Guns and Dogs

Neither of my Boxers care at all if I am cleaning my guns. Well other than expressing the time would be better spent playing with them. Now neither have ever been around when I shot.

Not at all what I thought you were going to say. I have a beagle and if she sees me get out a gun she gets excited but that is because she thinks we are going out, which is true most of the time.

My old Dachshund never went out with me when I had guns. She became a house dog before I reached ownership age. Some dogs handle smaller calibers well if given time to acclimate. Take em squirrel hunting (.22LR) with ya, and that'll get em used to it more.

Leave a gun where they sleep and see what happens. Or just leave one laying around. They'll get used to it.

My Ex girlfriend has a pit bull and whenever it would see my 1911, it would go crazy and try to take it out of my hand and everything, the dog never had been around guns before. I still cant figure that one out.

I have two Wiemaraners and one of them came from a troubled home where he was getting shot at the night he came to live with me permanantly(destroyed the kitchen floor, brand new leather sofa and God knows what else). They both did great in the field first time out until the guns went off. Then the Fat one (troubled home one) headed straight back to the truck (his safe place) and the skinny one followed right behind. Dogs do tend to learn from each other and when one is scared the other thinks that he must have a good reason and follows suit. I have a brand new Great Dane puppy and she watches her older brothers very closely, so be very careful. Try to establish early on an association with the noise and good things. ie setting off a starter pistol before dinner. Read some books on the subject. That is about all the help I have to offer.

I have a lab mix that loves hunting. Anytime I get my shotgun out he runs to the door ready to go. He loves gun fire, if he is off doing his doggie exploring I just shoot my shotgun in the air and he comes running to see if I shot anything.
When I got him at 8 wks I had my girlfriend hold him and cover his ears while I shot. Eventually he got to the point where he would sit beside me while I shot my 40 and AR. I just started taking him hunting and he soon discovered that the magic loud stick made birds fall to the ground. Its all about the initial experiences and not scaring them.

When they are feeding fire blanks or a cap gun in the next room or far enough away so that it doesn't scare them. Do these several days in a row before you expose them to hunting.

I have American Bulldogs ( big guys and girls ) they use to freak out when i took out my
guns mostly the rifles, what i did to try to ease the problem was to simply give them treats while cleaning or handeling the firearms.Laying the guns down on the floor sometimes right next to what ever treat i had ,after a couple of times they just seem to get use to it. They love the laser's

I just read an article in DU magazine that said to ease them into it.

When I got him at 8 wks I had my girlfriend hold him and cover his ears while I shot.

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Something like this would be a good start. I would add positive reinforcement in (petting, treats, etc.) That being said, some dogs will just not care to begin with. Why take chances, though? It is a lot harder to get rid of gun shyness than to prevent it to begin with.

The power of "association"...

I used to train coon hounds, this is how I kept them from being gun shy. Works on mules and horses too...with different food of course.

Start small...22 shorts or CB's. Fire a shot, give em a bite and some petting (repeat)

Associate the guns and/or the BANG! with something they enjoy....food, petting, play...whatever.

I have a golden who just looks at me and lays back down......

One of my shepherd mixes loves to sniff the end of the barrel.....she's got no idea what it is.....

Sad, cute, & funny all at the same time.

My old girl Peanut a Lab mix would shake when ever I brought out a gun. She crossed the rainbow bridge and my new pup Izzie sniffs them when I bring one home. Doesn't bother her a bit.

I ain't no hunter...

and I didn't sleep in a Holiday Inn last night, but I was hanging 'round the gun shop the other day, when the question was raised 'bout how one tells who loves you more-your dog or your wife?

Best they could come up with was to lock both of 'em in the trunk for a few hours, then see which one was happiest to see you when you let 'em out!

Hope this helps...

LMAO....I'd be in the dog house for sure.

I have a Border Collie named Janis Joplin. She is my constant companion and we run several times a week and she accompanies me fishing and just about everywhere else I go. She is about 10 yrs old now and loves to go to the range. She is not phased by anything but it is nothing I seem to have done. I trust her to not be on a leash when we run because she likes to stop and check things out and always catches up with me after investigating.

At the range she lays down under the bench and stays close but never flinches. The gunfire doesn't disturb her one bit. When the range goes cold she accomanies me to check out the target. One other couple always bring their beagle there and they visit for a few minutes and then lay down under their respective benches.

I don't know what to suggest to break a dog in. We can back our vehicles up to our benches at the gun club I belong to and I started off letting her sit in the car with the windows cracked while I practiced. She would jump out given the opportunity so I then hooked a leash to the pole next to the bench and that works well for us now.

My Rat Terrier didn't care about guns until he took a bird-shot sting in the butt while killing one of a neighbor's chickens. My dog got better than he actually deserved, and remembers the lesson well by hiding in his igloo now whenever he hears gunfire. Smart dog.

I worked it out with the neighbor by offering to pay for the chicken (declined), and telling him that if he has to shoot at my dog again, drop him, because I don't want a half-blown-up dog bleeding-out on my porch upsetting the kids.

This understanding has had me and the neighbor on excellent terms ever since... and the dog, so far, is cooperating fully also...

Les

Yeah....

Put the wife out to go potty for an hour in the cold....vs the dog, and see who is happier to see you.

I once had a schnauzer that we got at 6 weeks and she was deathly afraid of guns. The other schnauzer we had was ok with guns. It's hard to figure why some are freaked out by the noise, smell and who knows what.

It's hard to figure why some are freaked out by the noise, smell and who knows what.

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"Association"...she associated the guns with something that was unpleasant for her...usually its noise and not always firing the guns. I have seen dogs ( a young pup...Brittany Spaniel) head for the next county just because somebody worked the the action on a pump shotgun (empty gun)...the dog had not yet been exposed to gunfire but that sound reminded her of something...something bad.

Sensitive ears...you gotta work up to things with them. What is not all that loud to you can be completely "mind boggling" to a canine.

I've never seen a lab that was gun shy but have seen the weimaraners that could not be around guns.
My present lab sits in front of the bench and has to be sent off, he has very poor hearing and is in his twilight yrs but never has flinched under the gun and knows when one comes out there might be work to do.