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How does one keep a dog from being gun shy?

How does one go about getting a dog used to gunshots?I would think you start small and work your way up,is this correct thinking?What's the best age to start them?When I say small I mean like a cap gun or staters pistol and go up from there.

RE: How does one keep a dog from being gun shy?

Well by golly I thought sure someone would have chimed in with their thoughts and or opinions.:D

RE: How does one keep a dog from being gun shy?

All of my dogs i start shooting arond when they areabout 3 months old. I use a shot gun but stay a pretty far away. I usually start out about fifty yards away and sowly work closer.

RE: How does one keep a dog from being gun shy?

Quote:

ORIGINAL: Korak

Well by golly I thought sure someone would have chimed in with their thoughts and or opinions.:D

Well by golly, I would have thought that you would have done a "search" here on HuntingNet dot com.

There have been a whole lot of threads on this exact topic. :eek:

.

RE: How does one keep a dog from being gun shy?

Before you start - birds and more birds. You need the dog to be bird crazy and then it will be much easier. At around 4 months of age (differs in each dog) you'll start noticing things like the dog is staring at faraway birds or it starts stalking robins, etc. That's when you introduce birds and the gun.

First, weigh a bird (pigeon, chukar, or quail for a small dog) down by tying a thin rope attached to a piece of garden hose. Or just tie a rope with you holding the other end. Let the dog go at it.

After awhile, you can shoot a starters pistol right when the dog is just about to grab it. Watch the closely. If it shows the slightest reaction, put the pistol away and do it again the next day. Let the dog play with it some more. If no reaction, you can fire a few times more. A couple outings then graduate to a smaller shotgun or louder blanks. I used a H&R .410 bought from Walmart for $120. Repeat the process. If you think the dog will flinch then have someone else fire the gun at around 100 yards away. Then slowly come closer and closer.

Then for the first season, you should only hunt with the dog alone so it can get use to gun shots. Put too many guns on an unconditioned dog and it may become gunshy.

I don't like banging pots and pans. 90% of a dog's learning comes through association. Banging pots and pans only allows the dog to getting used to loud noises. You want the dog to associate gun shots with birds. I perfer to control where and how the dog makes that particular association and not letting the dog figure it out themselves. Too many things can go wrong. Also, I do not like taking a pup to a firing range. Too many guns going off at once and you can't get away fast enough. Sometimes rifles ranges are next to shotgun ranges and Hi-powered rifles are very hard on a dogs ear. Hi-powered rifles are in the super sonic range (shotguns are sub-sonic) and because of the doppler effect creates a mini sonic boom (pressure builds up). That's why it hurts your ears when bench shooting.

Here is a video of a professional trainer, Keith Hickem, using a dead pigeon to make a pup go bird crazy. Towards the end, he shoots a starter pistol but watch his timing of when he shoots.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYm5aBuJd4M&feature=related

RE: How does one keep a dog from being gun shy?

Quote:

ORIGINAL: Doc E

Quote:

ORIGINAL: Korak

Well by golly I thought sure someone would have chimed in with their thoughts and or opinions.:D

Well by golly, I would have thought that you would have done a "search" here on HuntingNet dot com.

There have been a whole lot of threads on this exact topic. :eek:

.

Well seeing as how I'm ignorant of such things(i.e how to do a search)I thought I'd ask the question so I did.Then I checked back and no one had responded so I being bored posted what I did:eek:

RE: How does one keep a dog from being gun shy?

Quote:

ORIGINAL: Mite

Before you start - birds and more birds. You need the dog to be bird crazy and then it will be much easier. At around 4 months of age (differs in each dog) you'll start noticing things like the dog is staring at faraway birds or it starts stalking robins, etc. That's when you introduce birds and the gun.

First, weigh a bird (pigeon, chukar, or quail for a small dog) down by tying a thin rope attached to a piece of garden hose. Or just tie a rope with you holding the other end. Let the dog go at it.

After awhile, you can shoot a starters pistol right when the dog is just about to grab it. Watch the closely. If it shows the slightest reaction, put the pistol away and do it again the next day. Let the dog play with it some more. If no reaction, you can fire a few times more. A couple outings then graduate to a smaller shotgun or louder blanks. I used a H&R .410 bought from Walmart for $120. Repeat the process. If you think the dog will flinch then have someone else fire the gun at around 100 yards away. Then slowly come closer and closer.

Then for the first season, you should only hunt with the dog alone so it can get use to gun shots. Put too many guns on an unconditioned dog and it may become gunshy.

I don't like banging pots and pans. 90% of a dog's learning comes through association. Banging pots and pans only allows the dog to getting used to loud noises. You want the dog to associate gun shots with birds. I perfer to control where and how the dog makes that particular association and not letting the dog figure it out themselves. Too many things can go wrong. Also, I do not like taking a pup to a firing range. Too many guns going off at once and you can't get away fast enough. Sometimes rifles ranges are next to shotgun ranges and Hi-powered rifles are very hard on a dogs ear. Hi-powered rifles are in the super sonic range (shotguns are sub-sonic) and because of the doppler effect creates a mini sonic boom (pressure builds up). That's why it hurts your ears when bench shooting.

Here is a video of a professional trainer, Keith Hickem, using a dead pigeon to make a pup go bird crazy. Towards the end, he shoots a starter pistol but watch his timing of when he shoots.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYm5aBuJd4M&feature=related

I probably should have said they are rabbit dogs(I hope) but that technique can work with some adjustment to it for the type of critter I want them to hunt.

RE: How does one keep a dog from being gun shy?

If they are rabbit dogs, they should be like my deer dogs and I start shooting around them when I start killing bucks in front of the pack! Usually they are sofocused on running the deer that it doesn't spook them at all. If they aren't bird dogs dont worry about it would be my suggestion....

RE: How does one keep a dog from being gun shy?

Well my Yellow lab Mongo I did not get till 8 months. I did not start shooting till he was over a year old almost 2. I have a friend come over to show me how to shoot and did some skeets. I did them by the barn and he sat there and watched me shoot about 10 yards behind us. After that I just worked him around the gun and it was all good. Only time he got scared is when 2 of my friends and I went out and he had all of us shooting at once. He was not use to 9 shots going off that quick and being inclosed in a blind so it make it a lot louder. After that he has been all good.

RE: How does one keep a dog from being gun shy?

WhenI trained my setters it was only when it was on the birds(real thing) did they here a gunshot andI have not hadany problems at all..