Took my dobies out shed hunting. Figured one has a serious nose on him. My gosh, he ended up all tangled up in briars. Spent the rest of the day chasing deer. Ate deer scat all day. Walked right past a horn. He was such a hinderance.

Anyone else use thier dogs to find sheds? I heard of it.

That is funny. I have a german shepard,when I take it out in the woods it follows me instead of leading. If it smells a deer or something , it growls and tries to get behind me. She weighs 92 lbs and is a total city dog. Get her around people or other dogs and she wants to eat them! Out in the woods she's like a little poodle, in the city she thinks she's a tiger.

Thats funny Greg!

I have a blind, black lab that is 10 yrs. old. Heis amazing when it comes to finding items in the woods. He tends to find sheds that have been buried by leaves and twigs that you can't normally see. His nose is amazing! Yes, I must admit, sometimes he runs into the occasional tree when I am not constantly talking to him but he is a great dog.

The only issue between him and I is when he actually gives over the shed. He thinks he should be able to keep it and I say it is mine.

Word of advice: When a blind dog is lying down with a shed in his mouth and growling, yet his tail is wagging. DO NOT BELIEVE THAT HE IS FRIENDLY! Sometimes I think he plays me for a fool but I love him anyways.

Bigcountry and Greg.
I think its better to have a dog that is to close to me than one that wander away to hunt on his own. Im sure that when you get them more used to the new and strange place, they will work better for you.

When I started training my dog to track deer I had a very light, and very expensive,silk spun line, and gosh it caused many controversies between me and the dog. It got snagged on the slightest twig or when he circled a bush. It all worked out to the best when I got a cheap plastic line that slid no matter how he circled the bushes.

MDbuckhunter: What can I say. Ill ask my wife to make an embroidery ofyour words of advice

I just wonder if dobermans are really the right dog. One has a wonderful nose. Smells anything but maybe too young.

I had my Rottweiler for almost 11 years. She died from Cancer about four months ago.

I miss her a lot. no matter what happened b/t us, she still wagged her little butt off (didn't have a tail) when I pulled in the yard. I can't count the number of times I've walked through the door and fell over her. Having her in the house for almost 11 years, its hard. Even today, I get up sometimes in the middle of the night to let her out. She would chase the corks around when you fished, have to run her down to get the deer's legs out of her mouth if she was around while I was cleaning one. She got her share of deer hams during her day by dragging them off the tail gate when no one was looking.

She loved the woods. She would chase rabbits, birds, snakes or anything else she could get a sight of. She was part of the family. My father and I were known in our town for having the big dog in the little car or black truck.

Here are a few pics of her.

Dont know for surewhat potential they have,but I ve seen Customs use them to search for narcotics with good results, so it cant be hopeless. Some friends of mine train their rottweiler to find objects and point them out. They are active with the volountary local defence forces, and that dog will findany strange object. I think the basics of that training is that the keeper isvery observant, of how the dog reacts when it finds anything. Then they reinforce that good behavior a great deal.

From the behaviour you described, I guessed it was a young oneand I bet it was the best day ever for him! He will slow down, dont you think. I still hope my dog will but hes only threee years old

StrutnBPS
I dont know what to tell you. You just grief on and let time pass.
By the looks of her and your description, it sounds like you gave her a good life.

Yeah, thats what both vets told us. To be a Rottweiler, 11 years is getting way up there. She got a better life than some children and better than 95% of any dogs. She was the queen of the house.

The one thing that I was "pleased" about is that she chose to leave on her on. We didn't have to make the decision. She died in her sleep.

I didn't mean to jack this post. I just love dogs and wanted to share my memories.