Hearing Protection for Dogs

[JustinJ]

Occasionally when shooting at a friend's land I bring my heeler, Samson. Unfortunately Samson feels it his duty to be at my side at all times so it becomes hard to keep him away when shooting. With a can he likes to run after the bullets, I think the whiz sound excites him, which causes him to run out in front of the barrel.

Anyways, i've read and seen ads for Dog Ear muffs. Anybody ever try them? I'm curious how well they work with pointy ears like his. I had the thought of trying ear plugs but was worried about damage if they go in to far in plus he'd probably just shake them out. Maybe a molded pair?

 

[whichfinger]

That's an excellent question, and one I'm curious to read the answer to from someone knowledgeable about hearing loss. It seems to me that all mammalian ears basically work the same, some are just more sensitive than others. If the sound of gunfire damages human ears - and it surely does - clearly, it must also damage a dog's hearing.

 

[gym]

I have heard of hunting dogs that had lost their hearing.

 

[Ranger Roberts]

There have been studies that show that dogs can suffer hearing loss from prolonged exposure to loud noises. There is a product out there called "Mutt Muffs". I think it was invented for pilots that fly with their dogs, but I don't see why it wouldn't work for shooting as well.

 

[mbt2001]

They do work for shooting. I have used them with my dog. Advice: put them on and play with your dog, give him some treats, run him through your commands, basically get him used to the muffs, otherwise he will try to wiggle them off, negating the protection. Obviously this should be done periodically.

 

[mmitch]

Leave Samson home.

Mike

 

[X-Rap]

My old dog used to always hang around our bench and between that and hunting he was pretty much deaf the last year or so of his life. I could have kept him from the bench but the hunting is exposure that is pretty much avoidable to both of us. I'm not wearing ear pro and the dog would have lost anything that was stuck on his head.