Mite

Duck hunting is a totally different story. What Roo3006 is bringing to the table is how to introduce guns to the field. And I have to say, roo3006 is correct. The only exception I would make is the before 6 months. Which I believe can be done at 4.5 months of age, depending upon the maturity of the pup. That's when reading your dog becomes critical. If your pup starts becomming birdy, that's when you should introduce them to birds (smaller birds like quail). After a few outings, a .22 can be used but I would suggest using a cap pistol. Sound isn't that load but produces a quiet bang.

But roo3006 doesn't help with your situation. You have to get the dog comfortable with sudden 'pops'. If you have any packing bubbles that you can finger pop, I would see if such effects him. If not then start using a cap pistol while feeding or playing. Watch the dog carefully. If he ignores it then start with the program roo3006 suggests. And becareful. Note the section on multiple guns. It usually happens when the dog doesn't associates shot with birds. All he hears is a sudden barrage. You can make the dog non-gunshy but it doesn't mean he associates the shot with birds.

BTW, I used a very similar method. At 4.5 months my setter started noticing birds. I took her to the hunting fields (closed then) and fired a couple of .22 at robins she flushed and chased. At 5 months, I took her to a game farm. She went wild and at the end started pointed. Shot a .410 at the last couple of birds. Hunting season rolled in, and she was became gun conditioned towards the middle of the season where she could associate the loud 'bangs' with birds. The moment when she would run towards a shot (thinking there's a bird down) is when I started carrying a 20ga shotgun(most of the season was spent not shooting). Towards the end of her first season, I would let her run in front of 2-3 others (usually those who didn't have a dog) and let her hunt in front of them. Second season, I'd have to call her away from parties who shoot alot. But your dog may mature faster or slower but learn to read your dog.

BuckRogers

Thanks for the tips guys. Ithink this will work. Im hoping that it's not actually gun shy and just doesnt care for loud noises. I know if thats the case I can get him over the whole gun going off thing with lots of treats and easing him into it.

roo3006

Gunshy and afraid of loud noises are differant issues. Have had and seen many gun dogs that were afraid of thunder, fireworks, and other loud noises but were not gunshy one bit.

halfbakedi420

lol lots of answers...what werked for me was having someone in a field shooting the shot fun over and over while i walked her in. she was fine after that...we did hours of dove hunting, even though she is a blood tracker.

Mite

I wouldn't push it. Be impatient and you run the risk of the dog becoming gunshy. It then becomes twice, thrice the work or a professional to correct it. The rescues are filled with 'dogs that don't hunt' because of impatient former owners who thought 'tis a goad ideria!'

wghuffman

I have a Mountian Fiest Dog. He is skiddish around loud noises. I have tried working with him to no avail. I belive he was abuse before we got him. He also get skiddish at the sight of guns. Take him to the woods with out a firearm and you could't ask for a better squirrel dog. Had him for 2 plus years. Hope someday to get him over his problem

Forbesilliam

Yes, I know very well this........I have a dog..........
who this .....

4evrhtn

I have a female shorthair who we believe had been abused by her past owner. She is timid and scared of anything new. I have worked her on birds without a gun and later with a gun at a distance. She is "gun-nervous" not gun-shy. What you described above is a dog who is gun shy. The sight of a gun making him skittish means you have alot more work ahead of you than a dog who is fine until the boom. My female will hunt fine until the first shot then her range is much closer and eventually she follows behind instead of hunting out in front. She gets better with every trip in the field. With her consistency will be the key to getting her to overcome her apprehension to the gun.

The Gun-nervous term can also be related to field-nervous, If a dog has been shocked by a handler while on birds the dog becomes nervous anytime it gets on the scent of birds. Like stated above, Gun shyness is a manmade problem caused by someone who did't have the sense or patience to lay the foundational work first instead they skip over steps in a rush to hunt their dog.
E-collars have ruined as many dogs as firing over a dog too soon. The dog's instincts tell it to do one thing and then the handler not knowing any better punishes the dog instead of honing the dog's abilities to the next level. Shocking a dog while on point is NEVER to be done, it will ruin or set back even the best trained dogs.

I know I got a little off topic but I feel there is not enough instruction out there in terms of E-collar use and being that the dog is nervous around loud noises could mean more than the dog was improperly introduced to gun fire. Also by shooting over a dog on point who isn't conditioned to the shot could create a bigger problem... A dog who is nervous of birds and guns.

I agree with what Roo posted except for allowing the pup to catch the birds. By letting the pup do this you are creating another bad habit that you will eventually have to break. It causes the dog to be less steady and often the dog will creep if it has been allowed to run right in on the bird in the past. I train my dogs from the start towards being a master hunter. More progress will be made faster if you don't have to undo what you have done earlier in training. Just having a pen with a few quail in it is enough to increase your dog's bird drive. Encourage him to "Hunt the Birds" every time you take him into the yard and then praise the hell out of him for going to the pen. Once he is going to the pen every time you let him out the dog is ready for you to start whoaing him on the pen. Whoa training should be practiced after the basic-sit, come, down, commands are understood. The dog needs to understand the command and do it consistently before putting him on uncaged birds that he could catch if they don't fly. By the time the pup is whoa broke and he will be a couple months old and on schedule for live bird introduction and beginning gun fire conditioning. IOf these steps are taken it should be easier for you train him to be steady to shot as well without having to back track again later.