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DS570: Retriever Sports: Fetch & Deliver to Hand

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DS570: Retriever Sports: Fetch & Deliver to Hand

Course Details

In this class we make it super fun for the dog to target your hands with the bumper or toy!

Making contact with your hands is what turns on the fun! Once it's fun, we can make it harder to hit our hands - and add more behaviors between the pick-up and the delivery. 

Things like running long distance, coming out of water, returning into heel position before delivery, and much more. Some people call that "hold". I call it a side effect of a super fun process. 

This method is not a "trade this for that", game. It is a solid conditioning program to get super reliable fetch and delivery to hand with any object you want. If you're suffering from "keep away" syndrome or a dog who parades around, or drops the thing 3 feet away from you to enjoy it, this class is for you! 

Have you tried training a duration hold, only to give up from frustration? We got you! This method is much easier and more fun for most dogs. I would venture to say this method is also more successful in achieving reliable hand delivery.

What's different?  We don't start with HOLD. We start by building tons of value for the pick up and for our hand. 

1. Clicker training the pick up. Then shaping the dog to connect it to our hand. The game grows as we make it harder for the dog to get to our hands - creating amazing drive to push into them.

2. Once you have that, the hold evolves naturally as we add distance to the retrieve and behaviors like the sit, and the return to heel by withholding access to our hands.

3. Next we proof the performance to exciting places and objects. 

Teaching Approach:

Video Lessons: Each week, you get video lessons showing actual training of a young golden retriever from start to finish. 

Written Descriptions: Some written descriptions will also be added to the lessons. 

Gold and Silver level students can submit your own video to get my help. 

Bronze students will have a teaching assistant in the forums and get a lot from the Facebook group postings from past students. 

Syllabus

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Module 1 - The Pick Up

Module 2 - Targeting the Hands

Module 3 - Adding a Thrower

Module 4 - Transfer to Bumpers & Outdoors

Module 5 - Delivery to Heel & Adding Cues

Module 6 - Proofing Your Fetch & Not Fetch

Prerequisites and Equipment

We will be using a clicker - preferrably a quiet clicker vs box clicker. Or a marker word. 

For the training object, I recommend a new paint roller tube. The size of the paint roller should fit your dog's mouth comfortably. 

We will also be using food rewards. These need to be:
- Very enticing to your dog
- Soft and easy to swallow - such as small, round, soft meatballs. 
- Not dry, crumbly or  require chewing. 

It's important that the food rewards can be taken and swallowed quickly with no chewing and without getting stuck in the dog's mouth. 

Sample Lecture

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Testimonials & Reviews

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New class!

Many students from several countries with many different breeds have found success and joy with this process!

Registration

Next session starts: August 1, 2026
Registration starts: July 22, 2026
Registration ends: August 15, 2026

Registration opens at 9:30am Pacific Time.

DS570 Subscriptions


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Tuition $ 260.00 $ 130.00 $ 65.00
Enrollment Limits 15 15 Unlimited
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