I took my 14 year old son and my 8 year old Red Healer (Daisy) out to the hunting property with me over the weekend. The son and I shot 30 rounds (.243) through his new Savage rifle and I shot 20 rounds (.308) through my BLR. I put Daisy in the Bronco and had the windows up to just a crack. Daisy has been around 22 gun fire quite abit and never seem to be gun shy. As Daisy was in the Bronco for 20 min. or about halfway through our shooting session I noticed that Daisy was very restless so I let her out. The son and I spent about another half hour shooting while Daisy hung around us. I didn't notice any difference in Daisy till the next morning as I went to wake her up while she was sleeping on her big pillow. I stood about 5 ft. from her and called her name to no avail and for a second I became really concerned because I thought she was dead. Finally she woke up and she seemed to be fine but I noticed that her hearing was gone because she would not follow any commands or respond to my whistle.
Last night I was searching the net about deaf dogs and read that there could be temporary or permanent hearing loss due to a blast or gun fire. Do you guys or gals have any experience with this sort of situation that you can help me with?
Thanks: Ronnie
One of my Brittanys lost some hearing after 12 years of hunting and a treatment for heart worms. I think the heart worm treatment caused most of the loss. Maybe you could try this:
You might want to have your vet check her. Could be something else going on besides just the shooting. My dogs have been around shooting for years without problems.
That's a good suggestion. It is possible the dog has fluid in her ears from a cold or an ear infection or alergy. I don't know how far you were from the Bronco? Unless you stood right nearby, it doesn't seem like it would have the opportunity to cause that much effect. It probably bears mentioning that the shotguns dogs are more often around don't produce sound pressure levels as high as high power rifles do, so they don't have as severe an effect on hearing for a given distance from the gun.
Last summer we were shooting on my sister's ranch. She has four dogs, all used to gun noise. One of my friends who had come along that day had just purchased a .50 BMG caliber bolt action rifle. He hadn't yet shot it because he hadn't had access to anywhere with enough distance to shoot.
After setting up a sheet of plywood with spray painted targets at 200 yards, he lay down and squeezed off his first shot. None of us had given any thought to one of my sister's dogs, a border terrier, who follows her EVERYWHERE. While we had ear protection on, of course the dog did not. In hind sight, we should have left the dog back at the house, even though it routinely accompanied us while shooting.
When that .50 went off the first time, the poor dog took off for parts unknown, and we didn't see it for the rest of the day. You know that the report from the .50 had to hurt the dog's ears. When I've popped off a round from my .45 with no ear protection on, my ears rang for hours.
Still, the dog doesn't seem to have suffered any lasting injury to her hearing thankfully. I have to think that dogs are more resilliant than humans when it comes to things like that. Had I heard that .50 go off with no protection, I think my hearing might still be impaired.
Thanks for the suggestions. One thing that I did forget to mention was while we were up at the hunting property and sitting at the campfire on Sat. night, Daisy decided to go over and attack a skunk. Yep she sure got sprayed good. So when I arrived home on Sun. eve. I decided to give her a good bath. She really smelld terrible around her nose and face area so I made sure I washed her up super good in that area. Maybe she has water in her ears but I didn't think that would make her completely deaf. I'll see how she is tonight and if she isn't any better I'll call the Vet. I'll keep you posted.
I hope it really is just fluid in her ears or that it's just temporary. I've got to remember to be careful around my dog when I go hunting anymore for that reason.
With the windows up as far as they were, and assuming you weren't sitting inside the vehicle and shooting, I find it hard to swallow that that would be the cause. If you bathed her including her head which I'm sure you did, I would be more inclined to believe that. See how she's doing later today, but it never hurts to have her checked anyway. I know with my two female shepard's, they don't hear squat when they've been outside and are dead tired.
Dogs can have hearing damage from repeated gunshot just like us.
Their ear canals are shaped like an “L” and are much deeper than ours so they do have some protection but damage can occur.
The only option to prevent damage is to not expose them to it, especially high power rifle or handgun shots.
It can be permanent only time will tell.
Good looking dog.
