gun shy dog

[dozer_42]

I bough a yellow lab this summer, and think it may be gun shy. He doesn’t mind loud noises (fire crackers, clapping oars together), but as soon as you get the gun out and shoot he wants nothing to do with it. I talked to a kennel owner, and he said that dogs can be broke of being gun shy. Just wondering if any one has gone through this process, or have any suggestions.

[BigDaddy]

I'm sure that you could do this on your own. However, I'd bring in a professional. Any trainer worth his salt has broke many dogs of this problem.

IMHO, it's more about the birds. Get the dog excited about the birds and he'll forget about the noise.

[Benny]

This is a tuff one to fix, but it can be corrected with time and lots of work.

You will have to start out like the dog was a new puppy, have a friend stand 15 or so yards away with a blank pistol.Shoot the pistol as the dog is eating , give it lots of asurance if the dog jumps or gets nevous. Go slow, if the dog jumps wait a day and try it again.

If the dog just looks up and then goes back to eating give it tons of praise.Then progress to being right next to the dog as you fire the pistol.

When the dog is ok with that start over with a small bore shot gun and do it all over.Then on to the big gun as before.

I also would recamend a good trainer if you can't find time to work with the dog in this way.A gun shy dog is no fun in the field.

Benny

[Snag]

I'm not sure what your experience is with dogs, but I would suggest a trainer. They will probably start with a muffled starter pistol and work their way up. The key is they will have the dog associate the shots with birds. That way it isn't just noise to them. I'm sure any good trainer has dealt with quite a few gunshy dogs.

[BLACKJACK]

Does your dog like retrieving dummies? If so, consider a dummy launcher. Its got the loud report of a gun so they can associate it with something fun, like chasing dummies. My launcher is loud enough that I wear ear plugs. At first, have a friend launch the dummy from a distance, let the dog retrieve it. Slowly work the dog closer to the person launching the dummy. Make it fun for the dog, and be patient.

[Northland Sportsman]

My GWP was a bit gunshy when she was a pup. Now she doesn't mind the gun at all. It just took a while for her to get used to, and once she got on a few birds the shyness went away. She still doesn't like load noises like fireworks and thunder, but when I get the gun out she is ready to hunt. I would suggest being patient and spending a lot of time working with the dog as suggested above. Good luck!

[braves57]

I worked a young dog with a trainer this past summer. The first step was getting her excited about birds. Without that, you have no base. I mainly used pidgeons with a few farm raised pheasants mixed in. Once she got real excited about birds then the gun shot was introduced(first a 410, then the 12-gauge). Let the dog chase the bird with an occasional shot. If the dog doesn't mind the first shot, repeat another shot or two. But if the dog dog doesn't like the first shot I wouldn't suggest shooting again... go see a pro! That worked for my young dog. Hope that helps!

[Daveo]

I kind of agree with Benny, except... I would use a cap gun instead, and shoot it while he is eating. Except for praising him, completely ignore that the gun went off. If you don't make a big deal about the gun going off, neither will he, eventually. And it never hurts occasionally throughout the day, just fire off the cap gun and just keep going about your business. When the dog sees the gun, and hears the gun, and knows its not going to affect you, it will eventually not affect the dog.

This is not that hard to overcome, nor does it need a trainer because this is basically what a trainer will do. And like said by Benny, the optimal time to do this is when the dog is eating. Good luck and buy lots of caps.