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Training Your Dog to Find Shed Antlers
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September 30, 2009
Training Your Dog to Find Shed Antlers
By David DiBenedetto
I’ve never found a decent shed antler. Ever. I’ve found just about everything else in the woods—arrowheads, old bottles, deer, and cattle bones—but never a good shed. Granted, I haven’t spent a ton of time in the woods post deer season, but I do know some dog men who have gone as far as to train their pups to find sheds.
Captain Jamie Hough, a Charleston, S.C. fishing guide and hunter, worked with his dog, a redbone-treeing walker mix, from the day he brought it home. Jackson, (pictured above) spent his puppyhood chewing on antlers instead of rawhide, and quickly became adept at uncovering the racks wherever they were hidden. Nowadays, when Hough is out in the field in late winter Jackson is on a perpetual shed hunt. And he finds plenty. But training a shed dog, it seems, isn’t always that easy—or cheap.
While there’s not much literature out there on the proper way to train a shed dog, I did find a kennel that offers classes on the subject. For $7,500 you can purchase a fully-trained shed dog from Ventosa Kennel that will do just about everything but grow its own rack. The folks at Ventosa take their work seriously—they have the largest training facility for Police K9 dogs in the nation. If you’d rather use your own dog, Ventosa offers a 3-day seminar for $595.
The kennel does offer some advice for picking a good shed dog. It seems hunt drive and retrieving instincts are paramount, which means the retriever breeds—Labs, Goldens, Chesapeakes—are excellent candidates, but the working breeds do well, too.
For now, Pritch and I are too focused on preparing for the upcoming duck season to bother with any other type of training, but I’m curious how many of you shed hunters have trained your dog to help out. Or if you’d be willing to part with 7,500 smackers to have shed-finding machine?
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Comments (20)
Eh...I would prefer if Daisy just worried about retreiving my waterfowl and pheasants. Being she is already 3, it seems too late to try to make her a shed hunter.
I've taken my dog along on some shed hunting trips and then played some fetch with one. I hid it around the house and around the backyard some and sent her after it. I also gave her a spike shed I found to chew on, to help get her interested. I haven't tried real hard to get her to find them, but I'm hoping she'll be better this winter than she was last.
I just gave my lab old sheds to play with and chew on as a pup...then took him out shed hunting with me and would walk him up to sheds before I touched them and have him pick them up, then reward him with praise...before long he learned finding a horn equaled getting praise, it's been game on ever since...though the grouse in the shed hunting woods often distract him, as he is primarily a bird dog, and I catch evil glares when I don't shoot the birds for him......dogs don't understand hunting seasons..
awesome photo! and very cool concept, but no way i'd pay $7500!
I have never found a shed either, which is surprising to me because i go looking at least a couple times each year.
there is no way that i would pay $7500 dollars for a dog to find antler sheds or the $595 to train my dog to find em. i'll just hope that my dog will find one this winter when i try to look but i won't find any.
$7,500? Guess I'd better be in the business of finding and selling antlers to justify that cost. Hmmmm, do the Asians buy ground-up shed elk antlers?
MLH- I hear that shed antler business can be pretty lucrative...antler furniture ain't cheap!
My pup Jill found a skeleton last Feb. It was a 10 pt buck. That was the only one she found.
I had an Akita few years ago and always took him hunting all year round and he had a steady diet of moose and deer bones. he was the greatest at finding deer any time of year and used to drag sheds and bones home on his own. Best ever was when he showed up at my shop after wandering the river valley carrying a full 5x5 rack with skull attached. Good boy Bear, miss you.
They seem to be going for $20 a pop on eBay.
I want to keep my beagles as far away from deer as possible.
No shed antler hunting here but we did get out for the first time this season today.I will post pictures.Only got to hunt for about five minutes two flushes two Pheasant thats the limit here.I have had a great day and so has Magnum.
