What Age to Start Shed Dog Training?

Question: My wife and I got a Golden Doodle about 4 weeks ago. He is 11 weeks old as of yesterday. I have been binging and trying to mirror the concepts in the Bella and Maquina series'. So far he is really making good progress on sit, staying in the crate until we permit him out, feeding after permission, and we are working on place training.

He is doing really well with retrieving and seems to love it. I would like to train him to find shed antlers. When would you recommend introducing him to a shed antler dummy? I am planning to purchase the dog bone shed antler kit to train. Would it be beneficial to buy now so that he can get accustomed to the antler shape or wait until he is older?

Jer's Answer: A few things that I think are important to understand in part and consequently because they are very often asked about is the idea that I do not base much of anything around the age of my dogs and puppies. Dog's don't care about time so I need to work with them on that premise. "Timing" is important, but time as far as age or how long I've been doing something with them is not.

I think the antler dummy is a good thing to start introducing once the dog is big enough physically to pick it up without much struggle. I don't want them getting frustrated trying to pick it up. I don't want them to lay down and chew on it, etc. So once they can physically pick it up and carry it...then it is something you can work into those early controlled retrieves in the hallway or similar settings. Remember, retrieving is natural and not something I think needs to be drilled in early on. The risk of forming undesirable habits and burning them out is greater than the reward. Sound like you have a pup with a lot of good natural retrieve so maximize those few repetitions with shaping a good mouth and delivery to help you get ahead of the game long before any formal hold conditioning is needed. I hope this helps, keep me posted, stay patient and enjoy the process.

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