shed hunting

[jimbires]

I got some old deer horns out of the shed a while ago , to let Sally play with . she lays and chews on them . I'll throw them and she'll go find them . I take Sally walking in the woods daily , and thought maybe this would get her paying attention so if she smelled , or seen one she would pick it up . yesterday was her first find , and was she proud . I took a couple pics when we got home . it's a small one , but she found it . hopefully she finds some good ones .

 

[truck driver]

Labs have a great nose and she is a pretty dog. Good job Sally.

 

[AFG270]

Good looking dog, Jim. Good job, Sally.

 

[jimbires]

thanks guys .she's a good dog , I spend a lot of time with her . she sticks to me like glue . LOL

 

[JD338]

That's awesome Jim. My daughter has a Husky and he found a shed 2 weeks ago.

JD338

 

[jimbires]

Labs have a great nose and she is a pretty dog. Good job Sally.

you just about got to meet her . I had a heck of a time getting out of the house without her .

 

[jimbires]

she was one year old when we got her . I was thinking she'd be too old to get her to do much of anything , but we'd give her a good home . she has surprised me what she does , and how quick she seems to learn . I know I'm the weak link , I've never worked with a dog before .

 

[truck driver]

you just about got to meet her . I had a heck of a time getting out of the house without her .

I had a Chocolate male Lab that I rescued that was 14 months old when I got him and we bonded the first time I visited him at the shelter. I found out they were going to put him down because he growled at a police officer looking for dogs to train for service. Use to being free and then cage would make anyone want to growl. When I first meet him he was sitting in a corner of the kennel facing the wall and very unhappy with his situation.
I talked to him and said your a bad boy huh. I stuck my fingers through the chain-link and wiggled them say to him here bite these bad boys. He looked at me and eased toward my fingers as I wiggled them, he then licked them and I rubbed his muzzle. I got the attendant got him out of the cage and took him into the yard for a run and get to know you. Two trips to see him later and I was taking him home when I told them there was nothing wrong with him and Lab rescue would be giving them a call since they wouldn't release him to me. It took the vet at the shelter 2 minutes to get the papers for adoption ready and the next day I was taking him home. Had him for 14 wonderful years and he was more then willing to learn and please me.
Sounds like you will have the same relationship with Sally.

 

[jimbires]

we got Sally from Denise's cousin , who is a dog breeder . her dogs are show dogs . at a very young age Sally got her front leg caught in a portable exercise pen . I'm not sure what it did to her leg , but it was operated on . after the operation Sally had a limp . well you can't show a limping dog , so Sally pretty much took a back seat to the other dogs . Denise was talking to her cousin about getting a dog from the next litter , and they offered Sally to her for free , saying she needed attention and wasn't getting it there . they told Denise she's a good dog . she limps , we can't show her , and we won't sell her . after a couple months of daily walks , the limp had pretty much gone away , she needed exercise . she'll slightly limp first thing in the morning , or after having a nap , but mostly she's good . you would never guess she has a problem leg . she plays ball , and frisbee , gets in and out of the truck , and buggy , no problem . she was never in a house , lived out in the kennel for a year , and she has never made a mess in the house , she just knew . Her Paper name is Prudence , we changed it to Sally . I couldn't see me calling " here Prudence" out in the woods .

her family is show winners . Her grandfather has won , and her sisters have won , and took seconds at the ; Labrador retrievers of the Potomac show . this show will be coming up again soon .

I'm glad we got her , it's good for both of us .

 

[jimbires]

we got out early this morning before it started to rain and sleet , she found another . it's not really a shed , it was broke off . the buck must have been a scrapper . the main beam is broke off , and the top of the G2 is broke off . we were in waist high goldenrod when she found it . she sure liked chewing on the broke end . hope we can find some good ones .



her collection .

 

[ShadeTree]

Good stuff! You got her going on the right track. Labs are generally eager to please, now that she knows she helps you win the lottery every time she finds one, I'm betting she will keep at it. Plus it's hunting......so fun for her as well.

When you can put a dog to work utilizing it's natural instincts with a reward at the end, those natural instincts become a purposeful routine, then that routine quickly become an obsession. Keep at it and keep it fun. I'm betting she will get good at it.

 

[JD338]

That's fantastic Jim. You two are on to something special.

JD338

 

[jimbires]

a article I thought you guys might be interested in reading .

When Do Deer Shed Their Antlers? A Shed Hunter's Guide

we were out about 5 or 6 hours yesterday , no luck .

 

[salmonchaser]

Great story, happy dog happy people.

 

[jimbires]

I was putting out a few more traps yesterday . I'm making a set and Sally comes running with a decent shed . when we got home all she wanted to do was lay in the yard and chew on it . trapping season ends February 18 , then we'll start shed hunting .

 

[JD338]

Nice work Sally! The bucks should be starting to drop horns now.

JD338

 

[DrMike]

Good girl, Sally!

 

[jimbires]

yes , this should be about prime time to be shed hunting .

we'll get out looking for them . it gives us a reason to be out there . the fresh air , and exercise doesn't hurt a thing .