Gun Shyness

[From a post to PositiveGunDogs list on December 27, 2010]

On Dec 27, 2010, at 6:59 PM, a poster wrote:

One of my Vizslas got 2 passes toward his Junior Hunter title before I fired my pistol too close to him and scared him gun shy. We've given it a break of about 3 years and now I'd like to try and finish his JH title. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to repair the damage I've done?

Hi. My first Golden, Lumi, was terribly gun shy at the age of three, when we first started field training. Lumi eventually got over her gun shyness to the extent that, if I wasn't careful, she would sometimes leap out of the parked van thru a half-closed window when she heard a shotgun blast in order to "help" the working dog get the bird.

I was guided thru the process by an expert in dog behavior, especially Desensitization and Counter Conditioning (D&CC), named Amy Cook, who worked with me on the project on the DogTrek list. I'll try to give you an outline of the D&CC process we used as best as I can recall, and will then try to answer any questions that come up:

* The process took Lumi about six weeks, working every day. Several experienced dog trainers, in both field and other sports, later told me they'd never heard of a dog recovering from gun shyness, so I don't have any data to compare that to.

* Every day, Lumi and I went out with a helper (not always the same person), a blank pistol with minimal-loudness cartridges, two walkie-talkie radios, a bag of high-value treats, and a bumper. We went to a number of locations over time, but I don't know if that was necessary.

* For each session, Lumi and I stood near a creek with Lumi on a short leash (Lumi loves water). I had the treats in a bag in my pocket, and I would hold the bumper. The helper with the gun was far enough away that the gunshot was barely audible in the early sessions, and the helper wasn't visible to Lumi and me (we trained at creeks that were in the woods). The distance was shortened at the end of the process.

* The helper and I each had a radio.

* Each session consisted of several reps. The early sessions had fewer reps (maybe three or five) than the later ones (maybe ten). Each rep went like this:

-- I would stand around with Lumi in quiet mode. We would engage in some quiet activity such as meandering in a small area and looking at something in my hand or on the ground. It was important during this period before the gunshot that nothing exciting was going on.

-- I would use the radio to tell the gunner that we were ready, then go back to quiet activity with Lumi.

-- The gunner would wait about 30 seconds. This long interval was to minimize Lumi's association of me speaking on the radio with the gunshot.

-- The gunner would fire the blank pistol.

-- Instantly, I would do my best to create an exciting and highly pleasurable environment for Lumi.

-- Since Lumi is more food-motivated than play-motivated, in the early sessions I would offer Lumi a bite of the high-value treat. In the earliest sessions, though the gunshot was barely audible, it still scared her and she would not take anything. I experimented with tossing the bumper on land or water, but she also had no interest in that. As the days passed, Lumi became willing to accept food after a gunshot sooner than she became willing to play. By the end of the process, she would readily take food as well as chase the bumper on land or water, or play a rousing game of tug. That was weeks later.

-- I would also make quiet comfort available to Lumi, who would have run away in the early sessions if not for the leash. She could push against me or between my legs, and I would pet her and talk to her gently. I would comfort her as long as she wanted.

-- After she calmed down, that ended one rep and we started the next one. As I recall, it might be five or ten minutes before we'd start the next rep.

The single most important aspect of this training, as I understood it, was the sequence of events:

(1) Quiet time.
(2) Gunshot.
(3) Availability of high-value stimuli such as treats and play.

Note the word "availability". It was not necessary that Lumi actually avail herself of the high-value stimuli, and we had to continue for days before she ever took even the first nibble of food in these sessions. Yet the process was still working (Amy knew it was, I didn't at the time). It was only necessary that the gunshot PREDICT that such stimuli would instantly become available. Eventually, Lumi would learn that the gunshot predicted the availability of good things, and eventually she would begin to take advantage of their availability.

Don't rush the process. What you want is to maximize the dog's willingness to take advantage of your high-value stimuli (such as treats and play), NOT to be in a big hurry to shorten the distance between you and the gunner. Eventually, when the dog is completely comfortable with the gun being fired from a significant distance, during your last few sessions you can have the gunner gradually fire from a closer distance. By the end of our training, the gunner could fire within a few feet of Lumi, and she would still take food, and play chase and tug games.

I didn't have access to a shotgun, so our D&CC was limited to the blank pistol. Lumi did need a little additional work when we started going to training days where shotguns were being fired. But once she discovered that shotguns predicted the opportunity to retrieve flyers, her gun shyness was over.

I hope you're able to use some of this information. Please let us know how it goes.

Lindsay, with Lumi & Laddie (Goldens)
Laytonsville, Maryland