Tim,
If you Lab is a natural enthusiastic retriever that shows no signs of hesitation on his retrieves then no need. If you demand absolute obedience in every instance, perhaps yes. Your Bud is a trainer, and like surgeons want to cut, trainers want to train. Their will be pain involved in the process. Refusal will eliminate a Dog from a trial, which is why many are forced trained.
The answer will lie with your own expectations. If your Dog loves to retrieve, and can be counted on to make consistently successful attempts to do so, then I personally would not have him force fetched. And field work is different than trials, in that trials are more controlled...There are times in the field, when it would be wise to not have him go.
If this is you main concern...It isn't necessary. Good and perfection are two different expectations. And perfection is a hard mistress.
My question is, how important is the force fetching process to making a good gun dog.
I hunt with a Bud that used to train...He thinks my Cockers not being trained to hupp...sitting.... to the flush is a major flaw. He thinks the Dog is not "finished". Trainers want to train. Mostly for their own personal satisfaction.
