gun shy

[upwind]

My dog use to be good with shooting did not to seem to bother him at all . I worked  hard training him now i hope it was for nothen I took him hunting with me and when i shot he took off and ran to the truck please help i love my dog and really want him to hunt with me. :dunno:He never did it befor

[ser300wsm]

You said used to be good. What happened in between the time? Maybe someone scared the crap out of him Or her. You might want to start all over again by getting him or her used to shooting again by using a .22 to start with. Good luck ...

[ribka]

I had the same issue the first year with my dog. My idiot neighbor kept shooting his 44 mag near him and he ended up somewhat gun shy.

I've trained quite a few dogs though.  I worked with my dog all year and acclimated him to first a bb gun, a .22 cal starter pistol and finally a shotgun. Fisrt with wings then live birds. It took a lot of  patient training every day. Every dog/breed has to be trained in a different manner depending on his/her character.   Now when I pick up the gun he becomes excited and he loves to hunt.

If you don't have the time experience take him/her to a professional trainer.  

[go4itlab]

Try getting a cap gun from the toy store and during feeding time stand a good distance away and fire off some caps overtime move in closer and closer. If all goes well by the end you should be able to lay right next to your dog as he's eating and fire it off. Problem solved

[Rowdy]

Agree, with the above posts about starting back at the beginning.  IMHO, even if it means losing a season its worth it.  I'd rather miss a season fixing the gun shyness and have a bird dog for the next 10+ years instead of rushing or forcing the issue and ruining the pup for good.  If the pup used to be fine with gun fire you should be able to get back to that.  Best of luck, sounds like something random happened and shouldn't be a problem fixing it. 

[wildweeds]

Live birds in a controlled training situation is the only way to fix the aprehension thats manifested itself concerning the gun.There needs to be excitement and an attention getter which is the birds.A .22 with live rounds is a very bad idea that will cause the problem to worsen,the .22 is subsonic and creates a high pitched whir similar to a silent dog whistle,popping caps while the dog is eating is not going to get the job done either IMO ,of course I suppose it depends on the severity of the shyness.



  Curious as to how you broke the dog to the gun to start with?How old is the dog also? Breed of the dog(doesn't matter so much really but  I think some are born with better hearing  than others and it may be a case of really good hearing,GSP's seem to be the most sensitive from what I've seen)

   I would reccomend starting back at the beginning also,with birds and a helper,If the dog is so bad that it runs back to the truck I would also consider professional help.

 

[Happy Gilmore]

live birds = gun shots = happy dog


something happened which caused the association of bad = gun shots = dog running to truck


Probably should see a pro trainer. Usually about $35-60 per session + birds which don't survive.

What kind of dog do you have and where do you live?

[BIGINNER]

Live birds in a controlled training situation is the only way to fix the aprehension thats manifested itself concerning the gun.There needs to be excitement and an attention getter which is the birds.A .22 with live rounds is a very bad idea that will cause the problem to worsen,the .22 is subsonic and creates a high pitched whir similar to a silent dog whistle,popping caps while the dog is eating is not going to get the job done either IMO ,of course I suppose it depends on the severity of the shyness.



  Curious as to how you broke the dog to the gun to start with?How old is the dog also? Breed of the dog(doesn't matter so much really but  I think some are born with better hearing  than others and it may be a case of really good hearing,GSP's seem to be the most sensitive from what I've seen)   I would reccomend starting back at the beginning also,with birds and a helper,If the dog is so bad that it runs back to the truck I would also consider professional help.

