How to cure gun shy Lab.

Griffoneur said:
If the dog is gunshy, he is ruined. Guns (detonations) have to be introduced progressively. Once a dog has become gun shy there is no rewind or re-record.
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been my experience..you cannot even sure that if you had made all the right moves it would have made a difference anyhow...some dogs are just born that way..
 
I disagree.....gunshyness is a natural state, but non-shyness is a learned trait. There are very few dogs that can't be gun broken, but in advanced cases it is kind of mean....and you have to have the fortitude to follow through with the program to fix it.

I've done this a dozen times, never failed:

1st, get the dog on a routine where he only eats once a day.

Put down the food dish outside, when rover approaches the dish, shoot a .22. If the dog stays, offer lavish praise. If he runs and hides, pick up the food dish and don't feed the dog.

Repeat the next day, and if he runs again, no food.

Generally by day 3 he will stay at the dish, and the seed is planted that gunfire means food.

Repeat the process until he stays at the food dish for 3 consecutive days while shooting the .22

Then move to a .410, and repeat.

After three consecutive feedings with the .410, start shooting the
.410 imediately BEFORE putting the food dish down, and continue until he starts coming whrn he hears the shot.

After he consistantly comes running at the report of the .410, go back to step 1, only substitute 12 ga 2 3/4" trap loads.

Then progress to stage 2 & 3 again, only using hunting loads.

This will work, but you can't "cave in" and feed the dog early...it HAS to be HIS choice to eat or not.

WW
 
I always wondered, does loud noises harm a dogs ears like a human? I know my cousins dog would sit right beside him as he's shooting geese, 12guage going off in the dogs ear consistantly. Hardly ever flinched.

my lab is 10 months old and hes not real scaried of gun shots but I can tell he doesnt really like them.
 
Wrong Way,

Sorry, I strongly disagree.
The dog should not be punished.
THE DOG SHOULD NOT BE PUNISHED.
Starving a dog is not the way to train them. If the owner lacks of training skills the dog should still be well fed.
 
It has also been my experience that a gun shy dog is good for being a pet, not a hunter.

I have never seen any of the big names in training encourage trying to "save" a gun shy dog. Not saying it can't be done, but I believe it is damn near impossible...

It's like training to retrieve. I can force fetch all I want, and get any dog to do it, it doesn't mean they should or that it isn't very stressful to the dog, on every retrieve.

I would continue working with the dog with a lighter shot, get him distracted and retrieving when I shoot. Don't have it related to what the dog is doing IMO. And pray that he isn't actual gun shy!
 
rustysdream said:
Wrong Way,

Sorry, I strongly disagree.
The dog should not be punished.
THE DOG SHOULD NOT BE PUNISHED.
Starving a dog is not the way to train them. If the owner lacks of training skills the dog should still be well fed.
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You are not punishing the dog...this is not discipline, it is allowing the dog to make a choice to run away or eat. *Once the dog "gets" that "BANG" means "Food", it actually becomes a positive sound. The reason some dogs are scared is simply that they don't understand...and without an alternative influece (ie: just the "it's OK" from the master), the behavior won't change.

3 days without food won't harm the dog, you just want him to get hungry enough to tolerate the .22 at first...the positive reinforcement comes later.
 
I don't think he's GUNSHY at all, YET. He just hasn't been exposed to gunfire correctly. Taking a dog out and firing a shotgun as his first exposure is not a good way to go about it. Try it with your kids. They'll probably be a bit upset too. I've seen dogs exposed this way and they shutdown and never come back.

However. Positve reinforcement and slow and steady exposure to gunfire and he may be ok. Last year we had a fellow come to the range with a small pup and slowly walk up to the Five-stand, not encouraging or coddling the pup, but ignoring him as if to say "No big deal". I turned to my buddy and said "Now there's a wise man".

Keep working with him and reinforce good behavior with lots of positive reward(praise). I do NOT punish, although I will correct, and yes there is a big difference.

With patience and time, he will probably be ok. Good Luck.
 
wrongway
I had a dog that wouldnt jump over a hurdle
I fought and was some rude to her to get her to jump
sat down for a while and came up with a similair plan
you jump and there is food on the other side
2 days later she was a jumping fool
and it was way less stressful than whooping on her
and made her like jumping
BUT
I still think a gunshy dog is a waste of time
 
Griffoneur said:
If the dog is gunshy, he is ruined. Guns (detonations) have to be introduced progressively. Once a dog has become gun shy there is no rewind or re-record.
Click to expand...

