? how to break a gun-shy bird dog?

[concretejungle]

I haven't been hunting in 2 years. I have a yellow lab that hasn't been around guns. Two times now (once at 4th of july and new years eve) someone was shooting off fireworks/guns and my dog completely freaked the hell out and took off running. Had to spend a friggin' hour in the cruiser both times to track his yellow ass down. I thought about taking him out with some friends that shoot skeet, holding him on his leash with some treats and just kinda sit there with him petting him and assuring him everything is o.k. while the others shoot. Do you think that would freak him out even worse? I'm not sure how to approach this. I can't have him jumping the fence and running across roads every 4th of july.

 

[wob]

Sorry, time to get a new dog. If you want to ever use this dog to hunt, forget about it. If you just don't want him to run off every time a firecracker goes off, you can probably acclimate him to it a little. It's a pain, though. EVERY time you feed him, shoot a cap gun, and reassure him. It's a pain when they get gun shy, but that is the only thing that I have ever heard of that remotely works.

My Rotttweiler is fine with loud noises, but my lab, forget about it. If you drop a book on the floor, she is headed for the bedroom, tail between her legs.

 

[srafj40]

Start with a cap gun (work up to louder sounds), and if you have to,associate a reward with the sound.

 

[srafj40]

Wob, you fast mang.

 

[toddslater]

I agree with the cow bell on this one. I had a Springer that kicked ass bird hunting. Fireworks just pissed her off. After a boom...her adrenaline was going full tilt, her eyes and head would be looking for a bird to drop and she could hardly wait for the "get em". After a few frantic seconds she would look at me with this look ...what no f'in bird....give my the f'in gun I'll shoot em.

 

[Arya Ebrahimi]

After a few frantic seconds she would look at me with this look ...what no f'in bird....give my the f'in gun I'll shoot em.

ROFLMAO!!

 

[Herky]

You might be able to aclimate your dog to loud noises with your friends help. I would make sure they are working with you and not just shooting a round of clays. Does your dog enjoy retrieving a ball or dummy, or have some favorite toy? You can use these things or a treats and start a good distance from the sound. My pup likes to retrieve and when we introduced him I walked about 75 yds away and had my buddy shoot, wait a second or two and then throw the dummy. After a little while I could throw the dummy first and then shoot and he wouldn't even flinch. Obiously it's easier to keep them from getting gunshy than it is to correct the problem. Good luck!

 

[concretejungle]

Does your dog enjoy retrieving a ball or dummy, or have some favorite toy?

Yes, anything i throw he loves to go fetch it. He gets so jacked up that it was tough to get him to sit while i threw the ball or whatever and then told him to go get it.

I wish i would have shot around him earlier.

 

[flintknapper]

I wouldn't recommend the "skeet" idea. If your dog has "developed" gun shyness then there is some hope that it can be corrected. If you are just discovering that your dog is sensitive to loud sounds (it does not have to be gun fire, can be thunder, firecrackers,etc) then exposing him/her to more of what has been traumatizing... is just asking for trouble IMO.

Some dogs (regardless of breed) have a low threshold for loud noises and will never be reliable, even though you might get them to tolerate it for some amount of time.

Is your Lab "birdy" and likes to hunt? If so, then some people have had sucess with putting the dog and a live bird with clipped wings into a pen where the dog can catch it.

Don't overdo this...as you want to keep the dog "greedy" and enjoying the chase.

From a distance you can then introduce gun fire and "slowly" work your way closer watching for any tell tale signs of distress from your dog. This is much easier taught to a pup then a juvenile or mature dog.

The idea of course, is to associate gun fire with something that is interesting and pleasurable for your pooch. Overcoming gun shyness can be done sometimes but requires a lot of effort and time on your part.

WOB, offers the most practical advice, and I would keep the yellow for a pet and companion and find a pup to train if you want to hunt over a dog.

Any well bred lab from hunting stock (and many from not) will have the instinct to retrieve... but you still must train them in basic obedience and get them through (force fetching) before they will make much of a dog for hunting purposes.

My 3 yr. old Chocolate just earned his Senior Hunter title this year, I did not push this dog to title as a 2 yr. old and as a result he matured into an absolutely reliable animal.

I know you are aware that just because he is a "LAB" it is no guarantee that he will hunt.

Good luck with him and just Love him for what he is.

