CamoKing247

I have a 2 year old chocolate lab AKC registered and bought from a hunter..

He breeds chocolate labs and has many time trial labs trophies etc ...

well my female lab is as smart as a whip and does so many things but i did not do any shooting or hunting around her until a few weeks ago and my wife stood a distance away from me shooting my 12 gauge and the dog was fine until i pumped the shootgun back to reload and the noise of this scared her and she tries to walk and stay a distance from me but she does come to me when i call her and im holding the gun but the minute i shoot and go to reload the sound spooks her so now im so disapointed with this i am at a lost and don't know what to do or how to get her to not be afraid..

should i give up on her and buy a new 5 week old pup and start from scratch or keep trying with my 2 yr old..

I would appreciate any help you can give me..

Thank You Kindly..

drfatguy

What were you shooting the gun at? The dog has to decide whether or not the noise bothers them. It's best if the dog sees something to retrieve and associates the noise of the gun with a bird falling. What method are you using to train your dog? You admit to not having done much with her for 2 years if I am reading the post correctly. Work with her. Start retrieving. Read a booK on the subject. Watch a video. You can find them at the library. A 5 week old pup is too young to remove from mama so that shouldn't be an option. If the instinct is there and she wasn't too tramatized, you could work through this.

Dr Fatguy

CamoKing247

she has been retrieveing fake pheasant decoys since she was a baby but i was unable to work with her because i was unemployed and could not afford any shotguns until recently where i take her with me out to shoot targets and we slowly introduce her to the sound of the gun..

she retrieves everything and that includes in water but the sound of the shotgun discharging and reloading is what spooks her..

im working with her to introduce her to the sound slowly and at her pace and will continue to do so until she is at ease with her surroundings and the shound of the shotgun..

WAYNE1

Camo.....Post that question to DocE on here...he's our dog expert. Don't buy a 5 week old pup....pup's should'nt be taken away from their litter till day 49....I know where there's an excellent 8 week old female Lab, that's bred for pointing...I know their awesome pup's...I bought one... If ya don't mind traveling up by the Chewelah Casino every Sunday...There's a group of us...Led by DocE that train our dog's together....I know your more than welcome to join us... But get ahold of DocE about your current problem... Wayne

Doc E

Gunshyness is a "man-made" problem -- you'll need to figure out where you went wrong -- my guess is that you should have introduced the dog to gunfire at a much younger age. For good advice on Gunshyness, go to www.coonriverkennels.com then down on the lower left, there is a link called something like "Marks Tips" -- he has an article on preventing/curing gunshyness.

Wayne1 is VERY correct ------- a 5 week old pup doesn't even know it's a dog.
49 days or a bit more is ideal.

And also, Wayne1 is correct------- I'm an expert------ The definition of "Expert" :
Ex = "a has been"
Spurt = "A drip under pressure" [][][]

WAYNE1

LOL....too funny Doc

JsmesB67

DocE, I went to the website link you provided and it gave me some very useful tips!!! My question is at what age is optimal for introduction?? My pup is coming up on 4 months and we're progressing nicely. Finding pheasnt wings obedience skills etc.. I was thinking about introducing him to a live pigeon like it said in the link you provided. I ordered some books and I'm waiting for them to arrive. Thanks in advance...

Doc E

jsmes,

There is a lot of controversy about gun shot introduction. Personally, I like to start out shooting a kid's cap gun from a distance at about 8 weeks of age. Then slowly move closer. As long as the pup shows no fear, after a couple or three weeks, move outdoors and shoot a 22 blank (again from a distance) when the pup is retrieving.
Just slowly introduce louder and louder noises as time goes by.

CamoKing247

Thanks Wayne and Doc E

I feel so very bad that she is already 2 years old and she does so many things and is very eager to learn, my problem was i was unemployed after working 20 years for my family and after we lost our dad with cancer and a fight that only lasted him 18 days he was gone and we relocated to spokane.

I was unemployed and could not afford a shotgun and wanted to get her introduced as soon as possible but could not. after looking for jobs, getting our furnature here etc time was going by and until now i had the money and time to get my shotgun and train her..

I was not informed a puppy should not be taken away at 5 weeks old and thats how old sarah was when we went and bought her from the breeder..

she is in perfect helth and i do have all the akc papers and the paper work on the parents and grandparents with no hip displacer or any bad health concerning their eyes..

i have raised her on science diet since she was a puppy and she gets exercise daily..

I hope its not to late for her but if i do not use her for hunting she does make a loveable house dog and she is our baby

Doc E

Camo,

We have a small (half a dozen dogs or so) local training group that gets together on most Sundays from Feb through Aug.

The next two Sunday's (April 3 and 10) we will meet up just North of the Chewelah Casino (just North of the "Car Museum") at 9 AM.

I'd like to invite you to join us and we can probably see what you need to do to fix this problem. Oh, be sure to bring the pump gun that is bothering her ! ! ! !

Just pull in the "casino road" -- you will see a road that goes North (go on that road just a short distance) just after you have gone past the 'car museum' we will be in the field on the right side.