Shed Dog? Is it worth it

greekfreak

5 year old buck +
I combed through the forum a little bit and did not find anything that could answer my question.

I Had recently just got a new pup and man, I forgot how fun it was to train your dog. This time around, I want to try and train him to shed hunt. I have never worked with a dog that knew how to shed hunt which leads to my question.

Is it worth having a shed dog?
 
I don’t have one. I’ve never seen one work.
But if I was training a new retriever I’d add that to the training routine.
Unless you’re in one of those areas that actually finding a shed is like finding a unicorn. Then why bother.
 
I also do not have a shed hunter, I do go out and look for them but it usually ends up just being a walk in the woods lol I just don't have the eye for it I guess.
I do have friends with shed hunters and they say it is easy with a relatively good dog. Sheds, like blood, are unique smells in the woods as opposed to trying to train a dog to stay on one bunny track that crosses other bunny tracks or deer/animal tracks. They describe it as relatively easy to do but I have never tried it with sheds. I have done it with blood and a black lab and the dog took to it immediately and followed the trail just fine, I lost that dog to a live in female when she moved out so I have yet to actually own a blood tracker.
 
It’s a lot of fun. My dog was working the top of a bluff this year, she picked up the thermals coming up a ditch, turned on a dime, and went straight to a shed that was lying on a big rock about 75 yards away. I would’ve never found it on my own. With that said, I think shed dogs are overhyped.
 
Put a shed in their kennel or where they are att in the house. Let them learn the scent. Take the pup outside and put a shed in a field with tall grass. Let the pup work his way towards the shed from the downwind side. He should with time pick up the scent. When they find it, reward & praise them.

They are quick learners and great companions in the field.
 
It’s a lot of fun. My dog was working the top of a bluff this year, she picked up the thermals coming up a ditch, turned on a dime, and went straight to a shed that was lying on a big rock about 75 yards away. I would’ve never found it on my own. With that said, I think shed dogs are overhyped.
This was more the response I was looking for. Is there too much hype over shed dogs? I have experience with well trained bird dogs and I could not imagine hunting without one. Would I feel the same way about a shed dog?
 
Put a shed in their kennel or where they are att in the house. Let them learn the scent. Take the pup outside and put a shed in a field with tall grass. Let the pup work his way towards the shed from the downwind side. He should with time pick up the scent. When they find it, reward & praise them.

They are quick learners and great companions in the field.
I have high hopes for this pup. We got him Friday at 8 weeks old and he started ringing the bell to go outside to the bathroom Sunday. Blows my mind.
 
This was more the response I was looking for. Is there too much hype over shed dogs? I have experience with well trained bird dogs and I could not imagine hunting without one. Would I feel the same way about a shed dog?
I live in Iowa, so she has a lot of sheds to smell and find in some places. If I didn’t live in a great deer hunting area, it wouldn’t be worth it in my opinion. If a person thinks they’ll go from finding no sheds on their own to a bunch with a dog, I think they’ll be disappointed.
 
I live in Iowa, so she has a lot of sheds to smell and find in some places. If I didn’t live in a great deer hunting area, it wouldn’t be worth it in my opinion. If a person thinks they’ll go from finding no sheds on their own to a bunch with a dog, I think they’ll be disappointed.
I am from Ohio. I do pretty good on my own shed hunting. Usually in the 30-40 range a year. I walk all our farms on my own though. That is what kind of got me thinking about shed dogs. More eyes, and a nose might benefit me.
 
We took her out on the home farm a couple of weeks ago. She found 5 of the 10 sheds. We would’ve missed only one that she found, but boy was it fun watching her work.
 
I am from Ohio. I do pretty good on my own shed hunting. Usually in the 30-40 range a year. I walk all our farms on my own though. That is what kind of got me thinking about shed dogs. More eyes, and a nose might benefit me.
Go for it
 
I absolutely love to shed hunt. I plan on getting a new pup sometime in May and fully intend to make it a shed and morel mushroom dog. Whether I get that done or not is debatable, but I'm going to try. I can't imagine walking the forest with your dog as ever being over-hyped.
 
You start selling mushroom dogs, I'll be your first customer!
 
Yes it's worth it. I wouldn't spend thousands on a professional trained pup thou. I'm not saying my dogs are the best but they have found sheds in really tuff low density deer areas. The amount of time spent training are golden has been minimal. I bought antler scent and put it on sheds. Then would hide the sheds all over the place and take them for walks. Reward them with a treat when they find them. The dogs absolutely love hunting sheds. This dog had sheds as toys since she was a pup so she was used to them.
 

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I had a lab pup that the only toy she had was a shed and it made them want them and she found several.Saying that my daughter border collie and sheep adoddle both found sheds this year also going on walks.Dogs add another something to it but so does just having a dog in the woods with you
 
I was a police canine handler for 11 years...Lost my dog 2 years ago on April 8th. The way that dude could smell drugs was unreal. This is the longest I have ever gone without having a dog. That being said I will be training it to find sheds once I do decide to get another one. There is no doubt in my mind it will be a game changer if they are trained right and into it.
 
I live in Iowa, so she has a lot of sheds to smell and find in some places. If I didn’t live in a great deer hunting area, it wouldn’t be worth it in my opinion. If a person thinks they’ll go from finding no sheds on their own to a bunch with a dog, I think they’ll be disappointed.
I think it’s worth it if you live in an area with lots of sheds —Like Iowa

We find 15-1 in Iowa compared to MN (with more acres searched in MN)
 
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