dog owners - gun dog owners

[jaky cakes]

Hiya folks - little question for y'all
is there anyway to stop a dog getting scared of loud bangs - shot guns / fireworks etc.
I'm just sat at my desk and I can here some loud fireworks going off at a local posh hotel (wedding or something), and now i've got 8 stone of quivering german shepard trying to sit on my lap!!
He's normally hard as nails - nothing spooks him execpt loud bangs and distant shot guns - during the shooting season.
I try to ignore him instead of trying to console him - apparently consoling a troubled dog only affirms he is right to be troubled.
the thing is it's hard to ignore such a big soft lump climbing under my pc desk and pulling my internet cord out!!
(He's the one on the right in the group photo - and looking like fresh road kill in the second when he was a pup!)
any advice??

[Maverick]

Short answer is no, he'll either overcome his fear, or you have to wait until he's old and no longer hears them.

I've tried most techniques, including CDs with noise to try and aclimatise them and nothing has worked. The latter part off the year we know that we'll have one dog shaking in the bath, another under my bed, one under my desk, one climbing into the tv enclosure, and one trying to become an item of clothing. Not bad out of eight dogs eh (only because the old girl no longer hears the bangs).

[si tate]

I think the only way to help him is to have him confront his fears. Im not a dog whisperer but you could start off by maybe taking him to near where the shotguns are going off & take his brother along too to show there is nothing to be afraid of.

I think the thing is not to make a fuss of the situation & act as if its normal, that way the dog does'nt get over excited by the noise.

I have a 5 month old rotti pup that i take with me shooting & i purposely bought some high velocity bullets so that he could get used to the loud bang. At first he would try & hide under the truck but with a little reasurance he now sits right beside me & could'nt give a monkey's how loud it is.

[TonyN]

I think the only way to help him is to have him confront his fears. Im not a dog whisperer but you could start off by maybe taking him to near where the shotguns are going off & take his brother along too to show there is nothing to be afraid of.

This is true, our old black lab was terrified of fireworks and shooting. one day we went to a kite festival that also a wild village thing going on, and they would launch into a shootout every 1/2 hour so all weekend.

by sunday she took no notice at all, and was far better back at home with people shooting and fireworks to from then on.

she wasn't a pup either, was quite old and set in her ways for most things.