Scotty the Shed Dog

Perry Update - 2 Ribbons Earned

Perry was delivered to Jacob Burris on Dec 4th, 2017. He was green - I learned early on Perry needed an experienced trainer for his strong personality. I lacked the necessary ability and experience to shape this pup. Jacob and I had discussed running Perry in a NASHDA Hunt Test to see if we could get one pass to make him eligible for the 2018 World NASHDA Event in April.

Jacob stuck to the training regiment that he uses. It appeared we would not have an event to run Perry. Jacob ran Perry at the Double Qualifier at Norm Henderson's Hunt Test Jan 27th. Perry's time on the first course was 3:30 which beats all of Scotty's Hunt Test. Perry was slower on the second course at over 11 minutes. Perry has never ran practice courses or prepped for a hunt test.

Jacob knew thru the daily training interaction he could do this and this firecracker of a pup got his first two ribbons at a NASHDA Hunt Test.

I continue to be impressed by the ability and skill Jacob demonstrates to develop and shape great habits in dogs/pups he trains. When he tells me where my dogs are at and what they can do - it has been spot on time after time. Perry has great potential and I am not cutting any corners with his training. To my credit I put what is best for Perry ahead of me having here to enjoy. I know a trained dog is 10 times more enjoyable than an untrained pet. At least it is for what I want.

When will Perry come home, maybe March 15 or more likely the end of March. I look forward to seeing Perry find his first wild shed antler. Got a photo of Jacob Burris with Perry and his two NASHDA Ribbons. Congrats Perry - proud of you. Thanks Jacob!

Perry Passes First 2 Hunt Test.jpg

Earned Jan 2018 in Southern Indiana - Norm Henderson's Hunt Test
 
Last edited:
On Friday morning, Feb 16th, Scotty and I will head to Olive Branch, Mississippi to a NASHDA Hunt Test at Edward Norys farm. This location is about 25 miles south of Memphis.

Scotty will run his first two Senior Courses and if he does as well as his practice runs we should come home with his first 2 Senior Ribbons. I have been to enough Hunt Test to not take anything for granted. Weather, wind, course layout, planted antlers, handler error all give a dog plenty of challenges.

I am excited about this Mississippi Hunt Test - we will see new participants from AL, AR, LA, OK, and AZ that I know of. We will have other new participants from states that have had participants at previous test.

Ed Norys and his wife Heather have worked hard at promoting this sport and I look forward to a great event. We might get wet but Scotty will enjoy that - keeps him cooler.

I worked a farm this morning for 2 hours and 20 minutes and the temp got to 68 degrees. He slowed his pace down and I sit him about three times to keep him cool.

Anyone that owns a dog that retrieves waterfowl - it is a short learning curve to hunting antlers.

Thanks for reading this thread.

Wayne
 
Edward Norys and his wife Heather worked so hard in preparing for their Feb 17th Hunt Test. Their family and friends worked hard as well. The great success of this event was the new participants it attracted. In the last 9 months, Ed has attended many hunting shows and passed out literature about shed hunting and it paid off.

Based upon what I know, we had the following new states with the number of dogs in brackets: Arizona (3 dogs/One man), Oklahoma (1), Arkansas (1), Tennessee (2), Mississippi (1) that I know of. Sure made me feel good to see the 2 new TN participants.

In my experience with Chinese Chestnuts, I have told people over and over, Mother Nature is in Charge. Mother Nature had the final word on this hunt test. With rainfall for the days on end in advance of the hunt test and on the day of the event, plans had to be altered. Parking had to be moved to the extreme south end of the farm with a long muddy walk to the registration tent. This ole redneck walked - shed hunters walk miles on end. To Ed's credit that used a side by side and extra four wheelers for participants to get back and forth to the parking area.

The registration tent was a large tent approximately 30 by 60 or 25 by 50. It was a life saving. They provide canopies are each hold blind. The ground farm was spongy from all of the rain. Labs don't mind mud but it slows us adults down.

