So how do you guys go about training a dog to find sheds? I don't have a dog, but I've always been curious.
My two labs have been around antlers since they day they were brought home. My female black lab used to be very good at it, both will find sheds hidden with ease and she has brought a fair share of horns back to me while shed hunting. The male, unfortunately will not get much real work practice because we now live in AK. He can find horns like no bodies business in the yard or anywhere though. He has an antler in his mouth or very close to him all day long, the little fella just loves them.
I started mine off by playing fletch with antlers. Once they get better at that, then start hiding them and have them find them. I worked with Bella most days for about 30 mins and she got the hang of it pretty quick. The key to knowing their worth is shed hunting in areas with a high concentration of bone... If they aren't there, they won't find them.
Best advice I can give you, aside from Doiken, if you are interested is to go to Monster Muleys and contact a guy names "fatrooster" on the shed forums... He usually is very willing to help people out.
Any dog can be trained to find them, you just have to work with them a lot.
All this said, I have watched my female run by sheds without picking them up, but I have also seen her bring many back to me.
It's all about the training...