Deer dogs increase shed hunting fun, success
PULASKI - Jeremy Moore grew up in Wisconsin and, like many, developed a love of hunting.
He also had an affection for dogs, and especially Labrador retrievers.
There were few things as grand as a day in the field pursuing ducks or pheasants with your Lab by your side, Moore knew.
But when it came to another form of hunting — deer — the dog was left out.
In the fall of 2008 Moore remembers feeling “terrible” after he, day after day, walked past his 8-year-old Lab to go bowhunting.
“She looked at me and knew I wasn’t taking her,” said Moore, 38, of Pulaski. “There’s not much worse than seeing that dejection in your dog.”
The experience got Moore to thinking: How could he and his dog work together on deer hunting?
At the time Moore was working in the construction industry and doing some part-time dog training.
Over the coming months, the answer to his quest came in the form of a lifechanging crystallization: shed antler hunting.
As most hunters know, spring is an excellent time to scout deer hunting spots. Antlers shed by bucks can provide clues to bedding and feeding sites as well as travel corridors.
And beyond all that, antlers are just cool.
The first spring, Moore and his Lab found 75 sheds, more than he had found the previous two decades searching without a dog.
Ten years later, Moore is arguably the nation’s leading authority on using dogs for shed hunting and works full-time running his company, DogBone.
The company designs, produces and sells dog-training videos and equipment, including leashes, retrieving dummies and synthetic antlers.
Moore said shed antler hunting, dogs and dog owners are a perfect marriage.
“We’ve all got cabin fever in late winter,” Moore said. “When the days start to get longer and the snow starts to melt, there’s nothing better than getting out and getting exercise with your dog to find some sheds.”
Shed hunting with dogs is officially a “thing.” There is even an organization dedicated to the activity — the North American Shed Hunting Dog Association in Northfield, Minn.
The NASHDA offers a hunt test series and holds a shed dog world championship.
To get started using his dog for shed hunting, Moore relied heavily on his experience training dogs for pheasant hunting.
“When you think about it, there’s a lot of similarities,” Moore said. “You want a dog that will heel well, and when it’s working, that works back and forth within about 25 yards in front of you.”
Moore said he was hooked after the first year of shed hunting with his dog.
But his training methods have continued to evolve.
One formative experience occurred when he was training a new pup and threw a shed for her. She ran out enthusiastically and rolled over the antler, poking herself on a sharp, hard tine.
The young dog developed an immediate dislike for antlers.
“Ever hear of a gun-shy dog?” Moore said. “She was the shed antler equivalent. I’d pick up a shed and she’d run in the other room.”
The episode led to Moore’s development of soft, synthetic shed antlers as training aides. The mock antlers are made from the same material as retrieving dummies or bumpers.
The antlers are now sold in a variety of colors and have become popular play toys even for people who likely will never use their dog to find a shed.
Moore’s training process is gradual and consistent, from “A to B” not “A to Z.”
It begins with a good core obedience of sit, stay, heel and here.
Then, to start shed training, he first conditions the dog to like the shape of an antler with one of the soft training aides.
He’ll toss the antler in a hallway of his home to a puppy the same as he did a rolled up sock. When the dog retrieves the antler, he praises her.
Next is scent recognition. Moore applies liquid antler scent to the dummy antler, or a tennis ball, to get the dog familiar with the target smell.
Finally he’ll work with the dog to search for and retrieve an antler. He will first place an antler within sight of a dog, have it heel, then tell her to get it. Later, the antler will be placed out of sight in progressively more challenging conditions.
This final step is critical, because while a dog might bring back almost anything its owner throws for her, to be a successful shed dog, she must learn to pick up and retrieve an antler she finds laying in the field.
“No dog is ever going to see an antler fall off of a buck’s head,” Moore said. “They have to be able to go out there, use their nose and eyes and find them, and then pick them up and deliver them.”
Moore is a big proponent of positive reinforcement.
“The first time your dog finds a shed in the field, treat her like she saved the world,” he said.
He also believes in setting dogs up for success.
When he goes shed hunting, Moore carries a shed antler in his pocket. Every so often, if he senses the dog is losing focus, he’ll put the shed on the ground and let her find it.
Moore said just about any dog can make a good shed dog.
“Does it have to be a Lab? Absolutely not,” Moore said. “I like Labs, because they’re easy to train and have inherent traits that lend themselves to shed hunting, but I’ve seen dozens of types of dogs that are excellent.”
It’s most important, Moore said, to have a dog that fits the owner.
“I think to have a good shed dog you first have to have a good family dog,” Moore said. “These dogs shed hunt for me three months out of the year. They are family dogs 12 months out of the year.”
To train a shed dog, Moore said he commits about 15 minutes a day three days a week.
Since most sheds are found in a small percentage of the landscape, typically bedding and feeding areas and trails in between, it’s up to the hunter to focus his dog’s effort on such areas.
Do people who use dogs for shed hunting find more sheds? Yes, Moore said.
But the reason is only partly due to the dog, he said.
“When people are out with their dog having fun, they do more shed hunting,” Moore said. “The more they hunt, the better they get as a pair and the more antlers they bring home.”