A US hunter was rushed to hospital after being shot in the buttocks by his dog. The 46-year-old man was hit after his "excited" pet stepped on a shotgun in his boat, reports the Daily Telegraph. He escaped serious injury, receiving only minor wounds to his buttocks and probably a bigger one to his pride. Police said the man had been duck hunting with a friend on the Great Salt Lake, Utah, when the bizarre accident happened. The hunter, from Brigham City, was shot as he climbed out of the boat to move decoys in an area of shallow marsh. Deputy chief sheriff Kevin Potter said: "The dog got excited, was jumping around inside the boat and then it jumped on the gun. "It went off, shooting the decoy setter in the buttocks. I don't know if the safety device was on. It's not impossible the dog could have taken it off safety." Mr Potter said the man was hit from about 10 feet away with 27 pellets of birdshot during the incident at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. He wasn't seriously injured, in part because he was wearing waders or thick, waterproof trousers. The men called 911 and walked to a nearby main road to wait for emergency crews. The wounded hunter was then transported to a local hospital.