ButchA

Hey there...

Since I had off today, Iwent out and took my female beagle mix (Amber) rabbit hunting for the 2nd time at the local WMA. This time we actually saw a rabbit (well, my dog Amber did at first I should say). Wow, that rabbit took off like Mach IV, out from under a huge fallen oak tree in the heavy brush, jumped across the trail, and into thewoods to another rabbit hole somewhere. I took a shot at it with my shotgun (I missed...[&o] ) and believe it or not, my dog stopped dead in her tracks, almost cowering, wondering "what the hell was that?" Okay, okay, so she's a little gunshy.... But at least she didn't take off for the hills going, "yipe, yipe, yipe, yipe..."[&:]

After I reassured her that everything was okay, she ran into the woods and started barking and howling at the rabbit hole and trying to dig her way into it. I had a heck of a time trying to call her off it, but she finally came back to me and we continued on. Hey, if there's one rabbit, then there are more...

Anyway, we had a great time, even though we didn't get any rabbits. But at least I got a shot at one (wow, rabbits are fast!!) And, my dog finally heard a shotgun go off for the first time. It scared the heck out of her, but I am hoping she'll get used to it. We hiked all over the WMA and eventually made our way back to my truck.

And guess what... When we got back to my truck, wouldn't you believe... a GAME WARDEN was driving up the dirt road. Hey, I'm clean, I'm legal, and have all my licenses and stuff on me, and my blaze orange ball cap. Two game wardens got out and asked me how I was doing. My dog started barking at them too. I told them we were rabbit hunting and that I missed a rabbit, but we were having a good time. One warden asked to see my license, the other knelt down to give a dog biscuit to my dog. Believe it or not, this was the first time -ever- that I got approached by a game warden or wardens. They also checked out my Remington 870 12GA and saw that I had #6 shot and a full choke (which is probably why I missed...) and then had me unload it before getting in my truck (duh!).

Anyway, after the pleasant meeting with the game wardens, I asked a favor from them. I had an old digital camerain the truck and asked if one of them would take a picture of me with my dog Amber (beagle and german shepherd).....

Note to HNI... Look closely at the blaze orange hat. It says "Huntingnet.com" (I know... I know... brownie points...!)

Edit: How to you train a beagle to not be gunshy?

ray12

most people dont shoot a bunch around their dogs when they do they get scared so shoot once or twice and once she gets used to it you can

ButchA

Thanks... I talked to a friend of mine, and he said to bring along some dog treats for my dog. You know... associate hunting with the "bang" of a shotgun, and the treats also become part of thehunt when she doesn't get scared.

Basically, just keep on taking her out as much as I can and work with her. Since she's 3/4 beagle and 1/4 german shepherd, she's got the hunting gene already in her. She runs in and out of the briars, thickets, and heavy brush and doesn't come out all stuck with stuff, which is great. In the field edges, she keeps her nose firmly pressed to the ground, like hunting just comes natural to her. [8D]

Pygmy

Never shootaround a young dog unless they have thier nose full of game scent... They need to associate the gunshot with the game..

Even then, never shoot too CLOSE to a young dog..

Unfortunately, it only takes ONE shot to make a dog gunshy, and once they have been scared, it's darn tough to get them past it... I've read that it's possible to break a dog of guyshyness, but in 50 years of hunting, I've never seen it done...Of course, I'm not an expert at dog training, either... In my experience, the best cure to gunshyness is NOT making them gunshy in the first place..

Good luck...

ButchA

Thanks... When my dog jumped that rabbit, she was still in the briars and couldn't get out in time, so the rabbit left her in the dust. I swung out my 870 12GA and tried taking a shot (and missed...) but my dog wasn't right beside me and my 870 either. She was running out of the briars by the time the shotgun went off, but yet nowhere near the blast of shot. She just heard the loud boom and came to a screeching halt. It was only the first time she heard a gun go off, so I hope with some training, she'll associate the shotgun as part of the hunt.

One funny aspect of hunting with her (looking back at the picture of me...) I'm kneeling down smiling in the photo. My dog Amber wasstill growling at the two game wardens and looks so pissed! She's got the nose, the smooth coat, and the hunting ability of a beagle, combined with the protective guarding instincts of a german shepherd. But in reality, she's just a big chicken.what's that saying... "her bark is worse than her bite".

Chris_H

This post brings me back to my rabbit hunting days! How I miss them...

bigbucks98

nice dog and shotgun[X(]

bigbucks98

Nice dog and shotgun

Red Label

We in South Dakota are totally over ran with cotton tail rabbits and the Jack rabbits are getting bad too. Last year we shot 103 in two 1/2 days of hunting. I think we could do that 4 or 5 times a year.

Zrabfan26

Hey Butcha, About the gun shyness, you might be ok since your dog went back to hunting, but its not a good practice to introduce your dog to a blast like that. It could permanently scare him of guns. Helping a dog deal with guns should start as a pup. Not too early but when training gets more serious, say 6-8 months. I used a .22 cap pistol. Its a lot quiter than a shot gun. Have the dog preoccupied with something and don't be close to him and shoot see how he reacts and continue in different situations. This breaks him in. When running him and he's deep in the brush shoot some more to simulate real hunting. Doing this I didn't have any problems, and my dogs don't miss a beat when they here me shoot. Good luck with your dog, he's kinda big, doesn't he have trouble getting in tight brush and briars?