Decided to try Emmy with .22 blanks today to see her reaction. She has just turned one and has experienced party poppers, moderated air rifle, un moderated air rifle, 12 bore (at a good distance) as well as air nailers occasionally when she has been at work with me so wasn't really expecting too much of a reaction. Taking a pointer from one of Polmaise s videos I decided to fire it inside bag first to ease her in so to speak. Sat her up and moved 2 or 3 paces away, on the very first click of the cocking mechanism, she is up on her toes, ears forward with that super intense stare that labs can do - gun goes bang and she blinks - thats it but she is hyper interested in it especially the smell of cordite. Her reaction was just like the first time she was presented with game.
I've had her since she was 9 weeks old and as far as I know she has never encountered blanks or heard that cocking mechanism click so my question is what turned her onto this so much so quickly. It was almost as if she knew that click led to bang which leads to cordite then to game, then to work.I know it sounds daft but was it just natural curiosity or is there something genetic involved (generations and generations bred to work). Any of you more experienced peeps had similar experience?
Don't you just hate it when your dog makes you think
Curiosity/natural inquisitiveness, presuming she hasn't been clicker trained - Boom-boom
You've made a good job of introducing her carefully to the sound of shot, but it is just as easy to make a dog gunshy if you don't manage things so well, no matter how they are bred.
My Springer pup froze with his ears pricked up whilst in the garden the first time he heard someone shoot in the field several hundred meters away. I certainly think it's in the breeding. His demener was one of something good is about to happen and at only about 12 weeks old he had never experienced anything to do with shooting. I never had any worries about him being gun shy that's for sure although I did the usual slowly does it approach like you have done, just to be on the safe side!
