I took my 22 month old PL Trigger hunting a couple of weeks ago.  At first he was a bit too excited -- running way out of shotgun range like a madman and bumping the quail.  After he calmed down, though, he did great -- quartering properly and pointing very firmly until I released him.

My question is about the other "half" of the hunting equation.  For some reason, Trigger was sheepish about picking up the quail, frequently dropping them.  He is ff'd, so I tell him to fetch them.  He would do so, but then drop them like they tasted horrible.  He would never do that with a bumper.  Anyway, I would put them back in his mouth, cuff him under the chin and tell him to hold it.  He would do so, but you could tell that he hated it.  Also, all of my games of baseball with him have apparently been wasted time -- I couldn't handle him to downed birds at all.  The next day I had him out in my backyard again and of course he was handling like one of the ESPN dogs.  Any suggestions?

This was his first exposure to quail -- he likes pheasants and chukar, but definitely not quail.  I guess I thought (incorrectly), that once they like to hold one bird in their mouth they will like them all.

I've done baseball & wagon wheels, but that's about it.  What should I be doing next, and what is the best source of info on it?  I am a complete rookie -- how do I know when I am "done" with force fetch?