Boom bang a bang

Fran Ardley goes through the training stages needed to get your dog used to gunshot

- Fran Ardley

The introduction to the sound of the shot is part of a gundog’s training that needs careful planning. Fortunately, through selective breeding ‘gun shyness’ is something that today we do not often see in our gundogs. However, poor and ill-informed training can provoke a problem.

Many novice owners are keen to see if their young dogs will be all right with the sound of a gunshot as they are worried about putting in a lot of effort only to find that their hope for the future is scared of bangs. On the subject of bangs, there is a difference between the sound of a gun and a firework and I know of plenty of gundogs that are perfectly OK with a shotgun being fired but are really not happy about the bangs they hear on Bonfire Night.

I am often asked whether taking a young dog to a clay shooting ground is a good idea. I would caution against this for a number of reasons: the first is the amount and volume of sound; most clay grounds have acoustic bunds or banks to contain the sound and this creates an echo, which can be unnerving for a dog. Also, there is nothing positive for the dog to connect to the sound. Problems can quickly develop. Imagine this scenario: the dog starts to show signs of concern and perhaps even begins to whine, and the handler’s natural response is to try to calm the dog by giving it attention and perhaps even indirectly praising it: “Good boy, it’s OK.”

It is not a big step for the dog to connect its behavior with the reaction of its owner and before you know it you will have a dog that develops anxiety and starts making a noise.

HOW