# Dogs to hunt sheds.



## alleyyooper (Jul 6, 2007)

Any body have a shed hunting dog? What was the training method?

 Al


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## NDTerminator (Aug 20, 2003)

Both my labby-girls are trained to find sheds. They also are trained to find & retrieve arrows. They absolutely love both these little side tasks...

Teaching article search is a simple extension of the scent hunting/tracking portion of the training program I put my dogs through. It takes roughly 18-24 months starting with a 7 week old pup to reach Finished. I don't teach any side tasks until the dog is Finished as it distracts from their primary job & training.

Dogs don't learn like humans, they essentially imprint snapshots like a camera. Once they recognize the task/snapshot you are asking them to perform and the completion of the task results in praise, they won't forget it.

The idea is to build on success then increase the difficulty so start easy. Remember, you want the dog to succeed in training. Training is where the dog learns, NOT in the performance of the task in the field.

I put the dog at heel, let them smell the article, then let them see me place it a few yards away. My send command is "find the shed", "find the arrow", etc. They quickly learn to associate the phrase with the specific article task.

I then send the dog and praise them up when they find the article. I go one step farther than you might in that I have them retrieve the article and bring it to heel. Once the dog gets the idea, gradually increase the distance, then begin hiding the item. Eventually you will be able to hide the item several hours before training and completely away from your dog's presence.

This will take some time, maybe 4-8 weeks training once or twice a day, 10 or 15 minutes per session. You always want to finish on a positive note and leave the dog wanting one more retrieve.

Gundogs, particularly labs, absolutely love the challenge and will practically wet themselves to do these tasks!

Once the dog has learned the task, help them perform it in the field by sending them or working into the wind whenever possible.


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## alleyyooper (Jul 6, 2007)

Would seem to me that if the dog were to see you place the antler then give the command to find they would just learn to search for your scent to find the article.

 Al


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## NDTerminator (Aug 20, 2003)

Always remember that dogs don't think & learn like humans and success in the training of task is key to long term retention. Once they learn the task, you to take them into the field so they can associate the training with what you want them to do/find. That's where the dog figures out variables such as the inevitable human scent on the article which allow shortcuts are not going to be present. You can literally see the lightbulb come on when they do. It's fun & gratifying.

Sometimes they will surprise you. I mark long training blinds with little orange flags so that I can see the spot to handle the dog to the bird at several hundred yards. One of my gals learned on her own to look for the flag, , knowing a bird would be near it! Had to stop using them when I do blinds with her...


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