The American Beagler Forum

I found a female that is breed really nice and I no none of the dogs in her ped are gun shy she hunts good do you think it well be ok to raise pups out of her or is it a waste of time you dont see many hounds breed the way she is thans for any info

I don't think it would hurt to breed to her just because she is gun shy! I think as long as you shoot around a pup when they are young they will be fine there is no telling how many pup are being gunned over that have gun shy parents

Ya thats what I thought as well buy I read a article in better beagling one time and this guy said he breed to one and all of the pups ended up being the same way he said they hunted great and could lock on a rabbit great had all the tools but were gun shy its hard to believe it could be genetic

There is a fine line between a dog that is bold and friendly but gunshy and a shy timid dog that is gunshy and I believe that timid dogs can pass on that trait , but most times I believe gunshyness is just a personality trait. I've seen littermates where one was scared of a gun and another mate wasn't. Same as a house dog that is scared of a thunderstorm. Shoot around them plenty around their kennels when you can, where they feel most comfortable frequently when they're young and when they get older they'll be no surprises. thats my take on it. Socialization is the best training anyone ever does for their hounds.

I know a very popular line from a very popular breeder that produced people shy dogs. I wouldn't breed to a female that was people shy from this line (or any line). Gun shy, however, could in some cases be brought on by the owner/handler. IMO

sgc wrote:Gun shy, however, could in some cases be brought on by the owner/handler. IMO

I agree that it could be and may have been caused by a handler. But she would have to really be something special in the field for me to use her. If it's handler induced you should be able to fix it.

If you can't fix it fix her and find another.

I say find one that is bred really nice and runs really nice. Don't breed to her just because she is bred up good. There is a lot of dogs bred up good. Find one that runs good also. She would have to be a awful good runner before I would gamble on breeding her.

Brad, You mentioned her pedigree, the fact that she is bred well and that she hunts. You never mentioned wether she is a nice running dog. You may have answered your own question. If she is an average running dog and gun shy personally I wouldn't breed her. On the other hand if she is a dog that wows you by how she runs a rabbit and is a really nice hunting dog but gun shy then I would breed her. Don't breed by pedigree. It is hard enough getting good pups from two really nice dogs what do you think are the chances of getting really nice pups from maybe a good sire and just and average or below average bitch that is gun shy?...Just my thoughts. You can always go out and buy a really nice pup out of quality parents and it may still be cheaper then raising a litter, worming, shots AKC registration and hard work......Just my thoughts.....DH

Shyness can be genetic, how the dog was brought up or a combination ofboth. There are so many other dogs you could breed, why ever breed one with a major fault, with the hope it won't pass to the pups?

Keith

Thanks for the info I shot around her today and she seemed fine to me came in for a couple min then when back to hunting

whats her pedigree look like Brad

To me people makes a dog gun shy shooting to early on it. I'm always cautions about it.

Shy dogs produce shy dogs.

Do you mean shy towards people or just gun shy she is out going around people not a shy bone in her

I dont see how a dog that is out going and not shy and loves affection can make her pups shy she hunts great and good spead I think its how she brought up I have had shy dogs and shes not shy toward people