Won't retrieve real duck......

[Bluebulldog]

Thanks everyone for the great advice. This is my second dog..my first, I was very adamant about following all the "rules" of training a great retriever however never needed to implement force fetching with him....he just learned it. I am going to try some of the above suggested ideas and hopefully with a few "fresh" ducks this weekend, I will get some positive results.

If I can offer one piece of advice on that last post.

Don't take him out to the field expecting that "fresh" ducks are going to be retrieved.

You're going to be frustrated as an owner / trainer if it doesn't happen, and the dog will have a huge negative experience, which they will then associate with further field work on birds.

Do it in a controlled environment.

My $0.02

[Muzner]

Bluebulldog, For sure! I think however, you took my comment the wrong way. I didn't mean bring him hunting with me and think he is going to retrieve downed ducks. I meant, use fresh ducks to continue training him. Like stated in a prior reply, "the old frozen duck might not be the best bet at this point". Thanks again for the replies.... Mark