Subtest 4: Gunshots
The handler stops at a designated marker with his/her back towards a well hidden assistant. The assistant fires three shots using a .22 caliber starter pistol (SHOT-PAUSE-SHOT-SHOT).
The purpose of this subtest is to measure the dog's recovery response to a sudden noise.
This part of the test concerns me a little - there is no mention of the distance this is done from. A gundog is trained to accept gunfire in a measured manner, not at random like this. I would think this test might frighten some dogs to the degree they might not afterwards be suitable shooting companions. I can't see the point of a test like this for a pet dog. _________________ Annie
Handle every situation like a dog, if you can't eat it or play with it, just pee on it and walk away
A gundog is trained to accept gunfire in a measured manner, not at random like this.
How do you mean? When I am birdscaring on the vineyard, the gunfire ranges from random to frantic. I guess my dogs are used to the lulls and volleys of the shotgun among the grapes...even when hunting, particularly after fur or duck, the gunfire is not exactly predictable. At the peg, there is a degree of deliberation, I agree.
All due respect, but I do not think I would book my dogs in for this test. At least they take the dog's breed into consideration. Would not most caring dog owners already have subjected their canines to some of the situations outlined as part of their socialization. A walk around at the local show day should just about cover it! _________________ "...amitie, respect mutuel et amour..."
Annie - they stipulate a well hidden person with the gun - so that won't be close. I know you have a sensitivity to this subject after an officer of the BCGB some years ago let off a 12 gauge over puppies without ensuring sufficient preparation had been made, rendering several gun wary and/or shy.
The report from a .22 is of completely different from that of a shotgun. I have heard of several dogs that find a .22 aversive but are OK in the field.
What I found interesting was that an independent body was doing tests on adult dogs and recording and publishing the results. _________________ Guy, Ellie, Topaz, Catja and in memory Barley
Beauty from Structure
www.epagneulbreton.org.uk
Yes, Guy, you are right about that. Freckles has been terrified of gunfire since that incident,as has Soufee, but strangely enough the starting pistol doesn't faze Freckles at all
Victoria, what I mean is that any gundogs I know have been introduced to gunshot gradually and in fact all the training books tell you to do so. _________________ Annie
Handle every situation like a dog, if you can't eat it or play with it, just pee on it and walk away
have you tried to overcome this - acclimatisation CD's or linking being fed with loud noises? _________________ Guy, Ellie, Topaz, Catja and in memory Barley
Beauty from Structure
www.epagneulbreton.org.uk
No I haven't. I must admit it's a pity as she is so obsessed with hunting, holds a great point and retrieves anything!! At 8 is it worth it? I suppose if she'd got that third ticket I might have tried harder. _________________ Annie
Handle every situation like a dog, if you can't eat it or play with it, just pee on it and walk away
Annie - Freckles is a spring chicken compared to when Moo started. If you both enjoy it she is still entitled to earn her SGWC to prove a point!
I was advised to first link a shot with food as a puppy and from quite early on Chase has heard gunfire but always with either food or hunting or a retrieve so it was never just a noise.
Piper needed to be assessed quickly as harsh as it sounds he needed to be gun-sound as I didn't have room unless he could work. John A kindly shot over him with me throwing retrieves, initially a fair distance away and finally at a realistic rough shoot distance. Noise without reward can be scary but for some it matters not a jot and I am now lucky having 4 dogs in my home who are not noise/sound sensitive after 14 yrs of fearing this time of year. _________________ Sue, Chase and the non-Brittany boys - Brice & Piper. Pets first and foremost.
Perhaps you're right, Sue. I might just ask Andy to help as he absolutely thrives on challenges. _________________ Annie
Handle every situation like a dog, if you can't eat it or play with it, just pee on it and walk away
It is very interesting how different calibres make different noises and decibel ratings...the different barrel lengths on the shotguns, even diifferent makes of guns have different sounds when fired, the pump action to the side by side...the Ruger is distinctive to the Winchester; the .270 has a crack like a stockwhip, the ever trusty old Enfield .303 completely different, and some of the high powered .22's of today have something of a whizz..
I have been so lucky that the breeders of my dogs, being hunters, have introduced the puppies to loud noise including gunfire, bells etc at a very early age...one festoons their play area with different sounding bells so they grow up with the sound of bells in their ears.
I am really sorry Annie that your dogs are like this, especially through what seems a very unfortunate incident by people who you would presume to know better...and I understand it can be very difficult to remedy in some breeds...because the Breton is so intelligent and prey drive is so strong, I think that gun shyness is probably alot easier to overcome than some breeds...if the dog can associate the chasse with the noise and all the reward etc that goes with it they would overcome this much easier. Maybe a thread on this could be started because I think it is a very interesting topic and one of huge importance to those of us who shoot. My lot associate the rattle of the gun cabinet key from its hiding place with a hunt, not a hunt with the gun.
_________________ "...amitie, respect mutuel et amour..."
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