BKL Gundogs

crazycoon, let me put my 2 cents in on this. You said the dog likes birds, and he/she stays on your property, and you try to shot squirrels in your back yard. Try this. If you have the room build a bird pen does not have to be big enough for a dozen or so of birds, you and the dog. Try to get some birds in it, quail or pigeons. Start off by letting her go in and kill a few(for a few days). Then introduce a gun(pellet gun would do fine) in the pen(just put it in a corner, so that she does not see it as she is going into the pen) let her go in and kill a few more birds. She will see the gun, after killing a bird or two and over time she will associate the gun with birds. Then you could start using birds in your yard work with actual gun shots(with a friend)but at a far distance, and move in closer as she progress with the training. Yes, it will take a long time and money, if you really want to invest it. But if this works then you will love the out come of it all. Don't worry about OB, so much, if she comes to you when called that's enough for now. Remember everthing starts off right next to you. Oh and by the way during actual firing, start with a cap gun or starter pistol not an actual gun(its safer that way).

crazycoonhunterNE

I have a friend that raises flightless quail, but there is a video by Steven Rafe of Starfire Enterprises that I'll probably get.

crazycoonhunterNE

Anyways Thanx for all the tips guys

BKL Gundogs

crazycoon hunter, if you in nebraska look up g.f. henry with Henry's Monsters. He is located in roscoe right of the 80 highway between paxton and ogallala. He is a pro trainer (german shorthair) and he might be able to help you out. Tell him BKL sent you. His number is 720-297-1725 or 308-284-3647. Hope you have fun and hope it works out for you.

RemingtonDoesItAgain

i had a similar situation with my English Springer and a treeing Walker. i first started by having a helper just pet the dog, giving her attention, and treats when she was calm. I introduced a gunnot to shoot but for sight. when she was comfortable with the sight of a gun i used a 5 dollar cap gun from the dollar store and fired shots about 20 yards away from her. the handler did the same as before til she wa comfortable. then i upped it to a .22 LR. after the same process, i upped it to a .410 with light loads. this may take time and dont expose the dog to excessivegunfire. no more than 4-5shots at one session. once the dog was again comfortable, i went to my 12 gauge with field loads that iuse when hunting.boththe dogs were fixed ongun shyness. witha coon hound like my walker, the.22 was all i needed as thats what we generally hunt with for coons. it may or may not work but i have helpedout with 3 other dogs and they were broke of gun shyness. Give ita try, you have nothing to lose

Cara

God bless you for taking her in. Nothing chaps my ass more than the attitude that once a dog shows it has some kind of issue, you can just dump it off on someone else and go and get a 'new' one. No dog is perfect, no matter where you get it from. I'm sure we've all seen people buy a puppy, ruin it,and then trade it in for another.

Sure your dog is going to be a long, uphill climb, but it's better to try and fail than never to try in the first place. I can't remember if you mentioned how long you've had her, but the most important thing is to develop trust in each other before you try to teach her anything. There is no set amount of time it will take a dog to settle in, but at first they are so overwhelmed with new people, noises, smells and other animals that they just can't take in any more.Once sherealises you treat her with kindness, she will give you her all. Whether that's a loyal friend or agood hunting dog who knows, but either way you'll have got lucky. Good luck with her, and thanks for having the heart tolook after her.

Seif5034

i am not a trainer and have never trained a dog to hunt but it seems like you just need to get her used to seeing guns. make sure she knows that the gun won't hurt her. i'd approach her with a gun in my hand and calm her down. keep exposing her to guns and she'll be used to seeing them after a while.

just a suggestion