I would bet the guy he got the pup from or the trainer will know of a group in your area that trains, etc. together. They would be a great resource (support group?) for your son.

The first step in using a shock collar is training the owner how to use it properly as a training tool rather than an ego-driven punisher.

As far as prevention of gun shy I have always started of with making loud noises (banging pans, etc.) when the pup is eating, resting etc. I don't introduce a .22 for quite a while as the report of a .22 can be pretty sharp and loud. If there is a trap range near you that would be a great place to take the pup and start out at about 100 yds. and work your way closer, dependent upon how the pup is perceiving the noise.

Good luck and have fun!

Moosetrot

Stop over at Beast Buffet in town, He is a garmin dealer. If you want an entry level like a 220 garmin and tracking collar, PM me I have a couple around that I dont use since I upgraded to the track and train collars.

If you want the best quality and easiest to use, Id go with Garmin. The 550 plus remote has a small screen with an arrow, showing direction and distance. It pairs with the tt15 collar I believe. You will pay $750 for thr pair, but it’s been well worth it. A guy at scheels told me they wont carry any other brand like dogtra when referring to gps, because they had so many returns. I let my 1 year old gsp outside on the collar and keep an eye on the remote. She learned the come back tone in about 10 minutes and if I see shes getting a little far behind out place into the field, she gets toned and she returns. On the rare occasion Ive caught her across or on the road, she gets shocked. I probably have to shock her 1-2 times a week at the most anymore. She has learned the boundaries but shes still a year old gsp, she has a little defiance in her.

I owned and bred shorthairs for years. Every single pup I sold was completely gun broke before it left the litter. When they were eating on their own I would put all the food on a big flat pan in my garage. When they all piled in I would drop a 3ft piece of metal pipe on the concrete about 20ft from them. Few days of this and they don't even flinch. Then move to a .22 at every meal. Few days of that, shotgun. Never had an issue.

A cap gun works great.
Prevent problems so you don't have to fix them.

I don't like Garmin, their customer service sucks and they regularly come out with new models and then refuse to work on the old ones. That being said, I use them because they are by far the best out there. I keep hoping a comparable competitor will appear, if nothing else it would likely force Garmin to be more customer friendly. But so far nobody else is making a comparable product.

I like to teach a dog to come, with a shock collar on a rope at the house. Not because I can't teach them to come as easily or more easily without a shock collar. But if they associate the shock with needing to come to you, when they are shocked in the field they will come find you instead of running away or trying to hide from the shock. After the initial training I very seldom use the shocker, although I will occasionally use the tone, but the dogs are always wearing the collar in the field. They aren't stupid, they know it is on them and behave better while wearing it, but they also associate the collar with going hunting and are excited and happy to get it buckled on.

This is how I do my pups. If you don't live in an area where you can safely shoot a gun around while feeding, you can use blanks and even a starter pistol to get the same results.

All I can say is WOW! . . . whatever works for you I guess?

I don't believe there's ever been a man who understood dogs better than Delmar Smith. I don't recall exactly how he said it but his contention was basically any fault found in a dog was put there by a man. I think he's right.

Agree. I've never encountered or worked with a bad dog. . . only bad owners and "trainers".

Yep, and their dogs are never a pleasure to hunt over. Better off with no dog than a bad dog.

lots of info thanks

lots of ways to do things

I talked to my son , the breeder states he never shoots a gun around them till they are on a hunt and on their first point , by that point they are so excited about the hunt they don't even worry about the shot.

it is going to be a while before he can even hold up a collar with a tracker on it he is rather small right now.

he needs to learn his name first as well as some obedience commands and such

I trained the husky mix to voice and hand commands I find I use hand signals a lot more and only reinforce them with a snap then signal or voice if she doesn't listen to the finger snap and signal.
so far they are getting along decent , she gets a little over excited , I know a husky over excited never happens (sarcasm)


Diggerman I I might be interested in the tracker I will read up on the model and let you know. thanks


I can get Fritz around a trap range , I have muzzle loaders with caps , sub sonic 22s I can find plenty of ways to try and slowly introduce gun shot sounds in a positive way.

the husky is unfazed by fire works but haven't tried her at the range , the husky is really my other non shooting non hunting kids dog. they can shoot they could hunt , they just choose not too. they do like meat and will help cut and pack meat just don't want to hunt it. Don't fish either but is a great fish breader and they love to eat fish. just would rather read a book or sew than go hunting and fishing.

where the shelter dog German Shepard Mix probably had some bad experience with loud noises before we got her as she got older she got more and more sensitive while she didn't like noise she did a lot of things the vet told me was unusual for a GSD like living to 14 , taking needles for blood draw without fuss , and standing for examination or being rolled back and forth . I think some of that was training. as unfortunately so was the shyness to noise but from before we got her.
before she got old I could even have her use the chair in the exam room to climb up and down from the exam table.