Comments on: The Gun Shy Dog http://www.pointinggundogs.com/2009/03/the-gun-shy-dog/ A journal of my experiences in raising and training pointing dogs for hunting upland game and family companionship. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:30:26 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Gautam Das http://www.pointinggundogs.com/2009/03/the-gun-shy-dog/comment-page-1/#comment-462 Gautam Das Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:00:32 +0000 http://www.pointinggundogs.com/?p=316#comment-462 Dear John and Mark, Greetings from distant India! And thanks for the educative post and comments. I'm now 61, and my experience with gundogs in the field is limited to the 60's and 70's when things were different in India, including the countryside. Could either or both of you kindly share your opinions on which of the commoner breeds of pointing dog is the least likely to become gunshy? The only relatively common pointing breed here is the Pointer, ie, English. Thanks and regards, Gautam Das Dear John and Mark,

Greetings from distant India! And thanks for the educative post and comments.

I’m now 61, and my experience with gundogs in the field is limited to the 60′s and 70′s when things were different in India, including the countryside.

Could either or both of you kindly share your opinions on which of the commoner breeds of pointing dog is the least likely to become gunshy? The only relatively common pointing breed here is the Pointer, ie, English.

Thanks and regards,

Gautam Das

]]> By: Mark Matthiesen http://www.pointinggundogs.com/2009/03/the-gun-shy-dog/comment-page-1/#comment-246 Mark Matthiesen Thu, 12 Mar 2009 17:14:34 +0000 http://www.pointinggundogs.com/?p=316#comment-246 John, As you know Cheryl and I are breeders, and trainers of GSP's, and we have had a number of experiences, both ours and others, with gun shy dogs. In '04 we had been working hard with a couple of pups, and they progressed extremely well. Do to medical issues, I had not been able to train or hunt our older dogs for the previous 2 years. We, along with a couple of friends planted some birds and headed out with the pups, as well with our older dogs. The younger dogs had gradually been introduced to multipule guns, and were doing well. As we hunted, most of harvesting happened with one or two shots. Then the inevitable happened. A bird got up, and we shot a number of times. (More than I'd like to admitt to.) Shortly after we noticed our oldest female was missing. We found her hiding under a Cedar Tree. Thinking back on it, she had not seen the other dogs on the ridge point the bird, and was surprised, but she never would hunt again if there were guns involved. Loves to run, and is still very birdy, but she will not get out of the truck if there are guns to be seen. As breeders, we hear horror stories all the time. Many people have just purchased their first gundog, and being surprised and enthusiastic about their dogs progression, they push the pup with little, or no preperation. We suggest that dogs are prepared for hunting by being acclimated to loud noises in possitive envionments. While we still have the pups here, we begin banging on pans when they are 3 weeks old, and contine, generally at feeding time, till they leave and head to their new homes. This can be continued, and added to as the pup grows. We eventually start shooting cap, and blank guns. First at a little distance, and moving gradually closer and closer. At around 3 months we take them to our local gun club, parking at least 100 yards from the shooting line to begin with, and gradually move closer. We try to include some activity that the pups enjoy, like playing fetch etc. We've heard horor stories from people who pushed this process too fast, or have not introduced the pup to any loud noises at all before training that included a gun, and end up with a gun shy dog. We have found that after a dog is frightened of gun fire, that it is very difficult to undo. John,
As you know Cheryl and I are breeders, and trainers of GSP’s, and we have had a number of experiences, both ours and others, with gun shy dogs.

In ’04 we had been working hard with a couple of pups, and they progressed extremely well. Do to medical issues, I had not been able to train or hunt our older dogs for the previous 2 years. We, along with a couple of friends planted some birds and headed out with the pups, as well with our older dogs. The younger dogs had gradually been introduced to multipule guns, and were doing well. As we hunted, most of harvesting happened with one or two shots. Then the inevitable happened. A bird got up, and we shot a number of times. (More than I’d like to admitt to.) Shortly after we noticed our oldest female was missing. We found her hiding under a Cedar Tree. Thinking back on it, she had not seen the other dogs on the ridge point the bird, and was surprised, but she never would hunt again if there were guns involved. Loves to run, and is still very birdy, but she will not get out of the truck if there are guns to be seen.

As breeders, we hear horror stories all the time. Many people have just purchased their first gundog, and being surprised and enthusiastic about their dogs progression, they push the pup with little, or no preperation. We suggest that dogs are prepared for hunting by being acclimated to loud noises in possitive envionments. While we still have the pups here, we begin banging on pans when they are 3 weeks old, and contine, generally at feeding time, till they leave and head to their new homes. This can be continued, and added to as the pup grows. We eventually start shooting cap, and blank guns. First at a little distance, and moving gradually closer and closer. At around 3 months we take them to our local gun club, parking at least 100 yards from the shooting line to begin with, and gradually move closer. We try to include some activity that the pups enjoy, like playing fetch etc. We’ve heard horor stories from people who pushed this process too fast, or have not introduced the pup to any loud noises at all before training that included a gun, and end up with a gun shy dog. We have found that after a dog is frightened of gun fire, that it is very difficult to undo.

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