somewhat gun shy

[glenn57]

i have a 10 month old chocolate lab that is somewhat gun shy. the 22 is no problem but when i do the shotgun shes not with it, even with my 11 yr old lab whom the minute you take a gun out goes goofy. i tried just shooting, then shooting as they chase/retrieve trianing dummy and kind of looks and shies away. she doesnt turn the other way and runn a 100 but kinda looks like shes nt sure about it. maybe im not doing it enuogh, any thoughts?

[rattlereel]

I would move further away with the shotgun until she doesn't notice it before moving closer again. I would also have her do some retrieves before you start shooting. to keep her from worring about the noise everytime there is something to go and get

[Gator Slayer]

I heard about this trick too late for me. Find a busy trap range and play fetch "near" it. Just barely audible, then get closer. It will take some time, but she will never associate the boom with a gun. Be careful and go slow, you may not have her ready for this year, but if you push too hard she may never hunt.

[311Hemi]

Did you condition the dog to the gunfire at all, or just start shooting a 12 gauge with her next to you?

A dog is not born gun shy (99% of the time), it is made gun shy. I would strongly recommend stopping what you are doing and do some reading on proper gun intro/training.....there are resources online that can give you ideas on how to do this.

Overall, it consists of starting out with small calibers (.22 or start pistol) at longer distances.....and moving closer. Once that goes well grab a larger caliber gun and repeat starting at a distance and moving in closer to the dog. Have someone else doing the shooting...with you and the dog out in a field tossing a bumper and doing some retrieving. Fire when the bumper is in the air so the dog is focused on the bumper and having fun....and not the paying attention to the gun.

FYI...here is a post from another forum that describes this process a little more in detail...and using live birds. Hard to mess a dog up doing this!

Quote:

You will need two people to help you, one person will shoot the gun, and the other is a bird boy. Now its important that you have been using bird boys in training long before you start introducing gun fire. The only new thing I want the dog to experience is gun fire. I always start with 22 pistol with blanks. I will have the dog at heal, I will have the bird boy in front of me about 30 to 40 yards, and the gun man behind about 40 to 50 yards. I will signal for the bird boy to throw the bird, I will send the dog for the retrieve, and as the dog is running I will signal for the gun man to shoot. Its important for the gun to fire before the dog reaches the bird. Its the dog handler to watch his dog. If the dog shows no sign of being bothered by the gun fire, I will signal for the gun man to move closer, If the dog seems nervous I will move the gun man farther back. When the dog comes back with the bird give tons of praise. If the dog is not bothered I will have the gun man move up 15 yards, and do it again. I will slowly have the gun man move closer until he is standing right behind us. If the dog does not seemed bothered I will have the bird boy shoot the gun and throw the bird. This would conclude this session. I will come back the next day with 22 live rounds, and do the same thing. I will come back the third day with 4-10 shotgun, fourth day with a 20 gauge, and then a 12 gauge. I will train for a couple of days having the bird boy shooting a shot gun and then throwing the bird. After I am confident that the dog loves the shot from the shot gun because he knows he is going to get a bird. I have the gun man come with a second shotgun and do the same thing again. The bird boy will shoot a shotgun and as the dog is running for the mark the gunman will shoot a second shotgun. I will keep working on this until the gun man is shooting right behind the dog. I do this because I have gotten dogs in that the owners swear that in training the dog was just fine with the shot gun in training, but the first day in the duck boat or blind 4 guys got up to shoot and the dog is hiding. Dogs need also to understand multiple gun fire. I know my method is alot of work, but I have never had a gun shy dog using this method. I have cured gun shy dogs with this method. Good luck everyone!!!!!!!!!!

[ZEEK1223]

I had the same problem with my pup. Get the dog on some real birds. Once my pup associated gunfire with birds. He learned to love the gun, and goes nuts every time he sees you get it out. My dog would run 3/4 mile from the duck blind back to the farm yard and cower in his kennel. I was pretty worried....but everything turned out. Remember to go at the pace of your dog, not your pace.

[Neighbor_guy]

My dog is growing out of her gun shy stage. Her previouse owner "put down" another dog with her as a witness. Shut her down to the entire idea of the boom stick from that point on. With time, and now a new family and situation, she is getting better.

[glenn57]

thanks guys for all your input. a have done some of all of this that yo9u suggested. fireworks on the 4th didnt bother her so i will take all your ideas and keep working with her.

[gspman]

Quote:

Find a busy trap range and play fetch "near" it.

Not a fan of this option at all. Far too many things out of your control with this.

[311Hemi]

Quote:

Find a busy trap range and play fetch "near" it.

Not a fan of this option at all. Far too many things out of your control with this.

I agree.

[glenn57]

i am going to work with her on the 2 person and distance shooting, the chasing/retrieving dummy shooting techniques. we also have a game farm hunt in 2 weeks wit my older experienced dog and go from there. thanks for the ideas guys. appreciate it.