Loud sounds with a new pup

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primalphil

New member
So my Britt is now 11 weeks old. He has been with us for 3 weeks now and is growing like a weed. There are a few homes going up near my house and every morning when I take him out to play there's tons of hammering, nail guns, etc. going on and he seems to not even notice. If he does he'll stop to stare and then go back to whatever he was doing. I've read that 8-12 weeks is considered the "fear week" and I should avoid as much as I can with things that could cause fear. Given that he doesn't seem to be bothered in the least, would I be jumping the gun (no pun intended) taking him out and tossing some birds/bumpers and popping off a few .22 starter pistol rounds? He's crazy about his bumper as well as a frozen quail I have for him. I've even let him sniff out and play with live quail which he goes completely crazy for. So far, there hasn't been a single thing that I've tested with him where he seemed the slightest bit scared or timid.
This is my first ever bird dog so I really want to get it right and not rush anything to give him the best chance possible.
 
The earliest was about 6 months when the season opened. I figure they see it doesn't bother me so it shouldn't bother them. They are so excited I doubt if they noticed the shotgun blast. Always a 12 gauge.

I am not saying this is what you should do. My dogs live in the country. City dog might be more stressed.
 
I live a small town luckily not much activity and I have spent a ton of time with him at my in-laws farm. I've tried to expose him to everything I can and have yet to see him startled by anything. I just read nightmare stories about dogs becoming gun shy so I don't want to make any rookie mistakes.
 
He's 11 weeks. He'll be with you for over a decade.

You got time. :)

No rush, he's kind of learning through the near-by sounds. I'd just let it go and proceed with his puppy learning, leaping, loving bumpers, pheasant wings, old socks, your spouse's best shoes, etc....

This season he'll be around 6-7 months old and following and exploring stuff with you.

He's going to be wonderful.

:thumbsup:
 
I would not give it another thought. Sounds like you are doing exactly what you need to do, getting your dog out and bonding with him.

The only dogs I have seen that were gun shy were two GSPs my brother-in-law took in as young dogs. My guess is they were not properly socialized as pups.

Next year I will get my eighth britt. It's been 8 years since I had a pup, so I cannot visualize what an 11 week old britt looks like. I would wait until October before I do anything just because I don't want to be surprised on opening day.
 
There are safe ways and foolish/dumb luck ways to expose a pup to gunfire.
Your pup is really to young for gun exposure. Keep taking him out for runs in the field, and meeting lots of people.

There is a book "Training with Mo" that would likely be a big help to you if this is you first bird dog.
 
I have a starter gun. I Was lucky in that my Goldens have always run TO the gunfire not away. Start slow and from a distance while theyre distracted and slowly move closer and you guys should be just fine. Theres tons written in this subject.
 
SetterNut said:
There are safe ways and foolish/dumb luck ways to expose a pup to gunfire.
Your pup is really to young for gun exposure. Keep taking him out for runs in the field, and meeting lots of people.

There is a book "Training with Mo" that would likely be a big help to you if this is you first bird dog.
Click to expand...

+1

I would wait until he's actively bumping and chasing birds before firing .22 blanks. But get the aforementioned book and enjoy!
 
Don't introduce with a 22 starter pistol. I use one of the training pistols that shoots the short acorn crimps. Not very loud and perfect for young puppies. This is the pistol I am talking about, only $29 and shoots the "Acorn Crimps".

http://www.lcsupply.com/LCS-22-Caliber-Starter-Pistol/productinfo/TP2/

Here is what I do. At 8 weeks we start them at dinner time. As I give the young pup its food and as it is diving to the food bowl, my wife will fire the blank pistol from a 100 yards away. Over the next couple of weeks we will continue this moving in 10 yards at a time. Eventually we get to about 50 yds or so by the time they are 10 or 12 weeks. They never hear the gun. We also start throwing marks in the field using the pistol at 10 or 12 weeks. As the bird or dummy is in the air and the pup is flying to the mark, the thrower fires the pistol. The puppy is so focused on the bird or dummy and the opportunity to retrieve, they never give any attention to the gun. We keep the thrower/shooter at a distance. The dog now associates any gunfire with something positive, the 2 things it lives for which is food and birds. By the time the pup is 4 months old we are ready for a shotgun. Again we do this with a bird in the field with a mark of about 75 yds or so. I never fire over a young dog until after obedience, force fetch, and collar condition.

Take it slow, and please look at purchasing a training pistol from Gundog Supply, Lion Country Supply, or any other place that sales dog training equipment. They are very inexpensive. Remember you are conditioning a puppy to gunfire and not testing to see if they are gun shy. This is the absolute best way to begin a puppy.
 
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SetterNut said:
There are safe ways and foolish/dumb luck ways to expose a pup to gunfire.
Your pup is really to young for gun exposure. Keep taking him out for runs in the field, and meeting lots of people.

There is a book "Training with Mo" that would likely be a big help to you if this is you first bird dog.
Click to expand...


His puppy is the perfect age to begin introduction to gunfire. I will also add that by doing it correctly, you have a puppy that loves gunfire. So when the unexpected happens such as a neighbor blasting fireworks, nail guns, etc your puppy won't relate that with the sound of a gun because it already loves it. Much better to introduce them when younger than when older.
 
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I got my first Brit as a pup. When he was about 5 months we began talking walks afield rather than exclusively in town on a leash. On these country walks I carried a .44 and touched off two or three shots at random. When I did so, the dog was out front and I said nothing and did nothing - just kept walking. My intent was for the dog to expect an occasional loud noise while afield. Over time afield hunting, gun fire excited him.

My second (current) Brit is a rescue I got when nine months old. When I checked him out we fired a shotgun several times and it did not bother him in any way. With eight seasons afield, now he gets excited when he hears gunfire.
 
westksbowhunter said:
Don't introduce with a 22 starter pistol. I use one of the training pistols that shoots the short acorn crimps. Not very loud and perfect for young puppies. This is the pistol I am talking about, only $29 and shoots the "Acorn Crimps".

http://www.lcsupply.com/LCS-22-Caliber-Starter-Pistol/productinfo/TP2/

Here is what I do. At 8 weeks we start them at dinner time. As I give the young pup its food and as it is diving to the food bowl, my wife will fire the blank pistol from a 100 yards away. Over the next couple of weeks we will continue this moving in 10 yards at a time. Eventually we get to about 50 yds or so by the time they are 10 or 12 weeks. They never hear the gun. We also start throwing marks in the field using the pistol at 10 or 12 weeks. As the bird or dummy is in the air and the pup is flying to the mark, the thrower fires the pistol. The puppy is so focused on the bird or dummy and the opportunity to retrieve, they never give any attention to the gun. We keep the thrower/shooter at a distance. The dog now associates any gunfire with something positive, the 2 things it lives for which is food and birds. By the time the pup is 4 months old we are ready for a shotgun. Again we do this with a bird in the field with a mark of about 75 yds or so. I never fire over a young dog until after obedience, force fetch, and collar condition.

Take it slow, and please look at purchasing a training pistol from Gundog Supply, Lion Country Supply, or any other place that sales dog training equipment. They are very inexpensive. Remember you are conditioning a puppy to gunfire and not testing to see if they are gun shy. This is the absolute best way to begin a puppy.
Click to expand...

Thank you for this great information. I have used this very logical approach to conditioning my sound sensitive gsp puppy with great results. Pistol and everything. This works! Thanks Bowhunter!
 
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