Force-Fetch On The Training Table
Part 2: Toe H-Hitch Force-Fetch

written by Butch Goodwin
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Northern Flight Retrievers  

In my two previous columns, I covered how to build a training table (June/July 2008), and teaching your dog to hold and carry bumpers while sitting and walking up and down the training table (August/September 2008). In this column, I'm going to explain the toe-hitch method of force fetch on the table. 

Even if you prefer to use a different force-fetch technique such as an e-cord or pinching an ear, the principles are exactly the same regardless of the method: The pressure is increasingly applied until the dog gets the bumper in his mouth, at which point the pressure is immediately stopped. With all of these techniques, you'll find that force-fetching on the table makes it much easier both on your back and on your nerves. You won't have to repeatedly bend over to pick up dropped bumpers; you will have the dog clipped to the overhead cable system so he can't run off to avoid the pressure; and, by having him off the ground, he is out of his "element" - which puts you in total control. 

Since we are going to talk about the toe-hitch method of force-fetch, let's start by talking about the cord and how to attach it. The best cord to use is a piece of quarter-inch, hard-weave, braided nylon about five feet in length, since a smaller diameter will have more of a tendency to cut into the dog's foot. Be sure to burn both ends of the cord so that it won't unravel. Take about a foot of cord and tie it into a loop on one end that is large enough to fit easily over your hand and around your wrist. That should leave about four feet or so of cord dangling when it is hanging from your wrist. Tie a single small knot at the other end of the cord. 

Start by taking the end of your cord where you just tied the knot and tie a clove hitch around your dog's leg, just above his ankle joint. You can use either foot, but just be consistent and use the same foot each time. The knot at the end is to keep the end of the string from sliding out so that the hitch doesn't work itself loose during the training session. 

Arrange the clove hitch on your dog's leg so that the cord hangs straight down the front of his leg, over his foot. Now, make a loop (a half-hitch) around his two middle toes so that when you pull the cord it pulls straight down from the clove hitch and tightens up on his toes. This is your nerve hitch. By pulling on the wrist loop end of the cord, you exert pressure on his two middle toes - the harder you pull, the greater the discomfort. When the cord is released, the hitch around his toes relaxes, and the pressure ceases on the nerves of his two center toes. (See photo sequence.) 

With the cord tied as described above, slip the loop over your wrist and take a turn or two with the cord around your hand to take out some of the slack. Hold the bumper in your other hand and position it directly in front of his face. Increase the tension on the cord until it begins to tighten on his toes. Don't jerk or snap the cord! Continue to increase the pressure on his toes until you get a reaction. There is really nowhere that he can escape to because he's attached to the overhead cable. Plus, you have the advantage of having taught him, "Fetch" when doing his mouth conditioning, as we taught in the previous column. So he should already understand what you want and how he is expected to comply. It shouldn't take much pressure on his toes for him to reach to grab the bumper and get it in his mouth when he feels the pressure. It also shouldn't take long for him to figure out that the faster he grabs the bumper, the sooner the pressure will cease! 

 If your dog grabs for the bumper when you apply pressure to his toes and say, "Fetch," you will know that you have laid the groundwork satisfactorily during the preparatory mouth conditioning process. My guess is that he will immediately try to snatch the bumper out of your hand. Remember: At the very instant that he gets the bumper in his mouth, relax your tension on the string. Remind him to hold or chuck him under the chin if he tries to spit it out. And don't forget to praise the heck out of him for a job well done. After having him hold it for a short time, tell him to drop and again praise him for dropping on command. 

Now repeat the same sequence about a half-dozen times, and call it good for this session. 

Remember a couple of things. First, don't say the "fetch" command more than once, and then increase the pressure on his toes to force him to give in and open his mouth. He should already know what you want; if he doesn't fetch the dowel or bumper out of your hand, he's just being stubborn. You have already taught him what is expected when he hears the word "fetch," so he should realize that there is no avoiding the inevitable - he must get the bumper in his mouth to shut off the pressure. 

Second, always be mindful of the possibility that once he gets the bumper in his mouth, he might spit it out as soon as you relax the pressure from the cord. If this happens, immediately resume the pressure on the cord again while you return the dowel or bumper to the position in front of his mouth and force him to take it and hold it. If he spits it out again, repeat the process as many times as necessary until you win. You aren't in any hurry. You have no choice but to win - giving up is not an option. And your dog has no option other than to accept the bumper and hold it. So, stay with it, don't lose your patience, have faith in the outcome, and reward your dog with praise for every concession. 

When you feel that he is really making an honest attempt to grab for the bumper to shut off the pressure and also is making a real effort to hold the bumper, don't give him more than about a half-dozen fetches during each session before letting him off the table. Don't overdo it - stop once you feel that you have won the battle of wills for each session. There is always tomorrow. 

Also, every time you let him off the table, either reinforce his obedience or immediately put him away in his kennel. But whatever you do, take him off the table under control. Don't let him down and play with him or toss bumpers or get him excited. Dogs have a tendency to forget what they have learned when trainers get them fired up and jumping around after a training session. Put him away under control, and then get him out a couple hours later for a fun play session if you want to. 

