Dogs have long been used as a hunting assistant. But a smart dog can not only help chase the beast or bring a bird. A trained dog is also indispensable for "quiet hunting". If in summer and autumn you regularly go to the forest for mushrooms, it makes sense to teach your pet to find them.
How to teach your dog to hunt mushrooms
Teaching a dog to look for a specific type of mushroom is not that difficult. For example, in Europe, dogs are specially trained to look for truffles. The cost of renting a smart animal reaches several hundred euros per day. Using this technique, you can make the dog a helper in your hobby. To get started, start adding a small amount of mushroom tea made from one type of mushroom to your dog's usual food. Dogs have a good sense of smell, and one or two drops will be enough for the animal to smell and mentally associate the aroma of mushrooms and food with each other.
Train your dog to eat only after your command, otherwise you risk that the dog not only finds the mushroom, but also tastes it first. You will lose prey, and the dog may have an upset stomach.
Then you can proceed to the second stage of training. Put the same mushroom decoction on your dog's favorite toy, hide it, and tell the dog to start searching. After the animal has managed to find its favorite ball or rope, praise it and treat it with a treat.
Finally it was time to put the dog to the test. Take a few mushrooms and hide them in an area that your dog is familiar with (this could be your summer cottage or your yard where you often walk). Instruct your dog to start searching and do not forget to praise the animal after each find. If the dog has successfully completed its task, you can go to the forest and find mushrooms there.
Underwater rocks
All mushrooms smell differently. You can teach your dog to look for boletus, honey agarics or chanterelles, but raising a general-purpose dog is extremely difficult. The animal must be intelligent, possess a special talent, and must be handled by a patient and experienced instructor.
If you want to teach a dog to look for different types of mushrooms, then you need to do this by alternately teaching the dog to associate each species with food and look for it.
It should also be remembered that the dog will not look for mushrooms with a clean leg and an elastic cap, suitable for eating, but everything that smells like mushrooms. The animal will lead you to both recently cut stumps and half-rotted old fruit bodies.
Trying to please the owner, the dog can run back long distances in search of its prey, and you will have to look not only for mushrooms, but also for your animal. Train your pet to either signal its discovery by barking, or keep the pet on a leash so that it does not get lost.
