Gunfire familiarization question - Page 1

I was looking for a few tips on ensuring a new pup gets good familiarization with noise desensitizing with an emphasis on gun training.

I want her to be comfortable around such things, partly because I live on a military base... and primarily because I don't want her to do the opposite and wind up with her overly sensitive to the sound when it's presented nearby; ie. gunshot tests in dog sports.

What are some good ways I can get her familiar to the sound at various ranges without overwhelming her? She's a working-line Beauceron that will be apx. 10 weeks old when I get her. I have authorization to use the base K-9 facilities and equipment for training purposes.

Id get a puppy desensitization CD...has various noises, gunshots, lawn mowers etc....you can play it low at first, then raise the volume. 

Heh, I didn't even know they made those commercially these days. I'll have to track one down. Any recommendations?

Probably the most important thing you can do is to NOT overdo this. The dog will have a genetically predisposed sensitivity level to environmental noises. I would suggest you raise her for at least several months, acclimating her to normal household noises like the radio, TV and later the household appliances. As you are doing this, you should be carefully watching her for reaction. If you see evidence of discomfort, startle etc., then you know you have some work to do. But the trick is always to desensitize, and do so gradually and from a long distance away, doing something to motivate and captivate the dog like play with it, feed it etc. I never recommend testing dogs early and directly for gunfire. When I do begin with my own or client dogs, it is maybe 5-6 months or so of age, at the very earliest, and again, it is from a long distance (hundreds of feet away), and with me playing with the dog as someone fires. I will already have an idea as to whether sound would bother the given dog. Fortunately, it is rare in my experience if introduced correctly. The worst thing you can do is overwhelm the pup by putting her in strange situations so young and then adding loud noises. Believe it or not, I have seen one moron take a dog by the leash at a very young age and stand next to it and fire a gunshot at the ground right next to the dog. That hurt my ears, and would certainly have not only hurt the ears of the dog, but it did scare the bejesus out of the dog. Therein, if not quickly remedied, begins a life long phobia to loud and sharp noises. It was completely stupid and unnecessary on the part of the person firing. If your home is like most, there will be plenty of noises and opportunities to gauge how the dog reacts. If you see a problem, then start work. If not, just use some common sense. The idea of using a sound CD is also a good idea and is how I help clients with dogs who are afraid of noises etc. But it is done over time, very slowly building up, and ALWAYS with something else positive going on with the dog to distract it and create a new association between the noise and something pleasurable or positive.  Why overwhelm a young pup and potentially create a problem where none exists? And finally, I certainly would not be taking my dog routinely to gun ranges. Without hearing protection, it damages the ears of humans. It will also do so to a dog.

Good luck.

Thanks GSDfan, Hodie,

"Normal household noises" around here include gunfire, fireworks for the Brass, and the occasional artillary demo-fire. I don't want her to wind up inadvertantly shell-shocked by it.

There is always a lot of shooting around here and the dogs are never close.  Hearing damage is a very real threat for man and dog.   I recommend exposing your dog to any loud noise's from a distance and make sure you go slow, don't overwhelm the dog with too much during  a session.   Don't alert your dog to an upcoming noise exposure, let it be a suprise to the dog yet show no reaction yourself.  Be in motion, or preforming a task and just keep moving, ignore the noise.  Takes time so don't be worried about the first time responce.  The dog will read your reaction.

I just read the responce of hodie,  very well said.  I also agree with the 5 to 6 months old before doing specific loud noise's, house hold noise is enough between lawn mowers and TV's, traffic and kids playing.   I do take my dogs to walk along the highway very carefully,  big truck's and their wake are as challenging as a gun shot.    You mentioned fireworks, they are louder than most guns so again distance is important.

The only time I have seen a problem was when a dogs first encounter was too close and too loud, it hurts their ears and they will remember pain.  

I agree with what has been said previously...and would only say that the best thing to do with a young puppy/dog is to NOT isolate a dog from noise...but to rather have them exposed to it...and by this I mean "in the house"...have the dog in his crate where he can be exposed to everyday life and noise...It's the best thing you can do for him...he will have plenty of exposure to noises from this and this will help him handle any other noises that he will encounter later in his life...

I will only say one other thing...and that is that whenever I have a litter of puppies and I take feeding pans into them to feed them...I always go in making some noise...like: banging the pans together (not too loud of couse to begin with...but increasing it later on)...I have found that by doing this it certainly has helped the puppies get used to louder noises later on...

~Bob~

Here is what I do with my pups. Realize that they have been imprinted to loud noises from a very early age. At 12 weeks I take a pup to the end of a field and play with it. My partner will fire a blank pistol from 50 yards away. Watch the reaction of the pup. Slowly the partner works closer firing the pistol. about every 10 yards until you  are 8-10 yards apart and fire a few more times. The pup should alert to the sound but not loose his concentration on playing.

If you have a puppy with naturally good nerve I think you'll be surprised how much the pup shrugs off all by itself, especially if they are regular sounds around your home. 

We even trained by airports with jets passing just overhead (1 year plus of age) and had no problems. A dog with good nerves takes it all instride. Just use progression so as not to overwhelm a younger pup.