Scotty the Shed Dog

Perry is the new yellow Lab pup at the Pruett's household. Scotty will have a running buddy. I drove to Sanborn, Indiana yesterday and brought this 8 week old rascal to his forever home.

Got a couple of photos - one at pickup and one the first morning inside with me. I like this pup - I am leaving his crate door open and he moves inside to nap and he has taken a few short naps laying on my feet. He had an excellent night - no whining and no fuss. He went out at 4:10 AM for a pee break.

I want to thank Norman Henderson and Rusti Henderson for providing me an excellent pup. They have one male and one female that have not been placed yet. Sent me a PM if you are interested in those pups and I will share more information.



Norm, Perry and Wayne right before we began the 4 hour trip home. Pup traveled great - no mess to clean up - gave him one air break in Owensboro. Thanks to Rusti for taking the photo.



Perry is a happy puppy and settled into our home better than I had hoped. His name recognition is coming along great. He left two siblings in the kennel - he has handled separation great at this point. Scotty is going to have a great running buddy. Scotty is with his Indiana Trainer, Jacob Burris, until the end of July. Perry is top dog for one month.

My wife has been good about the dogs. She didn't get a say about Scotty but after seeing Scotty at the trainer in shared videos with other dogs, she said Scotty needed a companion. She put her foot down and would not allow me to get a female. I am glad to have two great male labs. As long as they will put antlers in the truck bed, I will give them a loving home and feed them.

Perry's estimated weight will be about 60 pounds. Scotty's estimated weight will be about 80 pounds.

Thanks for reading this thread.

Wayne

Always enjoy these updates

bill

That's great Wayne, and Perry is a cute little guy.

I have gotten distracted and have not posted much about Scotty lately. His improvements and the things he learned has impressed me and I am excited at his development. DogDoc - I remember you advising me about consult a trainer. Jacob Burris is the trainer I selected for Scotty and what a great team they have proved to be.

The first video is Scotty getting some table on "hold conditioning." He has excellent eye contact and shows no resistance. I dropped him off on May 3rd and this video doesn't look like the Scotty I delivered.

I hope you enjoy this short video.

This video was taken July 15th and Scotty has moved to floor work on his force fetch. I am pleased with how well he is shaping up - still work to do but Jacob has Scotty on the right track! Scotty is putting all of the different commands together and is pleasing the trainer very well at this point.

Our first hunt test will be Sept 9th in Southern Ohio. When I watch this video I realize I made a great choice by sending my dog to a talented trainer as opposed to him being limited by my efforts. I hope you enjoy this video.

When does Scotty come home? I couldn't get a dog and then ship him off like that...not in my nature I guess.

Kabic

It is not easy to send Scotty off for training but Scotty comes from great stock and he has a chance to be very special. I have visited him 3 times and I get video of his training every now and then. The separation was harder on me than him. He is in a great kennel with 10 other labs.

My father had a kennel full of bird dogs when I was a teenager and in my 20s. His best pointer was sent to Canada for a summer of training. He had a few other dogs that got much shorter training opportunities. I brought Scotty home on Jan 20th and by May 3rd it was clear to me he needed a talented trainer. He was born on Oct 21st, 2016.

In my opinion, Scotty is a lucky dog. I will and have given him the best Vet care and he has a great home here. Jacob Burris is getting the best out of him. My wife and I realized Scotty needs a buddy - so we got Perry who was born May 2nd.

With all I have said, it was not easy to see his crate empty. He is an inside dog - my wife insisted on that. I remember the thoughts that ran thru my head as I drove home empty handed on that Wednesday I dropped him off. All those fears have been laid to rest - he is in a great situation and has mastered so much.

Both the dog and I will be better off for this the three month time and money investment. I love my Scotty and I dang sure want what is best for him.

Oh - I almost forgot - he will come home in 2 to 2 1/2 weeks. All of my family will be ready to see him with all his new skills and ability.

Wayne

Wayne,
If you need a place for either of those dogs to practice next spring, I'd be glad to have you come search our place!


