I have a two year old male Springer that I have had for the last 12 months. He is a great dog, dedicated and loving but he is afraid of loud noises and will not come when called if he knows I am holding a rifle or shotgun. I plan to train him to hunt with me this Fall , but how do I begin to help him in his fear of loud noises and guns? He has never learned this from us, so I suspect something in the past has him feeling this way. I have never fired a rifle or gun of any kind near him, but just his actions tells me this may not be easy....Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated....Jimmy S
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You could try to recondition him by feeding him and setting off a loud noise, doing so day after day. I would start with a low bang at a large distance, such as a cap gun then go one of two ways, move progressively closer with the same noise or switch to a louder bang like a firecracker at a great distance for a week, several weeks, etc, and then move progressively closer. I'd do it at feeding time or at other times when you can be with the dog hanging out holding, rubbing down and not react yourself when the bang went off. I think patience and not rushing the progressive loudness/closer distance might be the key. I know we did this with one or two beagles when I was kid, but know I have foxhounds and some of them are a bit gun shy, but thier not typically close enough to us when we shoot to have it be an issue so I'm outta practice. good luck, juniorpc.
Working with a shy dog is a long process but it can be done. What you want to do is start the dog off buy getting the dog excited, if it gets excited buy retrieving a dummy or ball great. Get the dog excited to retrieve and throw ball or dummy, have someone at a distance fire a starter gun or small shotgun ( a 20 gauge is quieter then a 12) when the dog is excited and you throw the ball or dummy. The object is to be far enough away from the dog that the shot doesn't bother the dog, by getting him excited he pays attention to the ball not the noise. Slowly moving the gun closer to the dog, hopefully the dog starts to assocaite the noise with fun. This is how I introduce all my dogs to guns. I wouldn't use a firecraker because it has a different tone. I have had dogs that are afraid of firecrakers but not guns. There are many articles on the web that explain the same principles I just stated but with a lot more detail. I would do a search for gun-shy dogs.
junior and goodsen...thanks so much for your input. My dog loves to play with a tennis ball. When I take him in the woods, I intentionally throw the ball in the other direction and he's obsessed with finding it. Nose always to the ground and running all the time trying to pick up the scent. Sometimes it may take 5-6 minutes before he finally get's the scent. He relys entirely on his sense of smell and very little with his eyesight. The point is, as goodsen suggested , he is excited in looking for that ball. It seems to be a good time to begin the process. Also, the points that I made about him shy around guns has always been while he's in the house in a quiet situation. When he sees me sitting quietly with a rife or shotgun on my lap, he has no intention of coming close. Hopefully, being outside doing what he loves to do will act as a distractant while I slowly get him accostomed to the sight and sounds of gunfire.
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Good luck, Goodsen had some good advice. He's right about the shotgun having a different sound than the firecracker, but I was coming from a perspective of someone who lives in a neighborhood and some of my nieghbors are a bit gunshy themselves so you adapt. Juniorpc.
These are great replies...All I would add is that I use a blank gun.. When I do the processes that they are talking about at the final stages.
Start with a toy cap gun and work up to a blank 22 gun, then your field gun....
Also, move from the tennis ball to a real wing, or real bird (quail are great training birds)in the latter stages.
It may not always work out. But, allow time & give your dog plenty of patience.
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Take him to your local trap and skeet club. Keep him near the clubhouse so he feels secure while men are carrying guns and shooting. If you sit with him and pet him while this is going on he will realize it is ok. Over a few visits he will start to accept the noise and the gun. Ask to get a trap with only yourself and/or with a friend that the dog knows. Stand about 15 feet back with your dog on a leash and have your buddy shoot a few targets, then switch with you shooting. Switch again, but move a little closer. Soon Pup will start watching the clay pigons and not worrying about the gun shot. Plus you can get some practice shooting in.
Need help with Gun-shy dog....
