| Subject: Re: Shed Hunting Dogs |
Author:
Tam C
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Date Posted: 06:41:43 12/20/02 Fri
In reply to:
Horn Hound
's message, "Shed Hunting Dogs" on 08:47:28 12/16/02 Mon
Last year I got a puppy with the specific intention of training him to pick up sheds. I am not sure how old your dog is, but it should not be too difficult if he likes to fetch, just takes practice, practice...
My dog, Cowboy, was about eight weeks old when I got him. I started with the usual puppy training, giving him a little treat for anything he did right, sit, stay, shake, and on to fetching and bringing the item all the way back to me. This included the usual ball and such, but I also 'borrowed' one of my husband's smaller horns he was not overly concerned about (sharp puppy teeth) and would toss that, too. Outside he likes to play ball and especially frisbee and everytime he would get or catch these and bring them back, he would get a treat. I also did this with tossing the horn, but definitely would not let him chew on the horn at all. I would make sure to name each item he was fetching such as 'ball', 'frisbee', 'horn', etc. so he would know which one to get. He quickly learned that the sooner he came back to me and gave me the item, the sooner he got his treat. He was doing this within a couple of weeks. Soon I got to the point where I would give him a treat only when he brought the horn back to me, nothing else.
Then I started just having the horn lying on the ground instead of tossing it, started hiding it and making him search for it. I used "get" or "find"; you could use fetch it up or whatever is natural. Sometimes I had to direct him to the area where it was, but he caught on. Our neighbors had an empty lot behind their house and I asked if I could take Cowboy out there. My husband gave me about a dozen horns and I would take them and put them all around, in the long grass, under the trees, etc. I would tell Cowboy to "get the horn", "find it" and make him find all dozen horns and bring them back. Lots of praise and a treat every time. He figured out that if he followed by scent where I had walked, he would find the horn, so I had to change my tactic. I walked in one path and tossed the horns here and there. We did this every day. Now he was about four to five months old.
The real test, of course, was getting him out in the real environment. He was about 10 months old when shed season started. I would encourage him to get the horn or find the horn as we were going along (make sure you have a pocket full of treats). When we spotted a horn (unless it was a big one!) I would point him in the direction of the horn and tell him to get or find it until he found it. He would bring it back to me- lots of praise and a treat or two. We pick up whitetail, mule deer, moose, and elk. He was coming along but had not found a horn solo.
In April (he was about 14 months old) we took a shed hunt trip into Canada and of course I took Cowboy. On this trip he found two horns solely on his own without my help, one whitetail and one mule deer. The mule deer horn was nice and it will go into the shed record book; not the top 10 but who cares!! We entered the horn under my name and his, since he found it.
Looking forward to shed season starting in about a week to see what will come about. Probably have to work the cobwebs out a little, but I worked some with him the last week to refresh him.
I think one of the main keys was the switch from treating him for all his good behavior to strictly finding and bringing the horn to me (with lots of praise) and the other was that I worked with him almost every day, the same thing making him find every one of the dozen horns and bringing them back.
Hope this helps, let me know how its going....
Tammy
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