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That is something we should do twice. When the cameras show your deer have started dropping and then about 3 weeks later to get the late ones.

Knowing where the bucks drop can sometimes nail down a bedding area. Thanks for the invite - we will work something out next year. Scotty is going to be in his first "Hunt Test" on September 9th in southern Ohio. That will be an education for both of us.

Wayne

I want him to come hunt my places also.

Diamond hunter said:

I want him to come hunt my places also.

Click to expand...

That would be my pleasure. We use trail cameras to let us know when the headgears have been dropped.

Your sanctuaries will be holding some sheds - likely more than just the current year.

Wayne

Scotty has been getting his training and education. In this video provided on July 27th by Jacob Burris, Scotty fetches 6 bumpers on the table. He has tightened Scotty up very well.

Scotty is coming home next week and it will be exciting to have him back. This dog has made great improvements. I hope you enjoy this short video.

Scotty came home August 3rd and is very much better behaved. Jacob Burris did great things in 3 months. The day after I got Scotty home I had a tooth that was infected and my face swelled up. That was a Friday and my dentist only works Monday thru Thursday. It took 3 weeks to get the swelling under control with two different antibiotics being used. The tooth was pulled the day after the eclipse.

I say all of this to point out our training at home was curtailed severely as I could not be in the heat. I took Scotty and Perry to Olive Branch, Mississippi to Edward Norys so two practice courses for Scotty. Perry tormented him 80% of the way down there. We timed out on the first course because I cut one corner of the course and prevented Scotty from being in the scent cone. Scotty found 5 out of 6.

On the second farm, Scotty collected all 6 antlers in 8' 30". It was a productive trip. Edward was very helpful and I enjoyed watching his dogs run - Dallas and Lane are outstanding dogs.

I have ran Scotty on about 4 practice courses in our city park. Scotty has his best time Tuesday at 3' 58". He has been putting things together and I have put in the time with him.

On Friday, Sept 8th, we head North to Rarden, Ohio to their Deer Festival. We will compete in our first Hunt Test - we will run two courses and if we pass either or both courses that will be our first success. Based upon I have seen out of Scotty I believe he can and will pass both courses. I taught Elementary P.E. for 8 years and from that experience - I know Scotty is a puppy and might run good or he may act as if he has never seen an antler.

My job as his handler is to get him in the position to smell the antlers. I will check the wind closely and maneuver Scotty so the wind brings him the scent cone. It is a pretty thing to watch the dog moving fast and stop and turn into the scent cone and move directly to the antler. That cranks my engine.

I will report on our Hunt Test in a few days. Three weeks after the Rarden Hunt Test, we will be in our second Hunt Test in Southern Indiana at Norman, Indiana. That event will be put on by the people I got Scotty from and the people I got Perry from.

I have been impressed with the family atmosphere at the Hunt Test I have been to in the past. Good folks who love their dogs. My kind of people.

Thanks for reading this thread.

Wayne

Recently I have been able to work on improving Scotty obedience commands. Jacob Burris had Scotty tighten up real good when I picked him up. The setback I had prevented me from working on it as I would have otherwise. Just one of those unfortunate situations.

Scotty is regaining the habits Jacob polished up. The lesson I learned - work on the commands you want him to obey at least 4 or 5 days a week and multiple sessions per day makes a big difference.

I have a short video - I hope you enjoy it.



Thanks for viewing this thread.

Wayne

That's impressive. Loved the way he got his rear end in line when you gave the heal command

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PineSapJunky,

I am lucky that the trainer did a super job on the heel command. Scotty is a powerful animal and my wife had major back surgery. So what you see now is two steps below he was operating at with the trainer. I lost 4 weeks of opportunity to work with Scotty and Perry. I could do about 5 or 10 minutes a day.

Tooth got pulled and I got back to work. Problem for me - I had to work on the bumpers to finish some things up and for me to get comfortable working the drills. He has not been on hard antlers long - right before we went to Mississippi to work with Ed Norys.

