Shooting around my Pup

[SWKS Pheasant Freak]

Hey Guys,
I just got my new yellow lab pup, He is 9 weeks old and my first lab, Was just wondering when would be a good time to start shooting my shotgun around him. I usually go trap shooting once a week didn't know if it would be smart to take him with at such a young age? any thoughts would be great thanks.

 

[j2ohno]

Congrats on the new pup. I would wait another few weeks before you expose the dog to loud noises.
What I do is load up some hulls with only primers, then get the dog excited by throwing the dummy. When I see the dog is fully involved I will throw the dummy and while the dog is retrieving I will fire the primed hull in my shotgun pointing away from the dog. If there is no bad reaction from the dog, I will repeat several more times. If the dog shows no signs of distress I will move on to a 28 gauge, then 20, and finally a 12 gauge.
The key is to make sure the dog is having a good time and increase the noise level slowly.
Good luck with the new dog:cheers:

 

[Gove County Britts]

whatever you do DO NOT take him to the trap club at 9 weeks that is way to much shooting for a pup that age

 

[-Wildcat-]

The key is to make sure the dog is having a good time and increase the noise level slowly.

First of all welcome to the forums fellas! The above quote is probably the most important aspect of all. Start with a child's cap gun, move on to a small caliber rifle, so on and so forth.

This of course would probably be better answered in the dog training sub forum, by the way. :thumbsup:

 

[Nick]

I agree with the others. Trap range would be way too much. There has already been plenty of good advice, so I'll just leave it at that. Congrats on the new pup and ENJOY!

 

[Chuckles]

I had great success with a second person shooting at first so that I could just work with my pup and keep him excited and engaged while the shot went off in the background. .22 then 410 then 20 ga then 12 ga and we were in business in a couple of weeks.

 

[KansasGsp]

Hey Guys,
I just got my new yellow lab pup, He is 9 weeks old and my first lab, Was just wondering when would be a good time to start shooting my shotgun around him. I usually go trap shooting once a week didn't know if it would be smart to take him with at such a young age? any thoughts would be great thanks.

I believe 9 weeks is too young, why the rush? I'd wait until late summer to introduce the gun and I'd have him chasing birds when I did.

 

[bobeyerite]

The way I do it and it works great. I use a .22 blank starters pistol. I carry it in my back pocket. I let the pup range out a ways ans behind my back I shoot 1. The pup normally a little startled comes back to me. I DO NOTHING, I don't even speak to it. I just keep walking as nothing happened. When it has ranged out once again. Do it again same as before. Do this every day 2-3 times on run/walk. when it just keeps on running and does not even look around, you are there, shooting will not bother it.......bob

 

[beaker]

NEVER take your dog to the range at any age!

the reward for a gunshot is a retrieve/bird in mouth, not another fifty gunshots

spend the next six to eight weeks taking your dog everywhere with you - get em socialized that is the most important thing you can do, you screw em up now and you'll have a hard time down the road

like everyone else said start slow and work your way up to the "cannon shot"

 

[birdshooter]

I'd have him chasing birds when I did.

Bingo !! IMO , That's the best way to introduce a dog (pup) to the gun. Get them excited about birds (pigeons work well for this). Release a wing clipped pigeon and let pup chase, and have someone fire off a round from a good distance. Most pups will be so intent on catching that pigeon they may never even notice the shot. If all is fine then gradually move in closer. Soon they will automatically associate the shot with a bird and all will be fine. I like the idea of using those popper loads or basically a empty casing with only a primer.

 

[cheesy]

The way I introduced my female GSP (I'm thinking 15 or 16 weeks???) was to have her on a leash, casually walking around, while my dad and brother in law were shooting from the bench many hundred yards away. I non-chalantly walked her closer as they were shooting seeing how she reacted. No reaction, other than wanting to point grasshoppers and chase leaves. Got within 30 yards or so, wrastling with her on the ground, had a good time, all the while they were shooting. She paid it no mind. If she had flinched even a little bit at any time I'd have had them stop shooting so I could get her away. Didn't happen and she loves gunfire now.

