firearms and dogs

[mikeb3185]

i have a 2 year old mix bread, she goes nuts when she sees a gun. i have had her since she was 15 weeks, so i know she was not abused. i have let her sniff them and still she barks and growls. my father has some land that we all shoot on and she heard the shooting and hiding under a chair. is there a way to break her fear of firearms?

 

[Preacherman]

Well, you could introduce him to my cats . . .

 

[Cosmoline]

It's part of every working GSD's training to stay calm with gunfire. Sometimes you can deal with problem dogs by taking them to the range and giving them treats as they hear the gunfire. But then again some dogs are just never going to get over it.

 

[mikeb3185]

preacherman-

my dog does not get along well with cats, however hilarious story (my wife thinks im nuts laughing at the computer)

 

[dfaugh]

I've bred/raised/trained GSDs for Schutzhund spot for years (where they must do obedience in the presence of gunfire)...And one thing I've never seen conquered is a dog that is truly "gunshy"...Some dogs don't like it at first, and I've seen a few get aggressive when a gun is fired, but there are a few that are just born that way. And nothing we've ever been able to do has corrected it. Don't see many "working" bred GSDs, as no one would ever breed them, but I've seen a few. My working dogs go crazy when they hear gunfire (we sometimes shoot "out back") because they think its time to "work", which is all they live to do.

 

[belton-deer-hunter]

well iahve a dog that i trained to hunt rabbits and i took her out into the woods and tied her up to a tree.... stood beside her and started shooting after about 5 rounds she lloked aup at me and jsut watched and has not been afraid of it since now when i grab a gun she is right behind me waging her tail.

 

[The Real Hawkeye]

If your dog goes bonkers at the SIGHT of a gun, then you can be 100% sure that someone has abused the animal with a real or toy gun before, even if secretly. Do you have children in the house? Neighbor kids ever have access to the dog? Kids, with toy guns, can be cruel to dogs, thinking it a lot of fun to shoot at them and watch them become frightened. Best way to ruin a dog is to allow a kid to shoot it with some nerf projectile, or something similar. Really hard to fix that problem. Some people lay a gun down next to the food bowl each time it's time for the dog to eat. Try this for a while. If the dog won't go near it, place some other object about the same size next to it every time it's feeding time. After a while, try the gun again. After a few dozen repeats with no apparent fear, touch the gun while the dog is eating for a few dozen repetitions, then hold it while sitting near the dog as he is eating. If your dog has a good appetite, this method might work well. The gun will soon become associated with the pleasant sensations the dog associates with eating.

 

[PressCheck]

I take my Dobe to the range with me. No problem with gunfire.

 

[DF357]

You're gonna have to trade that 'liberal' dog in for a more 'conservative' one!

 

[TaxPhd]

Don't take the dog to the range or tie it to a tree and start shooting. There are good, delicate ways to deal with a gun shy dog. A search on some of the sporting dog forums should turn up plenty of info.



Scott

 

[Kramer Krazy]

There may be something about the smell of the gun that your dog doesn't like. Might be the smell of gunpowder or the cleaning solvent that you use. There's no telling, but some animals know dangerous objects somehow. We once had a golden retriever we got as a puppy and had never seen a knife yet alone been threatened or injured with one. I had a swtichblade at the time, and the very first time I pulled it out of my pocket around him, he took off before I even opened the knife. I was just going to open a plastic bag with it, and wasn't really even near the dog. This same dog would walk away from me every time I walked through the yard with a gun. Maybe he associated it with the loud noises when I did target practice in the back yard. I have no idea, though.