

When you go shroom hunting, instead of walking across a cow pasture until you see a mushroom, wouldn't it be convenient to let your dog's nose do all the work? Well, with the right training, your dog could find more mushrooms than you ever thought possible. A dog's nose is very powerful, and it's more than capable of sniffing out the potent scent of a fresh mushroom in a field. He can smell a mushroom quicker, easier and farther away than you can see one. Your dog has a secret hidden ability to hunt shrooms. All you have to do is train it.



To train the dog, the owner has to familiarize the dog with the smell of mushrooms, so fresh mushrooms will be needed. You can keep them in the refrigerator in order to maintain that fresh mushroom scent. Start by holding a mushroom in your hand and carrying it to the dog to let him smell it. If he tries to eat the mushroom, tell him "No" and pull the mushroom away. Each time you bring it to his nose, give him the command to sit, then say, "find a mushroom" and give him a treat. A single piece of dog food will work fine as a treat. The point is, you want him to associate pleasant things with the scent of a mushroom, you want him to sit down when he smells a mushroom and you want him to become accustomed to the command, "find a mushroom". Do that exercise at least ten times a day for a week.



Once your dog is familiar with the scent of a mushroom and sits automatically upon smelling one, you can start hiding the mushrooms around the house. For example, while you are watching TV in the living room, place a mushroom underneath the couch. Just make sure he doesn't see you hiding the mushroom there. Keep watching TV like everything is normal and wait for your dog to find the mushroom. Make sure he doesn't eat it. NEVER let him eat a mushroom. As soon as he starts sniffing underneath the couch near the mushroom, command him to sit, say, "Find a mushroom" and give him a treat. Always wait until he is sitting to give him the treat. Place a mushroom in a different place next time and do it all over again. Eventually your dog will actively look for the mushrooms and will sit down on his own whenever he finds one.



When your dog can quickly find the hidden mushrooms in a room 90 percent of the time, start hiding mushrooms in your backyard. If possible, place some cow patties in your backyard and hide the mushrooms near the patties to get the dog accustomed to the scent of mushrooms on cow dung. At first, place the mushroom near the backdoor, so that your dog will smell the mushroom as soon as he goes outside. Take your dog in the backyard and make him sit next to you. Then point to the backyard and say, "Find a mushroom". Let your dog roam around the backyard until he finds the mushroom. If he missed the one you placed near the backdoor, call him to you and point to the mushroom until he notices it. When he notices it, command him to sit, say, "Find a mushroom" and give him a treat. Keep doing this until your dog can quickly find most of the mushrooms in your backyard.



If your dog will run away without a leash on, you can use a long leash during the next phase of training. Just let your dog lead you on the leash so that he can smell his way own towards the mushrooms. I recommend a long (at least 15 foot) retractable leash.



If possible you should move to a large field for this phase of training, such as a football field, park, or a golf course. You can even use an actual cow pasture with live mushrooms. While your dog waits in the car, scatter the mushrooms at random intervals across the field. Make sure to carry a bunch of treats with you. Then go and get your dog and bring him to the starting point of the field and make him sit. Point to the field, say, "Find a mushroom" and begin walking. Walk your dog across the field until he finds a mushroom. If he doesn't sit when he finds the mushroom, make him sit before giving him the treat. If you wait a minute, he'll usually remember that he needs to sit before he gets the treat. If your dog becomes distracted by other joggers, animals, or people, give him a sharp tug on the leash and say, "find a mushroom". Walk in a grid pattern across the field, letting your dog sniff around the path you are walking. As soon as he smells a mushroom, make sure he sits down, say, "find a mushroom" very enthusiastically and give him a treat.



Eventually, your dog will know that as soon as he hears the command, "Find a mushroom" that it's time for him to go to work. When you take him hunting, he will sit down automatically when he finds a mushroom.



Your dog will love having a job to do. Just remember that it's hard for working dogs to stay focused on their assigned task for more than 45 minutes at a time. So every half hour or so, take a break and play with your dog for about 5 minutes, and then he'll be ready to get back to work.



If you train your dog correctly, you'll have a very capable mushroom hunting partner and you will start to see the mushrooms piling up from your hunts.



Note: Some breeds of dogs, such as German Shepherds, Labradors, and Hounds, are better suited for working and smelling than others. A bulldog for example, would not be ideal for the job.



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Nuthin' but love for ya.



Edited by Shroombrella (04/29/09 06:55 AM)



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