I was asked the other day how young is too young to introduce your French Brittany to gunfire?

Well the only correct answer is that it depends on the individual dog and your method.

If you are one of those people that thinks its a good idea to set off firecrackers by puppies or bang pots and pans while they are eating or any of the other outdated terrible ideas, it is best if you don’t introduce the puppy to gunfire. Trust it to a real processional or someone with much better ideas. 

The important thing when introducing gunfire is to always make it a positive experience. Always help the dog be successful.

When it goes wrong it can be very difficult to correct and sometimes it can’t be fixed. 

I generally introduce my puppies to quail by at least 6 weeks old. I try to introduce water by 7 weeks old when weather permits (icewater in a snowstorm in January is not a positive experience for the puppy).

When a puppy is showing sufficient hunt drive and prey drive, introducing the gun is easy. When the dog shifts gears into prey drive chasing down a bird, fire a shot. Not at the bird directly, not in the direction of the dog, but fire a shot in the air while the puppy is chasing. If you have done everything right up to this point the puppy will keep chasing and catch the bird. I use Japanese quail that don’t fly really well so the puppy can catch them without me shooting the bird.

As we do this and the puppy grows, eventually we move towards shooting the direction of the puppy being very very careful not to let the puppy get hit by stray pellets and not to be overwhelmed by the muzzle blast.

Now let us talk about caliber and gauge. A lot of people make a big deal about What we shoot around the dogs as we introduce them. Everything from starter pistols to .22’s to different shotgun gauges.

I generally use a .410 or 28 or 20 gauge for the first time, not because it matters, but because I like these guns. 

Check out this post about the different gauges and bores in terms of decibels

So as you can see in this video I have an 11 week old puppy that has already been introduced to quail and a motivational retrieve. At only 11 weeks old I introduced her to a 20 gauge shotgun firing it each time she was chasing the bird. She never even flinched. 

The next video is another young puppy being shot over for the first time.