Me too! My dog, wirehaired pointing griffon is 2 yrs old. I started him out when he was 1 yr old, taking him up in the woods, when he was about 100 feet away sniffing at something, I shot one .22 rimfire out of my pistol, held the pistol behind me and pointed it to the ground to minimize "blast". My dog 'flinched' but did not run away.
Over a period of time (4 months) I did this "explore the woods" method and shot the pistol when he was closer, and eventually took a 20 ga. shotgun and fired it when he was approx 40 feet away, in the bushes on a scent. He would flinch, but not run away.
So I thought, great! Maybe he is not Gunshy, but Gun-sensitive.(one of the classes NAVDA dogs are classed).
Next my BIG MISTAKE happened. I took him to the river, we sat together in the bushes, and all of a sudden a small group of geese flew (silently)directly over us. My dog did not see them as he was drowsing. I shot 3 quick shots from the 12 ga 11-87, BANG-BANG-BANG. No goose fell. My poor dog, (who was leashed to my side), abruptly surprised was now STRAINING on the lease AWAY from me. He was frightened BIG TIME. That was last year. I spent the past several months trying to associate fun-time with me carrying a shotgun, and finally he accepted that without shying away.
ANOTHER BIG MISTAKE, last weekend, my son and I went to the river, My son walking about 40 feet in front of me and my dog (not leashed) between us. All of a sudden my son blasted away 3 shots at a low flying duck that suddenly appeared out of nowhere. No real chance to see the duck coming. My dog turned tail, and ran as fast as he could toward and going beyond me out of sight, AWAY from us. I was really crushed, and now believe the BIG MISTAKES have been NOT allowing the dog to see the game flying BEFORE the shooting.
So now that I screwed up a good dog, I am really searching for opinions that will help. Hopefully, I will be able to "undo" the damage. Maybe the best thing is to pay the price, and go to a game farm, and let the dog have some experience seeing game birds fluttering around. And maybe not do any shooting until he is 100% familiar to seeing the birds. Your thoughts are welcome.
Novice from Montana