Scotty and I have been practicing water finds since mid December. Both courses had five or six times the amount of water they would normally have. We solved our water finds without an issue. On Course 1, we missed a shed in a brush pile and it cost up a pass. I take the blame for that one - Scotty acted birdy around the brush pile but I failed to check it adequately. If I had walked around the brush in a circular fashion we would have been in the chips. This week in preparation for the Indiana Hunt Test we have already done 12 practice brush piles of various levels of difficulty.

We struggled on course 2 but got 6 retrieves in 14:00 minutes. It did feel good to get our first Senior Pass. I appreciate the hard work that the host provided for this event. This is the 2nd Hunt Test in the South. Kentucky had one Jan 13th and Mississippi on Feb 17th. Edward Norys has a UKC Event on this same farm in March. If you are interested in attending that event please let me know.

Norman Henderson and John and Alexa Ballard did a great job judging in the rain.

Got a couple of photos from the Hunt Test. Thanks for reading this thread.

Scotty & Wayne on Deck.jpg

Scotty MS Senior Pass.JPEG
 
In the spring of 2017 when Scotty was learning under my rookie leadership I had my eye on a Hunt Test that I was hopeful in Southern Ohio at the Rarden Deer Festival. As I studied everything I could find about NASHDA I realized that all the hunt test were north with southern Indiana being the nearest.

The good news - this sport is growing quickly and it is growing in a southern direction - Bluegrass Antler Dogs and Mid-South Shed Dogs held events in Jan/Feb 2018. Things shaped up well - we had 2 Hunt Test in Sept 2017, 2 in Jan 2018 and 2 in Feb 2018.

Saturday, Feb 24th the alarm sounded at 3 AM, Scotty was ready as he knows my camo dry box I put my clothes in was right beside his crate. The dog's black tail was a dinging the crate. We were headed to Brownstown, Indiana area at 3:22 AM. What a rainy morning we had. One of our normal state/county roads in Indiana was closed due to flooding on Friday night.

Scotty had two good Senior runs yesterday with a time of 7:34 and then a time of 8:58. I took my time working him thru the course - my goal was to find all 6 antlers. Scotty had been prepped this week with 18 brush piles because of our missed antler last week in a brush pile. The training week paid off extremely well yesterday. He worked the brush well with a controlled pace with his head at a good height and his nose on a swivel. You can see his reaction the moment he sees the antler. He works the best path available to him. Brush piles teach a dog to circle / arch around for the least obstructed path.

Scotty is a great dog to travel with and to train with - he is not hard headed and does his best to provide what you want. Now our Perry he is a different personality.

Scotty has earned 9 ribbons to date: 6 Junior Ribbons and 3 Senior Ribbons. He and I have ran 12 courses and passed 9 of them. Antler count is 69 found out of 72 planted with the clock stopped any run that reaches 15 minutes. I have learned to hate planted antlers that are located next to a course boundary with the wind blowing directly to the boundary - dang too hard to get down wind of those antlers. As my preparation for course situations have improved Scotty's performance has improved.

Now we are re-directing our efforts toward wild antlers. Got to acquire a topper for my truck and we are going to other states to hunt shed antlers. We are hunting TN locations as well.

I got to see many friends yesterday in Indiana and I congratulate them on their successful runs. It takes about 2 calendar years / seasons for a shed dog to title out in NASHDA (6 Junior Passes, 6 Senior Passes, 6 Master Passes). Scotty is half finished right now. I am glad to see my friends dogs complete their Master Division Title - I just hope they have a younger dog that keeps them active in our sport.

Thanks for reading this thread.
Senior Passes Indiana Feb 24, 2018.JPG
 
Last edited:
Update on Scotty and Perry's Success June 2, 2018

Scotty and Perry ran in a Double Qualifier in Linton, Indiana area on June 2, 2018. We were on the farm where Perry was born. The Home Coming was good for Perry and Scotty too. The temperature caused all the dogs some issues but Scotty dealt with better than most dogs there. Perry got too hot and I didn't take any water onto the course - my mistake.

