Scotty the Shed Dog

The next Shed Dog Trial event I will attend is Feb 25th in Southern Indiana weather permitting. The info is below.

2017 NASHDA World Championship Qualifying Event
NASHDA Junior, Senior, and Master Hunt Test
February 25, 2017 – Saturday – DOUBLE QUALIFIER
Event Time: 9 am
ISHDA – Jeff & Shannon Neal
Location: 11987 West Base Rd., Norman, IN 47264
Judges: Norm Henderson, Jeff Neal, Nathan Cardinal and Shannon Neal
Website: shedhuntinglabs.com –or Facebook: Indiana Shed Hunting Dog Assoc .
Contact: Shannon Neal 812-528-1549
Email: jsneal96@frontier.com

A double qualifier means they have two different courses on the same day that dogs can complete is that is what the handler wants. To pass a course, the dog has to retrieve to hand 6 antlers in less than 15 minutes. I attended my first trial last weekend and if you love dogs and antlers these events are great to see.

I am a beginner with much to learn. I encourage folks to attend this event - it is free to spectators. I was impressed with the particpants and their passion for the sport.

Thanks
Wayne
 
Scotty is getting training each day on his steadiness on remaining on place. I get him seated and back up to the silhouette distance and count one, one thousand all the way to 20. I am very careful to not give any gestures. He has responded well. One of the drills with the antler is to get him on his tire platform and walk out to the silhouette and place the antler on the ground - I don't drop it. I maintain eye contact and walk back to his platform. I give him the "Find the Bone" command. I snap my left hand and point. He responds well. This has been a drill I have used for three days. It is paying great rewards.

Here is the video of that drill.

 
That's impressive. I'm slacking on updating Piper's thread. We are working on obedience right now. He is a mighty fine looking dog. I see piles of sheds in your future

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Scotty has grown considerably in the last two weeks. His strength has improved as his ability to pull on the leash has increased too.

The rubber antlers are still large for him but he is careful about how he grabs them. I think that is a good thing. I worked the previous drill more than throw and retrieve at this point. The repetition is paying off. I get him on the tire platform and do the wind up throw. Now I heave the rubber antler a longer distance.

He has enthusiasm for this drill. When he sees the antlers in my hand to be taken outdoors he expresses his excitement and approval.

Here is a video of this exercise done at noon time on Feb 4th.


Thanks for viewing these videos.
 
PineSapJunky said:
That's impressive. I'm slacking on updating Piper's thread. We are working on obedience right now. He is a mighty fine looking dog. I see piles of sheds in your future

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Click to expand...

PineSapJunky,

Get some old tires and cut a plywood circle as I did. I copied what other people did. That platform will improve a dog's steadiness because they are elevated. Once the pup has learned sit, hand feed them on that platform. I was told how important the place command was and I was hearing what was said but later I understood.

The hand feeding on the platform is paying great dividends now. The hand feeding built the foundation. Thank goodness for that foundation.

The rubber antler has worked great - no hesitation or sore mouth behavior.

What I didn't say in the previous post, I give him a treat each time he does good on the antler work. That platform is associated with good treats for good obedience.

The silhouettes have improved his sight recognition. I have to scold him to not chew on them - but that is normal for a pup.

Wayne
 
Dogdoc

Antlers have a little more smell than the author of that article believes. Take a year old shed and put it in an air tight container for a day. The dog can smell that scent.

I agree too much antler wax on training antlers will hurt the final product. I think that article is 90 to 95 accurate.

I am getting good use of two silhouettes right now. I am moving Scotty away from a dropped antler and turning his back to it. When he gets the command to "Find the Bone" he has to get his head up and search for the rubber antler.

Thanks for the link.

Wayne
 
I have worked Scotty for 19 days in a row on Shed Antlers. He likes the woods and I get him there 2 or 3 days a week.

We have use Silhouettes and his sight recognition is improving. I only took one antler to the woods this morning. Next time I will take two. I will throw the first one a short distance to get him focused on that retrieve. While he is moving away from me, I will throw the second one in an opposite direction that will be unknown to him. We are wanting him to search more.

It is hard to get a blind throw with just one shed antler - but I got a few in this morning. I was scouting a piece of land to see if it would be suitable for a shed dog trial. It would make a good location for a shed dog trial with multiple options for two courses.

In the video below, watch Scotty look for the shed and notice when he sees it. He looks good and then recognizes where it is located.

Not a big deal unless you have been training for days to get to this point. Hope you enjoy the short video.


Scotty has learned to drop the antler and readjust for a better grip. This behavior has been shown for the last four or five days at home. You see that occur in this video clip.

Trainers lesson - throwing a rubber antler in the woods can lead to tree climbing and shaking when yours antler gets stuck in a tree limb. Yep - it happened today. Another reason to take two antlers. :rolleyes:

Thanks for viewing this thread.

Wayne
 
Scotty is making improvements each day. We have been working on discipline on sit while I throw the rubber antlers as far as I can. Motion certainly cranks his engine.

I have been throwing doubles and a funny thing occurred. I threw two about 25 yards out but they were maybe 10 feet apart. When I released him with a hand signal and a command he went out and picked up the first shed - immediately went to the second antler and picked it up by the rope and brought them both to me.

At that point I knew the dog was smart than me.

Because of his behavior I have stopped throwing doubles.

He got last Saturday off - as I was in Ohio picking up trail cameras. I work this pup 2 sessions a day unless I take him to the woods and then he gets one session.

