Help! My Puppy gets here in 2 weeks...To look for Sheds...

[Outventress]

So. Myself and friends love looking for sheds. So as a pet and friend I am getting a puppy in 2 weeks and plan to train it for deer sheds. I have done some research and read different ways to train but they are often on how to train an older dog. My puppy is going to only be just over 6 weeks...Any advice on how to start the process...

I know most of you will say I should have got a lab but I am in love with border collies and a friend in Montana his border collie digs through snow to find his horns so nothing is impossible lol.

[Happy Gilmore]

read the force fetch thread.....have fun with him until he's about 8months old. People, you're gonna have your dog for years! no need to think the really good dogs you've seen started training when they were 12 weeks old. Sure, little things but, man alive can you mess up a dog at that young age!

have fun, fun and more fun with them until they grow up a bit- go on walks, not long hikes, play in the yard, take them to the pet store, meet people and have more fun.....

[Outventress]

Thank you I was most curious if they let their pup play with sheds to get custom to the smell, look, taste etc. Pick her up on Sat

[Happy Gilmore]

Thank you I was most curious if they let their pup play with sheds to get custom to the smell, look, taste etc. Pick her up on Sat

sure why not? make it the special toy and start playing hide and seek with it. You might want to pick up a book on tracking. There are many out there on ebay. Basically, shed hunting is the same training used for search and rescue/tracking work. You give the dog a scent then, send the dog to find that same scent. I have a few packed away somewhere I think I got on Ebay a long time ago for about $20. I just read them to learn more about scenting and dogs. Tracking books have a different take on scent and trails than most upland and retriever books will ever discuss.

[ladyelkslayer]

I would start by training with the basic commands...when we got our pup, we let him play with an antler here and there, and get really excited everytime he picked it up.  We would do this a couple times each day, and toss the antler a short distance from him to fetch it and really praise him everytime he ran towards it, and give him a small piece of hot dog or chicken, or just a plain ol milk bone.  one of the biggest things we learned was, dont get too upset/disappointed if he keeps dropping the antler, their mouths/gums are tender and its hard for them to carry it w/out the antler hurting the gums