Can anyone recommend a very patient trainer for a gun-shy dog? I know it's a long shot, but I need to try.
Thanks

Does the dog like to retrieve or like birds?

Age?

Yes, The dog loves to retrieve and point. 18 months

How does it do with other loud noises?

No issue with other loud noises.

Harlon Winters, trainer out of Burnet/Austin would not take a gun shy dog. Sort of frustrating if everything else is good.

You can have a positive impact on the dog if you are patient. First take dog on run in field, no conversation just work the field. Maybe a couple of times. Next get a child toy cap pistol at WalMart and start firing at random while walking the field. No talk. If no problem move to releasing pigeons for dog to chase . When dog is fully engaged with prey pursuit use the cap pistol again when dog is in full pursuit , let dog get a ways from you. If all is good step up to a 410 when dog is in hot pursuit again when dog is far away. And if dog reacts always IGNORE. My two cents worth and I have fixed several "gun shy" dogs. IMOHO

I have treated 3 dogs and was successful twice and the failure was my fault

Well that's positive news.

Your best bet is probably to try it yourself. This isn't something that fixed over night or even in a month. The cost would just not be worth it and hard to find a good trainer willing to take it on. You could possibly find an amateur who knows what they are doing.

You can do it yourself though.

Like others have mentioned it starts with adding it in while the dog is focused on something else. My approach would be to start with a cap gun or .22 and live pigeon.

Have the gun 100+ yards away, get the dog chasing the bird and fire the gun. If any reaction move farther. If no reaction start over and move in to 80 yards. Next time start again at 100 yards and use a .410 or 20ga. Continue the sequence of moving closer and or farther depending on the reaction. Over the course of several sessions you'll gradually work your way to the dog's side. If at any point you get a reaction from the dog move farther away. Always associating the gun fire with a live or dead bird.

Depending on the severity it could take weeks or months or you possibly will never cure it.

Russell Fees - Bosque River Dog Training @ vombosqueriver@gmail.com. I’ve personally assisted him in training a trio of extremely gun shy GWPs using the method Bradybuck mentioned above. He’s about as patient as they come.

The trainer that has had the most success with helping gun shy dogs is Perfection kennels.

Thanks everyone. I appreciate your help and advice.

I have no experience with the method brady buck recommends. I do know that it is a long hard row to plow and no quick fix. Good luck and I love to hear the success rate

the above statement is very true on that method. You will probably never cure it

Pessimist. Use the copy cat method. Put her on a chain gang and let her get excited watching the bold pups. Worked for me. Use a few live quail.

Reminds me of a frient who too his gun shy dog to a gun range for 3 weekends in a row
Parked close where gun shot reports were loud.. kept dog in truck and fed treats for hours. claimed dog would not chase rabbits after training sessions

I can’t help with recommending a trainer but I can tell you what I would do if I thought the dog had the right stuff.
Put the shotgun away for a while. Your dog needs a steady diet of birds. Let it point them, if it busts them let it chase them. If it holds point flush and let it chase them. It needs to gain confidence and learn its job. After a couple weeks as you see it’s confidence grow get your shotgun out but no shells. Have the shotgun with you when you work the dog on birds daily, when you feed the dog, pretty much most of the time you are around the dog, tote the shotgun until the dog is ok with the shotgun and ignores it. Continue at least another week. Maybe two. By now the dog should be getting bird crazy and be confidently going after birds. If not you have bigger problems than gun shyness. What I am laying out will not work if the dog is not bird crazy. You need a 410 for the next part. With the dog fully engaged in chasing a bird, from 100 yards or more, with the gun facing 180 degrees away from the dog pop the 410 off. If you have been patient and sufficiently stoked the dogs desire for birds, let it gain it’s confidence and FOCUS, and it has learned that birds are its one true love, and is fully engaged with a bird, it will not check up from the bird. Repeat a few more times that day from at least 100 yards. Each time the dog needs to be in hot pursuit of a bird. Continue daily for a week or so. The second week if the dog is showing no reaction, you can slowly in small increments move closer. If that does not work, re-home the dog and get a new puppy. Then seek out some help with properly introducing gun fire to your new puppy.

From what I have seen, I believe gun shy dogs are not born, they are created by not properly introducing gun fire to a puppy.

Good luck, I hope it works out.

Out of curiosity, how was gunfire introduced to this dog?

distance and gradual increase in volume are the key-- it helps if the dog is doing something it enjoys--like retrieving or eating when it hears the noise.
Is the dog timid about other things? How does it behave in the field without guns around?

Mundo--The dog is not timid at all. It's not the guns, it's the noise. I don't have the time or patience to work on this is why I asked if anyone knew of a trainer (I think I have one lined up). thank you all for the great suggestions.