Home Forums Birds & Dogs Hunting Dogs Force Fetch question

Hey gang,

I have a male Labrador that has his obedience to the point that he is ready to be force fetch trained. Unfortunately, my family strongly objects to our dog living away from us for the month or more that is required to get him force fetch trained. My question is, how important is the force fetching process to making a good gun dog. Neither my Golden Retriever nor my Boykin were force fetch trained. Both were good gun dogs, IMHO, particularly the Boykin. A trainer buddy of mine is pretty insistent that I get him force fetch trained. What are the thoughts on here?