Would you subject this little guy to 200 rounds as his introduction to gunshots?
Does it make sense to haul a four-month old springer pup to the sporting clays range? Recently, I was followed most of the morning by two “hunters” who seemed to be turning a beautiful dog into a whimpering, gun-shy puddle of canine misery. She cowered and whined in the corner of a crate lashed (not so securely) to the back end of a golf cart, while her master enjoyed a day of sport with a friend … each station appeared to be a lesson in terror, at least to this observer.
What dolts.
Back in the day, many folks thought this was a sound (pardon the pun) strategy … flood the poor thing’s ears with the sound of hunting, and it would become inured to the bangs and booms and soon transform into the ultimate bird-finding machine, afraid of nothing, including shotgun blasts. As I understand it, many of those dogs ended up “living on a farm,” as the euphemism goes.
Okay, at some point in a young dog’s upbringing, exposure to several up-close shots is part of the strategy. But a first-time experience? To 200 rounds (two hunters, 100 targets each)?
I was shooting with acquaintances, not good friends, on a new course where I don’t know the operators well. So I kept my thoughts to myself. But I wanted to give them a piece of my mind (you might suggest I can’t afford that.)
What would you have done?
Scott Linden Outdoors 
That’s a tuff call. I probably would have kept my mouth shut too, but would have been fighting to do so inside. But most people see me and think I’m probably too young to know much of anything about dogs. Maybe I could have gotten away with saying something then? I have heard of this method, but I think it can’t be the first intro, it needs to be more like how Petey ended up using it. I like to make first introductions to guns with birds in the picture so they really begin to link the two. Didn’t take luna but a couple running/flying pigeons to chase as a puppy before she was looking for birds when she heard a pop. Now I have a dog who is not only solid around guns, but also fireworks as she thinks they produce birds too.
Anna
http://www.akginspiration.com
That’s a tough trail to travel, Scott.
I took my Spinone to my own shooting range when he was probably 4-5 months old. He was not in a crate, but on a leash attached to the bumper. I was the only person shooting (mostly handguns). BUT the pup had already been exposed to some gunfire. I started by making single, loud, claps in the house while eating then moved outside. Started with a .22 blank pistol 40-50 yards away and worked my way in until I was within a few feet. Then did the same thing with 12-gauge blanks. By the time he was 3.5 months old, he was going to living history events where there was cannon fire within 100 yards. So a trip to the range was not a big deal. But I was also constantly checking on him during the session, too.
If the dog has been exposed to gunfire, a trip to the sporting clays range can be good. But I think it is a terrible way to introduce a dog to gunfire. The owners of the Springer screwed up. And since they thought this was the right way to introduce the pup to gunfire, they are probably dumb enough to think the its the dogs fault, too. A gunshy dog can be brought around, but it takes A LOT of time a patience, which that owner probably doesn’t have.
The only way I can think of to say something without being offensive is to walk up to the kennel and start talking to the dog, saying “what a good looking pup” etc. and then ask the dog “what’s wrong.” Maybe by paying attention to the dog and asking him why he’s scared would get the message across. Doubtful, but maybe.
We rescued a wirehair years ago introduced to gun fire in about the same way. Your diplomatic advice probably would have helped!