Gun Shy Dogs Can Blossom

Every dog training book will bang on about how you've gotta be super careful when showing a young dog the sight, and especially the sound of a shotgun, but they hardly ever tell you how to fix a gun shy dog. Some old hands at dog training just won't give it a burl. It's a fair bit of hard yakka and the failure rate's usually higher than a skilled trainer would like to fess up to, but it's doable and pretty quick too.

The best bet is to not let a dog be startled by the blast of a shotgun or any extremely loud noise. A young pup should be introduced to loud noises gradually and always with a reward. When a young dog’s food bowl is ready to be filled, bang the pan a bit to get the pup’s attention. When it’s feeding time, make a little noise as the pup feeds. Increase the noise level without startling the puppy. As the dog grows older, fire a blank gun in the distance at feeding time. A dog will soon learn that noise is a big part of life and he won’t fear loud noises, whether from pots and pans banging or the blast of a shotgun.

Most pups quickly figure out that a shotgun is a top thing. They'll frolic at the sight of a gun, 'cause it means it's time to head to the bird field. The sound of a shotgun blast will snag a dog's attention, but in a good way. The exciting flight of a game bird will be paired with the sound of a shotgun, and a gob full of pheasant will be the brilliant end result.

A dog that's become scared of loud noises, usually 'cause of a newbie dog trainer, is a bit of a problem pooch. Basic obedience training's gonna be tough due to the dog's timid ways. A loud order can easily stuff up a training session. Chuck field work on the back burner for now. When a shotgun fires, the dog's fear of loud bangs will kick in and that's the training done for the day.

A young dog rocked up at the kennel recently, its owner fed up with the dog's fear of gunfire. Years ago I might've written this dog off. Who wants to spend days, weeks, or even months trying to fix such a problem?

This dog was put into an indoor/outdoor kennel and allowed to socialise with the other dogs. Off in the distance, we fired a shotgun. Although the other dogs became excited by the blast and were keen to go hunting, the gun shy dog raced from the outside kennel to an inside box, where it hid until the barking died down.

My next step was to let the gun shy dog get used to the kennels and the daily feed schedule. He soon settled in, expecting brekkie every morning. The next morning, after I filled the dog's stainless steel bowl with tucker, an assistant let off a gun as the dog started to chow down. He bolted straight through the kennel door to safety. After I dropped the door to the kennel run, I nicked his food bowl. There was heaps of water for him, but I reckoned he'd get peckish eventually. The following day I stuck to the same strategy. Putting his chockers food bowl in front of him, once again a gun went off. The same thing happened, and I again lowered the kennel door and took away his feed.

On the third day, when the gun went off the doggo started to bolt for the safety of his inside kennel, but then suddenly pulled up. He twigged that the other dogs in the kennel weren't scared of the racket. The gunfire hadn't hurt him and he was really peckish. He had a squiz at the other dogs while they tucked in and cautiously went back to his tucker.

On the fourth day, the gun shy dog flinched at the gunfire but never budged from his tucker bowl. I switched from the shotgun to a blank gun and moved closer to the kennels. After a few days of listening to the blank gun, the formerly gun shy dog wasn’t surprised at all by the sound of a shotgun.

Heading to the bird fields, we began to build on his new found confidence. He started to watch other dogs work birds and joined in their excitement. When a shotgun was fired, his attention was on the flying birds and he never flinched. Finally, a dog that had almost been rejected for the bird field was keen to go to work.

Always check your local and state regulations related to dog training and the use of game birds on private and public property.