Hold conditioning is a form of gentle force fetch. It is still enforcing the dog to obedience, in this case to retrieve. Most dogs this will work well for, some dogs not so much. It can be a longer process compared to more typical force fetch which is a major reason it is not used much by trainers and many handlers.
I need to make a correction after I got taken to task for using the terms "force fetch" and "force breaking. The proper or current terminology is "trained retrieve" which is probably better as it encompasses all forms of enforcing the retrieve. I'm a bit old school so that change will probably not fully occur for me.
