I'll second doctor Encore regarding "force fetch." The term has fallen from favor but not the practice. I have heard the name change from force break to force fetch to force retrieve to trained retrieve to whatever it is called today (I gave up trying to keep up on the ever changing phrases) but the concept remained the same.
Like breaking horses (where the concept and phrase originated) force breaking is imposing your will on the dog. Whether one talks about come here, heel, sit, stay, or fetch, the trainer imposes his will upon the dog to do as the trainer says when the trainer wants. Like any other command, varying degrees of force are used to reach the desired result.
Like horses, force fetch runs the gamut in the degree of coercion used. One can "gentle break" if one has the time and the dog has the correct demeanor or one can "rough break" which is more rapid and uses a much greater degree of coercion to get the end results if the dog is more resistant to gentle persuasion. Or, one can use various levels in between as needed. Force fetch is not all toe pinches and the like, there are many types of coercion. Gun Dog magazine had an article on this sometime in the last three issues I believe.
I use force fetch on all my dogs as it not only for obedience and to lessen the odds of a disqualification in a test or trial but also to conserve game. I would much rather have a dog refuse a retrieve at a test or trial than in the field. In my opinion, the dog's most important job is to limit loss of game by retrieving. Finding game is secondary to that. If a bird is knocked down and the dog is sent to retrieve, I want that dog to get and bring back the bird and not decide, "Maybe tomorrow, I don't feel like it today."
I do this with all my dogs whether they be pointers, retrievers, or flushers. Our Aussie/Pitbull mix has been force broke to retrieve as he is currently my flushing dog even though he lives to retrieve. Even though he had not refused a retrieve to that point, I force broke him to lessen the the possibility of it happening. As competitive as he and my other dogs are, the odds are not large for a refusal but I want as much stacked on my side as I can.
