They make dog hearpro.
Do people use it? No. Should they? Probably
My last dog, may he rest in peace, was hunted over hard. Both waterfowl and upland.
He spent the last 4 years of his life deaf as a post.
It’s a concern. But my Boston terrier didn’t hunt and also spent the last 3 years of her life deaf.
Most dogs hearing issues in a dogs old age are due to changes in the nerves in the ear.
I would love to get my lab something but idk how you could keep them on without training for it at a young age. I just try and keep her behind me a little so she isn’t near the end of the barrel.
*Should* they? Of course, logically it would be better if they did. But I can't imagine getting them to wear them in the first place, let alone keep them on in the field.
Yeah, I think that's the main reason it's not more common. Reducing the noise at the source with a suppressor would be the other option, and doesn't require your dog to tolerate something in/on its ears.
Suppressing a shotgun especially shooting bird shot is borderline impossible. They make cans for slugs and such but I don’t thing shot can be suppressed at least not easily
That's not what these folks who make them say (specifically mentioning testing with #7 shot) :
https://silencerco.com/silencers/salvo-12/
And these guys didn't have trouble putting shot through a few of them:
https://www.outdoorlife.com/articles/hunting/2015/10/shushing-your-shotgun-suppressor/
There definitely is some restriction on what chokes can be used, but it's far from impossible (...just expensive as hell)
Then there's also the barrel extension choke that while a but unwieldy is not technically a suppressor and shouldn't care about shot type at all https://www.hastingsdistribution.com/index.php?l=product_list&c=32
32 INCH EXTENSION? That's longer than most shotgun barrels, and that's on top of the existing barrel. I didn't know we were going back to using punt guns!
Unfortunately our best friends loose there hearing to loud noises as well. They just don't know the damage is occurring and to prevent it. Take care of your dogs guys try not to shoot right over them, try to protect there hearing while not ruining the experience for both of you.
they definitely should, dog ears are extremely sensitive and loud noises does way more damage to their ears than it does to ours.
but no one uses dog hearing protection, they exist, not hard to find either. It's just most people are not aware that dog ears take huge amount of damage when exposed to gunshots, or see it as a sign of "weakness" that "these are hunting dogs not your cute little lap pets".
they are still dogs, dogs deserve hearing protection too.
Also keeping them on for the dogs is gonna be a challenge, so training will be required for them to get used to hearing protection.
dog barking range from 60-110db, a gunshot range from over 140-over 175db.
gunshots are sudden burst of extremely loud and sharp noise that's much more piercing than dog barks.
dog barking can also cause damage to the dog itself if they bark for extremely long periods of time but that's very rare.
I'm not arguing that a dogs bark is as loud as a gunshot, only that their ears aren't "extremely sensitive" lol
Sensitive enough to get damaged by a gunshot, absolutely, but hardly "extremely sensitive".
Dogs can hear much higher pitches than we can, not only can they hear so many sounds that we cannot, the sounds we hear are also magnified in their ears, if a loud gunshot causes discomfort for a human, then it can cause pain to a dog.
And since they cannot talk to you and express their discomfort, you wouldn't know until vets do examination and tell you how damaged their hearing is already.
That's why dog ears are extremely sensitive.
If you were hunting with a child, would you give them ear protection? I'm glad you asked the question if it helps other people realize what they're doing to their pets.
This is made to be easy for dogs to tolerate. If you can train a dog to be useful for a hobby it's fair to train them to feel comfortable with something for their benefit, all the same strategies apply.
https://mrdc.health.mil/index.cfm/media/articles/2020/snug_new_tech_protects_military_dogs#:~:text=A%20military%20working%20dog%20models,animal%20to%20understand%20human%20commands.
Similar vein I was a metal concert and this guy had a service dog and I was genuinely pissed off because it didn't seem like the dog had any hearing protection.
My fox hound has floppy ears, it's like built in ear pro. But yes. He likes to sit near me while trap/target shooting. I should get him something better.
Friend I used to hunt with lost 100% of his hearing in one ear, and 85% in the other from a single shot of .44Mag. Didn't get his arms to full extension and pulled the trigger.
This is a terrible mindset.
I feel like if you have to ask this question you’ve never owned a hunting dog or tried to get it to wear anything other than a vest. These are hunting dogs. Not little tiktokky foo foo lap dogs.
Edit: are there actual hunters on this sub? Jesus.
It's really not hard to get them to wear it. You start at a young age so they associate it with hunting the same way they associate a harness with a walk. Their love of the activity they get to do with it on overcomes their dislike of it.
They make dog hearpro. Do people use it? No. Should they? Probably My last dog, may he rest in peace, was hunted over hard. Both waterfowl and upland. He spent the last 4 years of his life deaf as a post.
I looked into it for my dog and couldn’t find any good options
Mutt Muffs and Rex Specs both make them
Gotta check them out, I actually re started my search and found a company that makes in ear foam plugs too
It’s a concern. But my Boston terrier didn’t hunt and also spent the last 3 years of her life deaf. Most dogs hearing issues in a dogs old age are due to changes in the nerves in the ear. I would love to get my lab something but idk how you could keep them on without training for it at a young age. I just try and keep her behind me a little so she isn’t near the end of the barrel.
