One of the most misunderstood aspects of gun dog training is the forced fetch program or as most people today call it the trained retrieved. It doesn't have to be intimidating for the dog or the trainer. Of course the goal is to teach the dog to hold, fetch and drop an object on command. I see that as a by product of what you really want to do. The most important part of the program is to teach the dog that he is responsible for being disobedient. This is the key to having a well trained versatile gun dog.
before launching into how the program works I'm going to cover theory, fitting the program to the individual dog, what signs should you look for to tell you that you are and the dog are progressing, dealing with soft dogs, alternate methods, best type of corrections, materials needed to get the job done and making this an enjoyable process for the dog. To be continued ....