Introducing a young dog to gunfire

[Foxton Gundogs]

First I never mind giving advice on dogs, but really this has to be the 6 or 7the thread I know of dedicated to the subject at least that my search uncovered. Here we go 1 more time maybe it should be stickied.

I always start my pups as soon as they are born. I leave the hunting channel on quite loud in the whelping room, from there when they start getting excited about food I have my wife discharge the blank gun at an ever decreasing distance as they start to eat. Then I move up to a 20 ga and finally a 12. by thhe time the pups are 8 weeks old they are looking for food whne they hear a gun, works very well, then I transfer the procedure to retrieving done right and slowly you have a gun broke dog in 3-4 weeks.

[Spy]

First I never mind giving advice on dogs, but really this has to be the 6 or 7the thread I know of dedicated to the subject at least that my search uncovered. Here we go 1 more time maybe it should be stickied.

I always start my pups as soon as they are born. I leave the hunting channel on quite loud in the whelping room, from there when they start getting excited about food I have my wife discharge the blank gun at an ever decreasing distance as they start to eat. Then I move up to a 20 ga and finally a 12. by thhe time the pups are 8 weeks old they are looking for food whne they hear a gun, works very well, then I transfer the procedure to retrieving done right and slowly you have a gun broke dog in 3-4 weeks.

X7 Agreee sticky it please

[kinderdoggin]

First I never mind giving advice on dogs, but really this has to be the 6 or 7the thread I know of dedicated to the subject at least that my search uncovered. Here we go 1 more time maybe it should be stickied.

I always start my pups as soon as they are born. I leave the hunting channel on quite loud in the whelping room, from there when they start getting excited about food I have my wife discharge the blank gun at an ever decreasing distance as they start to eat. Then I move up to a 20 ga and finally a 12. by thhe time the pups are 8 weeks old they are looking for food whne they hear a gun, works very well, then I transfer the procedure to retrieving done right and slowly you have a gun broke dog in 3-4 weeks.

This is also exactly how we start our puppies.

There is no rush to get through this process, the goal is not to gunproof your dog in record time, it's to build up a large history of positive experience so that you remove the possibility of gun shot noises surprising or startling your dog at any point. When introducing gunfire we use a positive distraction like feeding time because they are already having a super time eating, and over time the association allows a chemical reaction to develop in their brain that releases happy hormones when the sound is heard. (If you've heard about Pavlov's dogs and the dinner bell, this is the exact same idea). This happens after many, many positive associations, so build up that 'sound history' slowly and gradually and while you are giving your puppy the most fun it can handle. For older dogs that love to retrieve, a game of fetch is a great distraction during introductions, but the little guys tend to value food more.

[Big Lew]

I should maybe clarify.....I used the gun range solely because I didn't have this dog until it was a year old so I couldn't begin introducing him to load noises at an early age. I also now live on a city lot so don't have the facilities I used to have to enable me to use starter pistols and light guns like 22s etc. My best option was the Mission gun club range because the archery area is a long way from the rifle range. Consequently, I would bring him along when I practiced archery. I then gradually brought him closer to the noise while keeping him distracted by playing fetch etc.
By the time we got to the actual gun range he was so used to the loud reports that he paid no attention to them. This worked well for him and was the fastest, easiest, and most practicable method for our situation.

[Spy]

My one in a million dog Spy at a clay shoot RIP buddy