Shed Hunting: Starting Your Dog Out the Right Way - Part 1

It's a bit of a shame how bird seasons only last a few months. Just as you're getting into the swing of things with pheasant and duck shooting, and the excitement of autumn rocks up, before you know it winter's taken hold and all you're left with is dreaming and waiting for the next season. Luckily, there's another type of hunting you can crack into as soon as the snow starts to clear, and it's a top way to keep your dog in peak condition and fighting fit, not to mention it keeps them physically healthy: shed antler hunting. Let me give you a hand to start you and your dog off on the right paw with this ripper activity.

The biggest challenge in getting a dog keen on searching for shed antlers, especially for an older dog, is that a piece of bone is never going to be as thrilling as a warm, live pheasant or grouse. But my dog, Easton, was 5 years old before we started shed hunting and he ended up winning a shed-hunting championship, so it's definitely possible!

The first thing I do is grab a shed antler, maybe a small side from a little basket-rack for a pup or a bit bigger one for an older dog, and coat it with a product like Dokken’s Rack Wax to give it a fresh scent. Then it’s all about teaching your dog that searching for the shed is just about having a good time. Get your dog excited with heaps of “Find the bone! Find the bone!” banter and then chuck the shed a short way where it’s easy for your dog to spot it.

If you're doing this with a puppy, it's not much different than when you're throwing fun bumpers. You'll want to keep a check cord on him so he can't run off with the antler or lie down and start chewing on it. Teach him that the sooner he brings it back to you, the sooner he'll get to go chase it again.

However, in the same way you don’t overdo retrieving drills with dummies or birds, you want to keep these sessions short so your dog is always keen for more. After your dog has figured out that this is every bit as much fun as looking for birds, and is enthusiastically chasing down the antler and bringing it back, the next step is to get him just as excited about searching for sheds out in the bush.

I start with just chuckin' an antler out in the open in the backyard, and then I use that same, keen 'Find the bone!' command I used during fetch drills. So, now your dog's gonna learn to go out and sniff around for sheds just like he does for upland birds. From there, just move on to stashing antlers in gradually thicker bush so your dog has to learn to use his snout.

When it's time to head out for a bit of antler-hunting practice or the real deal springtime shed hunt, you can of course use any command you like, but make sure you're making a clear distinction between shed hunting and bird hunting. For instance, I go with 'Find the bone!' as opposed to 'Hunt 'em up!' One reason for this is that with shed hunting you want to let your dog roam far and wide, while with bird hunting you need him to stay within a shot's distance, like 20 metres or thereabouts.

I'll go into more detail about this, as well as how to get the maximum efficiency out of your new shed-hunting mate in my next article.

Always check your local and state regulations related to dog training and the use of game birds on private and public property.