Sure like LRH Forum.

[Alibiiv]

I BD always used a cap pistol or a 22 blank or a primed pistol case too.... unlike you though I did it when the puppy was just fed and eating.

Start further away and over a few days/weeks get closer and closer. Be in a position where you or someone with you can watch the dogs reaction.

Ultimately I was able to stand next to the pup and food and shoot the noise maker!!

Don't know how it might or might not work on an older dog. Give it a try; dogs like to eat ... lol

When I was in my teens, and....dinosaurs walked the earth, I used to rabbit hunt with beagle. Sometimes we would get a dog that simply was "gun shy" and there was not turning that dog around no matter what method we used to acclimate the dog to a shotgun going off. Unfortunate to say, but....some dogs just do not like load noises.

 

[epoletna]

We have had two German Shorthair Pointers. They LOVED the sounds of gunfire from the very first moment. Uncanny -- when I first shot over them, (individually, since I owned one, then the second after we. put down the first) they stopped what they were doing and looked right at me as if to say "what should I do?" Neither one was ever trained to point or retrieve, but both knew how to do it from the git-go. Amazing animals. I'd get another, but we don't live in a place with enough land now -- they need to RUN! and I do mean run! We had a small farm when we had the second one, and he used to run for about 45 minutes to an hour every morning, then come home and flop down, worn out. But if I took the shotgun out he was on his feet, quivering with excitement. And when I'd miss a bird, he turn to look at me with such scorn that it hurt!

 

[skipglo]

No, I have a little Golden Retriever. We hunted North Dakota for the first time last year. She's the first dog I've tried to train. She doesn't know a lot of commands and we probably would get laughed off of some expensive hunting lodge for improper etiquette. All that being said we went out on public land last year and killed a few wild birds. My little dog and I are now hooked and I'm still trying to learn what I can when I get time. I'm in the process of moving to Montana soon so this season we will be starting over finding places to hunt.

There are like everything...100s of good videos out there. Research top gun dog trainers and pick up a few...my Grandfather was one of them......but please keep this in mind.....it takes a few 1000 hours up to 4 to have the best of the best.....so don't get discouraged in the first few 100...this is a patience and bonding game?

 

[skipglo]

There are like everything...100s of good videos out there. Research top gun dog trainers and pick up a few...my Grandfather was one of them......but please keep this in mind.....it takes a few 1000 hours up to 4 to have the best of the best.....so don't get discouraged in the first few 100...this is a patience and bonding game?

! Not ?

 

[jrthomasjr]

Not quite on the topic, but my first bird dog was a golden as well. Best hunting partner I've ever had; I could count on one hand the number of birds lost with her over 10 years.

As for training, I'm not sure who trained whom, but I used a book, "Training Your Retriever", by James Lamb Free, said to be the best resource at the time. Everything worked well except the stuff meant to remove the gun-shy aspects. Not sure if it was my attempt at applying them or just the dog.

I finally took her on a dove hunt on my in-law's property, and the birds failed to show up, proving yet again you just can't trust a dove to do what they're supposed to do. On the way back through the peach orchard, a covey of quail broke in front of us. One flew back over me and I put it down. It was like a switch was thrown in her head. She retrieved that one to hand, worked up 6 more (pointing, which we had not worked on), all of them bagged, and was a gun dog for the rest of her life. When a gun came out, she got excited!

I later worked with two different trainers in the central TX area, both very highly regarded in TX, one internationally. I can't recall who said what, but some comments have stuck with me:

"Birds cure all problems"
"There are no bad dogs, only bad owners"
"We're often training the owners more than the dogs"

In summary, had I been working with my golden using live birds when trying to break the gun-shy problem, chances of success would have been close to 100%.

 

[epoletna]

Absolutely correct -- more important (and harder) to train human than the dog. And a bad dog is the result of a bad owner.

