Ruger1 missed his calling..... - Page 1

        I had the opportunity to test Prince with gun fire today. We exposed him when he was a few months old and he never minded the shots. He laid at our feet the whole time with no problems.

        This afternoon we had some friends over to do target shooting with their muzzle loaders.....I brought Prince out and worked his obedience.....he was perfect....I put him in a down 8 feet away from the gun shot and he never broke his down . I tested him at this distance 4 or 5 times and he stayed in his down......The rest of the time he was playing and doing obedience heeling.....I am very proud of his reaction....Those gun shots where intensely loud......

               Jim...Slamdunc, maybe Prince can ride shotgun with you when your male retires....lol....

         Deanna...: )

Awesome, Deanna! Is that him in your avatar? Renee

Ruger1...... What a feeing when our kids prove what we already know in our hearts to be the truth....

Hey Deanna,
That's good.  I like his reaction.  I wouldn't do that very often though.  Dogs do suffer hearing damage from lots of exposure to gunfire.  We put cotton in the dog's ears when we do gunfire with them for ear protection.

Jim

Davren...Yes, that is Prince in my avatar when he was 4 months old....

Nona....I have been feeling that a lot lately......: )


 Jim,,, Ok..I will not expose him to that again. I do not get the chance often and wanted to take the opportunity to observe his reaction.....Thanks for the advice...: )


                 Deanna...: )

Exposing the dog to gunfire without thought as to proper ear protection when so close is a mistake and risks hurting the dog, thereby making the dog gunshy.

   Wooops....Well, I can see I have made a mistake....My bad...:(

                   Well they continued to shoot when we left the area and Prince was not bothered by the sound...Hopefully I have not done any permanent damage........

Deanna,
I'm sure you haven't done any damage from one time near gunfire.  Prolonged and / or repeated exposure will cause damage.  Just as it will for people. 

I will offer this advice; and Hodie is exactly correct.  The first exposure may seem to go quite well for some dogs and they have no issues with gunfire close by.  Their ears may hurt but they do not make the association that it is the gunfire causing it and remain calm.  The next time they are exposed to it they create the link between the discomfort and the gunfire.  This is where the problem can be caused.  I have seen this happen in training and in real life situations.  One of our K-9 guys was involved in a very serious shootout, where one cop was shot five times when 35 AK rounds went through his car.  The K9 officer engaged the shooter with the AK and killed him.  His dog was traumatized from the event.  he dog is an excellent Police dog and we have done some work to get him over that.   

His reaction was very good and I wouldn't worry about it.  Since you know he is good, just go easy next time and give yourself some distance. 

Jim

Nooooooo.... not your "weak nerved", "bad temperament" showline dog!  Ha!

It's equally pleasing that he didn't show any aggression toward your husband's friends as they were shooting. I'm sure he'll be fine, don't let him trick you into thinking any selective hearing might be some kind of damage.

You're doing an awesome job keeping up his education, I wish every owner I worked with was as dedicated as you!

:)  Very good
Always,
Cee