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Big training failure made my dog gun shy

4K views 12 replies 9 participants last post by  jaspar 
#1 ·
Hello everyone , some months ago i took my dog hunting , thinking that would help him get used to guns and gunfire.As you understand because of my lack of knowledge at the time and inexperience i have made my dog gun shy.Now whenever i grab my gun and aim (just that is enough) my dog starts barking scared.Is this fixable?If it is , please tell me what i can do.
 
#2 ·
Is there more to this story? Did you actually shoot an animal when your dog was with you? How old was your dog at the time?

There are ways to gradually expose dogs to gunfire. You can start off by banging pots and pans, and then giving your dog a treat or toy to play with; the idea is to have the dog associate loud noises with some sort of reward. You can progress from there to starter pistols or small caliber rifles (something like a .22) and use the same reward system. You can also incorporate some sort of animal hide or furry chew toy; this not only gives them an added reward to associate with gunfire, but also starts to make them more comfortable with the critters they might encounter out there.

I'm not there with you to see what you're seeing, but if one experience of firing a firearm really made your dog that nervous and gun shy, I'd say there could be temperament issues. Dogs with steadier nerves should be able to at least tolerate loud noises, if not necessarily enjoy them. Maybe I'm misreading your description. Either way, you can try a gradual approach to see if your dog's reaction changes.
 
#3 ·
stop training by yourself.

join a club.

you want to get a super guard dog . From the outset choose a strong confident animal from a known background for just that .

you made a bit of a mess in the sneaking around , taunting the dog while he is eating and now he is growling and defensive .

does the dog have any reason to trust you?

go see forum member SHOOTERs video tape of his new young pup .

Shooter is aware of his animal -- gives the animal room to safely move to his comfort level. At all times Shooter looks to see his animal's response before continuing.

The dog is either sound sensitive or he is not.

anything else in the closet?

You have got to go out and work with an experienced person and start fresh - as if this is a new dog

New rules.

New expectations from you .

A new plan which builds on step by step success .

you are going to ruin the dog for yourself and certainly for anyone else if a rehoming is called for.
 
#5 ·
#6 ·
This should be fixable.
You have to show him that guns are not big and scary like he probably thinks.
What I would do is show him the gun and tell him to come if he comes treat and praise and if he does not put the gun somewhere he cant see and repeat the command. If he comes the second time praise him and put the gun where he can see it, floor, counter, table etc.

Another method would be to lay the gun or toy gun on the floor with treats like a hot dog or chicken on it. When he comes to eat it praise him. When he is finally comfortable with the gun start using a pop gun to get him used to sudden noises and then slowly transition over to a real gun.

I started my pups at a young age with fireworks. We went to watch a firework show so I brought the dogs to desensitize them to loud noises since I am planning to register my female as a personal protection dog, it is vital that she not be scared of loud or sudden noises.
 
#7 ·
i luv maggie
"You have to show him that guns are not big and scary like he probably thinks.
What I would do is show him the gun and tell him to come if he comes treat and praise and if he does not put the gun somewhere he cant see and repeat the command. If he comes the second time praise him and put the gun where he can see it, floor, counter, table etc. "

the dog has no reason or ability to intellectually understand what a gun is or can do.

so the "fear" has nothing to do with seeing - but with HEARING

there is a physical reponse to the sound . Some dogs are sound sensitive . Born that way .

they may go to extreme reaction - flight and avoid -- or jump and recover .

they will have the same response to a lawn tractor or car back firing , a sash window slamming, a heavy book dropped - any abrupt , unexpected noise.

and then there are those afraid of fire works and thunder storms

taking young pups to a fire works display can backfire . pun intended .
 
#8 ·
If I am not mistaken recovery from a startle is one of the elements of the temperment test.
Failure to recover would be a fail and with a working dog prospect would wash it out?
I have had dogs who covered all ranges. From mild curiousity or even irritation at a gunshot to mindless bolting to active fighting to escape.
While I have been able to temper extreme responses I have never been able to alter the dogs perception. A threat in their minds is a threat. Their reactions are dictated by base personalities. A dog that is sensitive to noise will always be and while extreme reactions may be altered I am not certain you would ever move such a dog forward for serious work.
 
#9 ·
One must be very careful introducing dogs to gunfire. When incorrectly done even a dog with a good temperament and strong nerves can develop issues. It can happen in one session with out a doubt, even to a "good" dog.

Even if the dog responds appropriately the first time and doesn't show signs of fear and anxiety, doesn't mean that the dog is not stressed. Continued exposure can cause issues. Unless, you have a "hunting" dog bred to hunt there is little reason to over expose any dog to gunfire. We do it as part of our training, but only quarterly. If we take our dogs to the range and live fire with them they have hearing protection.

It needs to be done in a methodical fashion and starting at a distance is best.

Jaspar, based on your other posts you really need a good trainer to work with. You are going to royally screw up your dog if you keep experimenting and doing the silly things that you are doing.
 
#11 ·
Finn's breeder exposed his litter to gun fire. She used an air gun.
it was louder than a starter's pistol. She fired it a few times while the pups were playing and they didn't react to the sound at all.

He's 2 and is still tolerant of loud noises like gun fire and fireworks.
 
#12 ·
Are you sure he's barking scarred or could he be barking out of excitement? Mine gets super excited if I even touch a gun or bow because she loves it. I started her early but very gradually with gunshots. I shot my pellet gun at first and rewarded her with treats. Then went on to a .22 with primer only shells, then regular .22 rounds, and eventually took her bird hunting with a shot gun which she loved. If you are ever planning on having him around larger calibers I would buy dog hearing protection, they're called Mutt Muffs and run about $60, just bought a pair and they seem like they'd work well. Every new experience was while we were doing something fun like going on a walk in the woods or hunting and gave her treats to associate it with something good.
If she ever were to show signs of discomfort I would have immediately stopped but she never did. Not saying this is the best way to do it but it worked for me. It was very important to me to get her ok with guns because hunting/shooting is an almost everyday part of my life, if it's not completely necessary then I would not do it.
 
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