GUN SHY HELP

[Smoke them Bunnys]

Anybody out there know of anything i can do before i waste 100.19. She is registered with 20 fc's in her pedigree thought about breeding her but dont want pups to turn out like her. When i growing up never had problem with gun shy dogs of corse we practiced shooting in the garden right front the kennels.Thought about leashing to me start out with 22 praising her every time shot working my way up to the 12ga. What do you all think or is there something else i could try. HELP

[Anderson Upland Beagles]

take her to the gun club tie her up away from the shooters after a while she get use to it take days it works .I use 22 blanks in ruger single six when i run when there pups and shot over them as the rabbit crosses the path .dont baby pet her after the shot ruff her up .be easy on rough dog and be rough on soft dog

[wildhare2]

If you can shoot in your back yard you may try this. When you feed take a 22 and shoot right as she is starting to eat. If she refuses to eat, take the food. Try again the next day and usually by the 3rd day without food, she will eat. Just work your way up to bigger calibers. I know this may sound a little weird, but it does work.

[JovanJ]

Smoke them Bunnies the best way ive experienced would be to shoot a 22 around them and make em comfortable with each shot have some pieces of hot dog or something and theyll be focused on the eating then the shots fired

[beaglerun]

I can't fire a gun where I live, but I can fire firecrackers. I have a female that I had been shooting over since June of this year with no problems. She came into her first heat cycle in September and hasn't been the same since. She is now gun shy.

I am going to start firing fire crackers at meal time, and as I take her for walks. I am hoping she grows out of it. I hate to give up on a dog that was showing so much talent.

[J. JUDE]

If you can shoot in your back yard you may try this. When you feed take a 22 and shoot right as she is starting to eat. If she refuses to eat, take the food. Try again the next day and usually by the 3rd day without food, she will eat. Just work your way up to bigger calibers. I know this may sound a little weird, but it does work.

I agree. JAMIE,

[Smoke them Bunnys]

Thanks guys its really apprecatied.

[uplander44]

Hi Smoke:
One common problem that most people have is that they worry too much about the dog being gun shy.Most beagles when starting to run rabbits are not affected by the shot of the gun when the rabbit is shot well in front of them.Especially if they are running with other dogs.I like to use the .410 bore for young dogs because it is not as loud as a 12 ga.Also keep in mind it is best not to fire in the general direction of the dog-as this is the way the shot will sound the loudest because of the muzzle pointing in their direction to the dog as it does for humans.One other important point is it is far better to have the dogs mind on something or anything when shots are fired.Recently A good hunting buddy of mine just got a good female back from a guy because he said she was gun shy,well we found out that over the last year all he has done is run her and she is doing very well,then because he was ready to start hunting her he took just her out in a field and fired a 12ga.over her and scared her back all the way to the truck.My point is that if he would have just run her with some other hounds and shot rabbits she probably would have been OK.And finally I have broke a few that were really scared bad by taking them to my local trap range and letting them hear the shots.the first time I stay with them in their kennel and talk to the dog while the shots are being fired,then the next time I leave him or her and fire a round or two myself,and the third trip I get the dog out on a lead and walk them around and as I walk I get closer to the firing line.This has never failed to work for me.I hope this helps---------------------------------Vic

[Smoke them Bunnys]

This dog was running a rabbit with other dogs and as soon as the gun went off she was out of there thought she was going hang her self getting though the fence never seen nothing like it i have had them stop and look at you then keep going but nothing like this she was scared sh**less took me hr. to catch her. Thanks

[wvduece]

what i have always done n it has worked for several years n i watched my dad do it when i was a yungen n thats been many years ago take the young pups that just started running with other dogs or by theirself let the pup be running wide open barking every breath n some distance from us shoot pistol or shotgun but make shure they are like a 100 yards or farther away from you then next time ya take them out keep doiung same thing till they are close to ya usually by the time they are close the shot wont bother them this has worked for me on lots of young pups some times we shot around the house all the time at hawks or stray dogs or just shooting to be shooting i rember my dad buying 22 shells n would have to hide them from me n my brother or we would shoot all of them at rocks or cans my dad wouldnt buy us a whole box of shotgun shells at one time just buy 6 or 7 cause me n my lil bro would shoot them at bout anything lol nuff said i had fun growing up mite write a book someday lol the pups just grew up around lots of shooting

[catfish hunter]

I thought I had gun shy dogs this year until I ran them w/ someone else's pack then they came around just fine

[Bev]

This is just my opinion, but the worst thing to do is shoot a gun around a dog when it's not expecting it. Can you imagine if you had your mind all set on a bite of steak and someone fired a gun into the air next to you? I'd jump under a truck, too. Trying to desensitize them to the element of surprise is the wrong way to go about it. If they weren't guyshy before, you can certainly make them that way. I know many of you will disagree with me on this, lol.

My big Redd Man dog was gun-lusty. He LOVED the gunshot in the field. If he saw a gun in your hand he went nutso to go. This same dog would crawl up my shirt at the first clap of thunder. Biggest wuss about thunder as I've ever seen. Loud noises in the kennel wouldn't help a dog with this kind of psyche. The dog should only be shot around when the circumstances warrant it, i.e. in an actual hunting situation. Newbies will soon learn from the other hounds that the only time they will hear that sound, there's a rabbit to show for it. Pop = rabbit, and it only happens in the field.

For the dog that comes back after the first one or two times the gun is fired, ignore the dog. Do not speak to it, do not pet it, do not put it in the truck. This is a form of reward that will reinforce that behavior. Just go on about your business as if nothing's wrong, and more than likely the dog will fall back into the pack. Too many people give up too quickly, or deem a dog gunshy too soon. Give 'em a chance to adjust under the proper conditions.

[beaglerun]

Bev,

Thanks for the encouragement. I posted a reply to this topic earlier. I was just thinking today about what could have happened to my female, and what I was going to do about it. Your post gave me hope to keep working with her.

Thanks,

BeagleRun

[Bev]

I'm glad it helped. If this dog was gunned before with no problem, she's not "gunshy." You are probably correct in assuming something happened to scare the snot out of her. Maybe your neighbor dropped a piano out of the window just as she was stepping out of her box (lol, not really, but who knows?). The city is a swarming place of potential loud, unexpected noises. My gundogs have always hated the 4th of July. They know "that noise ain't right" and they shouldn't be hearing that right now.

Keep taking your female to the woods with seasoned dogs. I'd wager money that after a while she will get tired of being ignored at your feet and get back up on her game.

[DaManBeagles]

I purchased a young dogs years ago that was raised in a barn till she was 6 months old. She was scared of every sound and every one!

But an old SPO Houndsman showed me the light it is Rock and Roll!
Take an old radio find the hardest Rock and Roll station that you can find and turn it up!

I do believe random gun fire and fire works is a BAD THING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


This worked for me !

DaManBeagles
Joel and Joe Roseberry
Terre Haute In