Do it in stages start off 100 yd then move in. Best to have older dogsworking in the fieldso the pup associates the gun fire with FUN. I have heard some recommend banging on pots when the dog is eating, ill advised.
\ www.coonriverkennels.com/ has a good article on Introduction to Gunfire.
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I am no pro but at 4 months I wouldn't be to worried about it
yet. I would be getting him working on some birds. For me on
how I had mine get started around gunshot was wait until they
were on birds then introduce them. I gave them the real thing
and it worked good for me. And I know we all have different
ideas and there is alot of fine folks here that can help you out.
Sorry jr I do not know anything about squirrel dogs but the idea of letting the pup get excited about finding a squirrel
and introducing I suspect would be the same.
But I assume the method is the same. Dragging a scent through the yard, using dead squirrels, and finally using live squirrels. Get the pup game crazy then fire .22 blanks when chasing. If the dog notices put the gun away. If not fire the .22 a few more sessions then graduate to the .410. Then 20ga, etc. Then multiple shotguns. The dog has to make the association of gunshots with the game.
I was very concerned about my Springer being gun-shy because he does not like loud noises. A good friend from this site helped so much with all aspects of bird hunting with my new dog. He assured me my dog would be OK and not be gun-shy and he was right.
I would take everyones advice here but the one thing I found was my dog was far less likey to be concerned with the sound of gunshots if he was occupied. Keeping his excited trying to find a pheasant wing that he has just scented or even looking for his favorite tennis ball should make the sound of gunfire just a distant annoyance.
Also keep the gunshots in the distance when beginning. I think the absolute worse thing you can do is to shoot a loud 12gaover him when he's not doing anything else and he's not expecting it. It would scare the daylights out of me!
Keep him busy doing anything he loves while beginning to shoot in the distance is my advice. Good Luck.
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Here is another little trick outta my bag of goodies.....dont shoot on a cloudy day, on a dog that is, or can be, even the initial gun association. On the fiest, I would work more in more open timber, or even a single tree, with nothing around........less muffle. Make sense?? Just a little trick that I have learned over the years, on fixing or starting, the gun. Thanks Jonesy
Jimmy s got the right stuff, at first don't shoot around the dog unless it's concentrated on it's quarry. If it isn't hunting yet make sure it's no where near you and even then hopefully he will be listing for the working dogs.
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Shooting Around A Dog Question ?
