Any new ideas on how to cope with Gun Shy Dog?

[GUNDOGS]

Ok, so as a "newbie" i have never had or been exposed to a dog that is gunshy, may be a silly question but why does the dog have to be hunted? if a dog is that traumatized and it was thrown out of a truck and even kicked or whatever has brought the dog to that place where its terrified of gunfire, why cant the dog just be made to feel safe and not hunt? just curious with all the other dogs out there, why push a dog to do something he is terrified of doing, i just wouldnt hunt with it...jmo...ruth

[bossman]

I guess what I find sad about this entire thread is that gunshyness is so easy to prevent in the first place. But, in all due respect to some, I would think that if there was a new , breakthrough method of fixing the problem, one of our old, experienced contributor's to the forum would be familiar with it. We are fortunate to have on this board many that have years and years (and more years) working with dog's in both hunting and trialing venues. That travel to competitions and have spent years belonging to breed club's . It would only seem logical to me that any new method would be on the lips of all professionals and be cover stories for all gun dog publications. But, as usual, I'm sure I'm missing something.

[gittrdonebritts]

Ok, so as a "newbie" i have never had or been exposed to a dog that is gunshy, may be a silly question but why does the dog have to be hunted? if a dog is that traumatized and it was thrown out of a truck and even kicked or whatever has brought the dog to that place where its terrified of gunfire, why cant the dog just be made to feel safe and not hunt? just curious with all the other dogs out there, why push a dog to do something he is terrified of doing, i just wouldnt hunt with it...jmo...ruth

Ruth the situation can very greatly in most cases it is your average hunter who tried to train his own dog screwed up the gun intro and since the dog is already a part if the family and everyone is attached to it they send it to a Pro to get fixed as for the other situation to which you are referring to I agree with you some what but if the dog has a high bird drive and can hunt why not try and help it get over its fear of guns and become a bird dog ? and most of the time the dog has some other behavioral issue that gun breaking might help with the dogs boldness, general attitude and behavior.

[Cajun Casey]

Ok, so as a "newbie" i have never had or been exposed to a dog that is gunshy, may be a silly question but why does the dog have to be hunted? if a dog is that traumatized and it was thrown out of a truck and even kicked or whatever has brought the dog to that place where its terrified of gunfire, why cant the dog just be made to feel safe and not hunt? just curious with all the other dogs out there, why push a dog to do something he is terrified of doing, i just wouldnt hunt with it...jmo...ruth

Ruth the situation can very greatly in most cases it is your average hunter who tried to train his own dog screwed up the gun intro and since the dog is already a part if the family and everyone is attached to it they send it to a Pro to get fixed as for the other situation to which you are referring to I agree with you some what but if the dog has a high bird drive and can hunt why not try and help it get over its fear of guns and become a bird dog ? and most of the time the dog has some other behavioral issue that gun breaking might help with the dogs boldness, general attitude and behavior.

Amen.

And sometimes it is a situation where the only home available is going to put the dog in proximity to gunfire, like my rescue pointer. She learned to hide in her barrel instead of trying to go through chainlink. It's better than being dead, which is how she was headed. And, she is the best snake killer I've seen, so she isn't totally useless.

[gonehuntin']

I would be interested in seeing a wrap or compression at least TRIED on a gun shy dog. Do I think it would work? No. But maybe. Most gun shy dog's go to the boneyard; they live a miserable existence, scared of any sudden noise, paranoid, afraid of everything.

I have never truly CURED a severely gun shy dog, you know, the kind that when a gun is fired, the dog takes off across the prairie and has to be run down with a truck, usually found quaking in a ditch or under something. That's a lot different than the dog that simply returns to your side at the shot.

I have been able to CONTROL gun shyness in some, only to have it reinstated by an owner with careless use of a gun.

I fail to see how any condition that is mental can be cured by a nerve compression, especially in a hunting dog when for that dog's lifetime, he will be subjected to loud, unexpected noises.

I may be old, but from training with Rex Carr to running my own kennel, I've tried to stay in the forefront of all new, advanced, training techniques that make sense to me. Today, I use, and have used for a long, long, time, the variable intensity collar, electric bird launchers, and the Astro.

But some things just don't make sense to this old feller. Clicker training and a wrap to cure gun shyness are two. There is another poster on another forum that's signature line is "If you think I'm wrong, you may be right". That applies here.

[4dabirds]

Just what I said. A week with George and you became a disciple even though you have never attended anyone else's seminar. And that makes you eligible to tell people who have trained dogs for forty years that they don't know what they are doing and should listen to you.

I am not trying to say that everything you say is wrong but I am trying to say that if you are serious about dog training then listen instead of talking till you have had success in training several birddogs and even then be willing to listen and learn. At this point you are a rank amature that hasn't even cracked the surface of the dog training world. This is your opportunity to expand your knowledge instead of trying to convince everyone you know more than they do. It just won't fly today or tomorrow until you can show the results that surpass what anyone else is accomplishing. Listen and then let the dog be your trainer.

I've been involved in this game for 50 years and I still am learning everyday. Maybe someday I will be able to answer all of the questions too but it's going to be a few years.

