In 20 plus years of having field trial bred Brittanys, I currently Had a number of dogs and bitches. I currently have a Brittany bitch which came to us to us as a little shy or as Gary Ruppel says, she is sensitive. She was the daughter of a famously hard charging field trial dog. Her brood mom, not so much hard charging, more a family hunting dog. So part of it may be genetic. She was kept as the pick of the litter. She liked to bounce up and down in the kennel and was very friendly, enthusiastic and gentle.
She was 6 months old when we got her. She had lived in a small field trial kennel her whole life, but one where the dogs are well treated and get out daily for roading or work with birds. They just don’t get a whole lot of other contact with people or other dogs until they get a little older and start going to field trials and the local is rural so when they get out, they go a country mile to find birds for 30 minutes and then the next dog goes out. Bounce loved this life, as do I at many times. But, at this point, she was a little timid around people, particularly strangers as she hadn’t been to field trials yet, where they get this socializing with members outside their own pack. She didn’t bark and wasn’t neurotic, but she was just a little timid looking at Petsmart, the dog park, or with even the mailman, and you could tell new situations made her uncomfortable. She would frequently roll over on her back, showing submission. She also did this if you yelled at her.
She was well started by Jeff, but just taken out a lot on his property on quail and pigeons, and pretty hard charging and pointing birds well when we got a her. She didn’t have much other socializing, if any, other than to her own pack, where she was good around the other Brits. She had a few starter blanks fired around her. However, she looked sensitive to me, so I took her to our professional trainer, Gary Ruppel for an evaluation and assessment. He recommended keeping her for a month to break her to the gun and the collar (in case we needed to use that down the road with deer, road dangers, etc.). He doesn’t usually recommend boarded training to me, as he knows I like to do sessions with him instead, so I knew we were dealing with potentially more problems due to her sensitivity.
Gary had her for a month and was shooting birds over her. He showed her off to us and shot a couple of birds, said we were ready to go hunting with her but cautioned against things that would scare her potentially, like hunting in large groups, etc. I hunted her largely alone, or with one other friend for the last year and she was doing ok, but I noticed a few times, when she was shot over, she would seem to get scared, not retreive, and/or quit hunting for a while walking by my side. This happened twice. It also happened once at Gary’s when he was yelling at another young dog and I had left her in the truck with a collar next to the kennel that was beeping. Gary thought it was being scared of the collar. It turns out, I think she is also scared of the yelling. Gary says she’s just got some hang ups, that she’s not gun shy or beeper shy, that it’s like locking your child in a broom closet for the first six months of their lives with little socialization and then expecting them to be normal. Whatever her hang ups are, she seems to be working through them the more we take her out. And like Ronnie Smith says in his new book, “A bird dog is held accountable For their behavior, whereas a pet dog was allowed to do and was not provided with a clear set of expectations and rules.
We are working more on her this year with Jeff and she continues to be a bit of a puzzle. She is not afraid of the shot when she is chasing at all. So, I got this DVD from Gun Dog Supply, which seems to indicate that it is subtle forms of gun shyness that we are seeing, so I’m working on some of his methods as well. I really like ordering dog stuff from Gun Dog Supply and Lion Country Supply, but there is a new Front Range Gun Dog that is worth checking out as well. Anyway, the DVD is at https://www.gundogsupply.com/perfect-gunshy-fix-dvd.html and I find it very similar to Gary’s techniques for proper acclimation to the gun, but obviously a lot more subtle progression and building up of repetitions when dealing with the gun shy dog. They see something like 250 birds in 30 days with Jon Hann in his effort to fix them, so like Gary always says, “The magic is in the birds.” It’s a great video, it drags on a little in the middle, but it’s necessary to show the progression of 2 steps forward and 1 step back, so you don’t try to rush the process.
The Perfect GunShy Fix and Proper Gun Acclimation — 5-Disc Set- Unique methods to bring out the desire and drive in your dog and help overcome gun-shyness.
Approx. 6 hour 46 minute total runtime
Learn how to recondition your gun-shy dog and make him into the hunting companion or trial dog you have always wanted. Jon Hann shows you unique methods to bring out the desire and bird drive in your dog to help overcome the fear of the gun.
This video includes many frank discussions:Why dogs become gun-shy and subsequently bird-shyHow to prevent gun-shy dogsFireworksBanging pansShooting ranges and much more
You will also see two very different dogs go through the entire gun-shy program at Perfection Kennel. You can develop your young hunting dog properly by watching the Proper Gun Acclimation. Hann developed his own gun acclimation technique based on Pavlov’s theory and now uses it to not only fix gun-shy dogs, but to also properly gun acclimate all gun dogs.
His website says: Hann runs one of the most successful pointing dog training facilities in the United States and has fundamentally changed the way bird dogs are trained. His love of bird dogs has developed into a unique system to better train bird dogs with compassion and understanding. Hann has produced numerous Field Champions and National Champions competing with all breeds and disciplines including horseback and walking, as well as a multitude of Master Hunters. Hann specializes in working with amateurs so that they can compete with their own dogs. He also trains countless hunting companions from all over the world. Come join Hann at one of his clinics and practice one-on-one to bring out the best in you and your dog.
Disc 1 — The Perfect GunShy Fix Chapters:
- Welcome to the Perfect GunShy Fix
- Gun-Shy Prevention and Common Myths
- Recognizing Gun-Shy Behavior
- Getting Excited about Birds / When to Start the Fix
- Starting Your Fix / Creating a Positive Association
Disc 2 — The Perfect GunShy Fix Chapters:
- Willie Wing Clipped Bird
- Two Steps Forward One Step Back
- Starting with the Shotgun
Disc 3 — The Perfect GunShy Fix Chapters:
- Continuing with the Shotgun
- Point, Chase and Shoot
- Annie Starting the Blank Gun
Disc 4 — The Perfect GunShy Fix Chapters:
- Annie Continuing the Blank Gun
- Annie Starting the Shotgun
- Annie Point, Chase and Shoot
- GunShy Fixed
- Final Thoughts
Disc 5 — The Proper Gun Acclimation Chapters:
- Proper Gun Acclimation
- Starting the Blank Gun
- Transitioning to Throwing a Bird and Shooting
- Starting the Shotgun
- Shooting for the Properly Acclimated Dog
- Bird on the Ground
- Modifying Techniques for Retrievers
- Final Thoughts
- Perfect Bloopers
I might try to check out Jon Hann’s kennels next trip to Missouri. http://www.perfectionkennel.com/
And I like the looks of the check cords Hann uses, so I ordered one to try out. I have to say it tangled too easily, so it’s not my favorite. http://www.permatack.com/permatack_covey_rise_cd_003.htm
