FWIW from everything I've gathered second hand... gunshyness seems like one of those things that can be brought about by poor training in almost any dog, but there are some dogs that seem more prone to the condition with less provocation. Because the root is so difficult to pin down and there are so many perfectly good intact dogs that aren't gunshy, I'm in the 'just neuter 'em' camp.

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Interesting side note for anyone interested: A musher on SDC a while back told a story about a terrible accident he had w/ his dog truck, where they hit a semi head-on in a whiteout. It was so bad the dog box came off the truck and landed on the road quite a few feet from the truck (I think with 20+ dogs inside), and the first troopers on the scene didn't actually think anyone was alive in the cab.

Believe it or not, most of the dogs survived just fine (he thinks the narrow boxes he'd built kept the dogs from getting banged up inside). As anyone could imagine, some of those dogs never wanted to get back on a truck again, and those had to be re-homed with recreational people. HOWEVER... WATCH CLOSELY... the group of dogs that got over it and went on to travel again in a truck just fine happened to mostly be his A-list (or 'first string') racing dogs, and the dogs that had to be rehomed were mostly his B-list dogs (not as fast on the sled).

This story has really stuck in my head, because it suggests that a critical part of a high performing dog may be that it simply handles stress better than average. This also happens to be a very handy trait for dogs living with kids, dogs going to the vet, dogs traveling,  dogs exposed to chaotic urban/suburban environments, etc etc etc.

IMO breeders need to aim for dogs that handle stress well. Socialization can do a lot, but clearly there are still dogs that struggle even after being given every advantage, and conversely there are dogs that have an astounding ability to get over a terrible beginning and move on (see my posts on the California rescue GSP mixes for more evidence). I personally feel like this dove-tails right in with gun shy dogs... if a GSP can't find enough joy of birds to overcome their fears, I really don't think they're a good candidate for breeding since it's an indication of how they handle stress in general.

I agree with Francine, don't delete it as it was a good discussion and someone else may find the information useful. Besides I didn't see this as an attack on the originator (even though it bothered him), but more of a concern for GSPs and the nature of a gun shy dog.

Being gun shy itself isn't what is passed on, it is the metal stability of the dog and the lines. Both parents may seem perfectly normal, but somewhere behind them, someone had a problem. About 6 times a month a get a call about a gun shy dog, some were owner caused, but most of these probably would have been classified as senstive to begin with, and needed a longer more careful introduction to gun fire then then got, some of these dogs will come out of it, reintroduced in the proper way with lots of bird contact first. The most iritating ones start with 'my dog is gunshy' me saying 'where did you get your dog', well we bred it and kept one, my female was gunshy, but she was a really good dog and we wanted a pup out of her. Mental stability is a big envelope with me, how a dog reacts to noise, other dogs, strangers, travel (megs story of the dogs in the truck accident is perfect). I just had a client come to me last week with a gw (OK a dd), when it was just myself and him at the truck the dog was fine, when two other people joined us, in a totally normal situation, the dog started growling. When questioned he said the dog does it at home also, when his dd has friends over, they keep him in the kitchen. He just purchased the dog at 18 months old as started, the conversation went downhill from there, anyone that knows me knows what my answer to this would be (after take him back and get your money back) a mentally stable dog knows the difference between a threat and small children (among other things). Thankfully the dog was already neutered and out of the gene pool.
Sorry the op got pissed off, but I would repeat my answer the same way, nueter him or give him away with no papers. I would not feel quilty at all it it ended up the other way. Better one dog now, then a whole litter later.

BTW, the dogs I buy and the pups I have bred and started the first gun they hear is my 16 shooting a bird for them, I don't worry about it. Now, if your friend drives her beater truck up next to them and it backfires 3 feet from the x pen that they are in at 5 weeks old, well, I guess that counts as exposure! LOL

How I found out Rocky was not gun shy. On our first night with him after his adoption, my husband dropped a tray of ice cubes on the floor making a LOUD CRASH Snickers, our gun shy dog bolted to the bedroom and Rocky stayed by us in the kitchen  not bothered trying to gather all the ice cubes on the floor in his mouth I said to my husband, "Now we know this GSP is not gun shy."

Hey Trey, you forgot to mention the truck that backfired didn't have a muffler And them puppy buyers seemed pretty impressed with how the pups reacted, if I remembered right they almost got 2 instead of the 1 they were going to get

And for those who are asking how you can have 2 parents that are not gunshy and littersmates that aren't but one pup that is.....think about people, I sure you know a normal family where there is 1 "kid" that is "off".

I think that is a great sign Ace.  Work on building his confidence.  So, lots of praise, enthisasm and have fun.  Take it slow and I bet he will be ok.