Ezzy

So let me get this straight. On this post did I say anything about the original post that could be misconstrued as wrong. What I did say was I do not think it is necessary to attack someone for there answer or there opinion. I don't give a rats behind how many years the great ezzy has been training or wether he is right or wrong. I may not have had the years training that the great ezzy has had but I can read. I read the post about the vest. I do not know a thing about the vest. What I do know is if someone recommends the vest and someone was willing to put thousands of dollars into marketing the vest, and I have no experience with the vest I would not summarily discount it with no knowledge of it. Ezzy has discounted clicker training which I am a big fan of . He has discounted it even though he knows nothing about it. I know he knows nothing about it because he makes statements that show his ignorance . When he does not understand something , which is often, he attacks the person who posted about how many years he has training. He discounts the knowledge I have gained in my experience of training with George Hickox and says I have not trained with others. He Has not trained with george and Has no first hand knowledge of his program. He tells us the dogs have taught him what he knows , I wonder what language did they speak Dog or human! I posted under "please read" a link to a site that had an essay on the misconceptions of dominance theory, I did not write the essay I just thought it would be helpful to others on the site. Ezzy and company discounted hay as well. They had 16 posts before someone chimed in that maybe they should actually read the essay because it had nothing to do with what they were talking about . Obviously they never read it. In my line of work I run into people all the time who have been doing things wrong so long they assume they have been doing it right all along. They are legends in their own mind. I do not claim to be the dog trainer of the century . When I went to learn about dogs I used hickox and his program because he was recommended as being one of the best in the country. I post where I think what I have learned , which has helped me will help others. Apparently I was wrong nothing I could have learned could compare to what ezzies dogs told him.

[gittrdonebritts]

I wonder what language did they speak Dog or human!

Human isn't a language it is a species, English or Spanish or even German would have been acceptable.

[

If you really knew anything about dog training or had any real first hand experience you would know that just watching the dogs body language and understanding it will tell you much much more than George Hickox could ever teach you.

you are just showing your arrogance and true lack of knowledge in your last post and what exactly is your line of work were you deal with people doing the wrong thing for so long they think it is right ? could you just be a Legend in your own mind ? I would think so.

[slistoe]

4dabirds you really need to take some time to think over what folks like ezzy are trying to tell you. The only attacking going on came from the person who first presented the shirt idea. They were politely asked how it may work and what the success/experience with it was - because it was new and different and folks wanted to know. In the end there was no success/experience to relate and the underlying concept of the shirt did not fit with the tried and proven methodology. No new methodology was presented in conjunction with "try the shirt" and the original poster became defensive, then aggressive. That is when you stepped in crying foul - because?
Explain again why I needed to read your article? Oh, that's right, you never explained why I needed to read it in the first place, even after I asked you to. Really, who is it that is not so enlightened on dog training as you are and NEEDED to read the article. Is it everyone who disagreed with the sequence of your training progression and took the time to carefully explain to you why they disagreed based on their experience in training by both methods on multiple dogs over many years? To which you provided " " for a rebuttal?
Train a couple of dozen dogs to the zenith of performance in your selected publicly evaluated discipline. Train them 4 ways from Sunday so you will really understand the differences that methodology makes. Then come back and relate your experience and the good folks on this board will have something to discuss with you.

[gittrdonebritts]

He tells us the dogs have taught him what he knows , I wonder what language did they speak Dog or human! I

I had to Quote this one more time found an interesting video you should watch if for nothing else than just for what Bill Gibbons says at the very end of it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwblqqSE5QI&NR=1

[ezzy333]

Hey back off. He just put me up there with the Great Houdini. I like it up here and I learned something today.

Ezzy

[4dabirds]

my point is that when people who are experienced in any thing they should not have an opinion on something they know nothing about. I have yet to here anyone who has used this device say it works or does not work. I would be a skeptic as well but would not reject without knowledge of it. I use clicker training for my dog I know it works and can be instrumental for developing a good gun dog. I do not expect everyone to adopt it . It would be nice if people who are supposed to be knowledgeable did not discount it when they have no knowledge of it. If you try it and do it properly you can have an opinion. If not your just a opinionated.

[gittrdonebritts]

my point is that when people who are experienced in any thing they should not have an opinion on something they know nothing about. I have yet to here anyone who has used this device say it works or does not work. I would be a skeptic as well but would not reject without knowledge of it. I use clicker training for my dog I know it works and can be instrumental for developing a good gun dog. I do not expect everyone to adopt it . It would be nice if people who are supposed to be knowledgeable did not discount it when they have no knowledge of it. If you try it and do it properly you can have an opinion. If not your just a opinionated.

No it seemed as though your Point was to attack Ezzy but either way point made lets move on

[ACooper]

This will cure all gunshyness and turn your dog into a winner for sure.

[Cajun Casey]

This will cure all gunshyness and turn your dog into a winner for sure.

Three of mine just fainted, one tried to attact the laptop and four are vomiting. We are allergic to even the allusion to red dirt.

[ACooper]

This will cure all gunshyness and turn your dog into a winner for sure.

Three of mine just fainted, one tried to attact the laptop and four are vomiting. We are allergic to even the allusion to red dirt.

That is funny!

[lucas85]

Thanks everybody for all your answers and great ideas.

[Ruffshooter]

seems I saw one method that used ice cream instead of birds, starting out far away with a small gun then moving in, then moving away with the larger caliber and so on. Don't really know if it worked, or for how long. It was meant to have the gun noise associated with something good. I suppose they moved on to birds at some time. I don't shoot carry my gun to the Ice cream store and would never shoot an ice cream, that would be cruel and inhumane.

Rick

[kninebirddog]

seems I saw one method that used ice cream instead of birds, starting out far away with a small gun then moving in, then moving away with the larger caliber and so on. Don't really know if it worked, or for how long. It was meant to have the gun noise associated with something good. I suppose they moved on to birds at some time. I don't shoot carry my gun to the Ice cream store and would never shoot an ice cream, that would be cruel and inhumane.

Rick

actually I would find that to be a total waste of a good dessert

[Ruffshooter]

Yeah me too. I was envious of hte dog.