When Can I Introduce My Dog To Shot?

[slipper 116]

My spaniel is now 11 months old and I was thinking of getting a pistol to slowly introduce sound of shot will this be ok or is she still to young?

[Philluk 181]

Let the dog decide, I've read a hundred times don't start a dog till it's 12 months but then I've heard kids do gcse at 15. However some kids do exams at 13 or 14

 

I took my dog hunting, as in chasing rabbits finding them and general playing then you shoot one as he chases it, he catches it and brings it back.

 

By 12 months mine was fully trained, he loved pigeon shooting,

 

So see what he does take him out on the rabbits don't make a big thing of the shooting, as in just do it let him connect gun shot rabbit retrieve.

If you panic over a shot you will pass it down to the dog

[slipper 116]

So I am ok to take her hunting aswell its just I haven't had her in a rabbit pen yet so what do you think I should do just take her out and let her hunt?

[craigy 1]

I started mine off with the starting pistol and used the short blanks as they don't have as loud a crack as the long blanks

Also I got my lad to fire it when the dog was about forty feet away then I threw a dummy that's was to act as a distraction

then gradually cut down the distance to shot when i knew he was sound then used the long blanks he is sound to shot no problems this is my first gundog if have trained so I am no expert still learning probably a bit cautious but did not want to mess it up .

[whitefeet4190 1,724]

just give the gun and a couple of rounds to the dog and see what he does with it, if he fires it ill buy him off you but if he just looks at it and looks a bit unsure try and encourage him to fire it and when u finally does get the hang of firing the gun sell him because he will be too much of a liability

all the best mate

[Philluk 181]

In reply slipper have you done all basic training cause it goes to rat shlt when you bring live game in?

 

The issue with introducing a gun is that we humans can make dogs scared, we get worked up we use a start pistol and you look or make a reaction by making a fuss as a shot goes off so your highlighting the shot. Take the dog in a rabbit pen or in the field let them see rabbits chase them and general hunting and after a few good outings take the gun a let them hunt and shoot, they then connect hunt to chase to shoot to retrieve. But try to make the early shots kill, Some people like their dog to find flush and sit, I don't that's not right or wrong, some on here will that's not wrong either it's just not what I want but it maybe what casso wants. I don't do field trials I shoot.

[slipper 116]

Thanks for the replies and I think I'm getting there with training slowly, she will sit, stay stop and I have just started introducing dead pigeons into her retrieves which she is doing ok with, I haven't tried retrieving with dead rabbits or rabbit skin dummies yet,

I know I cant rush things and cant put to much on her to soon but I would like to take her hunting what if she catches a rabbit is that ok or is that frowned upon?

[Casso 1,256]

Phil threw down what must be the most important issue when introducing dogs and pups to new sounds and environments, and that's the idea of Flow,

 

If the pup can feel flow, as in, the shot going off leading to the dog getting to mouth and retrieve a prey item , then the loud noise of gun become instrumental to the good feeling of flow felt through the act of hunting ,

 

eventually the sound of the gun evoke a good feeling in the seasoned dog through association ,

 

Many years ago I had a half bred hound bitch, she was a strickly no nosense type, fussing , fawning or submission was of no concern to her, we were hunting buddies of level par , I carried the lamp she did the work,

 

what I am getting round to is, at a certain point in her life she twigged that the sound of the wind in winter meant that is was more than likely we would be heading for the hills , so she howled but only on those perfect moonless winter nights ,

The point I'm making is , it would be practically impossible to teach a dog to howl just to the sound of the wind alone but because the sound was incorpated into her feeling of flow through experience , she associated the rustle of the leaves on the trees with her drive to hunt ,

 

It's about making positive associations , best of luck

[slipper 116]

Thanks again but just to clear it up im ok to take her out hunting? Or shall I get her 100 percent on retrieving fur and feather dummies?

[Casso 1,256]

There is a very interesting gun dog trainer in the US , he has a unique take on introducing pups to birds and hunting in general , his site is a real eye opener to alternative methods of entering pups , http://higginsgundogs.com/category/videos/

Interesting to see how others approach it,

[Philluk 181]

Thanks again but just to clear it up im ok to take her out hunting? Or shall I get her 100 percent on retrieving fur and feather dummies?

If she, sits, stays, comes to the whistle, stays close to you then yes, if she doesn't do them all then work a bit more on them, there is no point throwing a dummy the dog runs to it and ignores it or doesn't bring it close because she will do these on the field, Then you shoot a rabbit and wonder why she does the same thing. But keep up the dummy training and start bringing in directional work, it's useful. Once a dog gets the feel for live game they sometimes go off dummy work, so that doesn't stay as training it's playing training, but be patient as you will find she runs past the dummy heading to a bush.

 

You don't have to have all commands perfected you can fine tune later. You will always add to your training. Like the retrieve if you throw a dummy she will bring it close, there are ways to get it closer, but if she brings it back and runs around you that will be worst when she has that rabbit so there is no point in putting the dog in a situation now where you know she will fail, on the other hand you don't need to have her coming back sitting and letting go when you take it, as long as she brings it in.

 

Tonight I was out foxing, my 2 yr old sat by me for 2 hrs whilst I was calling foxes, without the lay down/stay command mastered the dog would get up and walk about. This is the introduction to me taking him out to sit under a high seat, so training will always continue

[DannyNCC 4]

I took mine at about 8 months and started with air rifle at home then in field

He was completely fine

And after a couple times he loves it