Hearing safety for dogs

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labnoti

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Tell me what you know about hearing safety for dogs around gunfire.

Dogs are frequently our companions and partners in hunting, the military, law enforcement and conceivably even in self-defense situations where firearms are discharged.

What practical considerations can we make for our canine partners when discharging guns around them?
 
I tie my dog up at the house when I'm going to shoot a LOT and have friends shooting and when I have out the big guns where there is no reason for him to be around them.
 
I leave my dogs at home when I go shooting; however, never tied up. However, I have seen plenty of K9s and never noticed any ear protection. But I have seen dogs being trained in the woods with very large ear muffs. Not sure if my dogs would ever wear them. Guess if you start as pups they might.
 
Use a suppressor and quiet the gun at the source. I'm not sure I've ever seen an effective set of dog ear pro that the dogs won't try to immediately remove (maybe unless they've been very well trained to use them). Suppressing the gun is going to be much easier.
 
Waterfowl hunting exposes dogs to more and closer gunfire than anything else I know of.
Use common sense in where you place your dog and what direction you shoot.
As you can see below, Jake sits in the bow of the duck boat, constantly scanning the sky for incoming flocks.
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If you encounter enough gunfire in self defense situations to damage your dogs hearing you need make some big changes in your life.
 
I understand it is best to keep the dog away from gun noise. But I am asking about dogs that must work around gun noise, where their being there is not optional.

A waterfowl retrieving dog is one example. There are many gun dogs that work in upland hunting also.

While gunfire is less frequent for police K9, MWD, and dogs caught up in self-defense shootings, they are still exposed. It's not a matter of the frequency or volume of the gunfire. I know from personal experience that one shooting is enough to cause permanent damage.

I don't know of a practical solution to this. It seems like the sporting gun dog would be the best candidate for any kind of hearing protection that could be devised, but I'm not aware of any such device that is practical.

Even if a hearing protection device for sporting gun dogs could be devised, it's doubtful that it would make sense for other dogs to wear it constantly in case a highly improbable shooting were to occur. But working dogs are still at risk.

I am familiar with police, military and personal protection dog training and sport trials based on that type of training. The dogs are often tested for gun shyness or other undesirable reactions to gunfire by using 6mm rimfire (.22) blank revolver and .32 cartridge blank gun (most of the training and trial rules and traditions were developed in western Europe). The revolvers are usually held up high in the air and fired and don't present as much risk for hearing damage as actual gunfire from a live service caliber cartridge, a carbine, rifle or shotgun.

Patrol K9's (as opposed to detection dogs) are only deployed on suspected felony cases where the probability of gunfire is significant. MWD's are more likely to be exposed to rifle fire. Service dogs assisting disabled people as near-constant companions have a higher probability of being involved in a self-defense incident than pets that are usually kept at home. Of course, any pet has some risk whether they're caught up in a home invasion, or just out for a walk.

For home defense, and for the MWD's handler, it seems practical to use a suppressor to reduce the exposure even if it doesn't make the gun "hearing safe." The investment made in a MWD is very substantial and nobody wants a deaf sentry dog. But for the patrolman or self-defender, the suppressor doesn't seem like a practical option for carry.
 
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I think theres a distinct difference between hunting dogs and house dogs.

I was at my buddies range one day when we were shooting just about everything, pistols, shotguns and rifles when a obvious loose hunting dog roamed onto the range. He wasn't bothered at all just seemed ready to go after something with every shot.

Then you have house dogs like mine that may or may not mind being bothered by gunfire. Mine does not like it at all unless it's me who's doing the shooting. Its beyond me how she knows the difference.
 
It's the main reason I don't uses dogs for hunting.

I wouldn't do that to a dog.


I've had bird dogs for half a century. Most of them Continental pointing breeds. Shot probably thousands of birds over them. Never had one go deaf, never had one that didn't want to be there. Most go nuts to get to the sound of gunfire when they hear/heard it. They are always farther away from the muzzle than I am, and because I don't shoot at my dogs, the muzzle blast is not directed at them. Kinda how it works. Could be that their droopy ears act like doggy earmuffs.........

As for K-9 dogs that get trained in shoot-houses with live gunfire, there may be implications.
 
I had a dog growing up that was always in the shop with my dad. He was a tool maker/general metalworker, woodworker, welder etc. There was a lot of noise in that shop. So much so my dad always wore hearing protection. The dog didn’t mind and didn’t go deaf. Just laid off in a corner a relaxed.
 
When we shoot out at my in-laws', we usually put the dog in their shed (and by shed, I mean a huge pole barn that's almost as big as their house). Provides some good insulation as far as sound and gives her room to run around while not being chained up.
 
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