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slim1013

Posts:4

09/21/2009 3:59 PM
I HAVE MY FRIST GSP SHE COME FROM GOOD BLOOD. WHEN I BOUGHT HER SHE WAS AROUND GUNS & BIRDS. BUT WHEN I GOT HER HOME SHE WAS VERY SHY & SCARED... SHE SLOWLY COME OUT OF IT & I STARTED TRAINNING HER RIGHT AWAY. BUT SHE IS SYILL AFFRAID OF LOUD NOISES. YELLING, BANGING, GUNS. SHE SEAMS REALLY CONFIDENT IN THE YARD BUT WHEN WE GO IN THE FIELD SHE IS STILL NOT TO SURE OF HER SELF. SHE WILL WORK A FIELD PRETTY GOOD FOR WHAT I LIKE. SHE WILL TRACK DRAGED WINGS GOOD & SHE WILL FETCH REALLY WELL & LOVES THE WATER. I WANT TO GET HER ON SOME REAL BIRDS REAL BAD. HOW DO I BOOST HER CONFIDENCE & GET HER UNGUNSHY.

pixie bee

MH
Posts:4448

09/21/2009 4:35 PM
Ok,before we start can you not post in all capitals? Thanks. Please tell a little about your dog? How old is she? How long do you have her?How was she introduced to loud noises,gunfire,birds and by whom? How are you introducing her to loud noises and gunfire? Add any info you think may be necessary to help you. Francine

"Time with my dogs clears my mind, renews my faith, and lets me see the world as it is. My only regret loving dogs as I do, is the misery of their early departure." Robert G. Wehle

slim1013

Posts:4

09/21/2009 5:13 PM
Sorry... Ok. Bella was 1 year old in August. When she was a pup I started walking her with my other dogs ( Labs ) & working on her obedience. Later on I started taking a 22. with me to shoot a few rounds. Right away she would freeze & run back to me. I would ingnore her response & try it again later with the same results. So I told my Buddy who also as GSP's what was going on & he siad to start making lots of noise around the house ( banging pots, Slamming doors ect. ) Wich seemed to work around the house. So when she was about 6 months old I took her out with the other dogs to a pond & did some trianing & decided to pull the shot gun out to see how she would react. She froze in the water & would'nt come out. Ever since then she has been afraid of the gun. Even seeing the gun makes her scared & she is afraid of things that are new that I bring into the house like Elk horns ect. I was told to get some live birds & tie her off & get her excited & work the gun in from a distance... She is a really good dog & I believe she has great potential...

pixie bee

MH
Posts:4448

09/21/2009 7:27 PM
You said when you bought her she was around birds and guns. Do you know what age this was and how she was exposed? It is a tough to give advice about this over the internet. A pro would helpful to the dog. Without seeing the situation I would keep the dog away from gunfire for a few months. I would continue encouraging her hunting skills to improve and build her desire and drive for birds and other game. After a few months I would have someone be 200 yards away with a cap pistol and when the dog is chasing a bird or rabbit or someother game I would have this person fire of a round pointing away from the dog. But only fire upon my say so. I may change my mind if the dog does not seem as intense on the game as I would like to see in this situation.I would do nothing and not fire another round for a few days. I would repeat,w/o moving closer or changing the scenario every few days until there was absolutely no reaction. At this point I would move closer by no more than 50' at a time. Slow and easy wins the race. Always point the capgun away from the dog,only fire one shot and move closer when the dog is ready. Try to distingush between a startled reaction and a scared reaction. Seeking the help of a pro is strongly suggested but a good pro. Anyone can han a shingle up and get paid. Good luck with this one. There are some pros who visit this site maybe they will post on this thread.

"Time with my dogs clears my mind, renews my faith, and lets me see the world as it is. My only regret loving dogs as I do, is the misery of their early departure." Robert G. Wehle

TessaGA

Georgia

MH
Posts:2387

09/21/2009 7:46 PM
As Francine said, this is tough to judge without having been there, but it sounds like she was too close to the gun shots when she was not ready yet. At our training days, we proceed very cautiously with the pups or older first-timers. Starter pistols from afar, moving closer depending on how the dog reacts, and eventually moving on to shotguns. Puppies are trained in a field away from the shooting - they still hear it but from very far away.

To live without dogs would mean accepting a form of blindness. [Thomas McGuane]

snips

n.ga.

MH
Posts:413

09/21/2009 8:41 PM
You kinda did things backwards. Build preydrive first then start with crimp blanks. I would not shoot ANYTHING around this dog until shes birdcrazy. It may be too late, depends on the dogs desire.

brenda

FrancisMcGee User is Offline

Ann Arbor, MI

MH
Posts:114

09/22/2009 6:02 AM
My suggestion would be to get professional help before going any further with her training around guns. There are many good dogs that have been exposed to the gun too early and cannot be broken of being gunshy. Please be aware that this is not the dogs fault...she was probably exposed to the gun too early and under less than ideal conditions. Find your nearest gundog trainer and very clearly explain the situation with your dog. Let them help you...very, very slowly by getting her excited about birds and building her prey drive.

Splat

Illinois (Northern)

MH
Posts:3130

09/22/2009 8:37 AM
I am by no means an expert on this at all...I don't even hunt.... However I no what you mean by the dog being shy at first....For the first week at least our pup was so nervous he wouldn't even explorer the house and by no means was he going into the barn! It has been 3 weeks and he is just now going into the barn by himself to explore.... As far as the gun shots I agree with everyone on starting with the cap guns and at a distance from the dog...that was suggested to me and it worked great...though yours is a year old and mine is just going on 3 months...We actually have lots of gun fire and firework type things around our area so from day one ours has heard that off in the distance and he used to kind of run from it but now he ignores it...my husband does cowboy mounted shooting so when he went out to shoot I kept our pup at a distance but now he can be right at the arena with the guns going off and he is good...I know the sound isn't as load as a real shot cuz they use a type of blank for it (it's a .45 cal).... I wish you good luck...sounds like you need to get a fresh start on it and start from the begining...

slim1013

Posts:4

09/22/2009 8:47 AM
Thanks a lot... The advice is sound & I have had the same thoughts. She has a good hunting drive. I took her out last night & she did very well... I know a pro named Tom Kosmack ( TAK's GSPs ) He siad he could fix her but I can not afford the money right now.... When I picked her up it was at a gun trial in vernal Utah. She came from a guy down in Cedar City UT. I think..... I have decided to focus on building her confidence in the field more & then go from there... Another thing I noticed last night is that she is not pointing as much as she use to.. Instead she is chasing the game...????

Texas Belle User is Offline

Austin, TX

MH
Posts:7835

09/23/2009 8:10 PM
Take heed of what snips says. She is an expert and has some great hunting dogs. You couldn't get better advice. To build confidence in your dog take her lots of places, expose her to new situations, play fun games with her, work her on birds, etc. I play tug with my dogs to build confidence (but they also know take it and drop, so when we play tug I am in control of the game). I also used agility and flyball to build confidence. Anything the dog loves to do will help with this. Don't worry about the details right now, let her have some fun with birds. Leave the gun at home for now and let her chase until she is bird crazy.

Bev Quarles, the Pointer Sisters (Belle and Halo), the Outlaw GSP (Johnny Ringo) and the little Princess (Fauna) Yellow Rose GSPs "A dog has the soul of a philosopher." - Plato

snips

n.ga.

MH
Posts:413

09/23/2009 9:46 PM
Tom knows his stuff, might not hurt to pay him for some sessions with your dog, at least enough to get her going.

brenda

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