Gunshy Waldo?

[GutshotApe]

My lab pup Waldo is nearly 3 months old now...I've had him about 4 weeks. He's 95% house trained, knows his name, and comes when called. But ever since I got him he's been skittish around loud, sharp noises...like doors slamming, etc. I hoped that was just puppy insecurity and he seemed to be getting less nervous as time went by.

Then yesterday morning a lightning bolt hit a tree about 75 yds in back of my house...instantaneous flash & tremendous BOOM! Quite impressive!! Waldo, who was in the living room bolted for the sliding glass door which was open, went across the deck and down the stairs...and off into the woods as fast as he could run. He ended up under a the deck of a neighbor 1/4 mile away...and I got him back but not before putting up signs all over the place and worrying for 8 hrs.

Tonight, after he seemed calmed down, the neighbor kid rode past (100' away)on the road on a bicycle pulling a plastic toboggan (I know its summer...this is a weird kid ) making loud noises as it bounced...and Waldo, who was standing in the yard with me, spooked again, took off running for all he was worth...again, into the woods ending up at the same house across the road 1/4 mile away.

So, I'm wondering if it is going to be worth it to go thru training with a dog that cuts & runs so readily...or what? :whazzup: The people in the house said they'd like to have another dog...and would take Waldo if I don't want him.

He's a nice pup...but is he gunshy and if so, can this be overcome?

[Beaver93]

Wow! A real tough row to hoe.

I had a springer with some mild gunshyness. He was fine when he flushed a bird, but sitting in a duck blind shooting ducks was a big hurdle to get over. I used a modified version of clicker training (silent dog whistle), or operant conditioning.

1) If you want to invest the $$ take Waldo to a pro.
2) If that's not an option, get Karen Pryor's book, "Don't Shoot the Dog!" it's the bible on operant conditioning. She trained a gold fish to swim through a hoop, got dolphins to beg for the pool dech to be cleaned, and taught her cat to sit-stay-come & roll over.
3) Give Waldo to your neighbor and have them enclose that deck for him.

If a dolphin trainer can get a dolphin to think rubbing a brush on the pool deck is a reward for doing tricks, Waldo can certainly learn to associate loud noises with good stuff.

Good Luck
Corey

[Flatfish]

You ( and Waldo too) are born with the fear of loud noises.

Guns are actually pretty easy. Take Waldo to the gun club( shotguns are best. Pup gets to see the gun, and they are much less loud than rifles or even handguns). Start off a hundred fifty yards( you holding Waldo. Talk to him like it is no big deal-it aint) from the guns.200 yards if need be. Keep him calm. Hold him. Talk to him. Whatever. Put him on the ground after a while. If Waldo likes to play fetch( keep the check cord on him so you can catch him if he bolts), then do that. Whatever pup loves to do, do it when the guns are firing. After a while, move closer to the guns. If a buddy has a dog who is good around gunfire, expose Waldo to that dog as the guns are shooting. After a while, he will realize that loud noises are just another noise-And nothing important.

I have read that there is a cd or casette tape of gunfire that could be cool. You could introduce gunfire at home, where pup is most comfortable, while he goes about his daily routine(eating time is best).

More Waldo pics please. Jake is a good dog, but he aint puppy cute.

Mark and the handsome and mature dog.

[Norm]

I would agree with with Flatfish, I think a little time at a gun glub might be the ticket. Remeber his puppy ears are much more sensitive than our ears. Also taking him to stores that allow dogs like Home Depot will help socalize him and get him used strange noises and strange people. After hitting the store once a week for a couple months, you will see a big difference. Or you could bring your neighbors deck with you duck hunting :grin: .

[Tilla]

It's up to you but the Salem Retriever Trial Club is having it's last events at St Louis Ponds on Sun 8:30am. There are 209 primer guns for the pups and people who know how to do this. There are pheasant rewards with the sound of the shot. There are live guns too. No guarantees, but the failure rate is real real low. Should be a small personalized affair, non profit, just retriever people.

[Labsforme]

In this instance I disagree with exposing pups to gunfire at gun clubs(IMHO).It leaves too much out of control.I have always had my GSP,labs or any bird/duck dog associate gunfire with what they love best-birds and retrieving.Start off in an open field without other distractions and a training buddy.Have said buddy 100 yards away with a blank gun.You throw a bumper,release the pup and have your buddy fire the blank.If no reaction,good.Do it again several times.Again if no reaction other than being pumped about retrieving have buddy move up about 20 yards.Repeat above,hopefully no reaction.Praise heavily each time.Put the pup up for the day.Next lesson start again at 100 yards and maybe(again depends on reactions) have buddy move up gradually to 60 yards.Keep this progressive over several sessions until finally at your side.Do the same procedure with a shot gun.If there are hiccups stop the noise immediately and get the pup happy by retrieving happy bumpers.Give a rest and try a week later.If you still have problems call Tilla :smile: .This may seem unnecessary to many but check with most pros about gun exposure at the wrong time.It can make them a lot of money.
Jeff

[Lured In]

Right on Jeff.