Perry has the best time on Course A but he struggled on Course B. He was panting 90 mph with his tongue out about a foot. Hard to smell with those issues. He refused one antler that was in the sun so I skipped that one and we came back to it last to completed 6 good fines and retrieves. I was proud of him.

Scotty has been running Hunt Test since Sept 9, 2017 and has improved steadily with experience and from gaining maturity. Scotty had the best time of the Senior Dogs. He has the fastest time on Course D and was second fastest on Course C (beat by 13 Seconds on C). I was proud of what Scotty accomplished. For once he schooled some dogs that had been schooling us.

Scotty has earned 11 Ribbons and 1 more pass will complete his Senior Title. After Seniors we move to the Master Courses and it will involve large elk sheds. We are working on getting elk retrieves under control. The elk shed will weight in the 6 to 8 pound range.

Perry has earned 4 Ribbons and hopefully on Sept 29th at the Hunt Test here in Portland he will complete his Junior Title.

My dogs and I will run in Southern Ohio on Sept 8 and 9th in a two day UKC Elite Shed Dog Event. Southern Ohio is where Scotty and I started. Looking forward to getting our 2nd year going. I am hopeful Perry will reach his potential before 2 years of age. Each dog hits their mark when they hit their mark.

If anyone reading this post has an interest in learning about hunting shed antlers with a dog please contact me. I would be glad to help get you going.

Thanks for reading this thread.

Wayne
 
Did you ever travel to hunt wild sheds? I never heard from you.
This year I limited all of my shed hunting to same day travels. My plans got changed when I sent my youngest dog to the trainer in Indiana. Scotty and I hunted in southern KY and middle TN. I did take one long day trip to my son's farm on the Mississippi River in Randolph County, Illinois close to Chester, Illinois and Perryville, MO.
Scotty did great for his first year - he could hunt 4 1/2 hours before he was ready for a break. Most shed hunters talk about going slow in the woodlots and we certainly believe that is important.
For 2018, Scotty 8 sheds and Perry 1 shed. Perry didn't return home until May so I was glad he was able to get on the board in 2018. Our best day was 3 finds for Scotty in Grainger County, KY (one of the three was a nice 10 point dead head).

I do hope to come hunt your farms in 2019.

Scotty's first time to run a hunt test was in Sept 2017 and I am amazed at how far he and I have come since our beginning. Scotty is a shed dog at heart if he is in the cab with me when we approach a woodlot and he knows the speed of the truck has slowed down he shows he is ready to go.

I did get to shed hunt on Suburban Hunter's farm in Butler County, KY. I appreciate the opportunity - thanks for kindness. Went with this brother and then went back one day by our self before Turkey Season. I was surprised that we got shut out there but that is part of it. I think he has an excellent farm for deer hunting.

Wayne
 
Last edited:
Update on Scotty and Perry Successes

Friday morning Sept 7th, Scotty, Perry and I were loaded up and headed to West Union, Ohio in Adams County for our first UKC Event. In Sept 2017 we started NASHDA in that same Ohio County. The rules for the two organizations are very similar with some minor differences.

I just want to run my dogs and have fun. The UKC Event was a Saturday and Sunday event. It was a rainy weekend but the dogs actually like that a bunch more than us humans do.

Perry smoked the Working Dog Course Saturday morning finding 4 antlers in 2:17. He showed his potential, but are still working on his consistency on retrieve to hand. Then on Sunday, Perry had wild women on his mind - he marked every 3rd tree he ran past and marked the 2nd antler he came to. He pulled some time delaying stunts but we got done with a 6:19. He is a pup and that 6:19 is half of what his times were earlier when he messed around instead of focusing on the task at hand.

