Dogs have better hearing and I can't stand shooting anything besides .22lr or shotguns without ears, what should I expect out of my dog?

I introduced her to .22lr when she was 4 months old (she's 10 months now) and she was cool with it and this 4th of july was proof, she didn't really even bat an eye at the fireworks.

But yesterday I took her on her first shooting trip and she seemed OK with high caliber rounds if they where shot every now and then but when the rapid fire rifles where pulled out, she would stay by me cause she's just an awesome dog, but I could tell she didn't like it one bit.

What do you guys think?
Was it too much  to expect from the get go?
Shooting a shotgun at birds every so many minutes is one thing, 30 rounds rapid fire from an AK or an AR is another.

Depends on the dog, My male lab loves gunshots, he starts looking for quail as soon as he sees a gun. My female lab hates guns. She sees me pull out a gun and she hides in the corner. She is a wreck when foreworks go off.

ETA: my buddy had what he thought was a good bird dog. He was decent with the every couple of minutes shooting. We got into some bandtail pigeons and the shooting was fast and furious. Went through a box of shells every few minutes and that dog nearly tore the side of the truck off trying to get inside away from the gunshots.

So your male lab loves rapidfire AR and AK's or just loves all gunshots?

I know that alot of labs like mine love guns, I'm just trying to gauge if a rapidfire centerfire cartridge is too much to expect?

My Great Dane runs when you fart loud enough, I'd hate see what happens when a gun goes off.

I don't really know, but in my experience some dogs it doesn't seem to bother, and others it just does.

I've had dogs that never seemed to care about shooting at all. A couple dogs that would get really excited when they heard you shoot because they assumed there was a bird or something to be had on the ground somewhere.

Then I had one that hated lot noise. If you walked out the door with a long gun, he would immediately tuck his tail in and go hide.

He hated fireworks too. While some dogs would bark at fireworks in the distance, if they were big ones he would go hide, same with thunderstorms.

Quoted: My Great Dane runs when you fart loud enough, I'd hate see what happens when a gun goes off.

Ya I worked on off leash training right away with my pup.
Being able to have her roam free but stay near me no matter the distraction was one of my biggest reasons for getting a dog.

I must say it was time well spent.

My weimaraner isn't phased by anything, rifle, pistol, shotgun, or otherwise.

She knows when she sees me loading long guns into the truck that she gets to take a ride. So i guess you could say she likes guns.

Quoted: Dogs have better hearing and I can't stand shooting anything besides .22lr or shotguns without ears, what should I expect out of my dog? I introduced her to .22lr when she was 4 months old (she's 10 months now) and she was cool with it and this 4th of july was proof, she didn't really even bat an eye at the fireworks. But yesterday I took her on her first shooting trip and she seemed OK with high caliber rounds if they where shot every now and then but when the rapid fire rifles where pulled out, she would stay by me cause she's just an awesome dog, but I could tell she didn't like it one bit. What do you guys think? Was it too much  to expect from the get go? Shooting a shotgun at birds every so many minutes is one thing, 30 rounds rapid fire from an AK or an AR is another.

I had a Siberian who I took to the range.  I made a run for her on the truck and made sure she had water, and then the 6 of us got to it.  Shot trap, rapid fire with handguns, and fired a bunch of rifles, not to mention all the other people on the range doing the same.  She seemed fine, no freak out, no hiding under the truck, she just was happy to see all these people.  I miss that dog.

If your dog seems the skittish type, I'd start little and slow and reward them after every shot.

I have had two dogs that didn't min gunfire at all.  A pure bred beagle and a beagle spaniel mix.  The dog I have now (Jack Russel) hate gunfire.  She hides under our bed if I even get a rifle out of my safe!

My male black lab loves guns! He gets excited when I take one out. He will try to play with me and lick me all over while I shoot my FAL.

My other dog is terrified of them. She runs away at the mere sight of them. When she actually hears a gunshot, she will run and hide, and it takes a lot of coaxing to get her out.

 I have had the same experience.  I had 2 Golden Retreivers, the male LOVED guns, when I brought one out he would be all excited and run around looking for birds.  His sister on the other hand would run away when she saw a gun, if there were fireworks going off or thunder she would either hide in our bed or the bathtub, they terrified her.  They were both raised the same so I think a big part of it is the dogs personnality, some like it and some don't.  

 I'm sure that a hunting dog trainer could give good advice.

 I have the same issue with 2 of my horses.  One does not mind gunfire, fireworks, or general loud 'bang or boom' type noise.  The other is terrified of any loud noise.

My dogs grew up with me shooting all the time & have no problem. The smarter one will sit a few yards behind me when I shoot. The dumber one wants to go see what I am shooting.

Very good unintentional training, my dogs don't get scared in T-storms.

