So now you have a bird dog. Just because your dog is a “bird dog” does not mean that you take your dog out and start hunting over him/her without some gun acclimation. “Well, he/she is a bird dog, they should be able to handle it” you say. Maybe, maybe not. If your dog handles the gun with no introduction, you are quite fortunate. However, you never know in advance if they will or they will not handle the gun shots without fear or shutting down, creating a bad association from the start. I believe the best method is to train your dog to not be noise sensitive. This includes thunderstorms, loud noises, fireworks, and guns. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not think about taking your dog to the gun range or let them sit in the car while you shoot clays. Do not think that if you shoot birds for your dog, they are going to love the gun. Just because they see the bird fall from the sky and their prey drive kicks in, that is not training to love the gun, that is testing the sensitivity of the dog. Your dog may not love the gun, especially if they have a feather aversion. They need to associate the gun with something wonderful. They need to associate thunder and lightning with sometime wonderful as well. For guns, I use the retrieve. For storms, I use treats and playtime and same with fireworks.
Thunder/lightning/fireworks: Right before the thunder or lightning starts to roll in, start feeding your dog the best treats ever. Or you can let them lick some peanut butter off a spoon and be sure to give lots of praise and engage your dog. You should play games with your dog that he/she loves, like fetch or find the hidden treat during the storm or fireworks. If the pup is not happy once the storm rolls in, keep giving the treats and trying to engage him/her in play but do not coddle. You need to act like it is no big deal. EVERY TIME a storm rolls through, BEFORE the storm, lightning, or thunder starts, a Kong stuffed with peanut butter, a piece of dried bison, whatever you choose, give lots of treats and play some games. Keep the dog focused on you, not the storm or noise. Your job is to make the noise FUN! Continue to play, engage, and give treats throughout the storm/fireworks, etc. The key is to start BEFORE the noise arrives and make THESE treats better than the regular treats. Do this multiple times over multiple storms/days, and in all likelihood the noise for which you have trained will not bother your pup in the future. However, do not do this just 1-2 times, but continue until you know your pup is well acclimated to the storm/fireworks. Make sure you keep the pup engaged with toys, treats, or play time. Once the pup is acclimated, then you can give a Kong or fish stick etc. I take a Kong or other hard rubber toy that you can stuff, fill it with moist dog food, baby carrots, etc. and then freeze. I pull them out and give to the dogs as treats during storms, when they are home for long periods, etc. They last longer than most treats and will not break teeth like antlers, bones, and are easily digested, unlike rawhide. You may miss out on going to dinner with friends a few times, or a date night, or one of you needs to stay home during the fireworks on New Year’s Eve or the 4th a few times, but spend the time that it takes to make your dog not fearful of storms or fireworks. It will be well worth it in the long run. A compression shirt is not enough, and drugs can be avoided if you JUST ACCLIMATE YOUR DOG TO NOISE. Also, do not believe that because you acclimated your dog to thunder that this will cross over to guns, fireworks, etc., IT WILL NOT. You need to acclimate to each noise.
Also, some people have heard you should bang pots and pans while the dog is eating- NO NO NO! This can make them picky eaters, cause anxiety because they want to eat but are fearful, cause stomach upset, and a host of other issues.
Acclimating your dog to the gun: Dogs are not born accustomed to the sound of a gun or loving the sound of a gun. It is learned. Whether it is a shotgun, handgun, or starter pistol, they are not born with this instinct to love the gun, regardless of what you may have been told or led to believe.
I made the mistake with my very first bird dog, and it took me quite a long time to get him to overcome his fear, and he never did totally. It was one bad incident at a field trial in a puppy stake when the other handler shot behind their back and my young dog was right behind that person. The starter pistol went off about 2 feet from his face. He shut down right then and there. I had been training with him for quite a few months, and he had no issues with the starter pistol, until that moment. Then I had to fix it. Now the foolproof method I use to train a dog to the gun is the Perfection Kennel method.
In essence the method is you have a helper, check cord, starter pistol, your dog, and a dead, frozen quail. The gun is fired from far away, a dead, frozen bird is thrown, and your pup retrieves it. There are some very important details in this method like ensuring the pup sees the bird, the firing of the gun and the timing of the sound, the distance from the dog and the direction of the wind, and when to move closer are all important, as is the sequence of events. Eventually you switch to throwing the bird then firing the starter pistol, then eventually you switch to a shot gun and start the process over. You also need to be able to recognize if your dog is gun sensitive. Your dog may display a sign of gun sensitivity as small as a turn of head, a dip of the back, not watching the bird fly, or as obvious as lying down or running away. If your dog has a feather aversion or does not like to pick up birds, you can use a bumper, tennis ball, whatever your pup likes to retrieve. I highly recommended Perfection Kennel’s Perfect Gun Acclimation training video to help you through the process to ensure it is done correctly. Please note, I am not an employee of Perfection Kennel and receive no fees for stating this recommendation. My description is just a summary of the concept, not a how to. After my dog became gun shy, I tried many methods. I now use the Perfection Kennel method for every dog. I have personally used this method on a couple of my dogs as well as friends’ dogs, the dogs of training partners, and in particular a friend’s dog that had become gun shy. That dog turned from being gun sensitive and shying when he heard the gun to now actively field trialing and LOVING the gun! The Perfection Kennel method is not the only method out there, but I find it much more reliable than having your dog chase birds and firing when your dog is chasing or taking your dog to the gun range and letting them just sit there and listen. Realize that not ALL dogs love the chase of the bird, they may be all about the point. Firing while your dog is chasing does not always work.
