Jeremiah, the owner of the dog I trained, told us that shed hunting is getting fairly popular, and that it’s rather difficult to find people who train dogs for shed hunting. We were eager to take on the job and learn more about shed training ourselves.

The first step of the course was training Whitney to retrieve antlers. She was already used to the feel of an antler in her mouth and quickly got used to bringing back the antlers – especially when I gave a small reward every time she did. Soon I was able to alternate throwing the dummies while she watched with placing them out beforehand so she could find them.

Meanwhile, I was also working on leash training and obedience. Whitney had never been on a leash before January, which made our first session…interesting. By the next day, she had figured out that the leash wouldn’t hurt her and she shouldn’t be chasing it all the time. Things progressed much more quickly after that!

By the end of January, Whitney was heeling off leash with only a few corrections; she knew to retrieve an antler (and nothing else) even without a command from the heel position; and she was finding antlers from farther and farther away without any directions from me!

Overall, I’m glad I had the opportunity to train Whitney. It gave me a better feel of how to train a dog for shed hunting, and it gave me an appreciation for finding specific way tricks to teach each individual dog. I have also learned to appreciate the fireplace though!

We are expecting more puppies soon in the new year! Maddie is expecting a litter within a few weeks, and we are excited to add her to our website! We will post again with the number of pups in the litter, etc.

We are doing some training again this winter. Gianna and Eric will be training a Golden Retriever over the month of January. More on that later!

On a healthy note, Sharptail Ridge has switched dog foods. We used to use Purina dog chow and puppy chow for all of our dogs and pups, but Honey (dog) had an allergy to the food. We have since switched to Life’s Abundance. Elisa has researched the food and found it to be a healthier choice than Purina – and true to form, it has stopped Honey from scratching, and her allergies are gone. We have faith that this is very healthy brand of dog food! If you would like to purchase some, or simply learn more about the brand, you can find it HERE

Happy New year!

This has been a rather uneventful but still interesting week. The puppies have their eyes open and are learning to crawl around quite a bit. They are growing fast and becoming ever more adorable! They were whelped in the house but they’ve been moved outside now. Honey seems glad for the extra space!

On another note, Gianna insisted decided to include Rusty in her senior pictures! Here is a preview of the pictures. Look for more of the two of them on the website soon!

Honey is showing! Her pups are due any day now and we’re getting excited! We received a call from somebody who got one of our dogs once, and they’re interested in buying another puppy. New litters are so exciting!

Hunter…the hunting dog…sold to a man from Indiana! Josh has been working with him for several months and Dad has continued the training. We’re glad he’s gone to a good home!

Molly has been here for training for almost three weeks. Her owners came for dinner on Sunday and were pleased to see her progress! We’re enjoying having her here for training!

Until later, friends!

Between Eric and Josiah they bagged five ducks – Josiah also proved his status. He shot his first duck this year, then got two more that afternoon. I don’t think any of us have had the chance to forget that he out-shot Dad that day.

It’s been a good season so far! The guys can wait to get out and let Rusty have a go at some of the retrieving.

Also, Honey and Tanner have a litter due around mid-October and they’ll be ready to go just in time for Christmas! We’re expecting a big litter, and the pups should be anywhere from light coated to dark. For pictures of the sire and dam, just go to the Breeding Dogs  tab on our webiste (click on the words.) Honey is the dam and Tanner is the sire. If you would like to see their pedigrees, you can check out the Pedigrees  tab also! (click on the word) And to get your claim for a puppy in early, just submit a Puppy Application (click on the words to go to the page) and we’ll get back to you right away! There are several pictures of past puppies in various places on our website, including the Current Litters page(scroll all the way to the bottom),

      For the show, we’ll have each have a 1-on-1 test with the judge in the arena during the judging for our level. Josiah and Misty will have to walk an L pattern with different walking speeds with stops (the dog is supposed to sit when you stop walking) and then he will have to walk a figure-eight with stops and have his dog stand and stay while he walks away and lets the judge check the dogs ears and teeth. The most challenging part of this is that the surroundings are entirely new for the dog and it’s very distracting. When all of his level has had this test, they’ll all be called back into the arena for long sit-stays (1 minute) and down-stays (3 minutes). 

     Kiara and I will have the same elements in our test, but our L pattern and figure-eight will be off-leash. The long sits and downs will be 3 and 5 minutes respectively, and Kiara and I will have to go out of sight of the dog. We will also have to have our dog hold a wooden dummy in their mouth for 30 seconds.  

We’ll give you an update after the fair!

      Summer – and primary dog training season – has begun. Each of us kids takes a golden or two for training. We work on obedience training first: things like sit, stay, down, come, etc. This gets them in shape for the 4-H Dog Show. We also work on field training; basic retrieves, blind retrieves, double retrieves. The basic retrieves get the dogs ready for more complex maneuvers. If they can handle basic retrieves, we begin to work on double retrieves, throwing two dummies out at the same time and asking the dog to go for one at a time. This teaches them to follow arm signals – essential for blind retrieves. Once a dog can handle blind retrieves, they are much more prepared for huntig (in case they miss where a duck lands…) than if they were only ready for retrieves. We also add to their preparation by training some in the CRP and in water.

     Our dogs are not the only ones receiving training. Kouchee is here for about a month of obedience training. Last night we did a specieal training session; we asked the owners to come out and watch Kouchee being training so that they could learn how to keep up with her training at home.

     We have another litter of puppies! Mattie, one of Honey’s puppies owned by Darcy Pesta, has been bred by Auto and has a litter of 12 puppies! Find pictures of Auto and Mattie on the Current Litters page.

      And finally, we have added a new page to our website! If you’re looking for a vacation and not a new puppy, then go to our Dog Boarding page and get all the information on our kennels!

Have a blessed week!

Gianna