Well the season is beginning to wind down sadly. I thought that I would take my boy hunting for the first time. We've been working on his gunshyness, and while it's not 'cured' it is a lot better. I took my gun, but didn't shoot even though I had the opportunity to on some ducks a few times and on a ton of coots.
We got out there about 1015 this am in between rain storms. I didn't want to be out there with him and all the crazies so we slept in. I knew that eventually there would be a shooter out there before the management area closed up shop for ducks. I was right.
The first couple of shots Kenzie was spooked, but I had brought his dummy that he loves fetching and kept throwing it for him while the guy was shooting and then some afterwards. The guy started shooting again, only this time, wailing away at the coots. But this time he was closer. It scared Kenzie, but again, I kept throwing the dummy for him. Eventually he decided enough was enough and he crawled into the canoe with the dummy for the last time and curled up under my feet. But he lasted about ten minutes of fetching before he decided that. I was pleased with how far we've come.
Perhaps it isn't the best way to work out gunshyness, but it seemed to have worked a little. I'm certainly not expecting overnight results. I was just curious what his reaction would be to real shooting. We've come a long way, we still have a ways to go, but we've come a long way. He used to run and hide when you dropped a spoon on a tile floor.
After loading back up into the truck, we drove a bit further into the woods and just went exploring. He obviously wasn't traumatized because you could hear shooting off in the distance and though initially he started slinking, he finally ignored it enough to enjoy tromping around in the ponds that we found in the back forty.
Not a shot was fired by me, and maybe two hours was spent out there, but I think we made some progress and I know that the two of us had a great time, for the most part. Afterwards, I stopped and got him a plain McChicken sammich from McyD's and all was right in his world again.
We got out there about 1015 this am in between rain storms. I didn't want to be out there with him and all the crazies so we slept in. I knew that eventually there would be a shooter out there before the management area closed up shop for ducks. I was right.
The first couple of shots Kenzie was spooked, but I had brought his dummy that he loves fetching and kept throwing it for him while the guy was shooting and then some afterwards. The guy started shooting again, only this time, wailing away at the coots. But this time he was closer. It scared Kenzie, but again, I kept throwing the dummy for him. Eventually he decided enough was enough and he crawled into the canoe with the dummy for the last time and curled up under my feet. But he lasted about ten minutes of fetching before he decided that. I was pleased with how far we've come.
Perhaps it isn't the best way to work out gunshyness, but it seemed to have worked a little. I'm certainly not expecting overnight results. I was just curious what his reaction would be to real shooting. We've come a long way, we still have a ways to go, but we've come a long way. He used to run and hide when you dropped a spoon on a tile floor.
After loading back up into the truck, we drove a bit further into the woods and just went exploring. He obviously wasn't traumatized because you could hear shooting off in the distance and though initially he started slinking, he finally ignored it enough to enjoy tromping around in the ponds that we found in the back forty.
Not a shot was fired by me, and maybe two hours was spent out there, but I think we made some progress and I know that the two of us had a great time, for the most part. Afterwards, I stopped and got him a plain McChicken sammich from McyD's and all was right in his world again.
