Question: My husband and I own an eight-month-old English Setter bitch. She is quite shy and she has always been very jumpy with loud noises. She's afraid of new or strange things. My husband took her out to a game farm for her first hunt about two weeks ago with four of his friends. When one of my husband's friends flushed the first pheasant, they all shot, killing the bird. At this point, they lost track of the dog and continued hunting without her. When they finished hunting, they found the dog hiding under my husband's truck back by the skeet range. There were several people shooting skeet at the time. Now, whenever she sees a gun, she tries to run and hide. What can we do? Our last dog was a Chessie and we never had this type of problem.

Susan A., Lapeer.

Answer: Susan, your husband has followed the correct procedure for someone who is trying to create a gun shy dog, and it sounds like he has succeeded. Gun shyness is rarely a problem in the retriever lines. Some Golden Retrievers that were bred more for show than hunting have had some gun shy problems, but for the most part, retrievers from hunting stock don't have much of a problem with a fun. In the pointing dogs, it's a different story.

First off, the dog was displaying signs of noise sensitivity. Although you didn't mention if any attempt was made prior to the hunt to introduce gunfire, I suspect none was made. Also, a young, shy female setter that is spooky to begin with should probably not be started on pheasants for her first hunt. When the dog bolted back to the truck for safety, she encountered strangers shooting skeet. This probably compounded the problem. Being her first hunt, a smaller party would have been more appropriate. It also isn't a good idea to shoot at birds flushed wild and not seen by the dog when hunting a novice dog.

You and your husband obviously don't have the foggiest idea on how to start a young dog of the pointing breeds and shouldn't attempt to do so without either reading extensively on the matter or consulting a professional trainer. As to whether this young dog's hunting career can be saved, I doubt it. The dog will need a lot of bird contact in an attempt to build desire for game before she ever hears another gun shot. Your money might be better spent purchasing another pup.

Charlie Linblade

Mighigan Wing Shooters Hunt Club

Michigan Pheasant Hunting

Michigan Bird Dog Training