NikolaKangrga
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- Oct 1, 2007
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Like some of you know, I got a new addition to the family on the 23rd of december. A pure bred black lab with quite a impressive hunting bloodline. He was born on Nov 8. I did some research on training Antler Shed dogs online and found a website with good information which helped out ALOT.
The website is.... http://www.antlerdogs.com/default.aspx
After reading through the website I purchased one of their training DVD's and hoped for the best. After watching this DVD twice with my GF we began training my puppy.
In the DVD they state that they begin training their puppies around 12 weeks of age. My lab turns 10 weeks tomorrow and is "almost" as obediant as their puppies they are training at 12-14 weeks. Iam very excited how fast he is learning.
Starting at 11-12 weeks, Iam supposed to start training my puppy in basic obedience training, retrieval and voice commands.
* Sit
* Stay
* Search
* Antler Introductions
I began my puppies training at 8 weeks old. At almost 10 weeks, he will sit, stay, search, and happily retrieves. Sit and stay are pretty much self explanatory. Training my puppy to search is interesting. Using "SMALL" rolled up treats or meat, I say search while I roll a treat or meat across the floor where he chases it until it is caught. I started this portion of his training when he turned 9 weeks old. He has been doing VERY well. Ive noticed when I first started this portion of the training with him he was mainly using a visual on the treat to find it. Now that we have been "playing" this game for a week he's got his nose to the ground while chasing the treat! After his 3rd week of this drill, instead of rolling the treat away from him, I will command him to sit and stay, walk about 5-10 yards away and hide the treat somewhere while he is watching me. Walk back over to him and say "search!". Allowing him to run and find the treat.
The antler introduction is apparently VERY important. The trainer recommends cutting a hard rubber ball in two equal halves and drilling a hole just large enough to squeeze a antler tine through. This training device will be used to play "fetch" with my pup for approximatly one month. Once a week, I will remove material from the hard rubber ball. By the time he turns 15 or 16 weeks he should be fetching the antler tine without any rubber. Its supposed to help train the pups nose to the smell of the antler. Once the pup is playing fetch with just the tine, the tine is replaced with a full antler.
Scent control is VERY important so the pup does not track your scent instead of the antlers. Once the pup is comfortable with the antler, playing fetch daily is very important. throwing the antler into thick cover so the pup has to use his nose and eyes to find the antler is also important. Once your pup is showing you that he is using his nose to find the antler in heavy cover, then its time to bring the "search" word into his play sessions. Just like with the treats, walk 10-15 yards and hide the antler in plain view of your pup. walk back and tell him to search. This lesson will eventually lead to hiding the shed without your pup watching you, and then having him search for it. BUT the more antlers your pup finds, the more encouraged he will be to keep learning! Once he finds a shed, show ALOT of excitement and throw the shed a few times "play fetch" as his reward. No more treats at this point. THEN have him sit, and search for another.
DO NOT FORGET SCENT CONTROL!!!!!
Iam currently working on breaking down the rubber ball until it is bare antler.... I will keep all of you updated on how the training is going.
I owe many thanks to Roger and Sharon Sigler whom has given me alot of help and support training my pup, on top of producing a great training aid DVD! I highly recommend Roger and Sharon Sigler to anyone interested in training a dog to find sheds, buying a top quality pup or even a trained dog. They will also train your pup if thats what you prefer.
Pic 1- My lab posing for the camera after a training session!
Pic 2- The DVD Iam using to Train
Pic 3- The training balls with antler tines
The website is.... http://www.antlerdogs.com/default.aspx
After reading through the website I purchased one of their training DVD's and hoped for the best. After watching this DVD twice with my GF we began training my puppy.
In the DVD they state that they begin training their puppies around 12 weeks of age. My lab turns 10 weeks tomorrow and is "almost" as obediant as their puppies they are training at 12-14 weeks. Iam very excited how fast he is learning.
Starting at 11-12 weeks, Iam supposed to start training my puppy in basic obedience training, retrieval and voice commands.
* Sit
* Stay
* Search
* Antler Introductions
I began my puppies training at 8 weeks old. At almost 10 weeks, he will sit, stay, search, and happily retrieves. Sit and stay are pretty much self explanatory. Training my puppy to search is interesting. Using "SMALL" rolled up treats or meat, I say search while I roll a treat or meat across the floor where he chases it until it is caught. I started this portion of his training when he turned 9 weeks old. He has been doing VERY well. Ive noticed when I first started this portion of the training with him he was mainly using a visual on the treat to find it. Now that we have been "playing" this game for a week he's got his nose to the ground while chasing the treat! After his 3rd week of this drill, instead of rolling the treat away from him, I will command him to sit and stay, walk about 5-10 yards away and hide the treat somewhere while he is watching me. Walk back over to him and say "search!". Allowing him to run and find the treat.
The antler introduction is apparently VERY important. The trainer recommends cutting a hard rubber ball in two equal halves and drilling a hole just large enough to squeeze a antler tine through. This training device will be used to play "fetch" with my pup for approximatly one month. Once a week, I will remove material from the hard rubber ball. By the time he turns 15 or 16 weeks he should be fetching the antler tine without any rubber. Its supposed to help train the pups nose to the smell of the antler. Once the pup is playing fetch with just the tine, the tine is replaced with a full antler.
Scent control is VERY important so the pup does not track your scent instead of the antlers. Once the pup is comfortable with the antler, playing fetch daily is very important. throwing the antler into thick cover so the pup has to use his nose and eyes to find the antler is also important. Once your pup is showing you that he is using his nose to find the antler in heavy cover, then its time to bring the "search" word into his play sessions. Just like with the treats, walk 10-15 yards and hide the antler in plain view of your pup. walk back and tell him to search. This lesson will eventually lead to hiding the shed without your pup watching you, and then having him search for it. BUT the more antlers your pup finds, the more encouraged he will be to keep learning! Once he finds a shed, show ALOT of excitement and throw the shed a few times "play fetch" as his reward. No more treats at this point. THEN have him sit, and search for another.
DO NOT FORGET SCENT CONTROL!!!!!
Iam currently working on breaking down the rubber ball until it is bare antler.... I will keep all of you updated on how the training is going.
I owe many thanks to Roger and Sharon Sigler whom has given me alot of help and support training my pup, on top of producing a great training aid DVD! I highly recommend Roger and Sharon Sigler to anyone interested in training a dog to find sheds, buying a top quality pup or even a trained dog. They will also train your pup if thats what you prefer.
Pic 1- My lab posing for the camera after a training session!
Pic 2- The DVD Iam using to Train
Pic 3- The training balls with antler tines
