Dogs hearing damaged by gunshots?

[Ilike9mm]

I don't hunt. I've had dogs and I've had guns, but not the two together.

Tried asking my dog if the gunshots bother him, he didn't answer.

Serious: Does gunfire (9mm/.38) harm the dog sitting close by?

How would anyone really know?

 

[steveno]

i would think that a handgun or rifle would have more affect than a shotgun because they are a higher pressure and I think that would make for a higher freguency. I think that with a shotgun (a lot lower pressure than the rifle or handgun) the dogs are going to be farther away from the muzzle blast.

 

[BearBio]

Yes, definitely. I've done several analyses of effects of noise on the hearing of animals. Many. many studies out there. Also, personal experience with a GSP. A couple of studies showed:

1. Kangaroo rats lost the ability to hear rattlesnakes due to off-road vehicles.
2. Lower mating rates and higher miscarriages in elk, deer, sheep, cattle, and others due to aircraft noise, loud and intermittent noise (like gunshots).
3. Many animals (such as dogs) have large pinna (ears==the part that collects noise, the "shell or part that sticks out)=the damage would be greater.
4. Most states have OSHA reports showing the decibel levels for different machinery.. You can look up comparisons of dogs and humans and their sensitivity.

 

[venomballistics]

ears are ears so yeah, even that lowly 22 will dog the pooches hearing.
Steveno has part of the idea. but its a function of bore diameter that determines frequency and remaining pressure when the bullet leaves the barrel equating volume.
If you have a chance to do it, listen to a 357 and a 44 from a distance .. assuming similar barrel length and the same pressure you'll know which magnum is speaking every time.

 

[Rule3]

Dogs have such good and sensitive hearing I would "assume" loud noises would hurt their ears much like humans.

On study #2 the lower rate of mating and higher miscarriages was it definitively determined it was the "noise" and not due to the disruption of normal activity??

 

[Rule3]

This also brings up a issue or something to think about. When we go to the range and practice we wear hearing protection and perhaps practice self defense drill or what ever.

Folks forget or do not realize how loud those big calibers are.

It amazes me that some folks park a 357 Mag or a similar on their bedside table for home protection. In the event that they may have to use it, do you know what it will due to your hearing and eyesight inside an enclosed room!!

You will end up being deaf and blinded for some time.

 

[805moparkid]

This also brings up a issue or something to think about. When we go to the range and practice we wear hearing protection and perhaps practice self defense drill or what ever.

Folks forget or do not realize how loud those big calibers are.

It amazes me that some folks park a 357 Mag or a similar on their bedside table for home protection. In the event that they may have to use it, do you know what it will due to your hearing and eyesight inside an enclosed room!!

You will end up being deaf and blinded for some time.

imagine the guy who broke in! he will now be missing a limb, blind and deaf, also burns from the powder at close range... bad day lol...

 

[venomballistics]

This also brings up a issue or something to think about. When we go to the range and practice we wear hearing protection and perhaps practice self defense drill or what ever.

Folks forget or do not realize how loud those big calibers are.

It amazes me that some folks park a 357 Mag or a similar on their bedside table for home protection. In the event that they may have to use it, do you know what it will due to your hearing and eyesight inside an enclosed room!!

You will end up being deaf and blinded for some time.

blinded ... not so much, 357's are a far cry from flashbangs. now the deafness part .. yeah, count on it. Your whole world will sound like a techno / dub step bass line for at least a week.

 

[BearBio]

Dogs have such good and sensitive hearing I would "assume" loud noises would hurt their ears much like humans.

On study #2 the lower rate of mating and higher miscarriages was it definitively determined it was the "noise" and not due to the disruption of normal activity??

Most of those (and there have been several), it was the "noise" and "disturbance" from flyovers at the Grand Canyon, I think. It's pretty hard to separate the two. You fire a gun, a deer looks up, adrenal glands react, adrenaline (epinephrine) floods the system, heart rate soars, and the animal starts==what causes the fetus to abort?

BTW: "Harass is defined by the F & W Service as an intentional or negligent act or omission which creates the likelihood of injury to wildlife by annoying it to such an extent as to significantly disrupt normal behavioral patterns which include, but are not limited to, breeding, feeding, or sheltering (50 CFR§ 17.3)." (Part of the Federal definition of "take" under the ESA)

I tranked an elk one time and the guy who was going to lay on its neck spooked it. The adrenaline flooded its system, it jumped up, ran 50 yards, turned around to look at us and........passed out cold like it had been heart-shot! One reason I don't like using opiates.

 

[Rule3]

A little OT but in todays News, An Atlantic Bottle Nose Dolphin (The Flipper kind) know as Beggar was found dead. He was around 22 years old, should live to almost 50. He was well known to area boaters and would hang around and stupid people would feed him, anything and everything. He was underweight and did not eat his normal diet so this is what caused his death

Just like alligators and manatees it is illegal to feed or even touch them but people are stupid.

 

[handejector]

Whud you say?

 

[deanodog]

I don't shoot around my dogs due to the noise. They are scared of the shots. I could shoot in my back yard if not for the dogs. I usually go back in the hills to do most of my shooting. Still on my property. I am not a hunter so all my shooting is recreational.

 

[Lee in Quartzsite]

I went out shooting my 30-06 with my dog along...she went deaf for almost 2 weeks. Her hearing finally returned, but it convinced me to leave her home. We weren't even shooting over her...she was off to the side about 20 feet.

Makes me wonder about the Cowboy Action crowd when they shoot from horseback. Once on the Shooting USA show they showed a horse wearing ear plugs..is that a common practice? Come to think of it, I never saw a deaf horse on any of the old Cowboy and Indian shows.

Guess to be safe in the house you should wear hearing protection to bed...........

 

[tom turner]

Of course it ruins the hearing of our best friends. DON'T SHOOT around dogs unless it is an extreme emergency!

 

[captorquewrench]

Short answer, yes.

How much louder is gunshot than music...and the studies are out on effects of loud music--which are the ones I've seen and gone into depth over.

 

[Ilike9mm]

Right!

Of course it ruins the hearing of our best friends. DON'T SHOOT around dogs unless it is an extreme emergency!

Good information here, I know you're right. Thanks guys.

I am going to leave my dog inside during shooting sessions.

 

[RightArm]

I had some neighbors that were absolute avid hunters. They lived to hunt, anything, anyway legal. They bought a champion golden retriever. It would not even stay in the same neighborhood as a gun. It was also scared of thunder. The only thing it retrieved was base balls, often in the middle of a game.