Gotta Build Another Training Table

[AndyPOW]

Last March I let my 6 year old male Chessie out for his morning pee. Normally he does his business, goes to the beach for a few minutes and comes back to the door for breakfast. Not that day. He never showed up. Best guess is he was lured away by a female wolf in heat, and they ate him. It happens, and happened a number of times on the island last winter due to high wolf numbers and a declining deer herd.

Last week my wife emails me while I'm at work "I found a Chessie puppy, in AK". Yesterday she makes the trip to Klawock and picks up not one but two Chessy pups; a male and a female. . . "his and hers" Christmas presents. Time to get a training table built, and get the gear tuned up for waterfowl season this coming fall.

 

[AlaskaHunter]

I like the Smartfetch approach of training without a table.
I used a table in the 1980s, 1990s.
I like the non-table approach for several reasons:
1) Retriever behavior can be location-specific, and I can condition pup hold at a variety of locations
(in the garage, in the basement, in the yard, upstairs, downstairs)
2) Pup sits with obedience. Pup is not overwhelmed with pressure like he may be elevated on a vet's table.
3) Pup learns to hold and deliver like he would duck hunting...sitting, not on a table above the handler.
4) The transition from sitting fetch to walking fetch is easier from the dog's perspective compared to on table, then off table.
The transition from sitting fetch to walking fetch can be a huge step in the mind of the dog.
5) It works! Might not be any better than using a table, but I don't think the table has an ultimate advantage.