Dear Trainers, I have a one year old Springer/Beagle mix(spayed) who showed much promise as a gun dog from about eight weeks to 9 months, although her parents were not garunteed to be of hunting lines. My wife wanted her as a pet and the "price was right" so we took a chance. She would enthusiastically sniff out pheasant wings and pigeons in the beginning, and was fine around a cap gun, the report of "primers only" out of a shotgun, and being taken on walks about 1/4 mile from the local skeet range. We did our best to keep her experiences around noises enjoyable, however she did have about four bad experinces with fireworks and sirens which were beyond our control. She now is noticably nervous around a gun, and not nearly as enthusiastic about birding, although she will sniff and explore for hours if allowed to go after what she wants (squirrels, crickets, etc...) as long as no gun is present. I personally do not think the bad experiences are soley to blame. My question is at this point given the above info, is it worth my time and fair to her to continue working with her or should I retire her to "pet" status. Could this be a "phase" for her or are some dogs naturally adverse to loud noises as some humans are? I've tried the feeding trick and also just carrying the gun for a while with her. Also, if she doesn't work out what are your opinions on purchasing a slightly older dog who is already started and who has proven itself, since we can only own two dogs at most? Thank you. Gunshy Dog, First, I would reply that the "four bad experiences with fireworks and sirens" were probably responsible for her gunshyness. It sounds like that her baseline temperment is probably a little on the soft side. That's not all bad because many times a dog with that temperament is somewhat easier to train. The down side is that it's also easier for that type of dog to learn negative behavior like gunshyness. She can be conditioned to respond positively to the gun, but it will take some time. I would suggest that you spend a lot of time with her letting her catch pigeons (pull some primary wing feathers before planting them). When she doesn't hesitate to drive in on the flush and is very animated in her quest for birds, then begin having someone fire a cap load at a distance of 50-100 yards behind the handler while she is in the act of flushing. If she ignores the shot, begin moving the gun up closer to the handler in successive flushes. You must be very attentive to her body language. If she shows even the slightest hesitation in her flush move the gunner farther back. Also be very quick and overt in praising her if she ignors the gun. If she shies away from or drops the bird, immediately set her up to catch it without the gun, and then start over with the gun a farther distance away. When she has no trouble with caps, begin again with real loads. Also, continue the other methods around home to acclimate her to loud noises. Good luck and give us a report on how it's going. Jon Oyler For more information on GunShyness, try: Gunshyness - Jan Burkholder Gun Shyness III Occasional gunshyness

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