When he will fetch consistently with the bumper in front of his mouth, it is time to start having him reach farther out and move right and left on the table to grab the bumper. 

Continue exactly the same as before, but this time hold the bumper about a foot or so to one side of his head rather than directly in front of his nose. Increase the pressure on the cord and tell him to fetch, and he should willingly reach to the side to get it in his mouth, shutting off the pressure. Have him hold it for a short time, then tell him to drop, and then have him fetch to the opposite side. Don't forget to praise for each of the fetches and also each time he drops the bumper on command. 

As you progress with fetching from each side, try moving the bumper even farther away and also begin to move it down closer to the table. As you move the bumper closer to the table top, you might have to add snaps to the overhead cable so that he can reach down without choking. Don't forget to keep the sessions short and upbeat and keep the momentum going so that he doesn't get bored and lose interest. If he avoids fetching the bumper or if you get into a real battle of wills, always be prepared to back up and review fetching at a more familiar distance before moving farther away again. 

Keep the pressure on until the moment he gets it in his mouth.

Each time you introduce something new - such as going from fetching out of your hand to fetching off the table, or from the table to the ground, or from bumpers to birds - there is a change or transition to deal with. And, with each transition, there is the possibility that your dog will view these as major obstacles. It seems that these transitions can be brick walls to trainers also! Trust me: It's going to happen to you! I want to warn you ahead of time because we have all been there. So, when it happens, remember to hang in there and don't get angry or take your frustration out on your dog. 

The most difficult transitions always seem to be either when you try to get your dog to fetch off the table without your hand touching the bumper or when you take him off the table and begin fetching a bumper from the ground. For some reason, dogs that have been doing quite well fetching out of your hand seem to have a difficult time fetching a bumper that is not being touched by your hand and lying flat on the table or on the ground. 

You can make it easier for your dog to understand the transition if you hold one end with your hand while the other end is resting on the table. Try placing the back of your hand flat on the table, and lay one end of the bumper on your opened palm. Then, after he gets consistent at fetching the bumper from your open palm, begin to slide your hand out from under the bumper an instant before he grabs it. You might also try pushing down with a finger on the narrow end of a bumper where the string would attach. As he progresses, you can gradually stop pushing down and then cease touching it entirely. 

When your dog will enthusiastically go both right and left to pick up a bumper lying flat on the table with only intermittent pressure from the cord, you have made a major breakthrough. At this point, try unhitching the loop around his toes, but leave the ankle hitch in place. Continue to work him as usual but with only the hitch around his ankle, and just use a pull or light "bump" on the cord to let him know that you are still there and still in control as you begin to move the bumper farther away down the table to each side for him to fetch. 

If he begins to refuse your commands to fetch without the cord, then go back to using the loop on his toes and gradually try to wean him away from it. I find that most dogs, by the time they are consistently fetching off of the table, will usually perform just as well with only the hitch around their ankle. This can make a big difference in the next step when you go from the table to the ground, as you won't have to deal with keeping the cord looped around the dog's toes. 

Assuming that the two previous drills on the table went well, let's take force-fetch to the ground. 

When  you first move to the ground, you may have to keep your hand on the bumper.

By this time, he should have had his lessons thoroughly reinforced many, many times with the cord, and the clove hitch attached to his ankle should have just as much meaning to him as feeling the pressure on his toes. Start by having him make a couple fetches that he's familiar with on the table while he's still snapped to the overhead cable. Keep the cord attached above his ankle, but, hopefully, he will do these fetches on the table with little if any need for pressure from the cord. 

While he is still carrying the bumper in his mouth, unhook him from the snaps to the overhead cable, attach your lead, and walk him right off the table carrying the bumper exactly as you have done in the past but with the ankle cord still attached. Have him come to heel and sit; reach down and take the bumper; unsnap the lead attached to his collar; and pick up the cord attached to his ankle. Then, hold the bumper about a foot or so in front of his nose and tell him to fetch. 

After all of the preparation that you have done up to this point, he should enthusiastically comply by snatching it out of your hand. If he does this correctly, hold the cord attached to his ankle, and have him walk at heel for a few steps while carrying the bumper. Tell him to sit and drop; then it simply becomes a matter of continuing to move the bumper away and down toward the ground in increments exactly as you did when he "was on the table. He should catch on to this new exercise rather quickly. If he refuses to fetch, you have the cord around his ankle to reinforce and make him comply. If he really get stubborn and refuses to fetch entirely. take him back to the table for a few sessions. 

Before long you shouldn't have to hold the cord. and while it is still attached but dragging, begin walking him at heel on the lead, drop a bumper on the ground. and tell him, "Fetch." He should aggressively snatch it off the ground. Eventually you want to remove the cord tied to his ankle and then transition to dead and live birds. If he has a problem with any of the transitions, simply reattach the clove hitch around his ankle or go back to the table and remind him that he must fetch on command. 

One last thing: I get asked all the time how long it take to force-fetch a dog. My answer is that force-fetch is like a baseball game: It starts when it starts, and it ends when the last man is out. I plan on a month for most dogs. I have finished some in 10 days or so and have worked on some for several months. Just whatever you do, once you start, don't give up .