Can a good dog working dog that's never been exposed to gunfire be spooked when hearing it for first time at close range, and still be considered a good working dog? I suppose the answer to that question might be if the dog could be desensitized to it so that it would no longer be spooked. Or, should a good dog not get spooked, even it is hearing it for the first time at close range?

I have a 3 year old male gsd that seems to do well in his protection work. I made the mistake of not exposing him to gunfire. Recently he was around some and it bothered him a lot. Although I've had a couple of trainers tell me this is not uncommon and that if I work him into it slowly, such as playing ball with him while someone shoots off blanks 100 yards away (and then move progressively closer over a period of time, that he may start to come around. I think he can do it.

What do you folks think? Thanks.

This is not uncommon so don't worry. Its easier to desensitize a dog BEFORE you scare the begeezus out of him of course but I doubt you did irrepreble damage.
I shouldn't talk. I made the same mistake many years ago with my first Giant Schnauzer. I lent him to another trainer at a year old for a hunting trip. He had my 'baby' at his side and fired a shotgun all day long with absolutely NO reaction from the dog. I have since trained many of this dog's offspring in 'guns' and they all jokingly got called 'stone deaf' from day one.
But I think all good working dogs have different strong points. The overall work is what matters. Of course they shouldn't be gun shy but this can be learned by most stable dogs -having it in their blood is impressive but I couldn't say if it makes them better all around.

Depending on how badly the dog was spooked and how driven he is will largely determine whether he can be desensitized to the gunfire. I'm not trying to discourage you. You should take the advice that you have been given regarding working/playing ball with the dog while he is exposed to blanks at a distance. He may very well recover.

We had a psd several years ago that was very secure around gunfire. One evening while on a track the k-9 team had to cross a train track with a temporarily stopped train. The train let off a loud bang possibly from the brakes. This happened at the time the k-9 team was going in between the cars. The bang was loud and unexpected. The negative association was to the train. My point to this was we had to desensitize the dog to trains. It took some time but it was apparent even a year later that the dog had a keen awareness of trains. He didn't flee but he was definately aware of their presence.

I know that a lot of people would disagree with this but if the dog is good at his work and he is simply sensitive to gunfire I don't know that I would eliminate him as a protection dog. I have come across some police dog trainers as of late that are accepting dogs that might be somewhat sensitive to gunfire. Some folks might find that rediculous. I don't necessarily.

You know we used to train psd's to alert or aggress on gunfire. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the error in that line of thinking. When a dog aggesses on gunfire even the handler can have his hands full.

I have to disagree that it's ok. If the dog spooks the first time he is exposed to gunfire, you have a sound sensitivity problem. Some trainers do expose puppies to it, but really it's a genetic thing. You can probably do some conditioning but expect the spookiness to resurface under stress, and the conditioning will not generalize very well to different locations, scenarios, etc.

The instances when you do have some hope of rehabbing is when the fear has been *learned*. It can happen, ie negative event at the wrong time, during a sensitive phase in the dog's life can create a fear that has some potential to be trained out.

But, w/no prior exposure, a solid dog will ignore the gun shots.

I would agree with Joy about the gunfire issue. You may be able to work the dog through the issue to your satisfaction and have a wonderful dog depending on what you are looking for.

You won't be able to change his genes though. So although he could be a perfect dog for you he may not be a good prospect for breeding.

Good point, Eric. Gunshy dogs should not be used for breeding.

It can be worked through.

Russell
I am not a trainer, and my dogs don't work for a living. But I am a recreational shooter and I do hunt as well. I like to expose my dogs as pups ideally to gunfire-usually outdoors, with someone else shooting and me standing around being casual, maybe chatting with others. If I don't act different, pups ideally look around and that's the end of it.
Grown up dog, same approach, except I would seriously question the sanity/soundness of a adult dog who didn't have some sensitivity to a first time gunshot. It's a loud, unusual and unexpected sound. I wouldn't have a big problem with a dog who jumped a bit, or even got scared a little.
I lived with farm dogs who "came along" when I'd go shooting things. They'd scatter the first time I'd fire, but by the third or so time, the whole crew would tag along and be very interested in the game.
A new sound should get a reaction out of a dog, I think. You should have a um, feel, a sense, if your dog is never going to adapt to it. I have a bitch who hates guns and will hide when I take them out-she never adjusted to the sound. That one is incurable, and I could tell pretty much the first time.
For me it's a matter of knowing the dog a little, and of casual ho-hum exposure, "nothing going on here" approach. If you get nervous, the dog gets nervous.

Something to try!! Get a section of pipe insullation(come in different size and lenghts) With the dog near by slap the rubber insulation on concrete. It will make a similar sound as that of Gunfire. You can control the level of the sound by the force in which you hit the cement or hard surface. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I agree with the other posters that if this dogs is GUN?SOUND shy it should not be bred, more then likely other issues will develope later on in training.

Thanks for all of the input. I wanted to get back to all of you and let you know how things have turned out.

On the advice of my trainer I bought a simple toy cap gun. I played ball with my dog and while he was chasing it, I fired it. It may the little "pop" sound. I continued, first while he was further away and then progressed. He was fine.

A couple of days later I spent $16 for a 22 caliber starters pistol that only fires blanks. I found a remote location (not always easy to find) and again played ball. This time, however, I brought along a friend and he fired it from a distance. He was fine. We moved in closer, he was still fine. No problems at all.

The other night I got with my trainer. While I walked by dog a friend of his fired off a couple of blanks in a .38, my dog was absolutely fine and the trainer told me my dog has no problem at all with gun fire. And this guy has trained many, many psd's and more. That is why I went to him.

So I feel pretty good about this. I welcome any other thoughts that any of you might like to share on this. Thanks again.