dogs for shed hunting

[brock77]

I was wondering whats the best way to get a puppy trained for shed hunting. i have some of last years elk sheds but probably to big for him right now. Should i start with fresh sheds or is older ones okay. anyone use there dogs for shed hunting?
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/Picture_0019.jpghttp://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/Picture_0036.jpg

[whitetailsheds]

Fresh. There's a couple threads on here on this. Search 'em...

[Spy]

A light bulb just went off in my head, when I saw this thread!I have a very bored 9 year old GSP bitch,which I think I can train to find sheds. Thanks for the Idea,now to the drawing board. I Will let you know when we find our first shed. Good luck in your puppy shed training adventures.:-D:-D

[BromBones]

I take mine along. Never really 'trained' him, just let him wander around and if he finds anything he'll bring it back to me to show off. Sometimes it'll just be a big stick, but he's usually pretty good for sniffing out an antler.

Nice lookin pup you got there.

[hotload]

I have 41/2 month old Blue Heeler (BILLIE) that I have up in the hills all the time. Instinctively she found a 2 point Mulie shed in early Feb. stuck in a tree trunk which I praised her wildly about. She probably found it just because of the different smell, but, since then and probably because she thought she was such a wonderful dog she has found a last years moose shed stuck up about 3 feet in a tree stump,a 2 point mulie shed, a last years large massed 4 point mulie shed, another 4 point shed just the other day and 2 identical laying side by side 4 point mulie sheds and on another mountain she found a beauty 4 point muley shed. Except for one shed she has found all these within a week. Don't know whats going on but she is loving it. She doesn't bring them to me so I have to keep my eye on her and read her as to what she is doing. Some of her finds, which tends to be a lot, are deer bones that maybe just couldn't make the winter and starved or a cat has got. What I have learned is that when I take her into a good shed area I start her out down wind because everything she finds is wind scented. She zig zags up wind and comes up with a lot. I also have been training her intensively on blood tracking which she loves and while training her slowly and thoroughly she has learned to blood track with a deep nose through rough terrain, turn sharp corners, follow scents in circles and can do this for about 350yds, hopefully much more yardage to come as she gets older and taught to be more stubborn to the track. I have owned tons of dogs in my life but the Blue Heeler owners on this site can attest to what these dogs are all about. Never have I run across a breed of dog quite like this. They are tough beyond belief, they won't give up on a job ,but, they certainly have a mind of their own and aren't for the novice owner and they are always testing you to see if you are worthy of them. I sincerely believe a line that I read once about them, "They Are About As Tough As They Think They Are" Anyway lotsa fun and she loves it.

[Doe]

I would go talk to doubled.....recent thread shows he has taught his pooch to rip em right off their friggin heads, whether they are ready to shed or not:shock:
I say he's the one to ask for advice:mrgreen: