You ll want to give deer antlers to your dog as early as possible to get them used.
Teach your dog to find shed antlers.
Once your dog is accustomed to the scent of deer antlers it s time to step up their training.
Place a practice antler in front of your dog and say find it or hunt or whatever you want your command to be.
How to train dogs to find antlers step 1.
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.
The biggest thing your dog needs in order to be able to track down things like antlers is his sense of.
Or store the ball and.
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.
Step 3 the.
The antler dummy will help the dog start to associate the shape of an antler with a reward.
Practice tons and use lots of rewards.
To get your dog excited about shed hunting you need to get him excited about the scent of sheds.
Teach your dog to identify the smell by using a bottle of antler scent bought from a local archery shop.
Take a tennis ball and rub it on a shed the fresher the antler the better.
Position your dog downwind of the hidden antler and give the find the shed command.
After some basic shed hunting dog training like this when you see that your fido has mastered in house retrieving take the antlers outside.
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.
By having this strong scent associated with the antlers booner began tracking the antlers not only with his eyes but also his nose.
How to train your dog to find antler sheds step 1 introducing deer antlers.
Introducing shed antler scent.
Repeat during several short sessions until your dog is eagerly picking up the antler each time you set it down.
Step 2 hide and seek.
Once your dog is retrieving the antler dummy for you it s time to introduce scent.