After Scotty begin to improve on his antler work, I got back on obedience. Gosh I have learned some things I have got to do to keep my dog sharp.

The e collar made a huge difference in Scotty. He loves to see that collar pulled out. He immediately goes to my truck. He likes to ride because we train on city property where there is a nature area.

Another improvement is since I have been able to work him again, his exercise sessions have been almost daily. He is happier and more settled when he gets a sufficient amount of exercise. He loves to out run a side by side. My son has an old gator and Scotty smokes us. The gator is geared low - not like the newer models. We have a pond where we do this - so he gets a fun cool down.

Scotty had his fill of bumpers. Today we visited a portion of the city property where I will put a Hunt Test course. He got plenty of exercise and threw an antler four times in grass as tall as I am. He hunted hard and made all fines and all retrieves. His tail was just a getting it.

I am lucky - I have a great dog who is a pleasure to work with and be around.

Wayne

On Friday at 1:30 PM Scotty and I headed north to Rarden, Ohio to compete in our first Hunt Test for Shed Dogs. We sat in traffic 45 minutes in Louisville due to an 18 Wheeler that wrecked and shut the Interstate down. We stop in Bativia, Ohio and purchased a nice two hole dog box from a bird hunter.

We arrived in Rarden at about 10 PM. They were winding up their first night of their Deer Festival. I got to see some nice deer mounts.

Scotty and I sleep in the truck Friday nite and made it OK. I will say it was easier sleeping in the truck 20 years ago.

We drew the 13th running spot. The process ran slower than I believed it would and we got to run our first course at about 11:40 AM. Scotty has always been worked in the cool part of the day and back home asleep by 10 AM. I will modify my training in the future to include some mid-day courses. It will help me as much as him.

Scotty handled all the dogs and people very well. I had the best parking place possible and stayed close to my truck. He liked the new dog box fine. Because he had to wait so long when we hit the first course he ran as wide as I have ever seen. This worked against what I needed.

He found 5 antlers on the first course but we could not find the 6th one. The course was Walnut Trees planted in straight lines and this was deceptive. I though working the straight lines would work but it proved to be a bad approach. We had a swilling wind. The antler we missed I didn't cover about two rows and it cost Scotty a pass. Timed out at 15 minutes and he was panting away.

In about two minutes, we started the 2nd Course. I was scared he would be following me. Truth be told, he ran the second course at a better speed and distance and this helped us out. He found 4 antlers in short time.

The 5th antler was by a water hole next to a boundary with the wind blowing to the boundary. I saw the antler from 25 yards away. But after three attempts I could not get him position to smell it. He went to the water hole one last time for a drink and I quickly switched my position on the other side of the antler. When he raised his head, I hit the whistle and drew him past the antlers and he nailed it.

Now we had covered all ground and I began to retrace the course. Scotty was hunting at good speed and we got in the right position for the wind and he found and retrieved the sixth antler. Gosh how good it was to see that head up and tail wagging on the 6th antler.

We finished at 12:37 and my dog has hunted almost 28 minutes out of 30 minutes in warm weather. My biggest contribution was the water hole antler. Scotty worked hard and as the handler I didn't cover the first course adequately.

Next time we have a late running time - I will exercise him hard about 90 minutes before he runs. I will take that energy off of him.

I must remain calm when I take the antler from him and send him out to find the next antler. I have watched this dog enough to know his best running speed. Also, I am going to find someone to plant antlers for me so I am blind as I work my practice courses.



It was a great experience for both dog and handler. The event was organized well with good courses and judges. I will definitely go back in 2018. The Deer Festival was fun to see. Plenty of kids and families at the Hunt Test.

Thanks for reading this thread.

Wayne

Today is October 1st and much has happened since I picked Scotty up from Shannon Neal back on Friday, January 20th. This retired election official didn't want to watch any TV that day so I picked Scotty up a day early. Yesterday morning at 2:30 AM the alarm went off and Scotty, Perry and I collected ourselves and were out the door at 3:04 AM headed to Norman, Indiana to a Double Hunt Test West of Brownstown, Indiana with Jeff and Shannon Neal.

