DS180 Introduction to Shed Antler Hunting

Pre-Class Lectures:

• Supplies and Spaces
• Identifying a SHED antler

Week 1

• What is Shed Antler Hunting
• Team Roles
• Foundation Skills for the Course
• Retrieve Pattern
• Generalizing the Retrieve
• NOW Antlers

Week 2

• Reading Your Dog
• Reading YOUR Dog
• Startline Rituals
• Search Pattern
• Generalizing Antler Retrieves

Week 3

• Building Independence
• Trial vs Hunting
• Scent and Contamination
• Visual Searches
• Outside Searches
• Trials Overview: NASDA

Week 4

• Searches by Scent
• Antler Finding Hot Spots
• Wind
• Adding Handler Movement
• Introducing Multiples
• Searching for Multiples
• Trials Overview: NASHDA

Week 5

• Wild Hunting- Tips and Tricks
• More Drills!
• Mastering Multiples
• True Blinds
• Trials Overview: UKC Elite Shed Dog Series

Week 6

• Advanced Challenges
• Additional Search Patterns
• Trials Overview: NDS
• Mock Virtual Shed Antler Test Run Through

Prerequisites:

• Basic retrieve (I'll help you get your dog started on antlers, but your dog should already be eager to retrieve some other item so that we can transfer the kill- doesn't have to be a formal retrieve or even a retrieve to hand- picking up any item and bringing it near the handler will do!)
• A solid stay/station behavior is helpful- alternatively, you can use a crate or a helper for some training exercises so that your dog is able to watch your set up without interfering.

Supplies:

• Antlers for training. At least two, ideally of the species you are most likely to be searching for (or if planning to trial, you'll want deer antlers)
  • Pet store antler chews can be used for early lessons, and are a good idea if your dog is smaller, young, or tends to take some time to adapt to new retrieve items
  • Full-size antlers- don't have to be fancy or fresh. Ask in local hunting groups for 'ugly' or 'old' sheds or unwanted antlers from harvested animals, and check marketplace, or ebay. There may be authorized shed antler buyers in your area which are good contacts. Note that purchasing antlers may have legal restrictions in some areas, check your local regulations- this is less likely to be the case with antlers that have been shed vs harvested but you still need to check and may need to have antlers given to you for free if purchase is prohibited.
  • Some exercises can use rubber training antlers in lieu of real antlers. If you are struggling to get real antlers, get at least 2-3 rubber antlers AND at least one of the largest pet store antler chews you can find. Available at various hunting stores and pet stores like this one in Canada and this one in the US.
• Rack Wax or Bone Clone (scented wax used in trials- not necessary if you plan to hunt for wild shed antlers only) - Available from some hunting supply stores and amazon
• Baking Soda (if training for practical hunting)
• latex gloves (if training for practical hunting)
• 5 gallon bucket (if training for practical hunting)
• A few antler-sized tree branches
• Access to an outdoor training space

Quartering Search Pattern Drill

With visible antlers, spread them out 30 yards or more apart, into the wind, alternating from side to side. Set the dog up aiming at the nearest one and send them when they are locked on. Party and reward when they retrieve it, then turn to aim at the next one. Your goal with this pattern is that the dog begins to predict that the next antler is going to be forward and to the side and begins to develop a quartering pattern on their own. You can run this drill regularly, and aim to minimize your back-and-forth handler path until you are walking the center line into the wind while your dog maintains the left-right quartering action.

Note: If your antler supply is limited, you can use 'antler-shaped sticks' in place of a couple of antlers in this drill. Always change the location of the sticks for each run through though- we want to make sure our dogs is always motivated to maintain the pattern and not accidentally trained to bypass areas because he knows they have a fake! Those branches are not meant to be retrieved by the way.... their use is a to visually draw the dog over which will help maintain the zig-zag pattern, so if you are using these, they need to be visible rather than concealed from view.

Here Mezzy is doing her first quartering drill. Unfortunately, there was NO wind right at that moment so it made things a little trickier- however, the short grass allowed her to see the antlers pretty easily. (In fact, she sa the 2nd one before the first one and just goes straight there- not a big deal, we just zigged back over to the first one after she finished the retrieve).

Because there was no wind, I decided to set the quartering drill up again exactly in reverse of the first run. If there is wind, you would be better off to go back to the original starting point and run it in the same direction again. Here, you can already see she is ranging a bit more each time we change direction and then looking to the next side for the next antler. I will want to run this here a few more times and then to progress this start fading out my side to side motion and let her do that part more independently.