I'm a little late with this! I have practiced this since I had my first bird dog in grade school. New dog owners beware of fireworks, especially a young pup. I have never seen them ruined by it, some even like it, to much! run like fools to retrieve or pounce on some, others with disinterested, but some get bothered by it, try to sly away, get to cover, or become absolutely traumatized. That would be nervous disposition, slobbering, running blindly away, tail tucked in. Most of these will be overcome, afterward, and surprisingly good results, The shy dog, will usually not carry it to the field. There are rewards in the field, minor shooting, with a different report usually return to normal. It's like the dog, who is afraid of thunderstorms, ( as you know, some are some not!) get over it in the field. I would always avoid fireworks, but if you live in a neighborhood where every kid has them ( mine!), take precautions if you can. The dog very well get over it, though I doubt never be a fireworks fan. Come to think of it, when I got birddogs, the cindered hands, black powdered aroma youth got over it to, never been my thing since, but the kids love it!
fireworks
- Thread starter oldandnew
- Start date
koja48
New member
Good post. July 4 can be a traumatic day for dogs. Fortunately, when the barrage started, my pup perked-up, looked at me, and went back to sleep. My last pup (a Lab), stood at the door looking for birds to drop out of the sky. Small dogs we had in the past were absolutely terrified. Fortunately, except for the sanctioned fireworks shows, firecrackers & anything that flies ("if it goes in the air, leave it there") are banned now due to the fact that we live in a dry, shrub-steppe locale & there have been lives lost, homes/other real estate/property burned, & significant expense incurred due to careless use of fireworks. Unfortunately, such fireworks are readily-available on the nearby reservations in the area & there are a fair number of fools around who continue to defy the municipal codes. Like anything else, a little bit of common sense goes a long way.
God I get pissed at this site. I just typed put a long winded response to this post and when I hit enter it said I wasn't logged in. Happens all the time. In a nutshell by brother in law ruined his GSP puppy with fireworks. This dog had every indication it was going to be a hunting machine. Held rock solid points around gun fire. Now it hides in the bathroom. A real shame.
As I said, it may not be over! A lot, and lot of bird work, NO blank pistol and not blank shotguns, they have a much stronger report at a different frequency. Regular shotgun ammo 20 ga. is better. A real bird dog, which he was, can usually recover, keep the faith!