 

[-Wildcat-]

The way I introduced my female GSP (I'm thinking 15 or 16 weeks???) was to have her on a leash, casually walking around, while my dad and brother in law were shooting from the bench many hundred yards away. I non-chalantly walked her closer as they were shooting seeing how she reacted. No reaction, other than wanting to point grasshoppers and chase leaves. Got within 30 yards or so, wrastling with her on the ground, had a good time, all the while they were shooting. She paid it no mind. If she had flinched even a little bit at any time I'd have had them stop shooting so I could get her away. Didn't happen and she loves gunfire now.

My female GSP has decided that she likes to chase bottle rockets... I can't throw those anymore.

Some dogs are exhilarated by "gunfire". Mine happens to be one of them.

 

[cheesy]

My female GSP has decided that she likes to chase bottle rockets... I can't throw those anymore.

Some dogs are exhilarated by "gunfire". Mine happens to be one of them.

Have had lots of dogs that loved fireworks. Dad had an Irish Setter when I was a kid that loved the Saturn missile things, had 10 rows of 10 plastic red things that whistled as they went up and then blew up. That dog went nuts when one went off, running around, barking at them, jumping up and down, ready for the next one.

Had a male GSP that loved firecrackers, to the point I got scared after lighting a string of them off the top of a fence, they'd drop and blow up in the air. He'd stand right below it, nipping at them, got lucky he never got too close, but never lit them where he could get to them after that.

 

[oldandnew]

In defense of the original question, over the course of many years, I have seen columns which recommend the idea of introducing your dog to gunfire at a trap range. I believe it is an extrodinarily bad idea. I would also advise caution with fireworks, I have known many dogs which were steady and unflinching gun dogs, which were none the less, terrified by fireworks, and thunder. The fact that we do something and no disaster occurs, should not be taken as a sign from the almighty to repeat the behavior. Some dogs are hard enough that nothing bothers them. They make for terrificly forgiving training subjects. Others are much softer, and require a methodical and well thought out approach. Because the alternative, which is curing a gunshy dog is so disasterous, For my part, I introduce dog to gun, after that dog is pointing, holding to flush, and actively hunting cover. At that point, I shoot a 22 popper, upon flush,while the dog is focused on the retreating bird. 99% of the time they never even acknowledge the shot. Repeat, and with shotguns, actually shooting birds, issue resolved, with no hangups. In my opinion, for sure results, the dog must associate gunfire with the appearance of the bird.

 

[BritChaser]

Hey Guys,
I just got my new yellow lab pup, He is 9 weeks old and my first lab, Was just wondering when would be a good time to start shooting my shotgun around him. I usually go trap shooting once a week didn't know if it would be smart to take him with at such a young age? any thoughts would be great thanks.

When your dog is old enough to go for a walk with you in CRP, say at about five months, that would be the time to introduce gunfire. Just walk along with your gun, dog out front, and without doing anything but walking along quietly, touch off a shot once in a while as if an occassional loud noise was a completely natural occurrence while on a walk in a field. If the dog is startled, do nothing but keep walking. If the dog comes to you, just pet it, reassure it, and encourage it to go back out front. Right now your pup is so young it can be easily frightened and day by day it is gaining confidence --no rush.

I agree with those who caution against subjecting a young pup to terrific noises such as it would hear at a trap range. Also, if a thunderstorm occurs and the pup gets scared, pet and soothe the pup, don't yell or talk harshly to it -- very counterproductive. Ideally, you want that dog to like the sound of gunfire because he associates it with the fun of hunting and retrieving.

Good luck with that new pup and be patient.