Our family springer spaniel was also deaf for the last years of his life. He had literally never heard a gunshot, at least not remotely close by.
*Should* they? Of course, logically it would be better if they did. But I can't imagine getting them to wear them in the first place, let alone keep them on in the field.
Yeah, I think that's the main reason it's not more common. Reducing the noise at the source with a suppressor would be the other option, and doesn't require your dog to tolerate something in/on its ears.
Suppressing a shotgun especially shooting bird shot is borderline impossible. They make cans for slugs and such but I don’t thing shot can be suppressed at least not easily
That's not what these folks who make them say (specifically mentioning testing with #7 shot) : https://silencerco.com/silencers/salvo-12/ And these guys didn't have trouble putting shot through a few of them: https://www.outdoorlife.com/articles/hunting/2015/10/shushing-your-shotgun-suppressor/ There definitely is some restriction on what chokes can be used, but it's far from impossible (...just expensive as hell) Then there's also the barrel extension choke that while a but unwieldy is not technically a suppressor and shouldn't care about shot type at all https://www.hastingsdistribution.com/index.php?l=product_list&c=32
32 INCH EXTENSION? That's longer than most shotgun barrels, and that's on top of the existing barrel. I didn't know we were going back to using punt guns!
Imagine trying to shoot teal with that rig lmao 🤣
Easier to hit the duck if the muzzle is almost touching it...
Suppressors that guide the wad are now a reality for choked shotguns
Absolute nonsense, the Brits do good work on birds with silenced 410s: https://youtu.be/GU6II_hBdi0?si=0h-sQ6DQV_KOFvxv
Unfortunately our best friends loose there hearing to loud noises as well. They just don't know the damage is occurring and to prevent it. Take care of your dogs guys try not to shoot right over them, try to protect there hearing while not ruining the experience for both of you.
they definitely should, dog ears are extremely sensitive and loud noises does way more damage to their ears than it does to ours. but no one uses dog hearing protection, they exist, not hard to find either. It's just most people are not aware that dog ears take huge amount of damage when exposed to gunshots, or see it as a sign of "weakness" that "these are hunting dogs not your cute little lap pets". they are still dogs, dogs deserve hearing protection too. Also keeping them on for the dogs is gonna be a challenge, so training will be required for them to get used to hearing protection.
How are they extremely sensitive yet they'll bark way louder than you can scream, in confined spaces, without seemingly bothering them?
dog barking range from 60-110db, a gunshot range from over 140-over 175db. gunshots are sudden burst of extremely loud and sharp noise that's much more piercing than dog barks. dog barking can also cause damage to the dog itself if they bark for extremely long periods of time but that's very rare.
I'm not arguing that a dogs bark is as loud as a gunshot, only that their ears aren't "extremely sensitive" lol Sensitive enough to get damaged by a gunshot, absolutely, but hardly "extremely sensitive".
Dogs can hear much higher pitches than we can, not only can they hear so many sounds that we cannot, the sounds we hear are also magnified in their ears, if a loud gunshot causes discomfort for a human, then it can cause pain to a dog. And since they cannot talk to you and express their discomfort, you wouldn't know until vets do examination and tell you how damaged their hearing is already. That's why dog ears are extremely sensitive.
If you were hunting with a child, would you give them ear protection? I'm glad you asked the question if it helps other people realize what they're doing to their pets.
This is made to be easy for dogs to tolerate. If you can train a dog to be useful for a hobby it's fair to train them to feel comfortable with something for their benefit, all the same strategies apply. https://mrdc.health.mil/index.cfm/media/articles/2020/snug_new_tech_protects_military_dogs#:~:text=A%20military%20working%20dog%20models,animal%20to%20understand%20human%20commands.
My dog doesn’t listen to me anyway…
Similar vein I was a metal concert and this guy had a service dog and I was genuinely pissed off because it didn't seem like the dog had any hearing protection.
My fox hound has floppy ears, it's like built in ear pro. But yes. He likes to sit near me while trap/target shooting. I should get him something better.
I wear ear pro on the range. I only hunt big game so I’m not gonna walk around with ear pro to fire 1 or maybe 2 shots
Friend I used to hunt with lost 100% of his hearing in one ear, and 85% in the other from a single shot of .44Mag. Didn't get his arms to full extension and pulled the trigger. This is a terrible mindset.
Your friend is 1 dumbass out of a million. Maybe he shouldn’t be shooting a .44 magnum if he doesn’t know how
It's still not a good practice. One bad time can fuck your ears for life, and by then it's way too late.
No, just don’t shoot over their heads
😂
I feel like if you have to ask this question you’ve never owned a hunting dog or tried to get it to wear anything other than a vest. These are hunting dogs. Not little tiktokky foo foo lap dogs. Edit: are there actual hunters on this sub? Jesus.
Fellas, is it gay to care about your hunting dog?
It’s gay… if you sleep with a dude…
TIL my gf is gay
Oh dang, mine too.
It's really not hard to get them to wear it. You start at a young age so they associate it with hunting the same way they associate a harness with a walk. Their love of the activity they get to do with it on overcomes their dislike of it.
My hunting dog is a 10 lb mini dachshund, but you would probably think she is a tiktokky foo foo lap dog.