Labrador puppy

[Buzzer]

All being well I should be getting a lab pup in June

What i would like to know is..... what age can I start getting it used to a gun shot, I dont want to scare it off shooting.

I think that i know the answer but just wonderd what you chaps think?

 

                         All the best

                             Buzzer

[dogsnuts]

im just starting on my springer now(shes 6 months)with one of my kids cap guns and she dont mind it one bit but it all depend on the temperment of the dog

[columbus]

If you look at dog training books they recon that its tween 12 &18 months. Ive found the best way is as soon as the puppy will walk on the lead and sit that you can take him to a clay shoot. Stand well back so that he can barly hear the shots,make the dog sit do all the training rutine that you would normaly do (it keeps the dogs mind focused on something other than the shots) but move progresevly closer to the shooting. If the dog seems nervous move back a little but carry on with the training ruitine. The object is to get the dog used to the sound of the gun without him being confronted with a loud bang, if all goes well in 2 or 3 visits you should be able to stand behind the guns with the dog quite happy just to sit there.It also has the added bonus that the dog does not associate the sound of the guns with anything else but sitting &walking to heel. It has worked for me in the past but i must say that slowly is the key word as with anything else to do with dog training.

[new to the flock]

Well put Columbus.

 

For me it depends entirely on the pups attitude. If I have a pup that is more laid back, not quite enough confidance to be ranging out and exploring at any distance than I will hold off till this pup catches up and has his own self assurance in place. I may not gun break this dog till he is 8 to 10 months old. If I have a real out-goer that gets into everything, wants to explore everywhere and is bursting with self confidance than I may introduce him to the gun as early as 3 months.

 

Points to remember:

 

1) always introduce the gun from a distance. Initially 80 to 100 yards. Gradually reducing the distance over time. 7 to 14 days.

2) always make sure the pups attention is focused on something else ex. obediance work, fetching a bumper, play chasing a rabbit, etc.

3) lessons should be kept short 15 to 20 min. twice a day.

4) always keep your cool no matter how frustrated you get, and always end on a positive note. If the pup has a problem with an exercise step back, and repeat something that he knows, praise him and then play for a while.

5) avoid falling into the just one more trap. It will only lead to frustration. See number 4.

6) train at the pups learning rate, not your desire rate. If he is not ready for this season then he is not ready.

7) be consistant with your training and commands.

8) This is the most important of them all and goes for both you and the pup. KEEP IT FUN.

 

Good luck and have fun

[rjimmer]

All being well I should be getting a lab pup in June

What i would like to know is..... what age can I start getting it used to a gun shot,

For the sake of it's hips, you don't want to take it out of the garden till it's 6 months old.

[highdowns hunter]

I have read that it is good to get your pup used to sudden noises around the home first, Try banging some sauce pans and pan lids around the house so that it is not startled be sudden noises,

Then try progressing to a starting pistol for training purposes before actually taking him out with a shotgun

[new to the flock]

Rjimmer:

If you are talking about hip dysplasia there are two kinds:1 ) hereditary which as I'm sure you know is passed on through breeding. 2) enviromental . The most common ways for this to developed is from pups running on slippery floors, where their footing is bad and their legs splay out from under them. There is also a number of other serious joint and bone structure problems that can develope from running your pup on a hard surface such as asphalt or concrete. However if the puppy is taken out in the fields, the pick-up truck, and everywhere else you go from the time he is 12 weeks (after his last set of puppy vaccines) he will be a well adjusted individual whom will not be scarred of riding in the truck, things that go boo in the field like butterflies ( don't laugh I had a horse that was terrified of them), or new situations. By all means do not try to run 100 yard retrieving drills but get him out to learn about the world and what his job will be. I have pups which will quarter, flush, and retrieve shot birds at 10 months this doesn't mean I will put them into the hunt rotation but they are well on their way to being an accomplished retriever.

Highdowns Hunter ;

If you are going to employ the sauce pan method you must remember to start this exercise some distance from the pup well his attention is focused elsewhere, say on his dinner. Most gun shy dogs that I recieve for retraining were started this way and were gun shy before they ever heared a shot. Loud noise is still loud noise whether is comes from a gun or a couple of sauce pans.

[rjimmer]

2) enviromental . The most common ways for this to developed is from pups running on slippery floors, where their footing is bad and their legs splay out from under them.

I would put running up stairs and steep banks, jumping over fences and into pickup trucks alongside these as causes of HD.

If you want to take out a puppy, then lift it into the vehicle.

I've never had that problem. Always had a few acres outside the back door though.

One flatcoat breeder that I know, had never bred an HD dog in her life when suddenly she had two complaints about dogs from the same litter. She went to see how and where they were being kept. One was living high up in a block of flats, going up and down the stairs every day. The other was on one of the Channel Islands and running up and down cliffs all the time.

 

One friend of mine starts gun training by discharging an air pistol, with no pellet, close to the puppy as it is eating it's meal.

[new to the flock]

Rjimmer:

 

Very solid and valid points, and very good advice. :ph34r: :ph34r: Couldn't help but use the ninja, he's my favourite.