Took my 8 month old pup out to expose him to the 12ga. today. We have used a cap gun and .22 leading up to today but he flinched and hid behind me a few times before retrieving the bird. Is this normal? He did complete the retrieve every time but seemed bother by the shot. Shooter was 40 yards out throwing a pigeon then shooting.

Probably should start the 12 ga further out.

Yup. Back it out and work in.

Why are you in such a hurry to shoot around a 8 month old puppy? In my opinion, more bad than good can happen at that young age.

I' try that, thanks

Really? Seems like a perfect age to me since many dogs go to training at 6-7 months old...

We routinely shoot around dogs at this age that have been prepared properly and it sounds like you've done so. I see a lot of dogs do what you said because of the echo of the shot. It is always better to air on the side of caution though. I would consider going back to the cap gun and .22 until you are shooting directly next to or over the dog and then go back to the 12ga a little further out. Once he figures out the shot means a bird, you won't be able to stop him.

yeah okay umm okay. Why use a 12 guage? At eight months, I am still using .22 crimps or 209 primers and never shoot up close to the pup. I will shoot away from the pup only if he is in pursuit of a bird or pigeon. I have never shied one in nearly 40 years of training.

So what age would you start shooting a 12 ga around one that has been properly conditioned?

Maybe 12 mos. in a real closely controlled set-up and after I had burned through many primers getting there.

You don't hunt your dogs before they are a year?

Mine will be 10 months in September and we're hunting.

My V dog Blaze was hunting and retrieving rabbits at 7 months old and I was Dove hunting over my V Dog Dash at 9 months old, but that has nothing to do with your's or any other dog. Gun shyness is a learned behavior IMO, but the personality's of some breeds and of some individual dogs are just more cautious than other dogs. Sounds like your close to moving forward, but if he is hiding behind you and bothered by the shot at 40 yards out, probably best to back it off a little on this one to be safe. Especially if he is presenting that behavior over a live/shot pigeon.

Thanks for the feedback, think I'll use a .410. I'm not in a real big hurry, I don't plan on hunting him this year...maybe late into the split Jan 2014. I appreciate the different views.

^^ agreed.

You have plenty of time with this pup... back off and work the pup without gunfire for a few weeks. Start over and re-introduce him to the gunfire with live or crippled birds. let him mature a little until he is getting really worked up on the live birds and then bring in the gunfire slowly again.

Gun-shyness is one of the hardest things to fix in a dog, if at all. I read somewhere once that in over 60% of cases involving gun-shy dogs, that they can't be fixed and are basically ruined.

If your pup is showing anxiety to the gunfire, stop, give him some time with other types of training and start over in a month or two. I'm not being critical of your training because as SJ said, different dogs and breeds can be more sensitive (or soft) to certain things and you are chancing ruining the dog if you continue at this point. Listen to the dog...

The average Started Dog is 10-12 months old so you do the math. And I haven't been training 40 years but I have never created a gun shy dog either and have been successful in curing quite a few.

I think it depends on the dog and how they are conditioned. Mine had over 100 retrieves during last season before he was 1 year old. Good luck, just don't rush it.

x2 - I was shooting quail over my dog at 4 months.

From the time My dogs came home to now they have been around construction sounds. we bought my son a cap gun (you know the little plastic popper guns) and told him to stay away from the dogs with it... of course a 3 yr old listens, so he went over and laid the gun down on my dog's back like a shooting rest and pops off 3 rounds. Not even a flinch. I'm getting a .22 blank pistol this weekend hopefully... will work up from there. they are 6 months old this month. so I don't think your dog is too young, but if it is hiding/ flinching, i would think he is not ready to move up to bigger guns.

Just about ruined my Zeke dog by shooting too close to him when he was a pup. Took a year at the trainers and lots of $ to get him fixed.

This! X 2

I hope to get a good 8-10 years retrieving out of him, think I'm just going to back off on the gun and start over again in July. I'm not in a hurry. I cant invest 4-5k into him due to the fact he is weim/lab mix and it just wouldn't make sense.

I have trained a grand total of ONE Lab. But, I've started/trained/finished many many pointing dogs. So, here's the question, do retriever folks not start pups like pointing dog folks do? Get the dog lathered about birds, toss free flying pigeons, get the pup chasing like a maniac, then introduce a blank gun in full chase. I've yet to have a gun shy dog using this method. And, I am typically killing birds over pointing dogs with a 12 gauge by the time they are 6 months.

I don't make a point to intro guns around birds. If birds are there, great. If they're not, great. I'll carry the gun in the field whent he dog is ready and just turn the dog loose. When he's out a click, as far out as I can get him, I'll turn and shoot the gun in the other direction then keep walking in the direction of the dog as though nothing happened. If the dog show concern, slows up, comes to check in or anything, just ignore him. If he shows any hesitancy in his running after that, don't shoot the gun for the rest of the run. The next time out repeat. You want the dog out and having fun, stretching out and thinking about eating up yardage before you ever fire. After the first outting, take him out again and wait for him to open up his range again. When he does and is in totaly bliss, fire the gun away from him again. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER IS TO TOTALLY AVOID THE DOG AND ANY RESPONSE HE GIVES TO THE GUN FIRE. Whether he runs to the pickup and hides or just throws a hitch in his gitty up, just walk on like you didn't even see his reaction. If he runs to you, don't say a word to him and just leave him be. Dogs read you like a book. If he is startled by the gun fire the worst thing you can do respond to his reaction. It will just reinforce his hesitancy toward the shot. After awhile he'll figure since you don't show no nevermind to the shot that it must not be a big deal.

If the dog has a close range then go into the field with a friend and walk about a hundred yards apart. If the dog is near you then he shoots. If the dog is near him, you shoot. Remember that both of you should ignore him after the shot.