gunshy (again)

[rubicon]

I may be doing the wrong thing--But---I think I am whipping the gunshy problem with Leeann. I have been working with her since duck season and really didnt gain much until lately. She was so bad she would flinch if you clicked an ink pen. Since I moved to the new house and have no granolas around during my nightlysession at the boat ramp I started using the dummy launcher for Rusty and letting Leeann loose to do as she pleased. The first night she headed for the house then came back. I pretended to ignore her. Each night she would get closer to me and the launcher. Then she started sitting about ten feet away and going with rusty on his retrieves so the last couple of nights I have tied Rusty after his workout and placed Leeann about 5 feet from me. She acts nervous when I shoulder the launcher but has stayed in place until I send her then makes the retrieve.

[fabsroman]

I am glad to see that Leann is coming around. Congratulations and I hope everything works out before hunting season.

It is all coming down to trust. Now, she trusts you that nothing bad will happen to her from the noise. Make sure you do not have a repeat of last year (i.e., a bunch of guys blasting away in a duck blind with Leann in it). By the way, she might have also gained confidence from Rusty. When I was training two golden retrievers, the first one I trained with a gun was the one I thought would be less prone to gunshyness. Then, I trained both dogs with the gun so that the more skittish one would be reassured by the other dog not breaking away at the first gun shot. It worked out rather well for me.

[rubicon]

When the problem occured with leeann last year i was kinda at the mercy of a buddy who had the boat, blind permit, etc. This year I have the new boat and plenty of places to hunt. The dogs and I are locked and loaded and waiting for time to hunt and we will for sure be particular who goes with us. I am now close to my great nephew who is nine years old and eager to hunt. He is taking hunter safety course next Saturday and then I will have a new hunting partner. Gave him a duck call yesterday and his mom hasnt called to cuss me yet.LOL

[fabsroman]

You are lucky his mom hasn't killed you yet. I can remember what it was like when I first got my goose call. I thought my mom was going to kill me, so I started practicing in the car.

The night of my wedding, I found out that I cannot hunt ducks on one of the farms I hunt because the owner just bought 6 pet mallards for his wife. Now, I am wondering if that means I cannot hunt geese there either because the mallards might be considered live decoys. It will really suck if I cannot hunt any waterfowl over there, but such is life I guess.

Glad to hear that you are gearing up for hunting season. I have so much going on right now that I can barely even think about it.