Shed Hunting Dog Training Tips
Written by: Robert James
Step 1: Obedience
I’m not a professional dog trainer, nor do I claim to be. But obedience is a very important step in order to begin any type of training. I personally took my dog “Sonny” to a trainer for both obedience and retriever training. While there he also whistle trained him. I highly recommend whistle training any hunting dog, as it makes it much easier to give commands in the field.
Step 2: Play Time
If possible start them out young. Get a shed antler and tease them with it. If your dog has the drive to play fetch or retrieve then there’s a good chance they have the potential to make a good shed dog. A young dog will have a shorter attention span so you may have to do multiple sessions and spread them out. Be sure to do this in an area where they can easily see where the antler has landed.
This process is repetitive as I always start out with this to help get them excited about antlers. As you get further into the program, I recommend using a product by Dokken’s called “Rack Wax”. You can find this product at Cabela’s or Gun Dog Supply without a problem. This is a wax that has been combined with the scent of the glands located at the base of the antlers to help your dog recognize the smell when he comes across fresh deer sheds in the woods. Start out by putting a lot on it in the beginning and then reduce down to using very little later on.
During this stage it is also very important that you establish a specific command for finding antlers and be consistent. For my dog I use the command “Dead” when I have him looking for a dead bird and “Search” when looking for deer antlers. Each time that you throw the deer antler and have you dog retrieve it use the command word so they get used to hearing it and make the connection.
Step 3: Search
The next step is to continue Step 2, but now we’re going to throw the shed into waist high grass. This will teach the dog to use their nose. Just as in retriever training begin with singles and then go to doubles or triples as they get better. Be sure to put Rack Wax on it though so that they can find the antler easier. Always praise them when they do good and every once in a while just tease them with it and give them an easy throw to keep them interested and having fun.
Step 4: Eye Sight
In this stage we will train our dog to use their eyes. You can buy some foam board from your local arts and crafts store and cut out some silhouettes of antlers. Make different shapes and make them fairly large. You’ll need some good size wire to stick up in the foam antler and use this to stick it in the ground so that the silhouette will stand up. I recommend to apply Rack Wax here as well and spread out your sheds over a fairly large area to help make it realistic. Try to use an area with short grass or a good mix of short to shin high grass. It’s important that your dog can see the silhouettes so that he learns to go look at things that look like and antler to determine if that is what it is. When doing this stage you’ll need to have your dog at heel while you’re out away from the sheds a good distance. When you get to where he can see the silhouette, give your command so that he knows to start looking. Your dog should find them on their own and bring them to you. Then give your command again and repeat the process until all sheds have been retrieved.
Step 5: The Real Deal
In the final step, make it as realistic as possible. Hide the sheds over a broad area with different types of habitat. Make sure that you know where each one is, I recommend hanging some flagging near them up high or mark them on your phone. Approach and give the command just as in Step 4 but this time no silhouettes will be used. I still use Rack Wax, but I just put a little on the base. Also try to keep your scent off the antlers as much as possible. Continue this whole program until your dog has shown to be a shed hunting pro.
Each year I go back through these steps to keep my dog sharp, and I do it extensively for about a month prior to going on a shed hunt. When keeping your dog at the house, don’t just let them lay around and chew on deer antlers. Everyone thinks that will make them want them, but realistically it just makes them not as excited to see one. It should be a special thing to get to play with deer sheds and this will make your dog have much more drive to find them. I hope this helps and for any questions feel free to email or send us a message on any of our social media platforms.
