deerpoacher1970
Senior Member
Just wondering if anyone has ever broke a dog from being gun shy.I got a pup that started treeing on her own at 5 months old but scared of a gun .
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Gun shy dog
- Thread starter deerpoacher1970
- Start date
KyDawg
Gone But Not Forgotten
I had a beautiful Llewellyn setter that was doing it all as a pup. She was pointing, backing and retrieving at one year old. She got out of her pen one day and was gone for a month. When a friend of mine found her, she was in bad shape, and had several bird shot lodged under her skin and more ticks on her than you could count. I took her out the next season, and she locked down on a covey, I shot and she went to the truck. I tried a lot of the remedies like shooting in a boat. I never broke her from it. She had a fine liter of pups and they all turned into good dogs. I personally have never seen a dog broke from being gun shy.
Hillbilly stalker
Senior Member
Depends on "How Bad" gun shy the dog is. I never shoot over a dog that is feeding. Scares the bejesus out of a lot of them. Have someone in your family hold the dog on a lead, walk 40 yards or so away from the pup , call it's name and fire a toy cap gun away from the dog, pointed at the ground. Immediately walk the dog toward you and you to be dog and give it a small piece of fried hot dog. You have to read the dog, you might need to get further away or maybe after several repetitions you can get a little closer . Repeat several days until the dog looks forward to the sound. Y then can switch to .22 shorts and later .22 longs. It takes patience. After you have conditioned your dog and knocked out a few, you should be fine. Make sure you have the dogs attention every time. If I snuck up behind you while you were eating and busted off a 12 gauge, it would scare you too. 5 month old pup is a infant, take your time and let it grow. Good luck.
KyDawg
Gone But Not Forgotten
That sounds like a good method. ^^
Hillbilly stalker
Senior Member
Dogs are taught to be gun shy. When I first start fooling with a small pup, I'm careful not to rattle his cage with a unexpected loud noise. When outside with them I get 15 yards away and call their name to get their attention and throw them little snap caps you buy at the fire works store or convenience store. It's sharp, but not loud. When I'm in the woods with them I let them get away from me a little and throw caps against a tree while calling their name and walking away. Later on a cap gun. Soon noises don't bother them. Smacking two small pieces of 2x4 together while your out in the yard conditions them some also. Just don't be too loud and surprise or shock them. I believe most can be broke, but honestly a lot of the ones who are real bad, aren't worth the trouble it takes. I seen one that would run at the mere Sight of a gun. Never will make a hunting dog out of one like that.
across the river
Senior Member
You can't just shoot over top of a dog that hasn't been conditioned to it. That is how one gets gun shy to begin with. If you slowly condition them to it, you should never end up with a gun shy dog. Apparently, though, you fired a shotgun or something over this ones head though way before it was ready, so it now associates that noise with danger and fear. You have to disassociate the sound noise with fear. All you can do at this point is what has already been suggested. Buy a cap gun, some of those snap and pops, or even fold up a piece of paper to make a popper if you know how to do that. Since this one is already gun shy, you can even start by simply clapping your hands real loud or hitting your leg with a newspaper or something similar. Get the dog doing something she likes to do a good ways off from you. Give her a toy, let her play with the kid, etc... and then start popping off the cap gun or in this case maybe just clapping loudly well of from the dog. If she acts even a little startled, don't do it again. Wait until the next day, do it softer and from a further distance. If she doesn't act startled, don't be tempted to move closer. Just make the noise a few times, see her basically ignore it and wait until tomorrow. Once she gets to the point that the noise doesn't faze her, get a little closer the next day and do it again. Just don't get too close too fast. It can take a long time to condition them, especially if they are already gun shy. If she acts even slightly scared at any time, stop for the day. You are trying to condition out the fear, not strengthen it. Back up again further the next day, an try again. It may take a while or it may not take long at all, but you eventually work up to where you can clap loudly right by her and she won't flinch. That is what you want. Then start over with the cap gun from a good distance and repeat that daily the same way until you can fire the caps right beside her and she doesn't flinch and just carries on playing or whatever. Then start over again with a 22 LR and repeat daily starting at a really far distance, until you can shoot that around her. Then you eventually work up to a shotgun, starting waaaaaay of, and over time working closer and closer. You have to condition the dog the not associate the loud noise with fear. If she is doing something fun, while shots are ringing off, even better. She associated the noise with fun stuff, and not something to be scared of. A lot of dogs are scared of thunder, but that is because they sit there for weeks not hearing anything loud, then boom, a clap of thunder hits. Off course they will be scared. The same thing happens when a gun randomly goes off over one's head. It may take longer to get your dog accustomed to it than it would if you had started this way, but if you go really slow with it, and don't make a big jump in sound too quickly, you should eventually get her straightened out. I know this is hindsight now, but you never, ever, shoot a gun over a pup or dog who has never been conditioned or accustomed to loud noises or shots before. It is extremely traumatic to most dogs and can put a fear in them that can take a ton of time to get out.
deerpoacher1970
Senior Member
I have only tried shooting 22 shorts with a very long barreled bolt action rifle you can't even hear the bang so don't assume that I am stupid and started this pup out shooting a shotgun over it's head regardless of what some of you think on here dogs are born gun shy I was just wondering if anyone had broke one from it I have never seen one broke myself but she is so smart I hate to give up on her and was just hoping someone had a way to save her,she is the smartest pup I have ever seen she is a natural tree dog.
Hillbilly stalker
Senior Member
Nobody called you stupid, I've never seen one born gun shy, sounds like you got it all figured out , good luck .
Beagler282
“Rabbit Man”
My method is when they are pups and I start to wean them I walk up to the pen banging pans together and then set the feed bowl in front of them. They recognize loud noise with something good.
Now I had one dog I purchased a long time ago that was gun shy. I walked to the kennel every day and fired a gun before the dog could see me. I would then proceed in the kennel and start banging the pans and feed her so she would recognize it with something good. It worked for me but can't say it will work for everyone.
Now I had one dog I purchased a long time ago that was gun shy. I walked to the kennel every day and fired a gun before the dog could see me. I would then proceed in the kennel and start banging the pans and feed her so she would recognize it with something good. It worked for me but can't say it will work for everyone.
