I took in a 3 year old lab and he has some serious drive. What I did is I made him earn the next retrieve. I would hold it hostage. If he dropped it before coming to heel I'd tell him to "fetch it up". Once he had the bumper in his mouth again, I'd call him to heel. We'd repeat the process until my patience run out and I got so frustrated I just had to walk away for a while, or he finally brought the bumper to heel. He was taught the command "release" by a trainer his previous owner sent him to, and he's slowly remembering that he is to hold on to it until he hears that command. If he brought it to heel and then dropped it then we'd repeat. I tell him fetch it up, then heel, then if he would lower his head to drop it before my hand got there to receive it, I'd "ehhht" at him, or just tell him no, to let him know that's not cool.
When he held on until I reached down and told him "release", I'd pour on the praise, sometimes offer a treat, then get set to throw it again.
He eventually connected the dots and is now doing much better on not dropping it before bringing it back to heel.
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Last edited by willyworm; 08-08-2019 at 01:00 PM.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Delta in a nutshell: Breeding grounds + small wetlands + big blocks of grass cover + predator removal + nesting structures + enough money to do the job= plenty of ducks to keep everyone smiling!
"For those that will fight for it...FREEDOM...has a flavor the protected shall never know."
-L/Cpl Edwin L. "Tim" Craft
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