I've helped a couple of guys who screwed up in the same manner get their dogs to at least tolerate the sight of guns, but neither was ever a reliable "go-getter" afield.

All of my hunting dogs start gun training as puppies during feeding time. Start off using a cap gun a fair distance away from them so that they will notice the sound, but be more interested in eating their food.

As their comfort level with the sound rises, I close the distance until ultimately I can rapid fire a full plastic stripper clip of caps. They are surprisingly loud.

I then move up to .22LR and follow the same pattern, until finally I break out the 12 ga.

Between my Beagles and Labradors, I can unload a full mag of 3" 12 ga Magnums next them and they won't bat an eye, merely look for the dead game.

Taking a family pet into the woods with a 12ga, with no prep and firing it off, even in moderate proximity to the dog is a sure recipe to ruin him as a hunting companion. Dogs have much more sensitive hearing than humans and things like echos and reverberations can also contribute to creatintg that pain memory.

Your best hope is to try and get the dog to equate the shotgun with a positive experience, like feeding time, or going for a walk. Start off with the cap gun and work your way up. You'll need a partner to hold the leashed dog as he/she eats, while you fire off the cap gun 40-50 yards away to start. Repeat that for a series of days until the dog starts getting comfortable with the sound, then and only then start closing the gap. Try to rush things and you guarantee yourself a failure.
 
I am in no rush and even if I fail he is still a keeper. He is a pet first. It looks like I made a big error. But after the first time i thought he would improve not get more shy. I will keep putting firearms near him at food time and will work on adding some louder noise at meals as well.

For now I will take 2 walks. One on my own for shooting and one for him.

Thank You everyone for your input. I knew I could count on you guys for some experenice.

Thanks from Cookie and Jake
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I had this problem with one dog, continued to hunt her on grouse letting her enjoy putting up birds, working on commands, packed the shotgun but didn't shoot for several outings, when I finally did shoot again I made sure the dog had a clear line of site on the bird and was keen on it and saw it fall. Result was a retrieved bird instead of me going to retrieve the dog. She is pretty much retired now and all the years I hunted her (and she did turn out to be a good lab) never had another issue with her being gunshy when hunting but she still will not hang around gunfire outside of that. So in my mind she never quit being gunshy, but related to it differently when hunting.
 
I'm the proud owner of a 3 month old choc lab. I am a member of a skeet club. What I figured is, on a day that I'm not going to shoot I'll drive up to club and park a good distance down the road. Close enough that you hear some gun fire and play with her. Next time I go a little closer, and so on to the point where she sits in the truck while I shoot a few rounds of skeet.

I've already introduced her to some duck hunting videos. We'll be sitting on the couch together, usually half asleep, and when the calling and shooting begins she jumps right up on my chest and LOCKS IN on that tv. Her ears get perked right up and she can't get her eyes off the tube. Every now and then she'll look at me as if she's saying "Hey, when do we get to go and do that???" I think I lucked out with picking this puppy!
 
I am not a fan of the gun club trips for gun conditioning...

Do you have a 22 or a starters pistol?

Get the dog retrieving, find a friend, and get the dog used to gun fire on your terms.

What happens if the dog gets a little sketchy when you are near the range and the gun fire continues?? You rope the dog in, throw it in the truck and get out of there, all the while gun fire is still going off, and your dog may be freaked out. I don't like the lack of control in that situation.

I did the rocks in a 2L bottle and shake while playing, not eating. ( The only thing I have ever done with food is take it away, make them sit and wait for it ect) and progressed to retrieving that bottle to retrieving with a 22 randomly fired by someone else with other dogs around to solo dog and me firing. Two dogs turned out OK with this method. It only took one saturday afternoon.

I also prayed for thunder storms. Every chance I got both my pups where out in the rain and thunder. It sucks for you, but it's great for the dogs! I have seen lots of dogs scared of thunder, and could never figure out why?
 
peter2772000 said:
Actually, The Dog Whisperer handled a case like this. Actually brought her out to a Trap & Skeet range to help rehabilitate the dog. It worked, too.
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He used a pool to reward this lab for reacting positively to loud noises, including at the shotgun range where I think he had some control over the shooters on the line.
 
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