Sports, elections, and dog events will teach you some valuable lessons. I would have bet a large sum of $$ that Perry's 2:17 was safe. Good thing I didn't - the last dog that ran Saturday ran a 1:57 and beat my firecracker by 20 seconds. Go figure. On Sunday that other dog ran last (slowest time). You just never know with dogs that are younger or short on experience.

My Scotty is a great dog for me. He ran his best two times every - 3:48 on Saturday and 3:04 on Sunday. He ran hard and turned on the last antler Sunday from 40 yards away and went straight to it.

We made it home safely and had four nice ribbons to show for it. Thanks to Matt Myers, Courtney Myers, Rob Lewis and Erin Lewis for conducting a great hunt test.

Also, a big thank you to Rob and Erin for allowing me to stay in their camper as opposed to me being in my tent. Saturday night was long stormy night.

We will run our next UKC Event at Edward Norys place in Olive Branch, MS areas on Oct 13 & 14th.
Scotty 2 UKC Passes Sept 2018.jpg Perry and Lily 2 UKC Passes Sept 2018.JPG

Perry got his photo taken with Lily his sister. Chloe, Lily's owner, and I are big friends. She is my supplier of Girl Scout Cookies.
 
Last edited:
Tennessee Shed Dog NASHDA Hunt Test Sept 29th in Portland, TN

On Saturday, September 29th, I will host the first hunt test for the State of Tennessee. It will be located in Richland Park in Portland, TN on the Mountain Bike Trail. I have worked long and hard preparing for this event.

It appears we will have about 34 or 35 dogs run in our event. I have 6 courses laid out so we can move dogs thru efficiently.

Anyone in Tennessee or Southern Kentucky that reads this post, spectators can watch from viewing areas on each course. Spectators must be quiet - all cell phones on mute.

I am thankful for the judges that will help with our event. Also, the City of Portland and the Parks Department have been very helpful.

If you have questions, send me an email to wbpdeer@att.net

Thanks for reading this post.

Wayne B. Pruett
615.517.4873
 
Wayne, we are hoping to be in town for my nephews birthday that weekend (29-30). If so, I’ll be sure to stop by and check things out. Good luck!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Sept 29th Hunt Test in Portland, TN

We had 30 dogs from ten states: Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, North Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Tennessee. It proved to be more work than I expected. Our weather was great and dogs ran well. We had 28 dogs that qualified for the 2019 NASHDA World Championship in April 2019.

Scotty completed his Senior Title and earned his first Master Pass also. Perry passed his first course but failed to find the last shed antler on Course two for his first time fail. I was so busy I didn't get to exercise Perry during the day - he was on a chain line all day. He was spent after the first course. I went home knowing I had not treated my young yellow lab fairly.

The great thing is Perry's tail was wagging at 90 miles an hour. If you have never been around a lab - they are awesome dogs.

It took me 2 days to re-cover from this event.

Wayne
 
Mississippi Hunt Test In Mid-Oct

I purchased a used pull camper from a man in Louisville, KY and this was the first road trip with it. Ed Norys put on a great hunt test in Holly Springs, MS which just north of Oxford for all you Ole Miss fans.

Scotty had a great trip, he beat two of the top dogs in the national on one Master Course by over 4 minutes each. Scotty ran a 3:20 on 6 antlers. He was focused and had no problem smelling antlers from a long distance.

Scotty earned 2 NASHDA ribbons and 2 UKC ribbons on this trip. Perry did the same but his first pass on the NASHDA Course completed his Junior Shed Hunter Title (6 Passes on a Junior Courses).

Ed Norys is one amazing dog handler and he put on a great hunt test. The camper worked out great. The boys slept in the dog box right beside the camper. We were the only people on the farm. I was the night watchman.

I did get to Judge for Ed and one of the dogs I Judged was Rocky Bellomy's dog Nola - she completed her Junior Title on course. That was fun to be a part of. Rocky had ran his dog in Portland on Sept 29th.

A few photos from the MS Hunt Test.