 

[birdshooter]

In defense of the original question, over the course of many years, I have seen columns which recommend the idea of introducing your dog to gunfire at a trap range. I believe it is an extrodinarily bad idea. I would also advise caution with fireworks, I have known many dogs which were steady and unflinching gun dogs, which were none the less, terrified by fireworks, and thunder. The fact that we do something and no disaster occurs, should not be taken as a sign from the almighty to repeat the behavior. Some dogs are hard enough that nothing bothers them. They make for terrificly forgiving training subjects. Others are much softer, and require a methodical and well thought out approach. Because the alternative, which is curing a gunshy dog is so disasterous, For my part, I introduce dog to gun, after that dog is pointing, holding to flush, and actively hunting cover. At that point, I shoot a 22 popper, upon flush,while the dog is focused on the retreating bird. 99% of the time they never even acknowledge the shot. Repeat, and with shotguns, actually shooting birds, issue resolved, with no hangups. In my opinion, for sure results, the dog must associate gunfire with the appearance of the bird.

Agree here. It's basically an association thing. They come to associate the shot with a bird. While some dogs may be fine being exposed to multiple shots being hammered at a distance, such as a range, but some might not and you could have a big problem on your hands. Why take the chance. Bird dogs love birds, so why not use birds as part of your gun intro?? It's just makes sense.

 

[Toad]

I agree with those who caution against subjecting a young pup to terrific noises such as it would hear at a trap range. Also, if a thunderstorm occurs and the pup gets scared, pet and soothe the pup, don't yell or talk harshly to it -- very counterproductive. Ideally, you want that dog to like the sound of gunfire because he associates it with the fun of hunting and retrieving.

Good luck with that new pup and be patient.

I'm with ya except for petting and soothing a pup that is scared by a thunderstorm. It seems like you would be rewarding his frightend reaction, and teaching him to be frightened whenever there is a thunderstorm. Probably better to act natural and show the pup that thunderstorms are no cause for concern. If the pup keeps acting fearful, I would take it down the basement and try to get him to wrestle around and play. The noise would be less down there and you really want to demonstrate that there is nothing to be afraid of.

I say that based on the idea that it would also be a bad idea to pet and soothe a dog that runs back to you at the sound of a gunshot. Like Bobeyrite said, it's better to ignore the dog if it's a little startled, otherwise you are training the dog to be gunshy. Much better to "do nothing" and carry on as if nothing had happened. If you pet and soothe him when he runs back to you, then you are teaching him that you want him to be afraid of the noise.

Just my .02

 

[henhenROOSTER!!!]

I would say the opposite - introduce a pup to lots of noise & gunfire EARLY & GRADUALLY - but controlled at a distance from someone else while you are there to play with, distract & encourage the dog 1st, NOT right over the top of their head...I have followed Richard Wolters advice on this w/4 pups over the last 25 yrs & not a one of them has ever had a single issue w/gunshyness. To the contrary they were all retrieving wild birds like maniacs by 6 months old - the only reaction any of them has ever shown to gunfire is jumping out of their skin to find out where the action is!!!

 

[Tbear]

Congrats on the new pup. I would wait another few weeks before you expose the dog to loud noises.
What I do is load up some hulls with only primers, then get the dog excited by throwing the dummy. When I see the dog is fully involved I will throw the dummy and while the dog is retrieving I will fire the primed hull in my shotgun pointing away from the dog. If there is no bad reaction from the dog, I will repeat several more times. If the dog shows no signs of distress I will move on to a 28 gauge, then 20, and finally a 12 gauge.
The key is to make sure the dog is having a good time and increase the noise level slowly.
Good luck with the new dog:cheers:

This is what I was told to do by the breeder and it has worked for me on all three of the dogs I have had. Good luck take your time and you will have a great dog.:thumbsup:

 

[Shadow]

I would say the opposite - introduce a pup to lots of noise & gunfire EARLY & GRADUALLY - but controlled at a distance from someone else while you are there to play with, distract & encourage the dog 1st, NOT right over the top of their head...I have followed Richard Wolters advice on this w/4 pups over the last 25 yrs & not a one of them has ever had a single issue w/gunshyness. To the contrary they were all retrieving wild birds like maniacs by 6 months old - the only reaction any of them has ever shown to gunfire is jumping out of their skin to find out where the action is!!!

wel said-agree