# New Puppy Questions



## sdgoosehunter16 (Sep 22, 2009)

hey guys, i just got my first puppy, Ella a german shorthair pointer x black lab, very nice dog. however i got her from the regional humane society and she is 3.5 months old, she is very timid everything scares her, doors opening/closing, new people and espically other dogs. i dont know how she would react to a gun yet she plays fetch when she wants too. i guess im just asking when should i start getting out and shooting my gun around her? when should i start with the scents? just some of the basic bird dog training....any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Tanner


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## nosib (Dec 4, 2008)

I have a GSP also and for how scared it is of little things I'd say don't even think about shooting a gun close to it. That will take time for it to get used to sounds around her. Let her explore things as now she is a pup. Make a bond with her. You just got her make her your best bud. Go on walks and make them fun for her. Also when u wanna you should work on the basic commands and move on from there.


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## fetchingfloyd (May 12, 2009)

guns come after the dog has been worked around birds alot and isnt shy. if you do it too early you could cause a gunshyness issue. . dont worry about the gun until the dog is at least 8 months old or so. work on other things that will help her with her timidness, like take her to new places and meet new people/dogs and do new things. get her fetching. work on obedience. socialize her. when she has come out of her shell and loves birds then you can start to think about the gun. :thumb:


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## stonebroke (Dec 16, 2004)

Well, I don't like being the pessimist here but you have a project ahead of you... A big project. Dogs that have sat in a kennel in a shelter for the first few months of their life have missed out on a crucial time in their development, which is probably why she is so afraid of everything around her. You can try to get her past this by going very slowly to gain her confidence, but be aware that you may not succeed. You'll need to get her confidence first before you work on her around other people, dogs, etc. I would feed her a lot of treats by hand and use a lot of positive reinforcement. This may take several weeks and possibly a few months. It's more than likely going to be a slow process.. Be very patient. Good Luck.


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## MossyMO (Feb 12, 2004)

sdgoosehunter16
I disagree with stonebroke (he is most likely a trainer and knows better than I), it is a pup and that is the best time to make adjustments.

When I read your post I kept saying to myself do not push the gun thing, give it time; work on making her comfortable. I am the furthest thing from a dog trainer, but along the lines of what nosib and fetchingfloyd suggested I would get your dog into a dog obedience class; obedience would be the secondary reason, primarly to bring her to socialize with other dogs and people with stretched out intervals, so hopefully the dog starts to look forward to the classes (just making her feel comfortable at home with you will not work out in the field). Then work on gun and bird training later.

In my opinon you get this obstacle handled, the scents in the outdoors and her natural birdyness will jump out at you to the point that she will not even notice the shotgun.


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## verg (Aug 21, 2006)

I have to agree more with stonebroke. Most puppies when brought home take at least 2 weeks to just get acclimated to the new surroundings. Your pup being a bit shy may take longer. I would just let your pup hang out with you, go where ever you go, learn its name etc. I really wouldn't try any training with the pup for a couple weeks. Let it learn its new home and name. After a couple/three weeks it may start to show more confidence in it surroundings and routine. Then you may start out with the basics of sit, here, etc. Don't even think about gun training for a loooong time. Don't rush this pup. She may be fine in the end but just might take time and reassurance. I am an amateur trainer as I do it for a side job but have trained my own personal gun dogs with this time frame even if they were more aggressive. Have always had success. 
Good luck and be patient!


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## Dick Monson (Aug 12, 2002)

All good advice above. Do not rush the gun. There is a sticky at the start of this forum on introducing the gun and gun shyness. Do not make a dog gun shy. That is a nightmare and very hard to correct. When it's time, don't start with a shotgun, use a .22 and shorts, then LR shells. Move up gradually.


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## Springer (Dec 21, 2004)

I will not use a .22 around any of my dogs. I had one that would crawl under the car when I would shoot a .22. Start with a cap gun then use a .22 blank pistol then a 20 ga. The whine of the .22 is what my pup didn't like.

I would agree with the others just get her comfortable then find some birds then after she is finding birds then introduce the gun or if she had a lot of drive to retrieve you can use that as a distraction. But defiantly wait several months for the gun.


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## stonebroke (Dec 16, 2004)

MossyMO said:


> sdgoosehunter16
> I disagree with stonebroke (he is most likely a trainer and knows better than I), it is a pup and that is the best time to make adjustments.
> 
> When I read your post I kept saying to myself do not push the gun thing, give it time; work on making her comfortable. I am the furthest thing from a dog trainer, but along the lines of what nosib and fetchingfloyd suggested I would get your dog into a dog obedience class; obedience would be the secondary reason, primarly to bring her to socialize with other dogs and people with stretched out intervals, so hopefully the dog starts to look forward to the classes (just making her feel comfortable at home with you will not work out in the field). Then work on gun and bird training later.
> ...


I'm not a trainer....not a professional anyways, but I've had gundogs since 1973 (for whatever that's worth . From what I've seen, behavioral problems are by far the most difficult to fix. It's also difficult to give advice on a situation like this without actually seeing the dog and observing its behavior. All we have here is a few sentences to go on. We have no idea what this pup has experienced during it's first few months at the shelter, etc. We also have no idea of what the pup's parents were like.....more likely than not it was an accidental breeding between two dogs of who knows what lineage. Pups at this age that are afraid of their own shadow, so to speak, are a long shot at best.......a very long shot.

Hats off to anyone who will take a pup from a shelter and give it a good home, but if it were me I'd just try to make this pup a pet...... If I wanted a dog to hunt with I'd start out right with a pup from proven lines rather than try to "make a purse out of a sow's ear", as the saying goes. You get what you pay for most of the time..........


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## dakotashooter2 (Oct 31, 2003)

I've seen two timid dogs (both shepherds) that have come from shelters. The both got over it..........eventually. Sadly by eventually I mean it took 3-4 years for them to come out of their shell. The disclaimer is that neither of those dogs had a lot of human or other contact outside of the owners. More socialization probably would have helped them lose their timidness sooner.


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