Adventures Outdoors'
IN WISCONSIN
Intro to Guns & Decoy's
By Rick Spoerl
Before we discuss the retrieve any further we need to talk about the gun and how were going to introduce this pup to the gun. A friend of mine brought his 8-month-old shorthair to a pheasant shoot we had. We planted a dozen pheasants along a tree line and went back to get the dogs. I told him, the four of us shooting might get a little loud and crazy when the birds start flushing and I asked him if he had shot around his dog before. He told me he had introduced the pup to the gun. He briefly described what he did and although to me it sounded like what he did wasn’t enough, he was sure his dog would be fine. Some people just have to learn the hard way. When the pup was 5 months old he had a friend shoot a 22 blank about 100 yards away and slowly got closer and closer. The dog didn’t seem to be concerned so he had his buddy shoot a shotgun 50 or so yards away then came closer and shot it then next to the dog. The dog wasn’t concerned so the trainer figured the dog wasn’t gun shy. So here we are 3 months later walking up to the first live bird the pup has ever seen. I had my lab Buster on one side of the tree line and he had his shorthair on the other side. Buster started winding the bird and I told my friend to get his pup over to the bird to get him to point before I sent Buster in to flush it. After some coaxing the dog got in the area and I released my dog. The rooster blasted out of the cover, cackling and sending pieces of grass in the air. Two of us unloaded "bang, bang, bang". The shorthair took off towards the truck and the trainer had to literally drag the dog back to the spot we had shot the bird. I now knew this dog was really concerned, and if we didn’t do something this dog might be permanently damaged and possibly be gun shy. I had the trainer put his dog on a lead and bring the dog about a hundred yards away up wind of where we would shoot the remaining birds. I told him to just play with the dog with the pheasant we had shot and not pay any attention to us shooting the birds. After talking to the trainer after we had finished shooting the birds he said that although the dog would stop playing and turn to look every time we shot he didn’t seem afraid. We salvaged the situation that could have been detrimental to that dog, and later after proper introduction to the gun the dog would be just fine.
Now looking back, the original introduction to the gun the trainer did was not done properly, and it had been a long time ago (3 months). Not only that but also two hunters blasting off 6 rounds a mere few feet from the dog and sending off a couple 22 blanks are quite different. The dog had also never seen a live pheasant and therefore had not developed a desire for live birds yet. I’ve heard stories of guys that said, "Well this dog is a year old now, lets take him out and see if he’s gun shy". Then they take him out and "bam, bam" blast off their 12-gauge shotgun. I’m sure a lot of good dogs were made gun shy by inexperienced trainers. Introducing the gun isn’t a big deal but it should be dealt with carefully.
After the pup is retrieving happily and out at a distance of at least 50 yards we can all of a sudden one day just have the helper shoot a 22 blank gun in the air and toss the bird. I have him point the pistol away from him so it’s not quite as loud. You see, he already loves the retrieve, which is the key. The shorthair really didn’t love to do anything yet. He wasn’t taught to retrieve, or even taught to hunt. So he will associate the good retrieve with the noise from the gun. I would keep it out at a distance, using a 22 blank pistol or 209 primer pistol for at least 5 or 10 outings then when he is retrieving out a little farther you can fire some 12 gauge popper loads (12 gauge blank loads used for dog training) before throwing the marks. Then after 3 or 4 of these outings you can start shooting live flyers for the pup slowly moving from one hundred yards in to about 50 yards. A couple of these outings, and your ready to shoot a 22 blank from the line. Just always point it away from the dogs ears. You don’t want a deaf dog.
Other trainers have someone walk out at a hundred yards or so and while they throw a fun bumper they have their helper shoot off the gun slowly getting closer and closer until they are right next to the dog. Still others prefer to give their dog a treat every time the gun goes off. If you have a dog concerned over the gunfire chances are you have done something wrong. When pups are very young I get them accustomed to hearing loud noises while being careful not to frighten them too much. You can accomplish intro to the gun with these methods or combinations of them but the key is accomplishing it through time and repetition. See figures 9 and 10 for examples of beginning puppy retrieve drills.