A New Puppy Question ?
 

How do you go about shooting around a new puppy,
For the first time,
With out making him gunshy ?

Its a male 4 month old Feist
Born the second week in Jan 2006

Thank You for any advice

RE: A New Puppy Question ?
 

For our black lab, we paired the shotgun blast with a presentation of food at the same time. Just no problem at all. It is amazing, especially considering how sensitive a dogs ears are.

RE: A New Puppy Question ?
 

Yep that will work. Just associate fun with hunting and guns and they won't care.

RE: A New Puppy Question ?
 

This is a sure fire method.

RE: A New Puppy Question ?
 

Just how do you go about doing this ?

He is Feist so he is going to be a squirrel dog.
I live inside the city limets.
So I can't go and shoot around him in the back yard.
I supose I could go to public hunting land.
Thats where I probbly will be hunting squirrels.

Thank You for the help

RE: A New Puppy Question ?
 

Even though you can't shoot a rifle or shotgun around him in town there are some things you can still do. Keep in mind there are a lot of opinions out there about this subject.

Do you have one of the high-powered "pump" BB guns? If so and you can shoot that where you live, start with that while he eats and gradually work closer.

Cap guns are great too!

I like to make a lot of noise (bang food dishes together, slam doors, etc.) right before feeding the pups so they associate metallic bangs with food. You can also make noise while they are eating too.

The first thing I did when we got our feist pups was to take them to a sportsman show where there was live fire (various calibers and guages) at targets. It was very convenient because we spent the entire day getting the pups socialized to people and gradually worked our way toward the gunfire. Whenever they would look toward a bang, I would praise them or comfort them depending on the reaction.

Take your pup out to the timber once it shows interest in loud noises rather than fear. Let the pup run out in the timber like he is going to do when he hunts and when he gets a good distance away, try shooting a .22. Praise him and call him to you and let him know it is okay. I wouldn't push the pup though by shooting too often in one session because you don't want him to leave the country when you shoot because he is gun shy. When squirrel season rolls around, shoot squirrels out to the pup. You will most likely have to sacrifice a heavy game bag for training the pup correctly. Be patient! Best of luck. I hope you have a blast with your feist pup!

PS - Our feist dogs get excited and come runnin' whenever they hear a gunshot!