... an informative book with a nifty design ... Smartwork is filled with the kind of information you'd expect from a retired professional dog trainer ... laying down a good philosophy that usually gets glossed over in some books, but something that Evan puts first and foremost in his. Jake SmithFeatures include:
Managing Editor
The Reality: First of all, force fetch is more than just one thing. It is a definable process with clear goals. But within the process are several steps or phases. Those steps will be laid out later, but first, let's examine the goals.Training articles by Evan Graham. See all of Evan Graham's books and DVDs here.To establish a standard for acceptable mouth habits To provide the trainer with a tool to maintain those habits To provide the trainer with a tool to assure compliance with the command to retrieve To form the foundation for impetus (momentum) Mouth habits include such important items as fetching on command, even when your dog may be distracted, moody, or any number of things that might interfere with compliance. Sure, you may get away for years without having such problems, but being smart and being lucky is not the same thing. Force fetch gives you a tool to handle this when it comes up, plus some insurance that it is less likely to come up due to this training. Along with compulsion issues we need to mention a proper hold and delivery on command. If my pheasant is punctured, I want it to be from pellets, not teeth. That actually covers some ground in all of the first three categories. --excerpt from SmartFetch