Dogs with upright ears are more prone to hearing loss than say a Lab with hanging ears.
My guess is if she is showing improvemnt she will probably be alright in a few weeks.
Sorry to revive an old thread, but did anyone figure out what was wrong with the dog? The same thing happened to my dog yesterday. I took him hunting and before we left decided to shoot my 1911 at a target. He was real close the first few shots but then left and got in the truck. When I got home I noticed he was DEAF. This is very concerning. This morning he showed signs of improvement, but he still can't hear worth a darn. He's been exposed to 12 gauge blasts and .22 rimfire but obviously those aren't quite as loud as a .45. I'm taking him to the vet tomorrow but I am still curious to know if the OP's dog recovered.
It very well could be hearing loss. It's cumulative for dogs as it is for us humans. They do have slightly better protection naturally than we do but I've always figured, if I am wearing hearing protection, why shouldnt we be protecting the dog if he's there too?
Put them in the car a ways away or leave them home. Save the vet bill for something really important we can't control.
many years ago i had an Aussie which was the most clever dog i had ever owned
one day i was in the back yard shooting off a bench rest and the dog was right there with me . after 2 shots the dog figured out were the noise was coming from and jumped up on the bench and got between me and the gun . as if to say STOP IT ! i had to put him in the house
One of the main reasons I have gone back to shot guns is: So many people in my area now have horses, and the high-power crack of my center-fires seamed to bother the horses. If I shoot, shot guns at 1100 fps or slower, the noise does not bother the neighbor horses. It's my property but the noise does not stop at the property line
I suspect it's either ear infection, or just old age. 8 isn't that old, so as others have recommended, make a trip to the vet. I had a yellow lab that made it almost to 15 and had no hearing in the last 1.5 years, but exhibited senile behavior during that time as well, so that may have been a factor. I did shoot chukars, huns, and ducks and geese over that dog, but not all that much. That dog also had extremely sensitive hearing, getting all 'wiggy' from a 'ding' on the TV. Probably like humans, each dog is different.
I've had several bird dogs that lost most if their hearing in their older years but never all at once. Back when I was doing loads of quail and dove hunting, I was shoot cases of shells a year over the dogs. I always kept at least one bird dog trained to retrieve doves also, even though I never had one that like putting doves in their mouth, hated all the feathers.
However, I've never carried a dog to the rifle range with me. I think that's a totally different report than what a shotgun is going to give.
Dog went deaf temporarily after shooting high powered rifle
Yesterday, I went out to sight in my Mosin Nagant 7.62x54R. I had my little dog, Samson, a 3yr old shih-tzu/mini-pin mix, with me. I've taken him with me to my father's place to shoot many times before. Usually once the shooting began he would always run off to find fun on his own, but yesterday he stayed by my side.
We've had hunting beagles all my life, so it had not occurred to me to be concerned about his hearing since none of the several generations of rabbit dogs had ever shown any signs of deafness. However, in hindsight those dogs were not usually as close for as many consecutive shots, and shotguns were always in use then.
After a few shots, Samson, suddenly became very unusually needy, which I ignored. I shot about 15 rounds before giving up due to high wind. Later when we went to leave I called and called for him, but he wouldn't respond to my calls or other commands. I chalked it up to his recent misbehavior that we'd been dealing with.
This morning he was completely deaf to our best discernment. My wife and I became very concerned and I feel quite guilty about my absentmindedness. That led to a google search and this thread. However, I am pleased to say that about 28 hrs after the gunshots, Samson, has began responding to vocal commands again. It does not seem to be 100%, but I'm hoping for more recovery in days to come. I will never subject my pets to high powered rifle noise from so close again.
I was hunting Wild Boar on my property today and I fired off a round from my .357 Magnum around 3-4 feet away from my best friend, Daisy the German Shepherd.
It happened at around 9 a.m. and I realized soon after, she was stone deaf.
I'm praying it's only temporary.
12 hours later, she kinda seems to be able to hear doors slamming?
Really stupid move on my part, first and last time.
Anyone on here ever have a similar experience?
If so, what was the outcome?
Thanks
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