bud you need to be clear in your own mind what you want to accomplish with the pup, that is, what sort of retrieve you want, do you want it to hand or a few feet away, dont treat a bad retrieve,
i only throw for the pup to retrieve if he jumps up and gives me the ball straight from his mouth, that way he gets used to close contact and my hand movement close to his mouth for the proper retrieve rabbit style,
i dont bring a crew with me either, just you and the mutt, he will be better focused that way
cause frustration in the pup for the item, if he knows your going to launch it everytime