Great Registration Tent.jpg Perry UKC.JPG Scotty UKC.JPG

Perry NASHDA.jpg Scotty Gives Atta Wayne.jpg
 
Last edited:
On Saturday, December 1st, the boys and I traveled to Henderson, KY for a NASHDA Hunt Test. It was a wet day but the temps stayed warm enough it was not hard on dogs or handlers. Dan Todd is a man with great enthusiasm. His wife, two girls and Dan put on a great event.

When you travel to NASHDA Dog Events you meet great folks. Bluegrass Antler Dogs has the strongest club in the country. Their members show up and work hard. They all love their dogs too.

Scotty and Perry both got two passes. We had a fun day and got home in time to watch some College Football too.

Scotty 2 in Henderson KY.jpg Perry 2 in Henderson KY.jpg
 
We started off the 2019 Hunt Test Year at the Henderson Farm in Carlisle, Indiana. Norm has a great Hunting Cabin full of beautiful sheds and deer heads on the wall. It is always a great day when you go see Norm and Rusti.

My excitement looking forward to this Hunt Test matches that of my first hunt test when I started in 2017 in Rarden, Ohio. If Scotty could get one pass in Indiana he would become a Master Shed Hunter with 18 passes to his credit. It was cold with some snow on the ground thru parts of KY and IN. I saw more hawks sitting on T-Posts along the Interstate than you could count - going up and returning home I saw at least 20 birds perched waiting for a mouse to expose their cold self.

Norm had a large dog entry and it is always fun to the "cabin" as many of call that farm. Course C was tough on plenty of dogs. Both of my dogs failed Course C and both passed on Course D. Perry ran a 14:25 and Scotty ran a 14:38. Each dog missed the 2nd planted antler on Course D requiring us to work our way back once we reached the end.

Owning Scotty has been a wonderful experience. Never would I have believed I could love an animal as much as I love my black lab. He is the perfect dog for this 65 year old warrior. He is so easy to work with and aims to please his master.

I have got two pictures of Scotty. The first one is my favorite - it is the day I picked him up. He sits on the platform between his parents - both NASHDA World Champs. Hunter is Scotty's dad and was champ in 2014 - Scotty get his powerful build from his day. Remi is Scotty's mom and is the 2015 Junior NASHDA Champ. Scotty get his beautiful coat from Remi. The photo shows the beginning of a beautiful journey.

The second photo is on the porch of Norm's Cabin with Scotty's 18th Ribbon - he is a Master Shed Hunter. Rusti Henderson took the photo for us and rightfully so. She has taken plenty of our photos on our travels. Yesterday was our 11th Hunt Test - 10 we traveled to and one that I hosted.

Now Perry's photo is a homecoming. I purchased Perry from Norm and Rusti in late June 2018. This is where he first hit the woods in June 2018. Perry is a high drive happening dog. He is very affectionate and crazy about his master.

I am very proud of Scotty's achievement. I have only met one man older than me handling a dog. Back when I wondered if I could be successful with so much to learn. Learn we did and it has been a blast. I miss Scotty riding in the back seat and putting his head on my shoulder. I can't let him ride up front and keep Perry in the box. Perry is a wild child in a truck cab.

Scotty with Parents.jpg

Scotty Is a Master Shed Hunter #18.jpg Perry Gets 4th Senior Pass.jpg

Now we will begin to hunt for "wild sheds" in middle Tennessee first and then travel out of state. My goal is 25 sheds for this spring and to have fun with two great labs.

Thanks for reading this thread.

Wayne - Scotty & Perry
 
1 year and 24 days ago you started us on this journey with Scotty. Watching his progression on this forum and in person has been a sight to see. I remember the first time I met you and Scotty. He was dragging you across the frozen road in Owenton Kentucky. His leash manners like everything else has come far. I hate I missed that hunt. We would of been there with both dogs but work got in the way. I wish you both good luck this spring finding wild sheds.

