Train a dog to shed hunt: You’ve got yourself a 4-legged friend who’s continually keen to play fetch and opt for walks. But have you considered taking your canine accomplice’s power and vitality to the subsequent stage by schooling them for shed searching? Teaching your dog this useful skill not most effective gives them an activity to do, it additionally facilitates you tracking sport for hunting season. Shed searching takes patience and patience, however, the bond you will form together with your dog makes it exceptionally worthwhile. In this text, we’ll cover the fundamentals of how to train your dog to perceive and retrieve antlers and other shed animal elements. You’ll learn how to harness your canine’s herbal competencies while building their consciousness and field. With some time and determination, you and your canine will quickly be an unstoppable shed-searching duo. Let’s dig in!
What Is Shed Hunting?
Shed searching is attempting to find antlers that deer, elk, and moose have shed. As the days get longer in spring, deer antlers fall off adult males and are left at the back. These shed antlers are valuable to hunters, canine trainers, craftsmen, and creditors.
Why Deer Shed Their Antlers
Male deer, called dollars, grow antlers every 12 months for show and fighting at some point in the mating season. After mating season results in iciness, reducing testosterone ranges purpose the antlers to weaken and sooner or later fall off. The annual dropping and rowing of antlers is critical for dollars to preserve electricity and minerals.
When and Where to Search
The best time to search for shed antlers is from January through April. Focus your efforts on areas where deer spend a lot of time, such as:
- Bedding areas: Look for flattened grass where deer have bedded down. Antlers often fall off right where the deer sleeps.
- Feeding areas: Search areas where deer feed like grasslands, crop fields, and forest clearings. Antlers may get caught on branches or brush as the deer feed and come loose.
- Travel corridors: Look along paths that connect bedding areas, feeding areas, and water sources. Antlers can fall off as deer travel these routes.
Train a Dog To Shed Hunt
Many shed hunters use dogs to help search for antlers. Certain breeds, especially sporting breeds like Labradors and German Shorthaired Pointers, have an instinct for finding sheds. Start training a puppy by playing with deer antlers to get them interested in the scent. Take the dog to an area where you’ve planted some shed antlers and give lots of praise and treats when they find one. Over time, the dog will associate finding antlers with rewards and become an expert shed-hunting partner.
Shed looking is an amusing out-of-doors pastime on its own or as a way to scout regions for the subsequent deer hunting season. With some expertise in deer habits and patience, you may be locating sheds right away. And for lots shed looking enthusiasts, there is no more thrill than spotting an antler within the brush and discovering a matched set.
Choosing the Right Dog Breed for Shed Hunting
If you want to train your canine for shed looking, deciding on a breed that is naturally willing to do nicely on this activity is fundamental. Some dogs have innate tendencies that cause them to be highly suitable for locating and retrieving shed antlers.
Hounds
Breeds like beagles, bloodhounds, and coonhounds are heady scent hounds, which means they have a superb feel of odor. Their natural drive to follow scents by ground-scenting can be an asset for shed hunting. However, their independent nature can make them more difficult to train. With patience and positive reinforcement, many hunters have success training hounds for shed hunting.
Retrievers
If you prefer a highly trainable breed, a retriever like a Labrador or golden retriever is an excellent choice for shed hunting. Their instinct is to retrieve, which you can harness by training them to find and retrieve shed antlers. They have a strong desire to please their owners, so with consistent training, they pick up on the commands and skills required for shed hunting quickly.
Herding Breeds
Some herding breeds, like Australian shepherds and border collies, also do nicely with shed hunting. They have a natural energy stage and force to hold active. With their high intelligence and trainability, they can excel at the mental and physically demanding situations of shed looking. However, with outright workout and stimulation, those breeds can grow to be stressed or bored. Shed hunting is a perfect outlet for their strength and instincts.
The most crucial issue in choosing a canine for shed looking is finding a breed you hook up with. With time, patience, and fantastic education, many puppies can become professional shed hunting partners, no matter their breed. However, some breeds can also require more work than others based totally on their instincts and tendencies. If you pick a breed nicely acceptable to shed looking, you’ll find the training process more worthwhile for each of you and your dog.
Basic Obedience Training for Shed Hunting Dogs
Before taking your dog out to hunt for antlers, it’s vital to recognize primary obedience schooling. Your canine desires to pay attention to commands in distracting environments with lots of scents, just like the woods. Work at the fundamentals:
Sit, Stay, and Come
Teach your dog to sit, stay, and come on command. Start in an area without distractions, like your backyard. Give verbal commands and hand gestures, and reward your dog when they respond correctly. Practice this repeatedly until they’ve mastered it. Then, have your dog sit and stay while you walk away. Call them to “come”, rewarding them when they run over. This teaches them to obey commands when you’re not right next to them.
