I do the force fetch following the steps outlined by Bill Koehler in his book on open training. It very logically teaches the steps sequentially, carefully covering each step before introducing the next. The action of taking the dumbbell is introduced and taught separately from the hold. The only change I have made is to have a solid "hold" with a dog able to heel and go over low jumps while carrying the dumbbell before introducing the ear pinch as part of the teaching the dog to reach for and grasp the dumbbell. I find it takes weeks to carefully cover, although a natural retriever will move through the different stages faster than a dog which has no desire to fetch and carry. Koehler breaks the "take it" into 8 different steps alone, so it can easily take several months to develop a reliable retrieve. Once the dog reliably retrieves the dumbbell, I will transfer the retrieve to other objects, of other surfaces, including metal, glass, leather, feathers, etc. I hae successfully used this method to train breeds as diverse as miniature and standard poodles, collie, whippet and Pembroke Welsh corgi with this method as well as numerous students.

Several other authors detail methods of teaching the retrieve which are quite similar. Diane Bauman (Beyond Basic Dog Training), Patricia Gail Burnham (Playtraining Your Dog), and Barbara Cecil and Gerianne Darnell(Competitive Obedience Training for the Small Dog) are some that come to mind.