day of firsts

So my pup is now around 5 months old and I decided after training her since the day I got her to find sheds that I would take her out close to town to see if we could find anything. Well it was definately a days of "firsts" for her..

We got about 10 minutes into hiking and I stopped to pull a sticker out of my boot when I heard a "clank" behind me, and then a whole lot of whining and barking. I looked back and the pup was caught in an old rusted coyote trap!!! My first thought was, "oh great, shes gonna have a broken leg and I was just hoping shed recover ok". Well when I walked over to her it had only caught the big "pad" on the bottom of her foot, but there was no way she was going to get out by herself. So i pinned her to the ground and removed the trap. It looks like it has been there for years untoched.. It was very rusty and it had a small piece of what looked liked wax paper with some scent or something on it.. It was old so it was very hard to tell.. Anyways Im glad she wasnt hurt, but I was pissed someone would leave a trap set out and never go retreive it. I tried to pull it out but the tree it was anchored too has grown around it, so im gonna go back with bolt cutters and get it so none else has problems if others find it and reset it.

Well about 15 minutes later I pulled out a shed i brought to hide when the pup wasnt looking to make her stay excited about finding antlers. I really didnt think we would find any, because it isnt that great of spot to shed hunt in. I hid it from her a few times and on one occasion when i threw it it hit a big rock and busted. She ran about 40 yards away from me and retrieved the large piece. But the grass was so tall I couldnt find the broken piece. So I sent her into the brush again to find it.. After about 30 seconds she popped out with the other piece. There is no way I would have been able to find it.. Shed hunting with a dog is definately a plus!!

Well we then walked for about 5 minutes and I saw what looked like a shed from about 50 yards. i just stood there because I wanted her to go find it if it was indeed one. Well I sent her in that direction and guess what? It was a shed.. she brought it back to me.. Here is the pic as she dropped it at my feet..

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Although it wasnt a solo find for her, Im gonna giver her an assist on it. It has been so fun to see her progress. I cant wait to go find more with her. My friend also has a male pup that he is training as well. We plan to breed them when they are of age to do so. So if any of you are interested in a pup let me know. They will be conditioned to be an antler dog... Im gonna head out again one night this week with her and see if we can find another.. So far shes 1 for 1 on trips.. Hope that continues