Mushroom season is coming in about 5 weeks.
Could a marker started pup learn to indicate mushrooms?
My italian greyhound has about 12 years of practice and is WORTHLESS at this.
Morels are worth a lot of money (as much as $15/lb) early in the season.
I have 3 dried up mushrooms from last year that could be re-hydrated and used for practice. My sons found about $500 last year but spent days searching.
I purchased the Search and Rescue book thinking the information on "Bark Alert" for a victim might be the way to go, but now I'm not sure. How would you proceed?
I'd harvest and freeze a good amount this year and train throughout the year getting him ready for next season.
I'd just use a sit or down alert.
To start with I'd probably just use a clicker and a few high treat. I'd probably try getting him to target it, then click/reward. Once he has the idea that touch the mushroom gives him a reward, start moving it around on the floor a bit and click/reward for touching it. When he has the idea that targeting the mushroom wherever it may be it the room gets him his reward, then you can start hiding it in simple places and getting him to use his nose a bit to find it.
Oh and morels go for $20-$30/# here!
ETA - I wouldn't worry about re-hydrating the ones you have already. The smell really won't change that much with the addition of water.
we will begin mushroom training today using your suggestions. I like the idea of a down alert as opposed to the bark. When he can do it in the house I'll start putting them outside.
A friend of mine had a german shorthair that was 100% in house and yard on dried mushrooms, but when we went in the woods he was not able to find any new mushrooms, only the old dried ones, it looked like he was tracking the owners steps to the "planted" dried mushrooms. Your suggestion (Mara) of freezing some for this time next year is a great one.
Thanks!
I wonder if the reason he wasn't finding them was because all he was do was tracking, not looking for the mushrooms.
To help prevent this you can throw your mushroom out somewhere instead of placing it directly on the ground. You can also have other people hide it for you. When you do place it, walk around a bit so there isn't just one path leading to it. And try placing it then coming back at least 8 hours later to look for it.
Is it possible, or even safe, to get a dog to love eating morels? Seems that would help getting him to want to find them .
Don't know if it's possible or safe, but it's not necessary and it would teach the dog to eat them when he found them! The scent is the source of the reward, not the reward itself. Detection dogs are taught to pinpoint a wide variety of scents that would be very dangerous for the dog to ingest.
I put him on "wait", then hide the mushroom under things inside (couch, other furniture) . He loves this game and is becoming so excited about it that now I have to put him outdoors while I hide the dried mushroom. The down is happening because he is reaching under the furniture to touch the mushroom with his feet.
I'd like this to be a little more controlled before I put the mushroom outdoors.
Suggestions?
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