# When Should Gun Training Start?



## Panama Rob (Nov 26, 2015)

It seems to me that the pup has a fear of the sound. I might try to combine guns with play. My suggestion is to start with maybe a BB gun or a low power 22 round (cb caps). Fire the gun at a safe back stop and simultaneous throw the toy. Teach him to associate the sound with fetch. As he gets more accustomed to associating the gun and the sound with play then you step up the caliber or to a shotgun and get him used to the louder bang. I don't think his reaction will improve with age unless you desensitize him to the fear of the sound. I'm sure there may be others here with more experience that may add to what I am saying or offer differing advice but this is how I would approach solving his anxiety.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Puppies go through different fear stages, I would't worry too much. He needs to hear it from a good distance first before you let him up close. YOu can practice with recorded sounds of gunfire at home and also (don't laugh) buy a pack of paper lunch sacks from the store and blow them up, twist and "bang" pop them. Sounds pretty similar. Again, start from a distance. 

And it's not too early to start training your puppy for anything. Have you invested in some dvd's or found a club to help you get started? Getting going now will make things easier in the long run


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

TiffanyGOlden, have you had a chance to work on this? PanamaRob gave some smart advice on linking the noise to fun play. Hope you'll share your progress.


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## TiffanyGolden (Dec 6, 2015)

nolefan said:


> TiffanyGOlden, have you had a chance to work on this? PanamaRob gave some smart advice on linking the noise to fun play. Hope you'll share your progress.


We will be working more on it coming January. We are currently away from the mountains but once we are back we will!

I will keep you updated on the progress!


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## TiffanyGolden (Dec 6, 2015)

Panama Rob said:


> It seems to me that the pup has a fear of the sound. I might try to combine guns with play. My suggestion is to start with maybe a BB gun or a low power 22 round (cb caps). Fire the gun at a safe back stop and simultaneous throw the toy. Teach him to associate the sound with fetch. As he gets more accustomed to associating the gun and the sound with play then you step up the caliber or to a shotgun and get him used to the louder bang. I don't think his reaction will improve with age unless you desensitize him to the fear of the sound. I'm sure there may be others here with more experience that may add to what I am saying or offer differing advice but this is how I would approach solving his anxiety.


Thank you! 

I think our issue at the time was he was only 8 weeks old. We've had him since he was 6 weeks. We also started with a 9mm and he was 200 ft away. Not sure if that's far enough!


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## Claudia M (Aug 8, 2012)

This is way too early to introduce the pup to gun noise, especially that I assume you just got the pup at 8 weeks. So the pup is already going thru a period of adjusting to his new home, environment and "pack". 
I would hold off for now and maybe just download some popping sounds on the computer and play low to high while getting excited and happy around him. 

Panama is correct in starting with a blank pistol at 100 yards or so and then slowly move closer according to his reaction. Have a toy and throw it for the pup to retrieve so he then associates the gun with fun time/play time.


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## BajaOklahoma (Sep 27, 2009)

A friend got a Lab puppy that he sent away to be trained for hunting. I remember that he told me they have a gun go off every 20 minutes or so, just o the pups learn it as background noise. I'm not sure if they had the noise at night. I know they had to go up and spend the last two days of training learning about the teaching methods and how to work with him. It was expensive, but they also free refresher classes for the life of the dog.
You now have a gun-shy dog and it is going to take some real work to undo it.


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## TiffanyGolden (Dec 6, 2015)

Claudia M said:


> This is way too early to introduce the pup to gun noise, especially that I assume you just got the pup at 8 weeks. So the pup is already going thru a period of adjusting to his new home, environment and "pack".
> I would hold off for now and maybe just download some popping sounds on the computer and play low to high while getting excited and happy around him.
> 
> Panama is correct in starting with a blank pistol at 100 yards or so and then slowly move closer according to his reaction. Have a toy and throw it for the pup to retrieve so he then associates the gun with fun time/play time.


We actually got Duke at 6 weeks, he is now 10 weeks old.

Okay, we will start by loud popping sounds!
Thank you!


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## TiffanyGolden (Dec 6, 2015)

BajaOklahoma said:


> A friend got a Lab puppy that he sent away to be trained for hunting. I remember that he told me they have a gun go off every 20 minutes or so, just o the pups learn it as background noise. I'm not sure if they had the noise at night. I know they had to go up and spend the last two days of training learning about the teaching methods and how to work with him. It was expensive, but they also free refresher classes for the life of the dog.
> You now have a gun-shy dog and it is going to take some real work to undo it.


We have only been out with Duke once, so we cannot determine if he is truly gun shy or if it was just all new for him. He doesn't care for gun shots on tv or even in music, he sleeps through it if he is asleep at the time or he just goes about playing.

Maybe it is too early to start, maybe when he is 3 months or 4 months it would be better!


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## Panama Rob (Nov 26, 2015)

Some of the things you can do is toss a bumper and dry fire the gun. He hears the click and he learns to associate the gun with fun stuff....like he associates his leash with a walk. Could also toss the bumper and if the gun is an auto release the slide or if a pump work the action. He gets used to the gun making noises as you work him up to getting used to gunfire. That first boom can be pretty scary for a little guy. You will have him being a gun dog in no time. .