He goes to the Vet on President's Day for his last round of shots. My wife has fell in love with him. She was not happy when I told her after paying 70% of the purchase price we were getting a new dog. Now she thinks it is her dog.

Scotty has done well with his crate and potty training. He loves to ride in the truck but don't like getting in or out. I believe it is a height issue for him. Hard to drive while you are getting your face washed.

Need advice on heel and leash training. He pulls big time and I have not done well on this obedience command at all. He is getting stronger and good advice would be appreciated.

Thanks for reading this thread.

Wayne
 
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I believe at the 4H dog obedience if the dog is pulling they say reverse direction ...so now instead of being in front they are behind and if you keep doing that they learn to stay close.

You ca could also move to the trainingcollar with the prongs so when give a corrective tug there is a little more bite though the thie thick fur.

Normally they use the normal choke collar ie chain with rings at each side.
 
Kabic

I had watched one video on YouTube and they used the chain with the rings on each side for safety. I have got to act now before he gets too much larger. I will try the change of direction on him tomorrow. He is a great dog with an excellent personality - he just wants to lead at times and I need to increase my control over him.

Thanks for the advice.

Wayne
 
Use a pinch collar and a "heeling stick". My healing stick is a flexible horse "whip" from the local farm store. A stiff branch would do well too.
Give a "heel" command and bring your dog into a heeling position at your side. He should be sitting and looking straight ahead. Stay in place until he gets it right. Then walk in a straight line again giving a heel command. When he moves out in front of you give him a tug and reverse directions. Make sure you bring him back to your heeling side (I like left). The heeling stick is used to keep him from moving ahead of you. Hold it loosely with your non-leash hand. The stick should rest at your buckle and angle down toward your dog as a guide for where his nose should be, or not pass. When he gets out ahead of the stick give him a tap on the nose. He will quickly learn to respect the stick and the boundary. Do lots of square walks in the yard. At each turn he should make the turn with you or feel the pinch of the collar. He will learn quickly. After a session or two you can change up the pace, and he should match you. When you stop, he should stop or sit.
I will try to find time to make a demonstration video for you. Just never enough hours in the day!
 
Doc Brady

I am so glad you explained the proper use of the healing stick. I have never seen one on YouTube and I do believe he will adapt to that quickly. I think a demonstration video would be valuable to many people - not just me.

My wife has back and hip issues and I am very concerned about her safety unless I get his leash behavior changed.

He cracked me up collecting two antlers and bringing them to me in the same retrieve. Certainly a good example of getting it done.

Appreciate your explanation and advice. :) I will do my best to follow it to the letter for Scotty's benefit.

Wayne
 
I agree with Doc--all my labs are taught "heel" with a pinch collar and heeling stick. Once I move onto collar conditioning then the heel command is reinforced with the e-collar. I'm not quite following the concept of throwing doubles with an antler but it is very important with a retriever--whether just for hunting or competition. Switching is a big no no and a disqualification in hunt tests. Set yourself up for success---early doubles to increase memory is important but that second throw (or what we call the "go bird") needs to have good separation to train for success with a young retriever. I hope you are teaching whistle commands at the same time. When that pup picks up the "go bird" lay on the here whistle to keep his attention away from the 2nd bird (or in your case antler) and attention on you. One whistle for set--multiple short bursts on the whistle for here.

really enjoying following along with your training.
todd
 
Dog doc

As I said we are no longer throwing doubles. I purchased a stick and pinch chain collar this morning.
We did one short session. I will do two more sessions today. We walked in his exercise pen.

I saw some improvement but it was get it introduced session. Got about three yelps at different points. He was not upset.

I hope to get improvement each day on this command.

Thanks for reading this thread.

Wayne
 
If you go with a training collar there is a correct "direction" to put in on so that it loosens by itself when the dog isn't pulling.

I think this video show it correct, but I'm not an expert even though I probably have heard the 4H dog leader say it 4 or 5 times each year my daughter had done the dog project.


It is kind of funny my dog know its business time when that collar goes on and the normal one goes off
 
I took to heart what Doctor Brady said in his post. I purchased a pinch collar and a Heel Stick this morning. My new laptop went on the blink when it tried to update and it got sent back to the computer shop.

I gave Scotty his first intro to the pinch collar and the Heel Stick before lunch. The collar got his attention. I decided I would concentrate on the Heel Stick in the second session and I left the pinch collar off in round two. I did takes some time to rub Scotty with the Heel Stick and get him comfortable to it. It works great to touch his rear end gently to get compliance on the sit command.

The Heel Stick has already helped his alignment when he sits in the heel position. Because he is food driven he has always faced me in that location. No more.

I got my wife to take a video of the afternoon session. His behavior has improved greatly. Mind you - we have a ways to go but he understands the guide influence of the Heel Stick.


Thanks for watching this video. As you can tell, I am learning as I go with this new training resource.

Wayne
 
Thanks to Doctor Brady and the rest that gave good advice on this command training approach.

I am very appreciative.

Wayne
 
Looking good Wayne. Now try making some 180 degree turns. He will need to quickly transition to the appropriate side and keep pace. This makes the dog really focus on you and your movements. A sharp (but not violent) tug of the pinch collar will help keep his attention. He should get very good at keeping pace. The only other critique that I can offer is to remember to release pressure on the leash when Scotty is in the appropriate position. Your leash should be slack unless he gets ahead or falls behind. Then a quick tap on the leash or pop on the sternum with the stick will bring him back into position. Remember the pressure/no pressure philosophy. Pressure until compliance then immediate release of pressure.
 
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