I broke -- or so I thought -- my male Chessie at 3-months of age. He was fine around the gun and several intermittent shots from the 12 ga, but a couple rounds of trap at a buddies house sent him running for my truck. I had a prairie grouse hunt lined up for Nebraska in September and this set-back occurred in June. Here's what i did.

He was definitely gunshy at this point -- even at the sight of the gun. I bought a kids cap gun, acquired some homing pigeons and went to work. First I introduced him to the pigeons and got him excited about them. I'd hold the pigeons on the ground and release my dog and let him catch them. Then I would let him flush the birds on his own. This all took place in my yard and went on for about 2-weeks. Slowly I introduced the cap gun -- in the house -- from a distance, eventually incorporating it with the pigeons. I'd hold the pigeon on the ground, shoot the cap gun and release the pigeon. My dog would brake at the crack of the gun. Mid-August, a buddy and I took the dog to the field and shot the 12 ga -- from a distance -- until we were shooting over him. The third day of Kentucky's dove season I took the dog out and he retrieved several dove on that hunt. Problem solved and he made the trip to Nebraska.

The process is a long and tedious one, but should work. To this day, he is very much afraid of fireworks and thunderstorms, but hunts like a machine.