I have a black female lab that is 14 weeks as of last sat. So far she will heel( if I continually repeat heel), retrieve, and do short blind retrieves. Only trouble she has so far is learning the whistle commands and dropping the dummy before I take it, probably going to have to force fetch(definitely the most hard headed dog Ive ever had).... I was wondering from others if she was on track with others her age. I had pups growing up, but this will be the first that I will try to get titled is why I am wondering.......Also I am from texarkana Texas and was wondering if there were any dog clubs close by to learn new ideas and tricks with training.

at 14 weeks, keep it fun, use the whistle and voice commands together and she will come around to it. why would you need to force fetch if she is fetching but dropping dummy before told to "drop" or did i misunderstand and she is picking it up but dropping it and not retrieving? I put the ecoller on mine, he is 6 months, but i put it on him at 4 months when i was starting to work with him without a leash. hardly had to shock him, he would respond to the beep. I am just now starting "training" everything else has been a game for us, now im doing some fine tuning and there are now consequences for him deviating from the program.......we are getting into the work and not playing games, well we still end our sessions playing around.

I meant she retrieves but she does drop it before I take it. She is young I know and it will come. I. Choose not to use a collar my preference. Thanks for your in put.

Hey I do hunt test an field trails with a lab. That's a lot to ask out a 14 week old pup. You will end up with holes in your finished dog. I would recommend going to rtf or duck south which both are big dog forums an find a training group or local club. I'm not hating or telling you how to train your pup just trying to help.

Yes, that is a lot to ask from that age. Force Fetch should have come first before blinds. They have to learn to fetch on command then learn to be "forced" to a pile which initially starts the blind retrieves and hand signals.

Do not try to do it yourself or you could ruin the dog. If you are dead set on doing everything yourself, that's fine, but let a professional handle the force fetch sessions.

Four States HRC is in your area. They usually have their test in Maud but a lot of guys are from Texarkana.

Thanks for the info fellas. I guess my meaning of force fetch was meant different than perceived. The blinds are more of a not seen thrown dummy or around an obstacle. The pup will go on my command to the direction I send her sometimes I have to send her a few times to gain confidence and retrieving. This is not my first dog to train just my first to get titled. Thanks for the info though.

Have to coach the pup or the repeated command to get it to retrieve is from the not being successful on the so called mark which is the thrown bumper. Set your pup up for 100 percent success right keep it fun an make it a game with rules. Be sure not to nag which is the repeat of a command. You should say it once an if pup doesn't get it then it might not truly know the command. Cause the pup will learn that after the 4 times dad says sit he forces me so it wait till the 4th time to sit. It's a lot of the little stuff that separates a ok dog to a great dog. If you do force fetch your pup wait till after they lose there puppy teeth cause if done before could cause problem when they are in the stage of development/growth. One more bit of my 2 cents make sure your addict commands are solid cause that is the ground work of everything you do. If you need any help let me know I've learn what I know from help of others an I still do not know it all but I will help any way I can.