 

thats not really true, every dog is differnet breed doesn't really matter,  i had a gsp pup that i gun broke myself,  i started with a .22 at 100 yards,  then slowly got closer and closer,  i didn't always use live birds, or birds at all for that matter,  using live birds too much can create bad habbits for the dog,   i progressed with the .22 up till 20 yards, then she started to flintch a little,  so i started all over again at 100 yards,  it took a long time, lots of days, and lots of .22 rounds,  but pretty soon i would be blasting away over her with the 22 and she acted like she was deaf to the gun,  so i swiched to a shotgun at 100 yards,  the shotgun was alot easier,  took less than 10 min and i was shooting over her while my brother threw a bird out for her,  in a couple days she knew that a gun going off ment that there's a bird down and she would go crazy from excitement when she sees the gun out. 

well... the point is it takes lots of patience, and  lots of work,  some dogs are easier than others,  i've also heard stories of peopl gunbreaking there dog at the range, and at the range the pup would be fine,  or at least looked like she was fine,  but once they were in the feild and a gun goes off the dog would take off to the ruck, 

when gunbreaking a dog, (or training in general)  make sure the pup is enjoying itself,   

[Happy Gilmore]

If the dog is gun-shy my two cents says controlled environment is the only way to have a chance at recovering fully from whatever happened that made the dog gun shy. I've seen a dog "look" gunshy but, it was actually from the owner lighting the dog up with the collar for breaking. The dog associated the gun shots with the collar, not the correction from the collar for breaking. Dog also wasn't properly collar conditioned so it didn't understand what the correction meant in the first place. Stuff like this can take years to untangle but, it isn't all lost if you are willing to put the time into correcting the problem.

[Copperwood]

Gun shyness is man made. I would seek a pro trainer. Lots of pigions at first and then move to blanks, 410, 20 ga and then 12 ga. Happy said it best with live bird+gun fire= happy dog. Regardless of what you hear, IMO a birdy dog is  easier to gun break, which requires birds. If you are close to Ellensburg I will be willing to help you out. good luck

[wildweeds]

Well my friend in over thirty years of dinking around with 50 some dogs I'll just say that you got lucky.I've also heard at LEAST 50 guys that think the way to break the dog to the gun is by "Taking them to the trap range".I've owned 2 that were gunshy,and yep it was my fault on both of them.One cannot expect to fire a blank gun around in the yard where the dog is totally familair with it's surroundings and then expect the exact same results on the opening day of hunting season in an unfamiliar surroundings ......ESPECIALLY if the dog is not BOLD.My latest setter pup was a nightmare to get gunbroke,he didn't like birds,He would point them but has no prey drive to chase them,he would flinch at the sound of a 209 primer from 50 yards away,I fiddled with him for over 2 months and then just said "Sink or Swim" took him hunting and made sure to kill birds that didn't require shooting directly over his head,I used my .410 to kill half a dozen release site phez over him and then it was off to south dakota.I'd say he tolerates the gun but does not love it.I lump him into the "Extrodinary hearing" group,his littermates are also not fond of the gun either,that would lead me to believe they are genetically predisposed with very very good hearing,the one littermate who is with a pro trainer/handler still does not like the gun.Gotta run lunch is over will add more to this later



 

Live birds in a controlled training situation is the only way to fix the aprehension thats manifested itself concerning the gun.There needs to be excitement and an attention getter which is the birds.A .22 with live rounds is a very bad idea that will cause the problem to worsen,the .22 is subsonic and creates a high pitched whir similar to a silent dog whistle,popping caps while the dog is eating is not going to get the job done either IMO ,of course I suppose it depends on the severity of the shyness.



  Curious as to how you broke the dog to the gun to start with?How old is the dog also? Breed of the dog(doesn't matter so much really but  I think some are born with better hearing  than others and it may be a case of really good hearing,GSP's seem to be the most sensitive from what I've seen)   I would reccomend starting back at the beginning also,with birds and a helper,If the dog is so bad that it runs back to the truck I would also consider professional help.

