was just questioning the veracity of said knowledge. Like I said I was confused. If he didn’t test his Draht it doesn’t matter. If he does I don’t see how he passed. Part of the standard is how does the dog accept and adhere to training. Also mangling or eating game is considered a breed flaw in Drahts and something they don’t want passed on.
I don't believe I ever said I didn't use the hand fetch when training. If that is FF, I'm guilty. Suppose I could say those who developed FF stole the idea from me! I used it with my current DD puppy. As stated above, having the dog fetch my hand was not due to any familiarity with FF.
