gun breaking question

[sjkennels]

i wrote the post about the pointing lab and i have decided to try and use my gsp to retrieve. but first i will tell you why i am asking this question. i was out hunting with a friend last yea.r and i took my gsp that i have shot birds over. and she didnt have a problem. but she always pointing them. and i told him just to be on the safe side dont shoot a bird that gets up wild. only if she points it. he said ok, so we started working this field. and guess what the first thing he does he shoots a quail that got up wild. and my gsp was about two feet from him and it scared the heck out of her. and she laid down and but if she pointed the bird she wouldnt lay down when you shot. but after that hunt i kept her out of the field for the rest of the season. hoping she would forget about it. and then after she had her pups and i got rid of them. i started to take her out to my property and working with her. and now i can shoot birds over her with no problem. and i when she was running about 75 yards from i shot and it didnt seem to bother her. but every time i had shot so far. besides that one time. she has been pointing a bird. so my question is now. how would i go about using her for dove. and she would have to sit or lay by me. and i would of course shoot over her with her next to me. but she she wouldn't be able to be concentrated on a bird. when i shot. so how would i go about getting her use. to me shooting with her siting or laying right by me.

[Mike50]

I'm not a pro but I myself would start from square one. Primer pistol first or some poppers in the shot gun. Place some launchers with dead birds in them. Launch the dead bird and fire off a round then send her for the retrieve as a reward. When she is doing this on here own. Put a live bird in the launcher and shoot it for her.
Just a thought that might work might not!

[sjkennels]

ok would i do that with her sitting by me? or away from me a little ways?

[bobman]

there is no way I would take adog showing signs of confusion about gun fire to a dove shoot, no way

the dog doesn't understand whats going on because it hasn't had enough experience in th field shooting birds and ever if you do everything right you cannot control what other folks will do around it at a dove shoot

in this respect a dove shoots not much different than a clay course

[sjkennels]

no i wasn't planning on taking her this year. i want to get her ready for next year.

[bobman]

I would try and hunt her as much as possible this year on pointed birds and try to instill the idea that a shot means a dead bird then work on the retrieving stuff over the spring and summer.

the part about her reaction to the shot over the bird she wasn't aware of tells me she needs to see alot of birds killed in front of her to make the connection

I'm real careful with dogs that have these tendencies because they can go either way and a bird falling in front of them is the very best way to do it

I would not hunt with the guy that shoots at birds that volunteer up without being pointed or flushed by the dog anymore with this dog

good luck it should work out fine if you can hunt her often this fall and just shoot the birds she sees flush

[postoakshorthairs]

I am with bobman....either your partner knows and follows the rules or you hunt her by yourself. I had the same thing happen to a male pointer a couple of years ago. After some reintroduction to birds to get his prey drive and confidence up i started slowly firing over him until he knew that a shot meant a reward. He never did get 100% crazy about gunfire when he wasn't involved in the point...even from a distance. He made a nice one man dog/pet but there's no way he'd sit still while all the shooting with dove hunting went on.

[Mike50]

I never intended to give bad advice.I read your post as the dog had been shot over more than once. Which to me meant on point with in 10 yds. or closer not on top of. That's why I suggested starting over with intro with the dog at your side. I'll bow out

[Sharon]

I thought the same thing Mike. I thought he was looking for gun conditioning advice. He's not. He's saying that the dog is conditioned to the gun EXCEPT for when the dog is very close to the shooter( due to a bad experience). He wants the dog to be able to sit at his side when the gun is shot.

[sjkennels]

i found out yesterday how well a retriever is really nice on a good dove shoot i wore my self out last night shooting doves and running to go get a down bird then getting back to your spot before more came in i was huffin and puffin by the end of the day

[bobman]

I never intended to give bad advice.I read your post as the dog had been shot over more than once. Which to me meant on point with in 10 yds. or closer not on top of. That's why I suggested starting over with intro with the dog at your side. I'll bow out

Mike I think your advice was correct

I was just adding that I would not do what you suggested first.

I would go back to the "point- shoot- bird falls" sequence that the dog already understands and get the dog back on track with that first

then I would try something along the lines of what you suggested next spring

I didn't mean to insinuate you gave bad advice, I have worked with quite afew gunshy dogs so I am very conservative in my approach

Bob

[Mike50]

I was not insulted at all by any post that were made. I'm a rookie trying to see it as a dog would. That's why I made my suggestion. Dog at my side a bird goes up. Primer or popper. Till I see he's fine with that. Then A dead bird out of a launcher primer popper goes off. Dog gets a retrieve. Or more. Then live birds from launcher real gun goes off dog gets a retrieve. Gun intro all over with dog close by.