 

thats not really true, every dog is differnet breed doesn't really matter,  i had a gsp pup that i gun broke myself,  i started with a .22 at 100 yards,  then slowly got closer and closer,  i didn't always use live birds, or birds at all for that matter,  using live birds too much can create bad habbits for the dog,   i progressed with the .22 up till 20 yards, then she started to flintch a little,  so i started all over again at 100 yards,  it took a long time, lots of days, and lots of .22 rounds,  but pretty soon i would be blasting away over her with the 22 and she acted like she was deaf to the gun,  so i swiched to a shotgun at 100 yards,  the shotgun was alot easier,  took less than 10 min and i was shooting over her while my brother threw a bird out for her,  in a couple days she knew that a gun going off ment that there's a bird down and she would go crazy from excitement when she sees the gun out. 

well... the point is it takes lots of patience, and  lots of work,  some dogs are easier than others,  i've also heard stories of peopl gunbreaking there dog at the range, and at the range the pup would be fine,  or at least looked like she was fine,  but once they were in the feild and a gun goes off the dog would take off to the ruck, 

when gunbreaking a dog, (or training in general)  make sure the pup is enjoying itself,   

[mjbskwim]

My little dog hates gun shots.She flinches when they are across town.
She did jump out of the truck when my other dog went for a grouse.She even found the bird first.
So the excitement factor can play a part.

there is a trap range down the road that trains dogs also.He says they will get used to the gun.
I haven't had the heart to take her back there to try it.She was shaking like a leaf Saturday when I left her in the truck at the hunting site.A quarter mile from the actual shooting area.

I have always heard to make a lot of noise over the dog when it's eating too.
(mine cowers then too)
Bang some pots over it's head.Make noise when you are doing stuff around the yard.

I say this cause my girl flinches to everything.I bang something she runs to the other end of the property.
Get it used to banging sounds first then guns.

Your wife/GF will get annoyed,but it's for the greater cause

[Happy Gilmore]

part of your intention on getting them used to noise should be to train "alertness".

If your dog flinches because its being startled, you are causing the problem.

Your dog should be looking for a reason for noise. Banging pots and pans teaches the dog nothing. If I snuck up behind a dog, clobbered a pot and pan together and the dog just stood there and kept eating I'd say it was a sign of a "stupid" dog. Dog should bark, should hide, should have a reaction. It is not a good reaction that it ignores being snuck up on and having noise presented unnaturally.

When a gun goes off, I want the dog on alert, eyes to the sky, eyes searching around, looking for action. I definately would NEVER want a dog to sleep on a carpet in the back of a truck ignoring gun shots at a rifle/skeet range. Never.

Teach the dog shots equal birds. Shots equal action. Shots equal fun. Start from day one. You don't need to carry toy cap guns, bang pans together or anything else. Praise, happy, goofy kiddie voices and flying birds with a little low power .22 blank pistol a long way away. When a pop goes off, pup will be looking for action in no time at all. Shot in the distance will have a 10 week old pups eyes looking to the horizon, scanning for something to happen.

When a dog "bolts" on its own and the owner is confident he's done NOTHING to the dog, take it to a pro if you are interested in an attempt to, "fix" the problem.

[Copperwood]

Upwind DO NOT listen to some of the people on here. When gun breaking a dog the noises have to be in a controlled environment. The dog has to associate gun fire with fun. If you follow others directions on here, you will ruin your dog. If needed call a pro or pm someone that has more experience. Good luck

[Hangfire]

I will put in my 2 cents worth. I have trained several springer's. I first start with retrieving and get them very excited about that. I often clap my hands as I throw the dummy or just before I throw it. I then go to a blank starter gun. I toss the dummy and she starts for it and then I fire the blank, holding it behind my back to muffle the sound. I am very vocal about her retrieving, lots of encouragement and petting when she comes back. If there is no negative response to the blank I continue. If she hesitated I go back to the hand claps. After a few retrieves that are positive I go to firing the blank gun and then toss the dummy. If every thing is going well I increase the noise a little by firing the blank in front of me. I gradually increase the noise until I am shooting a shotgun. I have on one occasion had my wife stand behind me 50 yards and shoot the blank as I tossed the dummy. She had the blank pointed away from the dog and behind her. The whole point is find a noise level that is tolerated, and follow the noise with some thing exciting and positive for the dog. Lots of praise and if you have to a little treat.