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any ideas on how to break a 4yo choc from being gunshy...thanks to my neighbors kids and fireworks!!??

There are couple of guys that train regularly around the Columbus area, try to hook up with them and get their help.

try to put your dog with another well trained dog, I did that with a friends dog that was gun shy, and it did not take her long and she has been doing great.

Broke an Irish Setter with a cap gun at feeding time back in the day...she was atleast 2yr

Try to associate gun fire with the things a dog loves to do. When My dog was about six months old we went through a spell where she acted a little gun shy. So I started shooting more when throwing bumpers. She loves bumpers so much she didn't pay attention to the gun shot. Now when she sees me with a gun in my hands, she is knows its time to retrieve. Cap gun at feeding time is another good suggestion. Start with smaller noises and work your way up to the 12 ga.

My dog still doesnt like fireworks, and I do my best to keep her inside when the kids are shoot'm off.

mine was locked up in kennel outside when i came home from work to find 2 kids launching bottlerockets at him...

How do you know he is "gun shy"? If he is an experienced hunting dog with a few years under his belt I would just go hunt, once he sees dead ducks falling in front of him he will likely forget all about it. Now at home in the kennel or around the house it might be an issue.

pm sent

You can fix this yourself. Dux Be Us mentioned the "feeding time gun fire". This is a process that is timely, but very effective. There is an article on this posted at gundogsonline.com in the training pointing dogs section. You must remain consistant doing it. Fo this until it starts ignoring the gunfire, then associate the retrieve with the shot...ie, something they love doing.

Methods I have used that have worked

Method 1:(Puppy...may work on older dog) Tie duck wing on a bream buster can pole and get the dog's attention by having them chase it around. Do this a couple of times and introduce the cap gun while they are chasing the wing.

Method 2: I used to have a CD with 18 tracks of Beethoven's Music and each track had intermittent gun shots in them. I played the music while he ate. Of course track #1 the gun shot in the background was very quiet. As the tracks progressed the gun shots got louder and louder. I could tell when the dog was broken because he would sleep by his food bowl with loud gun shots going off in the background.

Just a few suggestions!

edit..... nevermind... good luck with the dog.