+snowcrustracer Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 Is it possible to train a dog to hunt for a geocache? How would you go about trainning a dog to do this? Just curious. Snow Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 Not a dog, but I have tried it with clams, with limited success Quote Link to comment
knowschad Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 brian, i'm worried about you. (shamelessly stolen from flask) Quote Link to comment
+snowcrustracer Posted July 16, 2009 Author Share Posted July 16, 2009 Not a dog, but I have tried it with clams, with limited success That was pretty funny. Clams can be trained but it's easier to do if you glue a compass to it's shell... and then spin the clam quickly. Their nautral sense of direction will always point towards the geocache. If it dose not work you must eat the clam to ensure the genitic flaw is not passed down to other clams. snow Quote Link to comment
knowschad Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 Is it possible to train a dog to hunt for a geocache? How would you go about trainning a dog to do this? Just curious. Snow I'm not sure that there would be a consistant smell for the dog to home in on. Ammo cans probably have a consistant scent to them. Peanut butter jars too, but quite different. Lock & Locks/Rubbermaid, etc... polyethelene smell. All would have human scent on them, of course, but in many environments, there would be many other objects with human scent on them as well. I did, however, work with my dog a little bit (very little), and once at a cache where I wasn't trying to train him, he was out running around when I found and replaced the cache. I then got a phone call, and as I was talking, I heard a sound, turned around, and there was my dog with the cache in his mouth! Of course, he probably just picked up on my scent. Quote Link to comment
+Mredria Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 It's been discussed on the forum before that a dog could, maybe, be trained to smell out ammunition, would be able to smell the residue of an ammo can's past life, and so be able to sniff out an ammo can. Besides that, I doubt it's possible. Caches are all so different, I don't think they have a scent in common that's not a thing that's everywhere like ink or paper. Quote Link to comment
+flask Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 yes, you can. you train the dog to find ammocans and decon boxes and rubbermaid at home. maybe your dog just likes finding stuff, and maybe you just happen to keep dog cookies in an ammocan. then you train him to find them outside. then you make a transition to having him sniff out anything that's different and doesn't fit. a cache will have lots of smells on it that are different from the normal smells of the area. i was making very good progress training a dog to this once, but then he suddenly became spooked by ammocans and wouldn't play anymore. it was weird. one minute finding ammocans was his favorite thing to do and then all of a sudden ammocans made him run from the room. i'm not sure what it was about the sound, but i think the sound of it opening just one day scared him and he never got over it. Quote Link to comment
Skippermark Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 There's a cacher in a neighboring state that who works with a bloodhound and uses the dog to help find caches. Quote Link to comment
+j.ollie Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 It's not a dog, but DeLorme has an update for it's GPSs for detecting geocaches: http://blog.delorme.com/2009/04/01/press-r...es-gps-devices/ Quote Link to comment
+gof1 Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Probably won't work so well with micros but try teaching your dog to search out french fry oil. McToys will probably retain the odor for a long time. Quote Link to comment
+Team Four Paw Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Here you go Training Your Dog to Sniff Out Caches - By Peter Harrington Quote Link to comment
knowschad Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Hey... wait!!! I'm a dog. What AM I talking about? (oh, this is soooo embarrassing!) Woof! Quote Link to comment
+bittsen Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Hey... wait!!! I'm a dog. What AM I talking about? (oh, this is soooo embarrassing!) Woof! Huh? Really? And all this time I thought you were something close to a Donkey... Quote Link to comment
+jmd65 Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 (edited) Doesn’t having your dog find the cache take all the fun out of it? Edited July 17, 2009 by jmd65 Quote Link to comment
+Nunaki Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Yes but the satisfaction of telling everyone else your dog has found more geocaches then they have could always be fun Quote Link to comment
+snowcrustracer Posted July 17, 2009 Author Share Posted July 17, 2009 Thanks folks, I'm not so worried about the dog finding more caches than me...I just thought it would be a cool trick to teach my yorkie. Thanks again, snow Quote Link to comment
knowschad Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Doesn’t having your dog find the cache take all the fun out of it? Maybe for the owner, but not for the dog! Quote Link to comment
+serpico007 Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Would be nice just to train my dog to sit still while I search for the cache! Too distracting. Quote Link to comment
+snowcrustracer Posted July 17, 2009 Author Share Posted July 17, 2009 Would be nice just to train my dog to sit still while I search for the cache! Too distracting. I picked up a sling to carry my pup in when things get to rough or for the longer trails. He loves riding in it. I guess that's one advantage to having a small 5lb dog. Quote Link to comment
+TeamZebra Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 I have a 3 year old German Shepherd that I take caching with me. I make a point of letting her sniff the container as soon as I find it (before handling it too much). Apparently it's helping as she has found more FTFs than I have! She likes playing "Find the People"... rather than tracking the cache itself, she follows the trail of the people who have been there before. Obviously this works really well on newer caches and not-so-well on older caches, as the more hunters, the more confused the trail will be. The first one she found on her own .. she led me straight to it, It was hidden in some shrubbery. I had her on a long retractable leash. As soon as we got out of the car I told her to find the people. She stuck nose to the ground and proceeded to lead me to the shrub. By the time I caught up with her on the backside, all I could see was her backend sticking out of the bushes and her nose on an ammo can! She got a treat, a bunch of praise and I let her "sign" the log first by leaving a pawprint. Quote Link to comment
+flask Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 Doesn’t having your dog find the cache take all the fun out of it? not any more than going with other people who might find it. it's a fun activity you can share with your dog, a game you can play together. Quote Link to comment
+geodarts Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 I would love it if my dog found caches but she just whines at me if I take too long. Quote Link to comment
+Team Gryarvold Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 All my dogs just love to go and romp in the woods. While I'm searching for the cache they are running up and down the creeks, hills, sliding in the leaves, playing with sticks, chasing rabbits, birds, and what ever else they can find to play with. After while mastiffs just wear out and flop down. Try getting a tired out mastiff back to the car when you are two miles out. Quote Link to comment
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