Gun shot training

[Sweetvalleylab]

My lab is still just a young pup, but I would like to start to get him familiar with gun shot noises. What is the best way to start this form of training?

I don't want to throw the pup off the porch to run with the big dogs by blasting shotguns next to his ears! I have heard to start by loud clapping, or by slapping two wooden blocks together.

Any suggestions?

[GUNDOGS]

how old is your pup??.MY advice would be not to bother with banging things around ect..just get the pup out on some birds first and work on basic commands ect before worrying about gunfire..you can always introduce it but if its rushed or not done properly it can be hard to fix..i wouldnt bother banging things together, ive heard of people doing that but it never made much sense to me, JMO..my advice would be to intro the pup to birds and let it have fun, get pup excited to be in the field and finding birds and get some confidence/independence before worrying about gunfire..when all this has been introduced and when he is distracted on birds stand about 50 to 100 yards away and shoot a starter pistol or a .410, its personal preference really, we shot the pistol maybe 2 or 3 times, went to the .410 and then a 12 gauge within a month by reading our pup and she could care less if we shoot a cannon when shes on a bird ..watch or have someone watch the dogs reaction and if he dont pay attention to it wait and do it again the next day and go slowly from there increasing the shots each day and move in closer to him when you shoot, always read the dogs reaction and as long as pup is distracted and not reacting continue and eventually shoot a few birds for him..just how we have done it, some will have other methods, just do what works best for you and pup..good luck...ruth

[Sweetvalleylab]

Great reply....thanks a bunch!

[jbesachio]

Agreed, getting the dog bird crazy first make introducing gun shot easy! Duke was almost a year old before he was really exposed to gun shot. He is crazy for live birds, within an hour of the first bird/gun shot he was programmed GUN SHOT = BIRD.

[gonehuntin']

They have to know that the loud BANG means pleasure. Starting with a pup, if I throw a bumper, I wait until he is half way there, then shoot a cap gun or bang blocks of wood together. When I introduce him to pigeons, same thing. As he is in full pursuit and about half way there, I shoot a blank gun DIRECTED AWAY FROM HIM.

They soon learn that the bang means a retrieve or a bird. Go slowly and cautiously, don't rush it.

[jlowery]

I prefer the Goerge Hickox method, or Perfect Start DVD.... Great Videos JMO....

[nooblet]

Bang must equal bird. You can do it other ways, I guess, but you are playing with fire. This is one of the only things you can't fix. In my opinion, you should be nervous about doing this part of the training correctly.

Here's what I've done, it's simple and works great.

Get a pigeon, pull the fligh feathers and set it on the ground by your pup. It will run and flap around etc. Your pup will chase. Right as your dog goes to put it's mouth on the bird (and kill it or do whatever it is going to do) - fire the pistol. Repeat and fire the gun a little earlier the second time. Repeat again and fire while the dog is chasing the bird - a couple times. That's probably enough eating birds

After that, it's gravy. Put birds in field; bird goes up; dog chases; dog gets a bit away; fire gun. Next time, a little closer etc... Once gun broke, no more chasing. The fact that you answered the question means you are not going to be one of these hoo-haas that take thier poor dog to the shooting range to "see if he's gunshy." Poor dogs... My father-in-law's brother did that to a perfectly fine pup that is now gunshy - because dogs are born gunshy right? I just dont get it. Turned a perfectly good hunting buddy into a house/yard buddy.

But the bang should = bird. Everyone is going to have a different suggestion. At the end of the day, you must figure out a way to make the "bang mean bird." The dog has to make the connection that, when the gun goes off, it means bird.

Sorry for the saop box, personal isses there I think.

noob

[gittrdonebritts]

I prefer the way Mo does it with a carded pigeon JMO

[ezzy333]

I don't worry about a pup knowing bang means birds. They will find that out soon enough. I just want them to ignore a gun shot and so far I have never had a problem.

Ezzy

[Ahumphers91a]

It's just something I have always done. I will pop a cap gun off while there pup's and eating, as well as playing, this lets them know that the sound shouldn't be feared but embraced.

[pccraig]

My English Springer is 9 months old now. I started him off very young by banging pots while he was eating, (that never bothered him). The we used to play fetch in the hallway with a capgun, (no reaction either)

Still haven't moved up to gunfire yet because we've been busy doing field work.

But he passed a major test on Monday night (July 4th) The fireworks were booming all around us while we were retrieving dummies in that back yard, and he never flinched.