I have a 1 1/2 year old black lab. She was a great hunter and 5 months(retrieving) and then the next year, but this year hunting when the gun went off she would take of and I tried holding her while friends fired the gun but she freaked out. She is a really good dog, when were playing fetch she listens to EVERY command, she knows where I point is where the "duck" is. She is to good of a dog to ignore, I will have to get a new dog if she doesn't get cured which I don't want to do! Please help me!



Nothing happened with loud noises, guns, hunting etc.
She also is not scared of car doors, quads, skidoo's etc.

PLEASE HELP!! :o

Maybe the gun noise hurts her ears now. Can't you leave her home with a new toy or something to keep her busy until you come back?

It might just take some time to desensitize her to the sound again. Make sure you don't make a big deal or do too much to comfort her. Is she uncomfortable as soon as she sees the gun? If so, try handling it in front of her without firing it. Try to work with her on some other tasks/activities she enjoys somewhere where she might hear gunshots in the distance?

The whole reason I bought a $900 dog was for hunting, not to leave her alone and chew a toy, and she is not scared of the gun it's self, and it doesn't hurt her ears (no other loud noise makes her jump).

In your question you didn't mention that she was bought for the purpose of hunting and that's why I suggested a chew toy. I thought she was bought to play with and such and she enjoyed to hunt with you. Why not take a break for hunting for a while and then go back to it?

I had the same problem with a coon dog a few years back. I called my cousin who trains retrievers! He said to take him out in a boat about a hundred yards from the bank and shoot. If he jumps in water let him swim nearly back to the bank then go get him repeat until he stays in the boat! It works but it depends on how far you want to take it. Just a suggestion

OK, I'll try the boat thing:D, and I can't take a break, its competitions.

I am of two minds about this entire situation. This sounds like a lovely dog except for the gunshyness. If the dog truly is gun shy, it seems that all the training in the world won't cure it, and could possibly wind up with a dog that is even worse off, because the more that you work with her to cure the gunshyness, the more stressed she may become. You don't want to wind up with a dog that thinks any time she sees you, you are going to do incredibly stressful things to her, because then she may develop other bad behaviors in order to try and avoid the training sessions.

On the other hand, it sounds like she used to not have this problem. In which case I would be looking for what's changed between then and now, and seeing if you can fix that, since this sounds like a symptom of some other problem.

Seems to me that I read somewhere of a second "fear period" that older puppies go through (for the life of me I can't remember the age, but it was after 6 months). It is possible she developed the problem during this time? Also something may have scared her just as a gun went off or a car backfired that had nothing to do with the noise but that she may associate with the noise. Just thoughts.
Anyway, since she is not afraid of the gun itself, you may have a chance at desensitizing her. I am assuming you use a shotgun (Duck hunter I am not, obviously!). Can you fire a .22 rifle several yards away without her reacting? I also assume her retrieval object is her favorite thing in the world.
If you can work from a distance that does not cause any reaction, start there, have someone else fire the rifle and immediately throw her "duck" a short distance so she gets an immediate reward. If she reacts, no reward, no scolding, and move further away. Gradually move up to louder guns--you will probably have to go back to the original distance and work up again, but by then she should be associating the gunfire with something good.
This is slow work, so you may have to sit out this season :( but if this is a truly promising dog, the time investment will be worth it in the long run.

Articles by Willow Creek

I found this link that might be some help for you.

I would suggest tying her up and shooting away from her at a disatance she is comfortable with and slowly working your way towards her, she's your dog so I'm sure you can tell when she's uncomfortable.This may take some time but as a dog lover myself I'm sure it will be worth it. Also I don't know if I'd try the boat thing no offense to anyone else's answers but scaring her out of a boat time and time again... you may not be able to get her back in the boat after a while. Good luck and remember lead them and don't stop your barrel