Years ago, I was at a gun club near my home in New York’s Hudson Valley, watching groups of shooters take golf carts out onto the sporting clays course. One fellow had a young pointing dog on a leash, and he was showing off the dog to his friends as he loaded him onto a cart. I was surprised that anyone would want to bring a young dog out into that environment, seeing that there was no real reward for the dog, and the frequent, close gunfire was sure to cause him some discomfort. I assumed at the very least that the dog was used to that volume of shooting, and I said so, pointing out that the man was wearing hearing protection while the dog had no such option. “Nope,” said the owner. “He’s never been around shooting before. I figure this will be a good way to get him used to it so I can start training and hunting him soon.” Needless to say, I had some choice words for the guy, who took off onto the course with his squad and his dog, the latter of which I am quite sure he ruined.
The reality is that avoiding gun-shyness requires aprocess that is neither challenging nor all that delicate. It just requires patience and some awareness. Consider how a person reacts to an unexpected loud noise, or a surprise, or any event that is startling—there is a natural adrenaline response, maybe one of fear or anger, but certainly one that is immediately negative. A dog reacts in much the same way to similar stimuli.
However, when a person warns another person of what is coming, as in saying “ok, cover your ears, here comes a loud noise,” that response is significantly dampened, as the element of surprise is taken away.
Unfortunately, we don’t have the language to warn our dogs. What we do have, however, is an opportunity to override the response by distracting the dog from it, basically creating an environment that is so stimulating, or a reward that is so strong, that the negative impact of the surprise or the noise becomes irrelevant. In the case of flushing dogs, I leverage the use of the retrieve to begin the process.
When to Start Gun Conditioning When I have a young dog in training, I never consider introducing gunfire until I have seen a proven drive to retrieve. The retrieve does not have to be polished by any means, but I want to see a dog that is highly motivated to chase an object, be it a ball or a bumper, and ideally to bring it back.
Ensure that your young dog is extremely enthusiastic about retrieving before introducing gunfire. (Photo courtesy of Nathan Ratchford) In the event that the young dog is lackluster about retrieving an inanimate object, I might up the desire by using a wing-clipped bird. Regardless of the tool I use, I want to be certain that when the object is thrown, that dog goes after it with a ton of enthusiasm and desire, uninterested in anything else that may be taking place. Once I see that attitude in a dog, I can begin to plan the next phase in conditioning the dog to gunfire.
In essence, the desire to retrieve is my buffer. I think of it less as a reward, and more of a distraction. If I can create an environment in which the dog is so focused on this object or activity that it is engaged with, the “background noise” of gunfire becomes irrelevant.
That said, it is vital to make sure that the “background noise” does not threaten to override the distraction that you have put in place. For this reason, I introduce gunfire from a great distance, and with a light noise. Many folks use a training pistol with blanks or poppers, but these rounds seem to have more of a sharp crack than a report. I sometimes use a shot shell with the pellets and powder removed, in essence just firing the primer. Regardless, start soft; don’t begin with a magnum shell shot from a ported barrel at close range. Be patient; take it slow.
How to Start Gun Conditioning To begin the drill, bring your flushing dog out into an open space with your retrieving dummy, ball, or wing-clipped bird. Position a partner 50 yards or more away, ideally in some trees or other noise-dampening surroundings, with a starter pistol or shotgun loaded with a primer shell only. Do a few retrieves to build up the energy and enthusiasm, making sure that the young dog is stimulated. Once he is retrieving well and obviously engaged, indicate to your partner that when you raise your hand, he or she should fire into the air. Then, send the dog out for a retrieve, and as the dog is going out, raise your hand. If you have set up the drill correctly, the dog will not even notice the sound. That said, watch the dog closely. In the event that there is any hesitation, or if the dog stops, follow his lead. Do a few more retrieves without the gunfire, get him excited again, and stop for the day. You can try again tomorrow with a lighter load, or the gun positioned further away.
A starter pistol or shotgun loaded with a primer shell only is ideal for introducing gunfire the first time. (Photo courtesy of Nathan Ratchford) Likely, the dog will not react whatsoever, and in following days you can increase the volume of the shot, or the proximity, slowly—and I mean slowly. Remember, the goal here is not to pressure test the dog or see how loud or close you can get to him before he reacts. The goal is to slowly condition the dog to view gunfire as irrelevant background noise, and nothing to be startled by. Eventually, when shot birds become part of the training, gunfire will take on an even more positive association. That said, I can’t over-emphasize the need to move slowly and along a progression. Gun conditioning does not happen in a day, and more is not necessarily better. A retrieve session with a few shots, done steadily on consecutive days, will be more than sufficient.
