Reply To: Gun Breaking (desensitization and counter conditioning)

[Michael D'Abruzzo]

I think this is a great example of how to desensitize and/or condition the dog to gunfire in the area.

It is one of those things that dog handlers should address BEFORE they may be in a situation with live gunfire in an uncontrolled environment.

For instance, I use to use the whip a lot in protection training to make a loud snapping noise to test and bring out the aggression in dogs early in training. This has a tendency to inadvertently generalize dogs to act aggressively to gunfire too when introduced. NOT usually a good thing, especially if the handler may be firing the gun and/or you need the dog composed and in control around gunfire.

I think it is great that you are being proactive about this.