Do French Brittany dogs retrieve?

This isn’t just a breed specific post either I have worked with countless breeds across the spectrum not just bird dogs.

I just got into a facebook argument again, which I should know better than to do. The original post was about a new Brittany owner who had a puppy at “The Trainer” and was given the update the puppy was doing amazing except it would not retrieve. It hated retrieving.

I bit my tongue for a while. Well as long as I could which wasn’t long, while comments of this sort were being made:

“Many Britts despise the retrieve…. it’s all about the run and the point for them. Trainer will likely have to force fetch, which is common. “

“You can have him force broke. Then it’s not really up to whether the dog likes it or not, but a matter of following a command.”

“My girl will have no part in retrieving. She will find it and wait for me to catch up, but she won’t bring it back. Kinda looks at me; what do you want that for, it’s dead. Oh well, it works for us. They all end up in the bag.”

“I saw a program a few years back. The trainer said the dogs jobs is to point the birds. If you want a retriever, buy a lab!”

“Force fetch is the answer – worked wonders on my pup who hated to retrieve.”

“Most brittanys aren’t thrilled with retrieving. However, once force broke they will obey and do it. It’s not really a choice they should be allowed to make.”

“Most Brittanys are by nature pointers, not retrievers. That’s why the AKC dropped Spaniel from their name.”

“Some of them just will not retrieve. They’re finders not gatherers. Lol”

I can go on and on. It is terrible. It is a very long list of people making excuses for their dogs, and excusing poor training.

That’s where I stuck my foot in my mouth and had to jump on board…

“Surprised at how many comments here are about dogs that won’t fetch. My opinion has always been that is a fundamental part of being a dog. Regardless of breed. We start with a motivational retrieve at 8 weeks. I hunt chukar on crazy mountains that fall way down below. I don’t want to go get those birds but the dogs do! Very very few dogs won’t naturally retrieve. I say this carefully and with the full hate storm that comes with it but if a dog doesn’t like a retrieve generally it is because of how they were introduced to it. Hate all you want but it is the truth. It’s a fundamental part of being a dog.” Steve Parsons

And the hate did come. After several rounds of rebuttals I finally walked away. No one was learning anything new anyway. It is so sad

The first thing I have to address here is “Force Fetching.” Which in the competitive dog world many people advocate and many people do. Let me say first although I do not support it or use it, if what you are going for is points and championships it will be the most consistent retrieve. I did not say best, I said most consistent. The dog will always retrieve because its fear of pain and punishment. But you will see that in the dog. Forced tracking is the same. It is consistent and thorough but you can tell the dog does not like to track. It is doing so and finding articles to avoid pain and punishment. Contrast that to the look on my dogs faces when they bring me a bird:

My dogs love retrieving. It is our favorite game. They love to bring me stuff especially birds and I love to reward them for it.

I have not ever force fetched a dog, nor will I ever. That is not the kind of relationship I want to have with my hunting partner. I use and have used only a motivational retrieve for over 40 years now. I have competed in protection sports, obedience, and bird dog trials all of which require a retrieve. I have had pet dogs to exercise, which also requires a retrieve. I have used my whole life just two principles when it comes to a retrieve. Motivational retrieve only- it should be a fun game for me and for the dog. secondly, it is a dog. It is the dogs very nature to pick something up in its mouth and bring it to you. I have never in all my days seen a puppy that didn’t pick things up in its mouth and carry them around until we give them bad experiences or associations with that behavior. It is their very nature.

As a young kid I trained my first Terrier to fetch simply by throwing something and telling the dog to go get it for me. I didn’t know any better I was just a kid and this was long before internet and videos about dog training. The dog didn’t know any better either it was just a dog. So she went over and picked up the stick and brought it back. Why? Because the dog wanted to “play” with me and I wanted to play with the dog, and I invented a new game so she played along. See dogs are and always will be pack animals. I am and will always be the pack leader. So if we are going to spend time together we are going to understand one another.

I have had 6 year old kids teach 8 week old puppies to retrieve. I have never had a puppy refuse that game. You simply make the retrieve object the second most fun thing in the whole world. The first must be you. No dog in the world will come to you if you aren’t fun.

I hate when I see stupid people call their dog to them in order to punish them. All you are really doing is teaching the dog not to come to you.

One post on this thread pointed this out by saying most retrieve problems really are recall problems. If the dog picks up the object and wont return it, that is exactly what is going on. If the dog won’t pick it up, it is an avoidance problem. The dog is avoiding the object most likely because of how you introduced it or what associations you made with it. I will not back down from this philosophy with the exception of medical issues which often are our issues as well. If you are dumb enough to try and get a dog to retrieve a hard object while they are teething, you deserve the result you are going to get.

I use plush toys for very young puppies, other soft toys soft rubber etc for teething puppies and finally bumpers etc for dogs who are finished teething and we adjust the retrieve object based on behaviors we may be trying to correct.

However a dog should always go get a stick if I throw it just because it is a dog and I will be happy when they bring it to me. This makes them happy as well. They want to serve me. Especially soft biddable dogs like French Brittanys.

Anyone who says their dog doesn’t retrieve screwed up the fun game somehow. Making excuses for the dog or your own behavior is only limiting both of you.

Let me share an experience from a training seminar I was giving. I had a good friend at the seminar who had a dog she claimed absolutely would not retrieve the dumbbell or anything else no matter what. We made some kind of bet over the deal and after just three throws the dog was bringing the dumbbell to me… I am not a magician I am not the worlds best trainer. I do however understand that it is the dogs very nature to want to bring me something. How did wolves become domesticated anyway?

I have a new puppy we are holding back and in a week or two we will introduce her to obedience and retrieve and I will try to make a video of it so you see what I mean. Start right. Start early. Make it fun for both of you. Do not introduce force of any kind. Otherwise you will find yourself on the wrong side of the facebook arguments on retrieving. If your dogs won’t retrieve, change how you are training.

Watch this video. You will see one of our pups with zero training whatsoever about the 3 minute mark pick up a bird and bring it to me while I hold the camera. No training, no direction, no commands, no coaxing or coaching. It is a dog. It brought me a bird. It’s that simple.

This video show exactly the same thing. A natural retrieve with no guidance or training whatsoever. Pick up a bird and bring it to your person simply because you are a dog.