Good dog.

[Recycler]

Tried to train my dog to smell out buried metal.She didn’t get the point(hah!)Really,it should be possible.Relic sites often have burnt wood,old leather and food cans,etc to give a more detectable door.Anybody tried it?

[Bedrock Bob]

There have been several people here use dogs to prospect in various ways.

Ruben Garcia had a dog that found a West, Texas meteorite. He told the story right here on Nuggetshooter Forums. He said he acquired the pooch that brought one up and laid it on the porch if I remember correctly. He bought the meteorite and the dog that found it. I don't know if the dog ever repeated that performance. That story is in the archives somewhere. You could probably find it by dating that meteorite fall. Probably 6-8 years ago now?

I know they use dogs for ginseng, osha, honey, shed antlers and water to name just a few things. And a couple guys here claimed to have trained them to dig for them.

I could get my old lab to dig a target for me but it was a joke. I could focus on a spot and tell him to dig and he would sure do it. He would kick dirt six feet behind him with those big paws and dig a wallow and then lay down in it. It got to where I could not dig a beep without him interfering with the process.

A drug sniffing dog could be a serious money maker. I know for sure you can train them to signal on that sort of thing. I have always pondered training a dog do signal on certain things and then using that info to my advantage. A creative guy could "prospect" a lot more than gold with a well trained animal. There are a whole lot of things (besides drugs, money and dead bodies) that a dog could sense for you that might give you an advantage in certain situations. 

Mine will spread garbage, eat rabbits whole and sit in the sun and lick the place his balls used to be. The closest he comes to being useful is wearing a little doggy backpack and carrying his own food and water on a long hike. 

[Uncle Ron]

My pup, Shadow Patch found a nugget in my house and brought it to me just as I woke up one morning ... I have a picture (Oh crap, Dodacious cleaned out my computer and all my photos are gone...I don't know what to do now... If I tell Patch to "find a nugget" he goes crazy running around the house sniffing every corner ... Any how, a dog can find gold due to the sulfer smell usually associated with placer finds... Cheers, Unc

[Edge]

My antler seeking hound.

[Terry Soloman]

My wife is a bit peeved at my training method..

[Uncle Ron]

On 12/18/2018 at 10:12 PM, Uncle Ron said:

My pup, Shadow Patch found a nugget in my house and brought it to me just as I woke up one morning ... I have a picture (Oh crap, Dodacious cleaned out my computer and all my photos are gone...I don't know what to do now... If I tell Patch to "find a nugget" he goes crazy running around the house sniffing every corner ... Any how, a dog can find gold due to the sulfer smell usually associated with placer finds... Cheers, Unc

I finally found the picture of Shadow Patch's nugget...He's a good boy!!!! Cheers, Unc

[Micro Nugget]

One of my pitbulls brought me the skull of a bobcat once while I was detecting in the Dale.  He and Lilah also eat the jackrabbits they catch.  I'm still waiting for them to fetch me a nugget...