What a great day of weather and being in Indiana with this group of great folks was special to me. Scotty was a product of Skyline Drive Kennels out of Hunter & Remi - two National Champions dogs for NASHDA. Also, Norman Henderson was a judge on one of the two courses yesterday and I got Perry from him and his wife Rusti Henderson. These friends are dedicated Shed Dog people. When I was first interested in getting a shed dog and learning about how to train, the Neals and Hendersons gave generously of their knowledge and guidance.

To me Scotty has taught me why my father loved all of his bird dogs so much. I didn't know how much a person could love an animal until I got Scotty and began to train him. He is always trying to please me and is a pleasure to be with. I missed him for three months he was shipped off to the full-time trainer. Jacob Burris did an outstanding job with Scotty and built a foundation of habits that make Scotty an effective Shed Dog.

We arrived right after daylight and helped the Neals, Norman and Andy Bright get tables set up. Norman got to see how much Perry has grown. The Shed Dog participants are mostly family oriented people. I am the exception to the rule - traveling by myself. Also, I am the oldest rookie in sight. I have never allowed age to deter me from my goals.

Scotty was so excited - our running position was #7. I got him aired out early and feed early but we had to wait. I exercised him too early right before he ran and he moved me around like I was a ten year old instead of a 210 pound man. I was not hard on him with the e collar - I just didn't want to discourage that drive. My decision paid off - he found 6 antlers in 6:05 on course 1. Jeff Neal was the judge and he knew Scotty since he was born.

Every participant had said Course 2 was more difficult and we found that to be true. The course was 75% side hill inside the woods with large trees and some saplings. The wind was swirling but Scotty has been trained on woodland courses. I have been placing antlers at the base of large trees for about 2 weeks (since his last Hunt Test) and my training choices paid off on Course 2. Two of antlers on Course 2 were at the base of trees larger than your waist.

Course 2 time was 9:35 and I was so proud of my Scotty. At that moment I realized how much this dog has learned in the 8 1/2 months I have owned him. Scotty will be one year old on Oct 21st. Physically he is powerful adult - like a horse in power. Long bodied and tall. His weight is 76 pounds and I hope to get him down to 72 pounds. The fastest dogs have low body fat - you learn to look for the ribs showing in the back 1/3 or 1/4 of the body.

So two weeks ago we traveled to Linton, Indiana to run two practice courses with Jacob Burris for me to get wiser and more effective as a handler moving across the course. The coaching Jacob gave me paid off yesterday. I saw about 1/2 of the antlers on yesterday's two courses and repositioned myself twice to have my dog find the antler sooner (all legal).

Deer season is underway in KY, IL and OH. Our next Hunt Test are in January. I will run two in January and two in February. I am looking forward to when antlers hit the ground. Perry goes to Jacob Burris for his formal training on December 1st. My goal for wild antlers in 2018 is 25 antlers in all states we hunt. I have big plans to find some "elk sheds" too which means out-of-state travel.

Perry's father Tinks had the fastest course time yesterday. That was good news for my decision made back in May about which pup to be Scotty's running buddy. I believe Perry will be a high drive Shed Dog.

Anyone reading this post wondering if a Lab can find wild antlers - Labs are amazing animals. Retrieving is in their DNA and they make great Shed Hunters with training. It is a great feeling to watch your Dog coming running with a large antler held high with their tail wagging. Many Shed Dogs are Duck Dogs too. So it you want to have fun, get a shed antlers and begin working with your dog.

Thanks for reading this update. Scotty now has 3 passes on his Junior Title with plans to complete the remaining 3 in January. I do the Hunt Test for the knowledge I gain and the people are great to be around.

Congratulations, Wayne. Great update.

Thanks Cutman

We are at the point where all the work and effort is showing results. Scotty's September was a good one - for sure.

Wayne