WaGuns.org

We have a 7 year old Flatcoated Retriever and she is scared shitless by any 'bang'. Plus we're 10 min South of 'boom city'. Has anyone found a good way to 'unscare' a dog at this age? She was originally raised as a bird dog for a friend to hunt with. 5 years go by and the training faded. I don't want to force scare her, but if buying 500 firecrackers and letting one off with her everyday is a solution, I'd try it.

step 1. get a cap gun ($5 from fred meyers/wallgreens)
step 2. bang
step 3. treat
repeat

This thread should be of interest:
http://www.waguns.org/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=42060

Xirxious wrote:We have a 7 year old Flatcoated Retriever and she is scared shitless by any 'bang'. Plus we're 10 min South of 'boom city'. Has anyone found a good way to 'unscare' a dog at this age? She was originally raised as a bird dog for a friend to hunt with. 5 years go by and the training faded. I don't want to force scare her, but if buying 500 firecrackers and letting one off with her everyday is a solution, I'd try it.

Take the dog to the Kenmore gun range's shotgun area. Sit with the dog outside the fence, hold her on a leash. and pet her all the while the shooters are "busting birds". She just needs to feel secure while the noise.

My Shih-Tsu used to go to the range with me as a pup and sit in the truck. Today he merely rolls over on his back and goes to sleep when the neighborhood "goes to war" on the 4th.

Are there any differences with a grown dog vs. a pup? It would seem a pup is easier to train for this.

We struggled to train a cocker spaniel at that age - but that dog was bloody stupid. Good suggestions above.