NEVER SET YOUR GUN DOG UP TO FAIL U.K.SPRINGER
kelmitch- Congrats on a great day! Good to hear you and Magnum made it happen.-D
TKS.
TKS.
I hunt in a area of Mississippi that is known for large racks. My in-laws had a lab that would bring several nice sheds each year. I tried to train my lab to find sheds. The first time I took him out after deer season was over he retrieved a box turtle. Everytime he went out in the woods after that he would bring back a box turtle. Go figure.
By the way, brought home my new Boykin pup Saturday. Let the training begin.
revots--Sounds like your Lab had...turtle recall! Okay, okay, bad joke...but congrats on the new pup and best of luck. Hope you're getting some sleep.
i would love to have a dog that could find sheds. i think its a good part of scouting knowing what survived the hunting season... i think i will try and teach my next dog to do that. and also like pointed out dogs can find wounded or dead dear so why not have such a valuble tool in supply if it can be taught.
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revots--Sounds like your Lab had...turtle recall! Okay, okay, bad joke...but congrats on the new pup and best of luck. Hope you're getting some sleep.
Eh...I would prefer if Daisy just worried about retreiving my waterfowl and pheasants. Being she is already 3, it seems too late to try to make her a shed hunter.
I just gave my lab old sheds to play with and chew on as a pup...then took him out shed hunting with me and would walk him up to sheds before I touched them and have him pick them up, then reward him with praise...before long he learned finding a horn equaled getting praise, it's been game on ever since...though the grouse in the shed hunting woods often distract him, as he is primarily a bird dog, and I catch evil glares when I don't shoot the birds for him......dogs don't understand hunting seasons..
I had an Akita few years ago and always took him hunting all year round and he had a steady diet of moose and deer bones. he was the greatest at finding deer any time of year and used to drag sheds and bones home on his own. Best ever was when he showed up at my shop after wandering the river valley carrying a full 5x5 rack with skull attached. Good boy Bear, miss you.
I want to keep my beagles as far away from deer as possible.
No shed antler hunting here but we did get out for the first time this season today.I will post pictures.Only got to hunt for about five minutes two flushes two Pheasant thats the limit here.I have had a great day and so has Magnum.
NEVER SET YOUR GUN DOG UP TO FAIL U.K.SPRINGER
I hunt in a area of Mississippi that is known for large racks. My in-laws had a lab that would bring several nice sheds each year. I tried to train my lab to find sheds. The first time I took him out after deer season was over he retrieved a box turtle. Everytime he went out in the woods after that he would bring back a box turtle. Go figure.
I've taken my dog along on some shed hunting trips and then played some fetch with one. I hid it around the house and around the backyard some and sent her after it. I also gave her a spike shed I found to chew on, to help get her interested. I haven't tried real hard to get her to find them, but I'm hoping she'll be better this winter than she was last.
awesome photo! and very cool concept, but no way i'd pay $7500!
I have never found a shed either, which is surprising to me because i go looking at least a couple times each year.
there is no way that i would pay $7500 dollars for a dog to find antler sheds or the $595 to train my dog to find em. i'll just hope that my dog will find one this winter when i try to look but i won't find any.
$7,500? Guess I'd better be in the business of finding and selling antlers to justify that cost. Hmmmm, do the Asians buy ground-up shed elk antlers?
MLH- I hear that shed antler business can be pretty lucrative...antler furniture ain't cheap!
My pup Jill found a skeleton last Feb. It was a 10 pt buck. That was the only one she found.
They seem to be going for $20 a pop on eBay.
kelmitch- Congrats on a great day! Good to hear you and Magnum made it happen.-D
TKS.
TKS.
By the way, brought home my new Boykin pup Saturday. Let the training begin.
i would love to have a dog that could find sheds. i think its a good part of scouting knowing what survived the hunting season... i think i will try and teach my next dog to do that. and also like pointed out dogs can find wounded or dead dear so why not have such a valuble tool in supply if it can be taught.
Post a Comment