Teaching Your Dog About Guns

If you are a hunter and have a hunting dog, you
deftly want to teach him or her not to be gun
shy or fearful in any way of your gun. This
process should begin as early as possible in
teaching the dog not to be afraid of loud noises
that guns produce. In order to teach your dog not
to be afraid, it's necessary to expose them to
these loud noises such as gunshots and fireworks
on a regular basis.

This of course could be problematic if you do
not live in a location that allows the discharge
of firearms or fireworks. If this is the case, it
will require you to take your dog physically to a
location where you can train them for resisting
the fear these noises produce. Almost all dogs
naturally are frayed of these loud sounds. It
will take time and effort on the canine owners
part in order to convince the dog and reassure
him or her that the noises are not harmful. In
fact, it's even best if the dog to associate
these noises with pleasurable experiences such
as eating.

To begin the process, watch remember that you
want to associate the loud sounds was something
pleasurable and also in the beginning sounds
cannot be produced very near to the dog. You
want to be very careful that the initial
exposure of the dog to the discharge of the gun
or fireworks is not detrimental to the process.
Therefore, the dog should be exposed to the
sounds from a faraway distance. Perhaps 50 to
100 yards depending on the type of noise used
for the training would be required in order not
to spook the dog too much to the new sound.

Remembered always have some treats available but
the dog enjoys eating immediately after the
noises produced in what ever method is
available. Have a helper discharge the rifle or
shotgun and immediately praise the dog, pet the
dog, and feed him or her one of their favorite
snacks. Repeat this process two or three times
and then quit for the day. Do this every day for
several weeks.

During that time gradually move the sound closer
and closer to the dog. It will become obvious
that the dog is not paying any attention to the
loud shot and is actually learning that when he
or she hears the shot a pleasurable experience
is about to happen. This is the ideal situation
which you want to accomplish for your hunting
dog. In most cases, most dogs can be trained to
accept the loud noises of the gun discharge in a
matter of weeks. But of course it makes a
difference on every dog's personality. You have
to be aware of your dog's progress and not take
it to fast. Let your dog be the judge of how
rapidly he or she is accepting of the noise.

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Visit Steve Weber's website for more information
about keeping your hunting dog healthy in all
respects. His site has detailed information
about treating dog arthritis in older canines.
http://www.cactuscanyon.com

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