Breed is a Pudel Pointer.  Got him at 7 weeks and Santa delivered him to the kiddos on Christmas day 2011.  Excellent dog and great with the kids and family.  Excellent retrieving and pointing skills (pointing at 2 months old!), loves the water.  I have been training him all summer and have been very pleased with what he can do.  That was until it was time to introduce him to loud noises.  While he was a pup, I would bang two metal pots during feeding and it didn't bother him a bit.  Continued this throughout the summer.  Purchased a .22 blank pistol to intorduce the gun sound to him.  Worked him on some pigeons to get him going.  When I released the bird launcher and the pigeon (with flight feathers removed) flew out, I fired the pistol.  Dog did what he was supposed to do, fetched it and brought it back to me.  Did this 3 more times.  On the 5th time, right after I fired the pistol, he halted, did not make the retrieve, and ran all the way back to the truck, jumped in the back and I had to pull him out to do anything.  Scared the shit outta him.  Tried again a week later and he immediately did not want to hunt once the pistol was fired.  I made the breeder aware of this, and of course he is tore up about it, wants to give me another dog (and keep this one) but I am no situation to take another dog.

Any ideas on what I can do to help fix this?  Im afraid it won't get better.  I mainly hunt ducks.

Thanks!

I trained my GSP @ 8 weeks by using a cap gun while we played fetch, and a couple weeks in, took him camping and used some real firearms.

He goes absolutely henshit when he sees a firearm in my hand, because he knows it's all about fun.


You're on a tightrope here, so take your time and start from scratch.


Cap gun from Walmart
Use it while playing fetch and when you feed
Give treats after he retrieves.

I'd play it slow, and judge by how the dog reacts - hopefully he's not shy around the cap gun.

When it's time to get to real firearms, bring out that 22 blank again, but have the dog 30yds away or so playing with your kids/wife/helper, and fire the blank.
Watch for the reaction, but have your helper act like nothing happened, or even treat the dog shortly after the blank is fired.

Gradually work your way in closer to the dog with the blank gun over a series of days to a week.

When you get the dog accustomed to shooting the blank near him as he fetches, then resume the process with your helper from 30 yds away using a louder caliber.

This is the general process - I'd suggest not trying to rush it...a month to get a dog used to guns again beats the hell out of having a gunshy dog



ETA: you're trying to get a dog who now associates gunfire with fear to associate it with play and happiness
whether that be fetching a ball, dead bird, rope toy, whatever...use his favorite toy or activity and let him get used to the pattern of fun playtime and the crack of a cap gun or firearm


Good luck, but I believe fully you can turn him around

It sounds like you were doing everything right, and there is some good advice above

IMO, make it a positive (re fun) experience, and the dog should be just fine.  But like us humans, each has a quirk, and that might be its "thing".  Patience and reward is key.

I 2nd the "fun experience" with loud noises.  Maybe have someone fire them blank gun outside during feeding
and YOU have "a could care less attitude". Kepp this up for a while.

I trained my GSP by bringing her to the skeet fields when I shot. Tied her to the fence and literally shot
100's of rounds (with others) on the field. No issues untill we went hunting and i fired over her at a
pheasant. She was like WTF was THAT???  Never thought of there being a difference between shooting
near her VS over her.  We got through it - and Im sure you will to.

my g/f has a 8 month pit/lab mix (i could prob say lab only cause the pit u just see alittle in his head).  anywho, he was her bird dog for YEARS.  well she stopped going for 2 seasons and the dog is now 8.  we went camping with her dog and my at the time 7 month old pit.  we shot her .22 at some make shift targets.  my pit looked at my like "why is the stick making alot of noise"  her dog, jammed the hell out, and jumped through the driver side window, and was trying to hide between the gas/brake pedal and the firewall.  

I had a gunshy dog and it was a pain right in the balls.

It was a coondog though so the method was different.

The only way I fixed him was to tie him up at the tree and then shoot the coon, after about 6 he learned that gunshot means a coon is going to fall in front of him right directly, and I gave him extra time to really shake the hell out of it. Now in the woods if I shoot the .22 he immediately looks up.

Still hates pistols and centerfires though, I think they hurt his ears, he goes and waits in the truck if I start shooting.

I think you need to do something similar with your bird dog, just go out with another persons dog and actually drop some birds for it, if it enjoys retrieving it should fix the dog.

Dump the 22 pistol the crack is whats scaring him.

Find someone with a 20ga shotgun and be about 50-60 yards away.

The boom is better for dog than the crack if the dog is scared.

I had an issue with one of my shorthairs with that after he got use to the boom the crack didn't bother him. Now i just use a 20ga to train all my dogs.

My mother used to take the dogs for schutzhund training to the gun range. Start far away to where you can hear the shots going off. Then move closer, and closer. Only moving after said dog is comfortable with the sounds. Pretty much when the sounds happen, they look to you for a reaction. You ignoring the sounds/their reaction is a good thing, and keep going from there. They learn that the sound isn't a bad thing/nothing to be afraid of and look to you for direction. After they're used to it, then you work on the sound association(ie - fetching birds/beer/ect)

My dad took my grandmas dog and his 12 gauge and stepped on her leash and went threw a box of bird rounds at a target in front of him and the dog cured the dog of her being gun shy.

(Granted before people say he's an asshole for doing this my grandpa asked him to because she wouldn't do anything when a gun was out)

In addition to having a bird thrower and gun at a distance from dog and gradually moving closer, finding someone with a dog that isn't shy, and letting pup watch another dog work off the gun can help. I'll also lay gun on floor next to bowl at feeding time to associate it with something good.