Heel and Leave It
Two other important commands for shed hunting are “heel” and “leave it”. Heel teaches your dog to walk calmly beside you, instead of pulling on the leash or running off. Start by having your dog sit, then walk forward while saying “heel”. If they walk with you, reward them. Practice this on walks, rewarding them when they’re in the proper position.
“Leave it” teaches your dog to ignore scents and objects you don’t want them investigating. Put a treat on the ground and when your dog notices it, say “leave it” and pull them away. Repeat this with scents and shed antlers as distractions. This command is key for controlling your dog’s behavior in the woods.
Practice in Distracting Areas
After your dog has mastered these basics at home, practice them in more distracting areas, like parks. Have them sit, stay, heel, and leave scents on command. Reward them when they listen. Once you’re confident in their ability to listen around minimal distractions, you’ll be ready to start shed hunting training! With consistency and patience, your dog will become a well-behaved companion for searching the woods.
Advanced Scent Train A Dog To Shed Hunt
Once your dog has mastered the fundamentals of heady scent education, it is time to advance to the subsequent stage. Shed searching requires puppies to use their nostril to find tiny antlers that have fallen off deer, and this takes loads of practice.
Increase the difficulty.
Start hiding antlers in more difficult spots, like up high in trees, underbrush, or even partially buried. This challenges your dog to use their sense of smell to locate the antlers. You can also try using smaller antlers since they have less surface area for odors to cling to.
Add distractions.
Place the antlers in areas with lots of competing smells to distract your dog. Things like animal feces, food scraps, or fragrant plants are great for this. At first, you may need to clear the area immediately around the antler so your dog can focus on its scent. Gradually make the distractions closer and closer to the antler until your dog can pinpoint it among all the smells.
Use older antlers.
Antlers that have been outside for a longer period have less of a fresh “deer” scent to them, which makes them harder to detect. Try hiding antlers that are at least a month or two old. This also helps prepare your dog for finding antlers that have been shed during previous seasons. With practice, your dog will get better at locating even the oldest, most weathered antlers.
Time your dog.
Once your dog has mastered the other advanced techniques, time them to add a challenge. Give your dog a limited amount of time, maybe just a few minutes, to find the hidden antlers. This helps make shed hunting feel more realistic since you often have to cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time. Provide lots of praise and treats when your dog succeeds!
With regular training at this advanced level, your dog will become an expert shed hunter, ready to help you track down antlers of all shapes, sizes, and scents! Be patient through the challenges, encourage, and have fun with your dog.
Tips for Successful Train A Dog To Shed Hunt
One of the most critical things you may do to have a hit shed hunt is to begin training your canine at an early age.
Early Training
As soon as you convey your doggy domestic, begin educating them to companion shed antlers with rewards and praise. Let them sniff a few shed antlers, give them a treat, and enthusiastically praise them. Repeat this process regularly so they learn to get excited when they find an antler. The earlier you start this training, the more natural it will be for your dog to hunt for sheds.
Use High-Value Treats
When you’re out in the field, bring your dog’s favorite treats to keep them motivated. Things like chicken, steak, or dog jerky work great. Give them a treat each time they show interest in an area where there might be an antler. This positive reinforcement will fuel their drive to hunt in hopes of getting more treats and praise.
Start in Areas With Previous Success
If your dog is just learning, start in areas where you’ve found sheds before. The familiar scents will make it easier for your dog to make a discovery, and their success will boost their confidence. Once they’ve mastered known areas, you can venture into new territory.
Maintain a Slow and Methodical Pace
Resist the urge to cover a lot of ground quickly. A slow, meticulous pace is most effective for shed hunting. This gives your dog plenty of time to thoroughly sniff out areas where antlers may be hidden. Rushing through the woods will likely cause you both to miss the sheds that were there.
With patience and persistence, you’ll be finding more sheds than ever before. By starting your dog’s training early, using high-value treats for motivation, beginning in familiar areas, and moving slowly through the woods, you’ll have a shed-hunting companion for life.
Conclusion
So there you have it, a step-by-step guide to train a dog to shed hunt. It’ll take some time and patience, but with consistent practice, your pup will be seeking out and retrieving those antlers in no time. Just remember to keep training sessions positive and rewarding. Your dog will be so proud when he brings you that first antler. Now get out there and let your dog tap into those natural sniffing instincts. Before you know it, you’ll have a top-notch shed-hunting partner who can’t wait to hit the fields and woods with you. Happy training and happy hunting!