 

[jpndave]

Start slow with sharp claps, then a cap gun pointed away, then towards, then the 22 blanks away then towards, etc. Honestly by that time you get through that you should have it pretty much sorted. Do this when the pup is distracted, enjoying themselves. BE PATIENT. Goldens are soft temperament and can be timid. That's part of what makes them so great around people but you're dealing with the negative of that trait. Be patient, did I mention that already? Just go out with your buddy (the dog) and enjoy. Be patient.

jrthomasjr comment of "Birds cure all problems" is pretty on point. Once the dog realizes hey that's a bird, birds are FUN, we're after birds and guns = birds the problem is solved. Getting there without permanent damage is the tricky part.

No offense but I wholeheartedly disagree with taking a dog to the skeet/clays range. NOT GOOD.

After watching Doug in the movie UP, I just get such a kick out of Golden Retrievers. They really got that one down for the movie. If you haven't seen it, grab the wife and kids and enjoy.

 

[jpndave]

Here's my Leïla a few days ago being herself with the quarantine. Don't mention "birds" or she'll be ballistic before you finish the word. Sorry, photo just here on my desktop and couldn't resist.

 

[epoletna]

What a lovely dog Leila is! I love the breed. Something about their lankiness, their alertness, and the shape of their head just makes my heart melt when I see one. Can't help myself.

Both of ours were all liver colored.

 

[jpndave]

Thanks! I should have posted she is a Braque d'Auvergne. Similar in appearance to your shorthairs in size, etc. Temperament is more like the European shorthairs. She is a sweetheart inside and a machine in the field. Notice the lazy position and blurred tail.

 

[epoletna]

Oh, I know that breed. A good friend had one for a decade. Great dog. A little larger than my GSPs.

 

[ElkSurgeon]

Start slow with sharp claps, then a cap gun pointed away, then towards, then the 22 blanks away then towards, etc. Honestly by that time you get through that you should have it pretty much sorted. Do this when the pup is distracted, enjoying themselves. BE PATIENT. Goldens are soft temperament and can be timid. That's part of what makes them so great around people but you're dealing with the negative of that trait. Be patient, did I mention that already? Just go out with your buddy (the dog) and enjoy. Be patient.

jrthomasjr comment of "Birds cure all problems" is pretty on point. Once the dog realizes hey that's a bird, birds are FUN, we're after birds and guns = birds the problem is solved. Getting there without permanent damage is the tricky part.

No offense but I wholeheartedly disagree with taking a dog to the skeet/clays range. NOT GOOD.

After watching Doug in the movie UP, I just get such a kick out of Golden Retrievers. They really got that one down for the movie. If you haven't seen it, grab the wife and kids and enjoy.

No offense taken....That's a fine looking pointer! Has it ever hunted public land Chukar in Idaho or free range roosters?

 

[HNDLDR]

Thank you all for your reply's.
This is Maeve. She is small for a Golden at barely 40 lbs. I had her retrieving a dummy out of a launcher, that uses the Blanks, quite early on. My son got the first bird down for us, a Hungarian Partridge, and she ran right to it. Once she got there she didn't quite know what to do with the warm feathery bird. She wouldn't really pick it up and bring it back to me. A few birds later she still wouldn't retrieve them. Finally one day a rooster flushed for my son and he missed the first shot. He shot again and dropped the bird way far out. I knew the bird was far from dead. The bird hit the ground running and she was hot on its tail. She tackled that bird like a 40 lb wrecking ball and brought it back kicking to us.
You all are right. My dog has is training me more then I'm training her. The bond with her when we are hunting is like no other.

 

[jpndave]

No offense taken....That's a fine looking pointer! Has it ever hunted public land Chukar in Idaho or free range roosters?

She's not a pointer, Braque d'Auvergne is the breed, though they do point well. They hunt closer in not as far out as pointers/setters do. She is still lots of pup. I haven't had her up hunting in Idaho. Lots of "bird" in this one. She'll be awesome if I do my part. Hopefully life will allow it.