Breaking pup to gunfire
 

I have a 6 month old lab mix pup, half german shorthair. I started by firing .22 pistol a few times on walks. Now, in the dove field when I shoot she runs up to me and jumps up on me and mouths and bites me. What's the deal? I try to reassure her and calm her down. My 10 year old neutered male lab mix is also present, but he doesn't do anything different than normal.

Sounds like you made the dog gunshy. Starting a pup to the gun correctly can make or break a dog. You do not take a dog on a walk and open fire for no reason. You start a dog in increments, the best way to do it is to have a second person, you get the dog interested in a bird on the ground and have the second person 30 or 40 yards away fire a 22 blank and watch the dogs reaction, if there is no reaction have the person move closer and do it again, continue closer and closer until you see the noise doesn't bother the dog. Then on another day, do the same thing with a small ga. shotgun starting far away and moving closer, then move up to a larger shotgun and eventually you shoot a bird over the dog and let him retrieve it. That will have the dog associate the shot with pleasure. Doing what you did, shooting for no reaso with a 22 and then taking the pup out and shooting over him was about the worst thing you could have done. You cannot rush introducing a dog to the gun. You should take the pup to a trainer and see if he can undo what you did, he may be able to or maybe not. If you do it right and take your time you get this:

STOP shooting now or you'll ruin your pup.
Get on a proven, sequential training program (Like the Smartwork" series of books and DVDs) and do it right.

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Yes, stop shooting and go back to birds and only birds. Get some pigeons or quail and build her drive back up. You started off the wrong way and now you have to make hunting fun for her without any gunfire. Unfortunately undoing the impact made by the bad experience will take time. Best thing now is a small pen with quail or pigeons and get her excited about them. After 6 weeks of getting her on birds and building her drive you can begin to introduce to the gun the safer way. With someone at a distance have them clap two 2x4's yo get her while she is focused on a tethered bird. If no reaction keep moving them closer until you can Crack the boards together beside her. After that move up to 22, then 410, 20 ga and then 12 ga. At anytime she reacts yo Crack STOP IMMEDIATELY FOR THE DAY and go back to getting her focused on birds. DO NOT RUSH THIS!!!!! If you do you will have to start all over again. In the future use this method to introduce your pip to gunfire, easier to do it the right way than trying to fix a bad behavior you created.

To clarify... when you move up to 22, 410 etc. Do it from a distance and work closer every time. Don't start out right next to her.

I've been lucky in that every breeder that I've gotten a puppy from has exposed them to gunfire from the time they were 2 weeks old, so there has never been an issue for me.
Personally, I think all breeders should do this.

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Thanks everybody. I don't understand why everybody thinks there's a problem. The pup doesn't turn and run, doesn't show fear, settles down and stays with the program. I was just wondering what the excited jumping up is all about. I had good success with my 10 year old lab mix doing the same thing I'm doing now.

I've never heard of a gunshy dog going up to the owner and "mouthing/biting" them as you mentioned. Is she doing it in a playful manner, as you say she's not showing she's afraid or scared? Maybe when the gun goes off she's ticked that there isn't a bird to retrieve and she's pretending you're the dummy bird, LOL!

That would be doubtful since the dog has never had any interaction with a bird according to the OP before he took it dove hunting. It sounds like the dog is fearful and has gone to the owner for comfort because it does not have a good understanding of what is happening and does not associate the noise with pleasure. To me it is a clear sign to stop shooting over the dog and get it properly introduced to the gun before the damage in not repairable. It would be nice if people ask how to introduce a dog to the gun or where to look for help before they screw the dog up.

That last line of mine was just a facetious comment, but I guess you missed it!

I think she's a little freaked out by the noise, but I reassure her and she calms down. She sees that the other dog associates it with pleasure. I've only shot about a half a box over her, and haven't killed anything, lol. We'll see how it goes. Going to try grouse next week, maybe at least get her on some live scent. She's definitely interested in birds. She perks up at songbirds, geese, gulls, whatever. Also, she loved the leftover pheasant feathers from my garden this spring. I'll keep you all posted.

You do what you to do, it is your dog, if she is freaked out by the noise, which is what many of us told you, you are doing it wrong. Don't ask for advice from people with experience if you are just going to continue going down the wrong road.

Oldtimr.don't mean to ask a dumb question,but what breed is your dog in the picture you posted?
Beautiful markings.

Not a dumb question at all. He is, was a Ryman setter from Decoverly Kennels. I lost him in May, the best canine companion I ever had and would hunt a cripple until he found it, never lost a bird with him. Name was Whisky. My Icon is a Llewelin setter female I am bringing up now. Here is Brandy in a quiet moment.

Thanks. Both are good looking dogs.

Like already said, the accustoming to gunfire should be done with well laid plan. And using plan like that helps in your situation and prevents the situation from turning into worse. Casually firing with a gun is not a good idea.

My dog had already heard distant gunfire when I executed the plan to accustom it to gunfire. It happened on a field. I standed on the field with my dog and my assistant shot with a .22 pistol at about 130 yards away and he slowly approached us (shooting now and then), until he shot couple shots right beside us. Then we repeated the same thing with shotgun. Following day we had very short session with shotgun and that was it. The dog was with me, and he could observe me and the shooter, my reactions, etc. It makes it much easier.

If there would have been some problems in the accustoming, it would of course have been longer and more complex.

It can take a long time.

Start off soft and afar......................................worth a lifetime of service !!!

My pup
 

Sami has turned out to be a fine bird dog. She cooperates very well in the field, is not the slightest bit gun shy, has a decent nose but still inclined to romp and try to flush and chase. Retrieving is always a dance, but I always end up with the game.

From what you just posted it sounds like a nice dog, but not a well trained bird dog from the several negatives you mentioned.

I have to agree. But as long as they are having fun that's the best you can hope for I guess.

Can't disagree at all with that summation!