For anyone wanting to get into shed hunting or possibly get their dog to help in the recovery of sheds, Wayne has a lot of information he's willing to share with you. Congratulations again on Scotty and Perry
 
Thanks PineSapJunky,

Scotty matured very quickly - Perry keeps reminding me he ain't Scotty. You and I meet at the Hunt Test with the worst weather at John Ballard's farm. I have very pleased with Scotty's development and will run him at the Master Dog Championship in April and the World Championship on the next day. He has earned the right to have at it. The jury is still out on whether I run Perry - he is not consistent - can run great on one course and lose his focus on the next course. Perry does better if you give him 24 antlers a week to find. Scotty does not lose focus.

You have two great dogs and Oberon is a great deer tracker too. I have had some recent luck in my area. Got a man with a new pup in East TN and a man in Nashville that is coming to Portland on Monday. I think both of these will be running their dogs on hunt test in the near future.

It is a great experience to watch a dog put things together and show their abilities almost faster than you can see it.

I didn't get my labs to run hunt test - I got my labs to hunt wild shed antlers. I have lined up some good opportunities this spring. Posting about their hunt test accomplishment has spread the word. I have two trophy hunters that are tracking shooters on game camera waiting for them to drop so we can hit their ground.

Both Scotty and Fletcher got their master title yesterday at Norms. Dolly got her Junior Title. Likely some others that I didn't know. We had a Ryan Melton from Missouri that ran who I have worked on for about a year. Believe he is hooked.

Wayne
 
I had a great Jan 28th with time spent with a new Shed Dog named Scout owned by Justin Michael Bryan a songwriter from Nashville. Justin called me out of the blue last Wednesday night. He wanted to know if his dog could run in our NASHDA Hunt Test on March 9th. After some conversation I was confident that his dog was ready and eligible.

To put people at ease it is common to give a handler and pup a test course just like they would encounter at a Double Qualifier Event. So we agree to meet at our McDonalds at 10 AM. Justin brought along his good friend Chris Vita who is musician in Nashville. These guys are my type of outdoorsmen. We had a great time.

I have four courses setup for the March 9th NASHDA Hunt Test in Richland Park. We started Scout out on the first Junior Course, He did great on all four courses going 24 / 24 on planted antlers. Chris and I planted all the antlers for Justin and Scout. After watching Scout on the first two courses I told Justin he had a worthless dog and if he would leave Scout with me I just might be able to find a home for him. We had a great laugh about that. Scout has everything you want in a dog - athletic, great nose, cast good, high drive, listens well, affectionate, hunts good.

We went ahead and took Scout thru my two courses setup for Senior and Master Dogs. Our four courses this 6 month old pup has times between 3:30 to 5:40. I told Justin I would be proud to own Scout.

We took a break and I went home to get Scotty as they wanted to see him run. Scotty put on a good show. Chris and Justin planted the antlers - I was blind. They seemed to favor brier patches which allowed Scotty to show them how he circles the briers and finds his safe entry. Scotty was sharp and I guess having run in Indiana on Saturday helped this turned out great.

We put both dogs on leash and introduced them to one another and then let them off leash. Both dogs played well and no problems with them behaving well. I took a photo with Justin and Scout and Chris with my Scotty. Chris showed me he loves dogs an is planning on getting a dog as soon as he relocates (where he lives now - no pets allowed).

On March 9th, Chris will run Scotty for one course. Scotty is Titled Out and this is what some people do. He is excited and we will have some training sessions so he can get his feet wet handling a dog on a course. When he runs Scotty I will not be in sight so Scotty knows who the master is.

I look forward to hunting wild shed with Justin, Chris and Scout in the near future.

New Pup Jan 28th.jpg

Anyone reading this post that thinks their dog is or could be a shed dog contact me for advice or assistance. I love sharing what I have learned and get great satisfaction seeing a dog put it together. This is the second time I have hosted a dog owner in Portland and set antlers for them on courses to work their dogs. Planting antlers and watching dogs discover and work thru the scent cone is fun.

Thanks for reading this post.

Wayne
 
Back
Top