 

[archie]

How about go to the store or library and getting a sound effects CD with explosions. You can have a very faint volume at first and work your way up to a high volume. If you do this while your playing with your dog, your dog will associate explosions with a good time. good luck!

 

[concretejungle]

He has never freaked out during a thunderstorm. Just explosions, gunshots or fireworks. The other night when the neighbor was shooting a gun (in the city limits, ass hat!) my roomy was like, "you might want to check to be sure you still have a dog" so i jumped up and was like oh, crap. Ran to the back yard and he was trying to get the hell out of town. As soon as i opened the door he ran inside and would't go back out. Not trying to be mean but identify what he was scared of i clapped real loud inside and he jumped and ran.

 

[flintknapper]

How old is he, and how long have you had him.

Try preoccupying him with something he likes to do and then have someone at a distance clap only when your dog can see the person do it.

Do be careful about startling him with anymore noises for awhile.

 

[concretejungle]

How old is he, and how long have you had him.

Try preoccupying him with something he likes to do and then have someone at a distance clap only when your dog can see the person do it.

Do be careful about startling him with anymore noises for awhile.

He's 1year, 2months old. I've had him since he was 5 weeks old. It's just weird because he has never been scared of things before. It seems as he is getting older he is getting more and more cautious around things.

I have claped, shouted all kinds of lound noises around him before. I think that the gun shot just put him in a different state of mind so he got real jumpy about anything.

Well, he likes to eat, so maybe i can just put a big ass bowl of food down and let him chow while we shoot.

I hope that if i'm there with him at a slight distance from the shooters, and i'm real comforting to him showing him everything's going to be irrey, i hope he's cool with it. Otherwise, no hunting around him i guess.

 

[PHBeerman]

Shoot the dog. If you are trying to develop a good hunting dog, you do not want to start out with this kind of problem. The time you spend attempting to break him is going to take away from actual training that needs to be done. The dog will most likely never be reliable either in the blind or in the field.

JMHO

 

[flintknapper]

He's 1year, 2months old. I've had him since he was 5 weeks old. It's just weird because he has never been scared of things before. It seems as he is getting older he is getting more and more cautious around things.

I have claped, shouted all kinds of lound noises around him before. I think that the gun shot just put him in a different state of mind so he got real jumpy about anything.

Well, he likes to eat, so maybe i can just put a big ass bowl of food down and let him chow while we shoot.

I hope that if i'm there with him at a slight distance from the shooters, and i'm real comforting to him showing him everything's going to be irrey, i hope he's cool with it. Otherwise, no hunting around him i guess.

Oh heck, he's just a pup by lab standards. They stay about half goofy until they are about 2-1/2 to 3 yrs. old.

You have plenty of time to work with him.

At his age a lot of things are "barriers" the best thing you can do for him is to take him out in the country and let him explore things. His confidence will increase greatly and I think you will see a dramatic change in him after a few outings with no shooting....just let him explore, get wet, learn to jump over things, go under fences, etc... all of these things including gun fire present barriers to young dogs until they get used to them.

What I really want to know is: Why haven't you been hunting in 2 years (shame on you) there are probably way too many of something out there because of that.

Good luck.

 

[concretejungle]

Thanks for the encouragement Flint. I haven't been hunting because my grandfather has gotten really ill and can't hunt any more. So the hunting clubs we were members of we let our membership expire. My father hasn't been around to take me either. But now with work, working with NASCAR on weekends, messing with the cruiser and messing with my dirtbike i don't have time for much hunting.

He gets to go on trips with me. He loves the woods. IT's funny because he's like a bulldozer, just running through the bush instead of around it. I love watching him pick up a scent. And if there is water anywhere close.......forget about it, he's in it!

 

[calamaridog]

Start with a cap gun (work up to louder sounds), and if you have to,associate a reward with the sound.

Absolutely correct. You win a prize!

No, seriously, cap guns. Backyard. Tenis ball. Doggy treats.

If it doesn't work, then get a new dog. I would start with something other than a retriever myself, but that would open up a can of worms...

 

[mooker82]

Fire a cap gun while you feed him. Then get slowly louder and louder until he is up to gunshot level. 1 yr old is kind of late to start a dog but it can happen. I rescued a Brittany spaniel that someone turned in because he was gunshy. A year later he is the best bird dog I've ever had and a top field trial dog in my state. Anythings possible with enough time and patience. Good luck.