Dogs & Dog Training
Gun Shy
3/2/12 @ 3:10 PM
Displaying 1 to 15 of 21 posts
I highly recommend the Master's Voice Gunshy CD Set
http://www.gundogsupply.com/gunshycure.html
I have a 2 year old Vizsla that was absolutely terrified of guns. The site of me holding a gun would send her running and hide. I spent three weeks of a hour or so a day with her before pheasant hunting this year working this system. It worked miracles, now my dog points roosters, I shoot them, and she retrieves them. She was 100% cured. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS TO ANYONE WITH A GUNSHY DOG!
I think you are legal as long as you are on private land or state recognized training grounds. Also you need a dog training license for game birds (quail, ducks, pheasant, etc.) but pigeons do not require a license. Check the DNR dog training regs. I do not think the "live rounds" have anything to do with it, we kill quail during training a lot. Check it out first. http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/captive/dog_train_trial.pdf
I love the dove hunting scenerio.
Which brings me up to a question,
How much Realism can i use training a dog before its considered me hunting out of season?
i mean, id like to have a whole decoy spread and shoot (12g blanks) over them. then throw a live pigeon. How legal is this?
Am i legal as long as i dont have a live round?
As usual, you've been given many ideas, some good, some ok, some not so good. My.02 of advise is go to a professional. I don't care which one, they have all delt with this issue before. The problem doing it yourself is you only have one chance to get it right, and you could end up with a total basket case afraid of thunder and every other noise.........
I toom my dog out to some public land in early september. We set up a dove spinner and decoys. Set up just as we would to hunt. The main exception is we were very far hunters and set up where no one would hunt. I brought along my gun but with no ammo. We sat there and as shots went off in the distance I would play with her, pet her and give her treats. Made it a fun afternoon. We did this several times before I even got the cap gun out during training drills.
At first she was unsure of the distance shots but after the first few distance shots, she started perking her ears and looking towards the shots in the distance. We did land several dove in the decoys and had many buzz us, this really peaked her attetion. At first I would just let the birds buzz us or land in the decoys. After awhile, I would raise my gun and follow the birds. At first I did not make any noise but as she caught on I would make bang noises with my mouth and then get real excited and get her fired up. Again this takes time and then some more time and then even more time.
If you need more ideas or scenarios, I got lots of different ones, it took me a better part of a year to get her to where she is at now. She is now pumped to hunt, excited at the sight of a gun, loves when I start to put on camo. She is still not 100% bird crazy but she had 17 retrieves this fall on ducks.
The most important thing to do is small step progression.
You never want a reaction.. Always do it in small enough steps where the dog never even notices the noise.
muffled cap gun to full blown cap gun to 22 short to 22 long to 410 to trap load 20g to trap load 12g.
all guns loads are started at as far as u can so there is no reaction, if u have to have someone out 3 miles. then do it.
Over time, and short incrimental steps, anything is possible. Thoe Gun Shy is alot harder to get out of a dog, then it is to teach fresh.
there are plenty of baby steps to take. If you ahve the time, give it a shot.
this will never be fixed over night, or 10 training sessions, it could take hundreds.
Another thing that helped with my lab-
She was scared at the sight of a shotgun so I took my 870 and for 3 months the 870 was next to her food bowl. She couldn't get food until she went by the gun. As she got used to the gun being there I would pick up the gun as she was eating and rack the action a few times and put it back. THis went on for months. During this same period I did as others have suggested and made noises in other rooms and slowly worked my way into the kitchen where she eats.
Now when she sees a gun she goes nuts and runs to the truck, wants to go hunting.
Opinions on dog training are like....,well, everybody has one.
there are some good ideas on here and one or 2 terrible ones!
I would start like hes a puppy. I have a GSHP thats 10 months old. Hes been pointing and retrieving pheasants since 6 months old. WHen I got him, 12 weeks old, everytime he ate i tapped a wooden spoon on a kettle, not loud, not over his head, just in the kitchen so noise=food=good. Also at 12 weeks we trained with quail, pulling out the flight feathers, no guns, and leading the dog near the bird. The biggest thing is make sure he is birdy and wants the bird. I continued with loud noises, banging over his head on the counter (he looked annoyed the first few days) but he had to eat. Then it was a 17 cal out the back door with the muzzle well out the window. Then after the 3rd time quail training we had a guy off at a distance shoot when the bird flushed. My dog never was gun shy, but i started pretty quiet and gradualy worked up to the gun.
My point is get him birdy first. He has to have the drive for birds. 2nd, equate good things like food with noise, more noise, and louder noise. Eventually you put the two together and hopefully itll take. They are amazing dogs, the instinct is likely there. U just have to bring it out.
This summer take your dog to a nice warm lake. Put on the waders. Hook it to a lead around your waist then wade out to where the dog can not touch bottom. Take out your starter pistol or any other "gun shot" making device and shoot. Take many shots per session, the dog will struggle but without traction and no way to escape fatigue and the realization that nothing bad is happening and it is not getting hurt should take over
Seriously? This is the absoulte worst advice i ever read on lake-link..
The best way is the one described below.. the muffled cap gun while the dog is in a pleasent occupation, whether it be retrieving or playing, progress in very small noise increments. over time.. This IS the proper way to adjust a dog to gun shots. wether its shy or not.. Over live birds Will most likly help your cause.
I had a young lab that was bird CRAZY but flinched at a gun shot while being evaluated by a hunting club owner / trainer. His advice was NOT to associate gun fire and birds together until I got her over her flinch lest I ruined her for good. Took his advice and went back to noise while I fed her, at first it was no more then 2 or 3 shot form a cap gun INSIDE my coat. Then i finally moved the gun outside my coat, then a starter pistol. This was over probably a 3 month period. I then re-started her on birds and she got to the point of being EXCITED at gun fire while in the field. Never did like fireworks or thunder storms. Like many have said take your time and make sure YOU stay calm. My lab was a hunting fool till she past away 2 Octobers ago.
This summer take your dog to a nice warm lake. Put on the waders. Hook it to a lead around your waist then wade out to where the dog can not touch bottom. Take out your starter pistol or any other "gun shot" making device and shoot. Take many shots per session, the dog will struggle but without traction and no way to escape fatigue and the realization that nothing bad is happening and it is not getting hurt should take over. Make sure you stay calm and reassuring. Always a soothing voice and lots of praise - a cookie back at the truck. After several sessions it should be "over" the fear. If not give him to someone who just wants a dog and get another hunting dog.
Not to shoot down others ideas but If you use live birds you WILL risk your dog associating the fear of the gun blast with the birds....and that is not what you want to have happen...Once your dog gets use to the crack of the gun you can bring the birds in. Some dogs might not have that problem but you can 100% avoid the possibilty of it if you use a fun fetch bumper without scent.
In a sense your skipping a step by useing live birds right off the bat. Not to say it wont work..However its up to you if your willing to risk a bit of extra time involved in stating without live birds just to hurry up and "fix" the dog. Being that its a 2year old dog its getting set in its ways and breaking her of habits is only getting harder so skipping a step might not be the best thing to do. Checkout Gundogsonline.com and some other sites and read a few articals about this subject to get a good mix of ideas.
Displaying 1 to 15 of 21 posts
