How to train dogs to find antlers step 1.
Teach your dog to find shed antlers.
Take a tennis ball and rub it on a shed the fresher the antler the better.
How to train your dog to find antler sheds introduction.
If you have spent countless hours walking through the woods up and down the mountainsides and racking up.
Most importantly have fun and enjoy the time with your dog.
To get your dog excited about shed hunting you need to get him excited about the scent of sheds.
I also bought another training booklet from tom dokken a renowned shed dog trainer and some rack wax scent and have used both of these items to refine my training approach.
Position your dog downwind of the hidden antler and give the find the shed command.
Repeat during several short sessions until your dog is eagerly picking up the antler each time you set it down.
Introducing shed antler scent.
How to train your dog to find antler sheds step 1 introducing deer antlers.
Once your dog is retrieving the antler dummy for you it s time to introduce scent.
Place a practice antler in front of your dog and say find it or hunt or whatever you want your command to be.
Or store the ball and.
Practice tons and use lots of rewards.
Teach your dog to identify the smell by using a bottle of antler scent bought from a local archery shop.
The antler dummy will help the dog start to associate the shape of an antler with a reward.
Step 2 hide and seek.
The biggest thing your dog needs in order to be able to track down things like antlers is his sense of.
Wear rubber gloves to avoid contaminating the shed with human scent and then coat the antler s base in the artificial scent and hide it.
Lastly stay off private land respect wildlife habitat don t chase the elk deer and moose around looking for antlers and pay attention to shed hunting rules seasons and licenses in your area.
First lock your dog in the house while you hide the.
After some basic shed hunting dog training like this when you see that your fido has mastered in house retrieving take the antlers outside.
You ll want to give deer antlers to your dog as early as possible to get them used.
By having this strong scent associated with the antlers booner began tracking the antlers not only with his eyes but also his nose.