Hey Butcha, About the gun shyness, you might be ok since your dog went back to hunting, but its not a good practice to introduce your dog to a blast like that. It could permanently scare him of guns. Helping a dog deal with guns should start as a pup. Not too early but when training gets more serious, say 6-8 months. I used a .22 cap pistol. Its a lot quiter than a shot gun. Have the dog preoccupied with something and don't be close to him and shoot see how he reacts and continue in different situations. This breaks him in. When running him and he's deep in the brush shoot some more to simulate real hunting. Doing this I didn't have any problems, and my dogs don't miss a beat when they here me shoot. Good luck with your dog, he's kinda big, doesn't he have trouble getting in tight brush and briars?