[Mike50]

i wrote the post about the pointing lab and i have decided to try and use my gsp to retrieve. but first i will tell you why i am asking this question. i was out hunting with a friend last yea.r and i took my gsp that i have shot birds over. and she didnt have a problem. but she always pointing them. and i told him just to be on the safe side dont shoot a bird that gets up wild. only if she points it. he said ok, so we started working this field. and guess what the first thing he does he shoots a quail that got up wild. and my gsp was about two feet from him and it scared the heck out of her. and she laid down and but if she pointed the bird she wouldnt lay down when you shot. but after that hunt i kept her out of the field for the rest of the season. hoping she would forget about it. and then after she had her pups and i got rid of them. i started to take her out to my property and working with her. and now i can shoot birds over her with no problem. and i when she was running about 75 yards from i shot and it didnt seem to bother her. but every time i had shot so far. besides that one time. she has been pointing a bird. so my question is now. how would i go about using her for dove. and she would have to sit or lay by me. and i would of course shoot over her with her next to me. but she she wouldn't be able to be concentrated on a bird. when i shot. so how would i go about getting her use. to me shooting with her siting or laying right by me.

I reread this post and I have to ask. What is the closet you have ever shot a bird over her that she has held point on? I know farther is better. But a head crank that she almost ran over.

[sjkennels]

ive shot birds with a about 5 yards from her with a 12 gauge. and a 20 gauge almost right on top of her. but like i said she has always been pointing or chasing the bird. and on doves theres no bird to let them know that theres gonna be a shot. and i dont want to be in the same place that i was a couple of months ago. when she was laying down when someone shot.

how would i bring the retrieve out of her more. she will bring her toy back about 80 percent of the time. and dead pigeon about 60 or 70 percent of the time. how do i make the retrieve more constant with a dead bird.?

[Sharon]

How old is this dog.?

You're asking, '"What do i do to have this dog ready for a dove hunt next year?"
Bob man gave you the excellent answer - more field work so this dog knows a shot means a dead bird, stay away from those who don't follow the plan of "The dog must be pointing before a shot".
No promises but see how the dog is next year before the dove hunt.

[sjkennels]

year and a half this is the dog i have so many questions about and thank you for all of your help

bella.jpeg

[Sharon]

That's a handsome GSP. A year and a half? I'd put off the dove shoot for longer then next year with a dog that had showed some anxiety around the gun. jmo There are many years left of hunting , why takes a chance when the dog is so young? You can pick the doves up for one more year.

[sjkennels]

yea bella is a looker i think. yea thats no problem if i have to retrieve the doves for a season or so. i just want to use my dogs for more then upland hunting. and i want her to be comfortable with the gun in any situation there is. and thank you guys and girls for all of your advice. and taking your time and answering my questions. you have been a lot of help. so should i just keep shooting birds over her as thats what you guys are saying. or do you think it would by it the interest if i started over with gun conditioning with her.

[birddogger]

You said that you didn't take the dog hunting for the rest of the season, hoping that the dog would forget the experience. I don't think a dog ever forgets a negatative experience. I believe you will be OK though if you just follow the advise of the previous posters. Good Luck!!!!

Charlie

[Mike50]

Is there any chance she was hit by the empty hull coming out of an auto loader? I've been hit in the head by hulls and it startled me as well. Just something to think about.

[sjkennels]

no we was just walking the field. and a quail busted. and bella was walking right beside him. and he shot nothing hit her or anything. just scared her really bad.

[Saltriver]

start back again, 100 yds at least with a blank pistol and throw a dead bird (or a live one if the dog does not get excited about dead ones) as soon as the shot is fired. shoot then throw. as soon as the dog acknowledges the shot you want that bird to drop down right in front of it. slowly work your way closer then start changing things up. throw them shoot. have someone hold the dog 20-30 yards away and shoot/throw release the dog then throw release shoot. many repetitions slowly getting closer in different scenarios/patterns.intorduce the shotgun far away again and follow the same program.

justin

[dmadis8]

Is there any chance she was hit by the empty hull coming out of an auto loader? I've been hit in the head by hulls and it startled me as well. Just something to think about.

had one chip my tooth in the duck blind