GSA...Keep in mind the dog isn't gun shy yet, its 'loud' noise shy. Give him a reason to like loud noises, by helping him associate the noise with getting to retrieve. You should see my dog when fireworks go off, construction workers are hammering, anything. She starts marking the noise and looking for something falling out of the sky! :grin:

[gottafish]

Jeff, is right on on this one, I have trained a lot of dogs and that approch works, One thing i would add when you feed you dog and he starts to eat have your wife or friend fire a cap pistol ( gundogsupply its about 30$ )the dog might get a little freaked but reasure him and every day do this and move closer until you are over the dog, I broke a two year old dog this way they learn the shot means good, FYI if you or anyone in your famliy hits him with a news paper or even yells at him stop this NOW. just use a firm NO! or/and put your hand on the back of the dogs neck and apply pressure this triggers an respone that the pup learned from mom and he will learn. newspapers and the like will ruin a gun dog fast as was the case with the two year old lab I broke for a friend, If you still have this problem after 3 weeks e-mail me at rbfree@comcast.net cheers Rich

[k9jeff]

Praise him evertime a loud sound happens.. I agree with the noise at feeding time. Constant, consistant work will pay off in the long run.

[GutshotApe]

I intend to continue with Waldo...he's a good-natured pup...and hope he can get over his timidness.

I have a book entitled "Hunt Close" by Jerome Robinson who used to be Sports Afield's gun dog editor and trained bird dogs for a living. He wrote "Gunshyness is the easiest problem to cause and the hardest to cure of all canine faults........Frankly, once a dog has been made gunshy, there is no sure way to cure him, and even the most patient and lengthy attempts to rebuild his confidence probably will fail. Once a gun dog has been made gunshy, he's worthless and the chances that he can be cured are, at best, very, very slim." :depressed:

I'm going to proceed under the assumption Waldo isn't "gun shy"...and hope I can introduce guns & gunfire to him gradually and overcome his skittishness.

[Flatfish]

Has he ever heard a gun? If not, he cannot be gunshy.

The folks here know dogs. It can be done just fine.

Mark and the dog.

[GutshotApe]

As far as I know, Waldo has never heard a gunshot...so he can't be gunshy, per se...but he seems overly sensitive to loud noises (compared to my pevious experience with a choc lab). Got Waldo July 12 from a typical backyard breeder in a NW Eugene subdivision neighborhood. I suspect there may have been a lot of fireworks around there on July 4th....

[BonkBonkBonk]

at least your dog isnt gun sight shy..i pick up my shotgun and our choclate lab looks scared

[GutshotApe]

Here's Waldo on the lawn an hour ago.

[Capin' Dan]

Well looks like you have your work cut out for you. These can be the challenging ones to train. First I would recommend that you get live birds. Pigeons. You can't killem they are so durable. Pull the wing feathers or clip them real short and leave some on the end of one wing just so they can get a little air. then take this pup out and make him insane with birds. Lots of praise, hotdogs, No obediance at these sessions. Get right down on his level roll on the ground with him play play play. Like I said make him insane with the birds. after a couple of weeks of this. have your training partner take a .22 cal blank gun and stand a ways away from him. throw the pigeon and pop as he is well on his way towards his retrieve and then get crazy with the puppy talk and rolling on the ground and playing. teach him that the sharp report of the gun is a good thing. This should proceed at a slow pace until you work your way up to a larger gun. One very important thing to remember when hunting him this season make sure no one muzzle blasts him this is a big set back. These dogs can be worked through these stages but it takes time and a gentle hand.

Thats my .02 worth.
I don't recommed the gun range at this early time.

Good Luck Waldo.

Dan

[FastAction]

My lab BO, he is Deathly afraid of the following:
Firecrackers, Thunder, Horses tromping. But he loves the blast of a GUN.. I think its normal. Somebody smart told me that the sub- frequencies of events like a thunderstorm are what scare a dog. Hell they scare me too. Remember, that events like the sled being drug around by kids is chaotic....dogs don't like chaos. My Grilfreinds dog freaks out with the acoustic Guitar. Im positive your dog will do fine, Primers and real bird wings! Good luck!

[LCFisherlady]

I think Waldo is just going through the fear stage that all pups go through about their 4th month. This fear stage can be quite dramatic and traumatic for the puppy. He needs reassurance and if he had no bad startle type reactions before this behavior started he should grow out of it before too long. I would recommend you read up on puppy development...it will help you deal with the problems too. Hopefully that is all it is...
j

[GutshotApe]

Took Waldo to the Eugene-Cottage Grove gun club today to test his nerve.

Pulled up in the parking lot during a lull in the shooting...rolled the windows down and sat there with the pup...about 200' from the firing line. There were three trap houses operating.

When the shooting began Waldo definitely showed unease...tensed up, ears back, nervous expression. But I petted and reassured him...and he soon relaxed...then climbed up on the seat to look out the window at the commotion. After a few minutes I took him on a leash out towards the lower end of the firing line keeping 150-200' away. No problem...Waldo became oblivious to the noise. I walked him over and sat on a bench right behind the first set of 5 shooters, 20 yds downwind where he could smell the gunsmoke...still no problem. Took him up to the clubhouse with close shooting, people milling around...the gunfire might as well not have been happening .

Maybe I'll keep him after all. :smile:

[TideWater]

That's good news. Go Waldo, Go!