Gun dog training, specifically, is something I have never really gotten into, being the animal advocate that I am, am not really into hunting (although I am not here to pass judgment on hunters)! However, I have spent many years working with police and protection dogs so I am not new to desensitizing dogs to gun fire.
It is critical to teach your dog or your puppy correctly when it comes to desensitizing him to noise, especially gunfire.
Dog hearing is much, much better than human hearing! Did you know the ears of dogs are controlled by at least 18 muscles? And, upright and curved ears amplify sound. Humans often use ear protection when they shoot a gun, can you imagine how loud that same sound is for the dog ?
Police dogs and gun dogs are often right beside the gun when it fires and in order to be successful I believe it is best to slowly incorporate gunfire into his life.
I have personally seen and worked with dogs that were traumatized by gunfire or loud sounds and although these dogs can be desensitized to a point, some of them will never be effective working dogs. It is much better to prevent a problem than it is to set your dog up for failure and then deal with a problem later.
I once worked with a police dog that was purchased due to his high drives sociability and workability; however the police department did not test his gunfire readiness. Turns out that he detested gunfire! Gunfire or loud noises sent him running for the car. As you can imagine no officer wanted a dog they couldn’t trust in a shootout! Turns out his first owner’s husband had gotten drunk one night and shot a goat right next to him. The sound of the gun plus the bleating of the goat traumatized him for life.
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