Go to the skeet range.  In the parking lot get excited in a positive way when you hear gun shots.  Lots of praise and treats every time a gun goes off.  Move closer and closer with the same reaction.  The moment your pup has a bad reaction give no more attention...do not comfort.  Simply stand there, if your pup settles down then, keep getting closer, if not back off to the distance your pup was ok with.  This may take multiple outing to get your dog to the point where you can shoot over her.

Is he a liberal dog?

Some good advise here, I'm lucky with my Lab, got him from the Humane Society here, shot a 22 a few times and then with a 20ga and then finally my 12ga, no flinch he just starts looking for something.

Update time!!!

There was a point where I just about gave up.  I tried many methods mentioned in this thread in order to help my Pudelpointer through the gunshyness; he even hated the duck calls.  I talked with a fellow pudlepointer owner who experienced the same symptoms in his, and his simple solution was to keep taking them hunting and they will figure it out.

Well, we are almost a full month into our duck season, and we have been out 4 times.  I am beyond impressed with him and his abiliity.  He still hates the guns and calls, but has learned to tolerate them, because he knows the loud noises mean ducks for him (if I can hit em that is).  He still has a way to go before he's spot on, but damn am I impressed.  He sits with me in the blind, very well mannered and bolts into the water once the ducks splash down.  Now I just gotta get him to start looking skyward!

It may not be perfect, but for the hunting I do, it works and keeps me out of the water!

Congrades !!!

Good reads for me! I just got a lab puppy (it's 12 weeks old now) and I want to train him to bird-dog for me. I haven't got it around guns yet but I noticed it looks up at birds flying over - it's been doing that ever since I got it. Good luck OP

I have a 12 week old one too. I have worked with him a bit with the .22.

I actually need to have another session soon.

...

This is the first "bird dog" I've trained. I did the whole loud noise thing while feeding and eventually got some coturnix quail and kept at the house. I then started playing with the dog and the quail and just shooting my pellet gun. You could see her drive for birds was phenomenal. After several times doing that I moved up to a .410 about 30 yards away and from there moved up. Now if she hears a gunshot or firework she is wondering where the birds are. I think alot of getting a dog started is not overdoing it when your introducing them. I'm not a professional trainer but have a friend that's a breeder and when she teaches retrieving she will only toss whatever item 3 times then she is done.

I did a couple of things with my hunting dog.  I loaded 12 ga. shells with primers only and took him out with both pigeons and retrieving dummies and a helper.  Dog was way more interested in the birds and dummies than he was worried about the noise.  He got used to noise and the guns and had fun retrieving also.   I can't get out of the house now with a gun in my  hand without him racing me to the truck.

When he was a little older and more used to the noise I took him to the trap club.  Our trap club has 18 traps, normally only 3-4 traps in the middle of the range are in use.  I took him to the far end of the club - maybe 5 or 6 fields away from the fields in use and played fetch with him.  When he was accustomed to the noise, we moved up a field or 2.  If you do the trap club thing - don't take him to an active field and let him sit behind the line.  Too much noise and confusion.  Work him several fields away and work slowly up to the more active fields.

I lave a lab/pointer mix though that is terrified by gun noise.  He seems to be okay hunting now, but load noises around the house, fireworks, anything like that and he is a quivering bowl of scared.  One of his first times out duck hunting we jumped a creek at first light.  First shot and jake took off for the car.  It was parked at the owners place, so I called them on my cell phone - sure enough he was back at the truck and as far under it as he could get.  Now that he is a bit older he's fine.  He's been on many hunts and is used to the guns.

My GSP is afraid of loud noises, e.g. gunfire, fireworks, thunder.  But he'll walk right next to a Paslode nailer while it's in operation and never react to it.

One of the defining moments was when we were outside getting ready to go in the house and lightning struck very close.  It was like a flashbulb going off in our eyes.  Then the immediate thunderclap.  For the next two hours the dog wouldn't go near me even if I had his favorite treat or toy.  He exhibited behavior that suggested he was afraid of me because I was the one who scared him.  So...I've got a dog who thinks I am God.  Not sure where to go from here other than to glean good ideas from this thread.

Anytime my dogs see a gun they go nuts, They hate the sound and the sight of it.

Good luck with the dogs because I never could get mind used to guns (albeit I'm a poor trainer LOL)

http://www.gundogsupply.com/sws-gun-shy.html

http://www.sportdog.com/hunting-training-tips/go-slow-when-introducing-a-dog-to-gunfire

http://www.ducks.org/Hunting/Retriever-Training/Overcoming-a-Fear-of-Gunfire

UPDATE:

I took the now 2 year old GSP pheasant hunting for his first time.  The first two days were a disaster.  Dog was terrified of gunfire and a couple of times he ran back to the truck, one of them was a quarter mile sprint.  He refused to hunt and when he wasn't cowering, he stood right beside me with his tail between his legs.  

Fortunately we knocked down some birds that stayed alive long enough for my dog to get his mouth on them.  That helped.  Then I teased him with a wing and fired the shotgun at the same time and he didn't run.  Within a few days, the dog went from Zero to Hero.  He started running after the flushed birds instead of running in the opposite direction.  By the end of the week, he was hunting totally unaffected by the gunfire.  Never seen such a quick change in a dog's behavior!