Gun training

[Bones94]

I have searched the entire site and can't seem to find anything referring to gun training. I have an 11-month-old retriever who minds very well. He is good with the basics, sit, stay, come and drop, but I have never fired a gun over him. Is there a good way to introduce him to this? I am finally moving to an area where a hunting dog will be useful and would love for him to be able to come with me. He loves the outdoors and I think would make an extremely good hunt dog once I have trained him properly. I know I'm getting a late start, but I figure it's better late than never. Any suggestions?

[theGoldenPup]

There are many books about this, which I've found interesting, though many are not 'up to date' with more recent information on dog behavior.
Maybe go watch some tests (trials?) in your area and talk to people there that may know of an instructor to help you. If there are any 'pet fairs' in your area, check there, we often have some hunting people do demos with their dogs.
Carefully introduce the noise, preferably with an instructor. Its MUCH better to go slowly and carefully than rush and end up with problems later. Make it fun, have good things happen with the noise.
Work on the retrieving. Many start with a bumper and get the dog to retrieve it in the yard, in higher grass, in brush, in water. Get your dog to waaaiiit until you release him before going to get it.
Take an advanced obedience class. The more practice you get the better. Will your dog sit and stay if you throw a handfull of food? Maybe add whistle cues that can be heard over distance, add visual hand cues teaching him where to look.
And its never really too late to start! As long as you are patient, consistant, and reward often, you have a good chance of teaching him.
Even if you can't find someone to help you immediately, there is quite a bit to do in the meantime.
Have fun!

GoldenPup

(...I don't hunt with my dogs, I have taught them some of the basic parts with a bumper...but that is as far as I got. I really do NOT know much about it!!!)

[johnwa]

If you go over to our hunting introduction page, you will find links (right side) that discuss this:
<a href = "http://www.topgoldenretrieversites.net/hunting.shtml" target="_blank">site reference</a><br>

[Bones94]

Thanks for the information, I now have a good place to start. Hopefully, by this time next year, I will be using Murphy as a hunting partner. If not, he still makes a great companion.

[Boondox]

I've never gone for the hunter title with any of my dogs, but my two field goldens -- Molson and Tetley -- became excellent gun dogs. And now Tuppence is learning the ropes.

Molson was an accident. The first time I fired that .35 Remington with him, he was about 100' behind me and I was in the prone position. The .35 sounds like a cannon, and a few seconds after that discharge I had 95# of shivering golden on top of my prone form! So I backed down to the .22 with Molson back behind me. He started noticing things downrange falling over and made the connection between gunfire and distant events. Then came the first squirrel, and he was hooked. (Having had considerable damage done to my outbuildings by chewing red squirrels, I have no love for the darned things and consider them little more than bushy-tailed rats with good PR.)

Tetley learned from watching and emulating Molson. Being much younger, with better eyes and nose, he took over as Molson retired. The only problem was he generally ate whatever I shot. He would bring me the tail, or a wing in dove season. But I loved hunting with him just the same.

Tuppence was a strange situation. She was afraid of firearms the first three years of her life. The guns come out, she went in! But one day I winged a squirrel with the .22 at long range. It fell to the ground where Molson saw it. As he approached, the rodent reared up and bit him on the lip! He yelped in surprise...and this little blonde girl streaked in with all the fury of a mother witnessing harm to a member of her family! She had actually jumped right thru the screen door to assist Molson and take care of that squirrel in no uncertain terms. Even after I called her off she flagged over the body and snarled ferociously. Holy cow, I never knew she had an aggressive side before that!

Since then, the gun comes out...and so does Tuppence. She also warns of approaching coyotes (attracted by our sheep) and with her sharp eyes we've culled four of them this year at ranges up to 400 yards with the big Mauser.

Pete

[johnwa]

Holy cow, I never knew she had an aggressive side before that!
Since then, the gun comes out...and so does Tuppence. She also warns of approaching coyotes (attracted by our sheep) and with her sharp eyes we've culled four of them this year at ranges up to 400 yards with the big Mauser.
Pete

--As soon as you get the initial fear out of them, they are unstopable; they love it. And yes, there is a dark side to them, isn't there. :laugh2 :D

[JsMom]

Jake was approximately a year old when my hubby started taking him with him target shooting. He started out with a 22 (shooting tin cans)- and worked up to a 10 guage and eventually a 12. The sound never bothered him and because of the tin cans, he learned to look in the direction of the shooting. Hope that helps. :204

[JsMom]

Tetley learned from watching and emulating Molson. Being much younger, with better eyes and nose, he took over as Molson retired. The only problem was he generally ate whatever I shot. He would bring me the tail, or a wing in dove season. But I loved hunting with him just the same.

rofl3 rofl3 rofl3
These memories will help you through this difficult time!
Thanks for sharing. Peace!

[Roxy]

My older Goldy was unstoppable after learning the ropes. Johnwa ,you are right, they can have a dark side. Nick caught a squirrel at a young age. The only way I knew was it was still attached to his lip when he came running to me. The squirrel near dead had bit completely through his skin directly below his nose. I had to pry the squirrels jaws open.
After that the dog used to curl his lip when he saw a squirrel. If I shot one, it didn't get retreived, it became a toy to toss in the air or stomp on. I'm sure a dog can remember because for his 13 years of life he never let a squirrel in the yard. The rabbits were fine.
Our latest pup is coming along just fine. Great for upland birds. I've even used her to scent turkeys. We started out with a pellet gun, went to cb caps in a 22 then to long rifle and up through the gauges in the shotguns(.410-12 ga.)
I'm still a litte hesitant of shooting over her head in a duck blind. Eve thought about using the new metro barrels to save both our hearing.