Looking for some advice on how to work in a retrieve to hand. My dog is very good with single retrieves, listens to commands, doesn't break (much), and has tons of energy/drive. His biggest issue right now is that I would like to move on to beginning to working doubles and blinds, but he has never been good at retrieving to hand. His retrieves are somewhat wild and full of energy, and is not very disciplined with holding a bumper and will drop it or accidently grab it by the string or head, but never fails to bring it back. When he gets back to me he will either drop the dummy at my feet and go back to heel, or try and play with the dummy for a few seconds before dropping it and getting ready for the next retrieve. He was force fetched by a trainer, but I believe it did more harm than good as he does not like table work or to be forced to hold anything in his mouth. (He will do it on his own, but if I tell him fetch and hold he shuts down). So from there I have allowed him to make retrieving fun again, vs. forcing him into it, which is why I am trying to not put too much pressure on him, and why this process is going so slow and one step at a time. I am not worried about him being a competitive field trial dog, and maybe hunt 12-15 times a year where a dog would be nice to have.


Which has led me to this, How do I work in a retrieve to hand, without putting too much pressure on him?