EODLT

You are entitled to your opinion, but there are too many good dogs to waste time on a bad one.

Im all for giving her a chance, but dont throw her out in a field and say go! and expect her to do anything... He needs to start his OB right away and while hes doing that, he can evaluate his time and energy as well spent or wasted. If your going to enjoy training... Go buy a fresh pup or a started dog and watch them blossom. Dont expect a stray to be no FC. Dog training is frustrating as heck. Even with dogs from Champ bloodlines and a strictly observed life. I know what my dogs have experienced and what they have not, I know what they can and cannot do because I was with them everyday since birth and I train them the way I want them to be trained.

Would I spend an hour on a dog that was running wild for 6 months and has no OB? Probably not.

Crazycoon,
Do it however you feel is best... Tailcrackin is pretty confident in their method of bird exposure to a virgin dog... Thats fine. Do it how you want.

tailcrackin

where was this said by me?

how will the ob decide if dogs worth fooling with?

So how do you suggest to get the dogs cherry on the game?

Idont understand the arguement, or the reasoning why, you feel that the dog cant be fixed by birds? I am confident in my work, because I have patience.

Coonhunter, we can discuss this privately, I will not argue about dog training, no need in it. You pm me, or I will pm you, if your serious about fixing the dog, be happy to explain the what an how, for the fix. Thanks Jonesy

Mite

I don't know about this one. Never had a gun shy dog. Getting a normal dog totally jacked on birds is relatively easy. If you are willing to the time and patience I believe as Jonesy, you can fix gun shyness. But is this dog worth it? Sounds like this is an extreme case. If it already has the association of the gun + getting hurt then you're in for an uphill battle. It may even take a year ortwo. But the finished product, I imagine, would be extremely satisfiying. Just no loud clapping or noises while going thru the process and I would suggest a check chord instead of e-collar (You don't want more problems later.)

If you don't have means nor the patience to train the dog then I would suggest giving it up for adoption to a non-hunting family. Where I live, GSPs go quickly. Alot of people like their looks, in fact, anysetter, gsp, pointer, etc. are usually spoken for before adoption. Most go non-hunting families.

Phil from Maine

I am not any sort of proffessional trainer and will not claim to be..The first thing I would do if not already done is get a vet check to make sure of the dog's health.. Here we do not have much of anything for wild dogs and perhaps what has made this dog wild is the fact people shooting at it to scare it away when it could have been just a lost dog. It may already be a good hunting dog already and no one knows it. I do believe that what Jonesy is saying is correct in this case as we do not know much of anything else about the dog. The dog may go right on point on the first bird it sees as again we know nothing about the dog except it was " supposed "to be a wild one. Getting the dog used to people again would be the first on my list and then taken out for some birds with a check cord to see what it may or may not do..Gunshy dogs have been broken of that up here as well. They may not have been Field Champions but have made some of the best hunters just the same. To just throw any idea on it away is not what I would do either. I train my Irish Setters which is something alot of people wouldn't do or can't seem to do..I have no problem while others say they are to hyper for them to train. So I guess my point is, is that to each their own but, I wouldn't be given up without trying to correct it first. I would most deffinately see what the dog has to offer first..

Mite

More than likely, some hunter took the dog out hunting with any gun exposure. First shotit ran away and very likely the hunter out of frustration shot at it. Its probably use to people because someone was able to calm it down some. Way back when we used to hunt in Molokai ranch, it was one of the rules the ranch forced upon the people hunting there, shoot any wild dogs becausetheykilled cattle. There were also numerous dog attacks against hunters. If this dog was wild, thenI serious doubt anyone could come close to it.

I only suggested giving up for adoption before crazycoonhunter got really attached to it. It would heartbreaking if he did put alot of work into it only to not have a successful outcome. Or worse, gets real frustrated. Adoption is a viable option. Just because its a GSP, doesn't mean it cant live a happy life without hunting.

But it sounds like everyone is trigger happy where you live crazycoonhunter. I would also like to tip my hat to your father for saving the dog. He sounds like a very caring fella.

tailcrackin

Still say its a bad call, that is only an assumption, no one knows what happened while gone. The birds set up is a start.....if dog likes birds....you can work it. You gotta read what the dog says, not the internet...internet wasnt there....dogs will always tell you. Jonesy

crazycoonhunterNE

she is very interested in birds. she goes nuts if a sparrow lands on the fence. I have one good hunting dog already, a gsp/black lab cross, she is the perfect dog she hunts everything. She loves water and duck hunting, she points pheasants, retreives beautifully, and is very obedient. I use her for coon hunting at night and then the next day take her pheasant hunting. I feel really bad leaving the other dog at home, but I dont want her to become lost forever. I took her out once in the middle of nowhere to see if she would go to the pickup when I shot, but I couldnt get her out of the pickup to start with, even without the gun. The only place she feels secure is at home. She loves chasing anything that moves, she barks when she gets a cat or squirrel up a tree, so I thought about using her as a coon dog, but she is afraid of everything but me without a gun, and her doghouse. I have tried shooting squirres in the back yard with my pellet gun after she trees them, but she runs off. she always comes home though. she has lots of energy. she is very timid, it took her 2 weeks to get comfortable around me. so if somebody else would want her i dont think she would want them. I just dont want her to be left alone all the time.

EODLT

If she shows intrest in hunting and birds, then you just need to get some OB and get her comfortable around guns. Then it would be all your standard training after that, depending on what she will do already (Like hold point, whoa, retrieve, etc.) Trouble with dogs is they develop habits very easily and are very difficult to break. Long road to recovery but I think you can do it.

Good luck.

Mite

Looks like the dog has bonded well to you. I think before trying to fix the gunshyness, I would try to fix the other problems. The timidness and being afraid of abandonment. I would try to socialize the dog but with only one person at first like a friend or neighbor. This is what I would do. Have the friend ignore the dog even if it barks at them. It will eventually, through time, ignore the friend or accept them. When you start gun introduction, you can use this friend as you know the dog already accepts them. But eventually, start adding more and more people.

Also, I would start taking this dog out to place it doesn't know. First place would be in sight of your property or someplace close enough for you to walk. Someplace less threatening.

I've meet alot of dogs at the park who are very shy and timid. First thing I do is try to be less intimidating by ignoring the dogwhile talking with the owner. Eventually, they'll accept me and after I'll try making friends with it by placing my hand to be sniffed. For foreign places, I always took my dogs for a walk first around the neighborhood. It lets them know the area in case they get loose. Its also helpful when the neighbors know whose dog it belongs too. Short walks at first then extended walks later sometimes for a couple of hours. New territory but it knows you are not going to leave without them.

tailcrackin

But here again, you think....ok dog is somewhat timmid all new situations........but likes birds......you can work out the booger between the both of you....because it likes birds, you tie that with you and the dog....work threw the unsurity on the dogs side....because dad has or we find birds....back step an get the desire going full tilt, then start overlaying in the program the gun fixing, some ob an then whatever. Alll comes out in the wash, Jonesy