Downside: The dogs are fairly deaf at age 12.

BTW, my dogs get all excited when the long gun cases come out too. They like tactical black.

I don't think the dog being afraid of rapid ar gunfire will really prove to be a problem when you expect her to perform when hunting.  However, if it's something you're concerned with, try feeding her as a buddy fires off the rapid rounds with the ar. She should learn to associate the noise with something pleasurable like food.

What about the hearing loss you are potentially exposing your dog to?

Our labs were taken to a field trial event as pups and introduced to birds and gunfire. Since then they get all excited whenever they see shotguns.

But, exposing their sensitive ears to centerfire rifles can't be a good thing. I wouldn't do that.

My border collie has never heard a gun fire and used to hid when I brought one out , even a pellet pistol.
 Five years later she will at least stay in the same room with them , but still has not heard one go off.

 She hates fire works and thinks the air compresser is the debbil

My female black lab loved to dove hunt with me and was never bothered by loud gunshots.  In fact, she'd get really excited when I got my shotgun out...she knew we were going hunting!  The noise of the blasts didn't faze her.

HH

There was a yellow lab at the black rifle convention way back when, and it didn't mind all the MGs one bit. At one point it was laying there on the ground with links landing all around it. My self and my ex-GF asked the owner if the dog could hear anymore, and he said that the dog seems to be able to hear fine.

What did you say?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Ben J. Character
Veterinarian
Special to ESPNOutdoors.com

 
While they love the hunt, sporting dogs' hearing can suffer from repeated exposure to the gun blasts that take place during upland bird or waterfowl hunting.

Ever wondered about those dog whistles that don't make any sound? Do they really work, and if so, how do they work?

They do work, and it's because dogs' hearing is different from ours. Those whistles make a shrill that is at a higher pitch than the human ear can hear well, but that can be heard by the canine ear.

Hearing is an important part of a sporting dog's ability to work as they receive voice commands and instructions from the trainer and or hunter. Damage to hearing can affect performance by limiting a dog's ability to respond to commands and awareness of game in the area.

We know that chronic exposure to loud noises, such as gun blasts, can injure the sensitive workings of the inner ear, damaging hearing. It is not uncommon for retrievers to be located very close to gunfire while afield as they cue off us to locate and retrieve birds. Boats and blinds are generally tight quarters placing our dog's hearing in potentially damaging proximity to gun noise.

Or consider the bird dog that works a bird that holds tight to its cover. You might be almost directly on top of your dog before that bird flushes, placing your dog dangerously close to the muzzle blast.

Because of this, many knowledgeable owners and trainers have concerns about the their dog's hearing. Even without considering the differences in human and dog hearing levels, it seems reasonable to question that if we should use ear muffling inserts or other devices to limit our exposure to gun blasts, is our dog's hearing being damaged also?

To determine what, if any, effects the environment of duck hunting has on hearing in retrievers, Mississippi State University conducted research into the concern. In their study, they tested Labrador retrievers that were used for duck hunting against pet Labradors whom had never been shot over.

There are many reasons that the hearing of dogs might degenerate. Typically, age itself can decrease hearing capacity as the physical structures in the inner ear degrade over time. Chronic exposure to some drugs can also lead to low-grade hearing problems, and in some cases complete deafness. Specifically, some ear preparations used to treat infections can damage hearing if used long-term or if they enter the middle or inner ear through a busted eardrum.

After these natural and commonly acquired causes for hearing loss were taken into consideration, the results from the study showed that the Labradors chronically exposed to gun blasts through routine duck hunting did in fact have a decrease in their hearing responses. Through testing of brain wave response to specific noise levels, these Labradors showed a three-fold decrease in ability to hear soft noises. Based on testing results, these hunting Labradors were not able to hear the whisper of a human voice.

As we learn more about this problem, hopefully we will be able institute methods to prevent hearing damage before it occurs.

I'm not sure some of you actually read the body of post.

She's fine around guns, its just rapid fire center fire firearm is bothersome to her.

She'll stay by my side but if I was to start walking away from the rapid firing, she's more then happy to move away from it.

.22lr and slow shot centerfire she seems to be OK.

Mutt Muffs FTW!

My pup wears 'em when I'm at the race track (motorcycle road racing).

www.safeandsoundpets.com/index.html

Not my pup, just an image off the website...

I had a spaniel who loved to sit in a blind with 3 or 4 guys simulating rapid fire.

Late in life he became distressed during thunderstorms. He was very protective of my wife, and I think he picked up on her vibes.

OP I'm assuming you have a bird dog. She might associate the occasional shots with hunting. The rapid fire is a different experience and she doesn't have any positive associations. Could be hurting her ears as well. If there were berms around the noise could be bouncing back at her.