Free: Contests & Raffles.
I was in the same situation with a GWP. Dog was awesome naturally. Not a lot of training was required, she would point, work about 25 yards away from me, always coming back, retrieved, everything, I thought I was the luckiest guy alive...then I used a dummy launcher one day. No hint of being gun shy to that point...I fired it off, and she hauled ass, right back to the truck. She went under the truck and wouldn't come out. Now she still "hunts" but won't retrieve, and is gun shy as hell. Can't break her of it. Loving home, great dog, just can't do loud noises. When the fireworks go off around the holidays, she is in my lap shaking, and she's a big dog, just scared of bang noises.
Hey all, I am getting a 3 year old Lab this Sunday. It apparently comes from a (?) hunting bloodline (?) but this dog has had zero training and basically has been left in the back yard with one other dog, both of which are family pets. Knowing just how different each and every dog is in behavior and drives, is it possible to train this lab to do any upland bird retrieval or am I looking at just having another house pet that eats everything in sight? He's a great looking Lab and I would love to give him some training, I have lots of areas that have fair to good bird populations around me.Just curious and I realize, since not even having an opportunity yet to see if he has any desire to fetch it is nearly impossible to give any suggestions as to which direction would be advisable. But any help would greatly be appreciated. I also understand he may be gun shy, any way to break that?
If all is going well I would take him in a kennel box to the local shot gun range. Park your truck way away from the shooting so it is not real loud. Leave him in the box and mess round near by see what how he reacts. If he isnt having a fit than put him on a long check cord and take him out throw him some dummies one or two while the shooting is going on. Still away from the shooting maybe other side of the building. At no time should you try to comfort him about the shooting. Just ingnore it and throw a couple bumpers for him like you do at home. Take a lawn chair and sit down in it away from the trap lines still and keep him on the cord let him venture out to the end of the cord to watch the trap flying and guys shooting. You are 100 ft or more from the action. He may just sit by you chair and watch. Dont pet him just sit quiet and watch.I said trap range not rifle range. They are different. 15 -20 minutes than pack it up and leave. Come back again maybe a little longer. I would do it 2-3 times until he dosent care about the noise. If he is retreiving streach them out but still go slow. You want him enjoying the retreiving. If that is the only play he gets he will go nuts to do it if the drive is there. You will know.
. I felt sorry for the guy
Quote from: FALFire on September 08, 2012, 06:24:29 AM. I felt sorry for the guy feel sorry for the dog. they aren't born gun shy.
Chickens fix gunshy....................
Quote from: wildweeds on September 08, 2012, 06:08:41 PMChickens fix gunshy.................... boy do they ever! so do Guinea hens. only problem is you wind up with chicken killer, but IMO thats a fair trade.come to think of it, guinea hens can fix a number of dog problems.
I see.... The guy I'm getting the Lab from said the dog may be gun shy but in another statement he told me of a time the dog chased a raccoon up a tree. The owner retrieved his 22 rifle and shot at the raccoon several times and the dog never even flinched. Soooooooo Perhaps he was so focused on the raccoon the dog could care less about the gunfire.
Putting down one of my dogs has to rank right up there as the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.... I literally, held my St. Bernard as the vet injected him, to put him to sleep... I buried my face in that big oafs fur and cried for 20 min. as I felt the life leave his body... Even knowing that he would have never survived after having the stroke he had...Only times I have cried harder... when I buried my dad, my sister and my mom.... over the years.
Well, he is very strong, pulls me all over the place, trying to break him of that will be a chore in it's self.I have yet had time to put together his kennel so I let him sleep in the garage, got up this morning and OH MY GOD I guess he didn't like being in there. So today I put his kennel together and hopefully it will be bomb proof!