# Introduction to gun shots



## Greenhead_Slayer (Oct 16, 2007)

I've read a few books, got a few DVD's, just curious as to how old and how exactly all of you have done it?


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## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

I started off my lab pup with a cap gun. I'd fire it as I'd throw a bumper for him. The bumper provided just enough distraction that he wouldn't completely focus on the loud noise. He definitely heard it, and he'd look to see what it was, but he didn't care because he was having fun retrieving. I also started off firing it away from him (like across the backyard) and worked closer. We started this pretty early on. Maybe around 10 weeks old. At 4 months old I could fire a shotgun and it didn't bother him a bit. Just start small, and far away, and work your way closer and louder. Your dog may or may not be sensitive to it. I found out pretty quickly that mine wasn't too bothered by it at all. But every dog can be different, so it pays to work them in slowly, and then progress at their pace, just as with all kinds of training. 

One thing is for sure, it pays dividends to train them to it on your terms. My parents have a golden who cowers every time it rains because she associates rain with thunder. She got stuck in a pretty fierce springtime thunderstorm when she was a puppy, and now she hates loud noises. Had we trained her on it very early on, I'm sure she'd be fine now.


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## coachchris (Dec 5, 2010)

I got a later start than I wanted to do to my pup injuring her paw. I did it when she was about 8 months. I started with a 20 gauge that my brother shot from a distance as he threw a bumper. She never really had a problem and we just gradually moved her closer until we were shooting with her at the side. We then repeated the process with a 12 gauge, though I'm not sure we really needed to. Now she just get excited when she sees the guns come out.


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## huntingbuddy (Sep 10, 2007)

I must have gotten lucky with my dog, I have a brittany spaniel and I took him out hunting when he was about a year. He loves gun shots, he isn't scared one bit he loves to go hunting and be around guns.


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## justuspr (Mar 3, 2009)

I got him crazy about birds then started shooting as he would chase, never even flinched.


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## xxxxxxBirdDogger (Mar 7, 2008)

> I got him crazy about birds then started shooting as he would chase, never even flinched.


...and that's how it's done properly.


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## mjbarney12 (Feb 13, 2011)

I had my brothers all going shooting trap with me. As they shot trap off in the distance(200-300 yards-ish), I played like crazy with my 4-month-old lab. Threw bumpers, acted like everything was crazy fun and gradually moved closer and closer, all the while throwing bumpers and playing till we were right in and amongst the shooters. She never had any problems at all.


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