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## Panama Rob (Nov 26, 2015)

TiffanyGolden said:


> Thank you!
> 
> I think our issue at the time was he was only 8 weeks old. We've had him since he was 6 weeks. We also started with a 9mm and he was 200 ft away. Not sure if that's far enough!


You are welcome. 

Even the click of dry firing can scare a dog. My KC was terrified of an air soft gun I used to practice with. He would run and hide just from the click of it. It is never too early to get him used to associating the gun with fun stuff and getting used to it making noises. It is like he gets excited about his leash because he associates it with walks or he associates the car keys with you leaving. Take a gun and rack the slide before playing fetch or tug of war. He will learn to love it.

If I heard a gun shot for the first time and didn't know any better I'd run and hide under a car too.


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## TiffanyGolden (Dec 6, 2015)

Panama Rob said:


> You are welcome.
> 
> Even the click of dry firing can scare a dog. My KC was terrified of an air soft gun I used to practice with. He would run and hide just from the click of it. It is never too early to get him used to associating the gun with fun stuff and getting used to it making noises. It is like he gets excited about his leash because he associates it with walks or he associates the car keys with you leaving. Take a gun and rack the slide before playing fetch or tug of war. He will learn to love it.
> 
> If I heard a gun shot for the first time and didn't know any better I'd run and hide under a car too.


Yeah it was definitely a first for him! 

I think we will work on it more when we get back from the holidays! He just isn't too good with fetching right now either! So we'll see how it goes! :


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

all my dogs were introduced to gun shots through retrieving. Set up so that you have someone standing out away from the dog, and the person throws the object you want the dog to retrieve. When you have a dog that is familiar with the set up and is super excited to run out and retrieve the object, then the gun is shot right before you release the dog. The dog quickly associates the sound of the gun with getting to go retrieve. I wouldn't be in a big rush to introduce it, as I don't find it's something the dog needs to learn early to be successful. I had a dog that never heard a gunshot until he was five years old, and after just a few retrieves one day he learned to love the sound of gunshots


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

I started conditioning my pups while they were still in the whelping box. While they were feeding I would go to a different part of the house with a cap gun. I would fire it while they were eating. I had my son as an observer---he told me about the puppies' reactions. (I kept notes on each pup.) As long as they were unaffected I would move a little closer each day. One pup consistently lifted his head momentarily but quickly went back to eating.

I don't think many condition their dogs this way. I have never done it any other way. I consider it "insurance", a precaution.

Careful with firing a gun and doing a retrieve---I saw a pup get in front of the gun, get muzzle blast and had a slight problem that had to be dealt with.


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## NicoleGold (Dec 8, 2015)

I will share my own experience - my oldest didn't hear gunfire until he was 3 years old, and it was in the context of retrieving. My middle golden heard gunfire for the first time at 9 months old (also in the context of retrieving) and never had any problems. 

When we got our youngest at 8 weeks old, the very next day we had signed our older 2 up for a training day with a local club. We brought the puppy along for socialization and to get used to the environment. The woman running our group suggested we put the pup out in her crate near the line and the commotion and just let her watch what was going on, so she heard gunshots that day (probably 100-150 yards away). Never had a problem.

I do think all dogs are different, though. If my dogs has been spooked the first time they heard gunshots, I would have been sure to re-introduce the noise to them slowly.


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## Swampcollie (Sep 6, 2007)

TiffanyGolden said:


> My significant other enjoys going shooting, not necessarily hunting, but in the reservation mountains to practice shooting.
> 
> We have a 9 week old puppy.
> 
> ...



Well, I think you've realized you made a boo boo with your last shooting session. 

Never never start off shooting in close proximity to a puppy. Introduce gunfire at a good distance (100 yards or better) from the pup while the pup is preoccupied doing something else that is exciting to the pup. (Like chasing and retrieving something.) 
In the near term, introduce the normal noises found around the home, blender, disposer, vac, lawn mower, stereo, TV, etc. DO NOT coddle the pup if it appears sensitive to any of the normal stuff around the home. You want him to realize that all of these varieties of sound are normal and nothing out of the ordinary.

Once you have a little retrieving maniac on your hands, you can think about trying to introduce the sound of gunfire again. Until then, you're better off leaving the pup home when you go shooting.


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## jonboede (Feb 16, 2016)

The best way to introduce puppies to the sound of guns is to wait until they've gone through the fear/sensitivity period at around 10 weeks and after they've had the 3rd parvo shot so they can be around other dogs and then...

Take them out where a field trial, or hunting test, or a working certificate test, or where people are training for said and keep your puppy back with the other dogs at the trucks some distance from the gunfire. When the guns go off the older dogs will get all excited because they know what's going on and your pup will pick up on that excitement. Do that a couple of times and pretty soon "gun fire = fun" will be associated in their brains.

Then just work your way closer over time. I don't think there's a real reason for a shotgun to go off directly over a dog's head until they've had a couple of months of retriever training.


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## Warren Farm Goldens (Apr 3, 2016)

*Hunting with a Pup*

We bring our pups out with an older dog and practice retrieving in the field before we shoot over them. They need to learn the relationship between the gun going off and the resulting bird to retrieve. We have started teaching and practicing retrieving bird wings as early as 3 months.


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