Gunfire other than shotguns around dogs

[flyby]

Each dog is different. However, I’ve read several books on gun dog training that discuss how a dog should be exposed to gun fire when doing something they love (I.e. eating, hunting, playing).

My dog loves gunfire. To him gunfire means PLAY TIME!!!

[Cbb1722]

All my dogs go nuts when they hear gunshots. Mainly because they’re hunting dog and all of them know most of the time when a gun goes off it’s fun time for them. I sight in my guns 50 yards of them. There’s a way to break them from it if they’re gunshy. And works pretty good.

[billfromtx]

I get my pups used too gunshots by playing fetch with the dummy and shooting 50-75 yards away initially when I throw the dummy. After time I'll have my son move closer and shoot when I throw the dummy. After a week or so the gun shot is right next to them...After that they've never had issue. They love the shooting and fetching of dove!

[Smart]

Horse hockey.... we are talk 5-7 decibels here....add in a 12 ga 3" mag or 3.5" mag and I bet they are close.

https://www.m1911.org/loudness.htm

[TXSTBowhunter]

He has gone through retriever training at Best Retrievers, who I highly recommend, so I know he was introduced to gunfire there. I was also able to hunt over him a couple times with my dad once I got him back before the season so I know he’s not gun shy I just wanted to see if anyone had experienced a dog becoming gun shy from different noises.

I made sure to throw a dummy every couple shots to continue reinforcing the idea of shots= birds to retrieve.

Thank you all for the input and if you have any tips or tricks for continuing training at home feel free to post it or PM me.

Thanks again,

Will


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[Dale Moser]

You just don't want to surprise, or scare them with it. That's what makes a gun shy dog.

[Smart]

Thank you all for the input and if you have any tips or tricks for continuing training at home feel free to post it or PM me.

Buy you one of the little cheap revolver cap pistols with the red ring of caps. When he is mowing down in the food bowl , fire it from across the room and work your way closer to him daily. He'll associate gunfire with something he likes and its not dangerous in the house. I've used it on my labs and it has worked every time.

[Dale Moser]

Buy you one of the little cheap revolver cap pistols with the red ring of caps. When he is mowing down in the food bowl , fire it from across the room and work your way closer to him daily. He'll associate gunfire with something he likes and its not dangerous in the house. I've used it on my labs and it has worked every time.

Yep, I started all my shorthairs with a .22 starter pistol from 60yds or so while working in the field. Fire it in the air and ignore them, act like nothing ever happened. Work your way closer then go to a 20ga and fire it away from them, same thing. Doesn't take a week and you can shoot over them.

[crawdaddct]

Yes, my lab has never even flinched when I shoot a shotguns, but large caliber handguns hurts his ears. He ignores my .22.

[Hudson05]

My labs don't care at all about shotguns. Handguns and especially semi auto rifles make them look like they've been hit in the face with a baseball bat. I try not to shoot anything unsuppressed around them if it's possible or just stick to wing shooting with them around.

[Slow&Steady]

When my lab was a young pup and I was just starting training, I would take him outside each day, fire a 22, and lay down his food bowl. I did this for a few weeks, then scaled up to a pistol. A few weeks later, I scaled up to a 12 ga. Each day I fired, then placed his bowl on the ground at my feet. I didn't drag him out there. He came on his own. It was his choice to come to the food at the cost of tolerating the gunfire. He never balked and never ran away. In fact, in no time at all, if I carried a gun outside, he was on my heels, food or not.

I eventually stopped shooting when feeding, and then reintroduced it as part of retriever training. I'm convinced that dogs only become gun shy when they associate the gun with negative things rather than positive things. 99% of that can be attributed to poor dog handling.

If your dog is already accustomed to gunfire, it's unlikely a change in firearm will cause a sudden sensitivity. I could see high powered rifles and certain pistols hurting their ears, but I think that can be managed to some degree. My dog jumped the gun a few times while I was hunting out of a layout blind and you could see him wince from muzzle blasts. While he did begin to check up before going ahead of the shooters, he never showed any additional nervousness around guns.

[double bogey]

My brit was a little nervous with a thunderstorm, but was really into the birds my grandson would shoot with a pellet rifle. We went dove hunting and I had grandson take him 100 yds or so, and I fired my shotgun. He came back and was a little antsy, until a dove flew towards us and he saw me shoot it and realized what it was all about. I don't think he heard a gunshot after that.

[bukkskin]

Gunshots of any kind have never made any dogs run too far, as far as I have noticed.

[Shinesintx]

Each dog is different. However, I’ve read several books on gun dog training that discuss how a dog should be exposed to gun fire when doing something they love (I.e. eating, hunting, playing). This helps build a positive association with gunfire. They can become gun shy if they have a negative association with the noise. So make sure he’s happy and exited when you shoot around him. Regardless, his ears are more sensitive than yours, so imagine being around guns without hearing protection and see if you would like it.

The above is absolutely true. My Golden hated gunfire...until he figured out there was a dead dove somewhere out there.