And then once you break the dog, and dog is no longer allowed to chase, will they then become gun sensitive or gun shy? If you think about it, a dog just listening to gun fire does not teach them anything. You are TESTING their tolerance. Same with letting the dog hear shotguns or handguns being fired, what are they associating the shot with: the ant that is biting them on the leg, the flies that are annoying them, the crate they are in that may be hot and boring, other dogs whining or crying? I think you get the point. Let the dog associate with the gun with something WONDERFUL! Same with storms and fireworks.
Best of luck and do what you can to make your dog a great hunting companion and not fearful of storms or loud noises.
Thunder/lightning/fireworks: Right before the thunder or lightning starts to roll in, start feeding your dog the best treats ever. Or you can let them lick some peanut butter off a spoon and be sure to give lots of praise and engage your dog. You should play games with your dog that he/she loves, like fetch or find the hidden treat during the storm or fireworks. If the pup is not happy once the storm rolls in, keep giving the treats and trying to engage him/her in play but do not coddle. You need to act like it is no big deal. EVERY TIME a storm rolls through, BEFORE the storm, lightning, or thunder starts, a Kong stuffed with peanut butter, a piece of dried bison, whatever you choose, give lots of treats and play some games. Keep the dog focused on you, not the storm or noise. Your job is to make the noise FUN! Continue to play, engage, and give treats throughout the storm/fireworks, etc. The key is to start BEFORE the noise arrives and make THESE treats better than the regular treats. Do this multiple times over multiple storms/days, and in all likelihood the noise for which you have trained will not bother your pup in the future. However, do not do this just 1-2 times, but continue until you know your pup is well acclimated to the storm/fireworks. Make sure you keep the pup engaged with toys, treats, or play time. Once the pup is acclimated, then you can give a Kong or fish stick etc. I take a Kong or other hard rubber toy that you can stuff, fill it with moist dog food, baby carrots, etc. and then freeze. I pull them out and give to the dogs as treats during storms, when they are home for long periods, etc. They last longer than most treats and will not break teeth like antlers, bones, and are easily digested, unlike rawhide. You may miss out on going to dinner with friends a few times, or a date night, or one of you needs to stay home during the fireworks on New Year’s Eve or the 4th a few times, but spend the time that it takes to make your dog not fearful of storms or fireworks. It will be well worth it in the long run. A compression shirt is not enough, and drugs can be avoided if you JUST ACCLIMATE YOUR DOG TO NOISE. Also, do not believe that because you acclimated your dog to thunder that this will cross over to guns, fireworks, etc., IT WILL NOT. You need to acclimate to each noise.
Also, some people have heard you should bang pots and pans while the dog is eating- NO NO NO! This can make them picky eaters, cause anxiety because they want to eat but are fearful, cause stomach upset, and a host of other issues.
Acclimating your dog to the gun: Dogs are not born accustomed to the sound of a gun or loving the sound of a gun. It is learned. Whether it is a shotgun, handgun, or starter pistol, they are not born with this instinct to love the gun, regardless of what you may have been told or led to believe.
I made the mistake with my very first bird dog, and it took me quite a long time to get him to overcome his fear, and he never did totally. It was one bad incident at a field trial in a puppy stake when the other handler shot behind their back and my young dog was right behind that person. The starter pistol went off about 2 feet from his face. He shut down right then and there. I had been training with him for quite a few months, and he had no issues with the starter pistol, until that moment. Then I had to fix it. Now the foolproof method I use to train a dog to the gun is the Perfection Kennel method.
In essence the method is you have a helper, check cord, starter pistol, your dog, and a dead, frozen quail. The gun is fired from far away, a dead, frozen bird is thrown, and your pup retrieves it. There are some very important details in this method like ensuring the pup sees the bird, the firing of the gun and the timing of the sound, the distance from the dog and the direction of the wind, and when to move closer are all important, as is the sequence of events. Eventually you switch to throwing the bird then firing the starter pistol, then eventually you switch to a shot gun and start the process over. You also need to be able to recognize if your dog is gun sensitive. Your dog may display a sign of gun sensitivity as small as a turn of head, a dip of the back, not watching the bird fly, or as obvious as lying down or running away. If your dog has a feather aversion or does not like to pick up birds, you can use a bumper, tennis ball, whatever your pup likes to retrieve. I highly recommended Perfection Kennel’s Perfect Gun Acclimation training video to help you through the process to ensure it is done correctly. Please note, I am not an employee of Perfection Kennel and receive no fees for stating this recommendation. My description is just a summary of the concept, not a how to. After my dog became gun shy, I tried many methods. I now use the Perfection Kennel method for every dog. I have personally used this method on a couple of my dogs as well as friends’ dogs, the dogs of training partners, and in particular a friend’s dog that had become gun shy. That dog turned from being gun sensitive and shying when he heard the gun to now actively field trialing and LOVING the gun! The Perfection Kennel method is not the only method out there, but I find it much more reliable than having your dog chase birds and firing when your dog is chasing or taking your dog to the gun range and letting them just sit there and listen. Realize that not ALL dogs love the chase of the bird, they may be all about the point. Firing while your dog is chasing does not always work.
And then once you break the dog, and dog is no longer allowed to chase, will they then become gun sensitive or gun shy? If you think about it, a dog just listening to gun fire does not teach them anything. You are TESTING their tolerance. Same with letting the dog hear shotguns or handguns being fired, what are they associating the shot with: the ant that is biting them on the leg, the flies that are annoying them, the crate they are in that may be hot and boring, other dogs whining or crying? I think you get the point. Let the dog associate with the gun with something WONDERFUL! Same with storms and fireworks.
Best of luck and do what you can to make your dog a great hunting companion and not fearful of storms or loud noises.
