Archie is mad, it's official HELP?

[lillymay]

Hi all AGAIN, some advice please, Archie the cocker we had 2 weeks ago, is Crackers? i know what your all thinking so are all cockers, But wait..... Archie does not stop well apart from a 5min nap about twice a day.....he does not stop running around the room and kitchen, biting everything, snapping at anything that moves, and just being mad really, he is digging everywhere?  what's with the digging? (that's another topic i think?)  Ben is chasing after him as well, and being naughty..... that's all it is is telling Archie and Ben off, i feel that's all we have done?  I am thinking of sending Archie for training or something? does anyone know how old they need to be?  someone told me yesterday that they can be as young as 12 weeks? what do you think?  we are trying to train him.... but nothing... he is still pooing in the living room, we cannot catch him, when he is about to? we lift him up and put him on the puppy pads, (he cannot go out the garden as we have very steep steps) he then runs back into the living room and poo's there??? we can't win?  I know everyone will say that that's puppy's for you?  But i am sorry we have had over a dozen people call and they have all said "there's something wrong with him" and this is a few experienced dog owners? what shall i do?  We took him to the vets Monday for his Jab and the vet said he was great?  told us to get him off pedigree which we had done last week he's now on Science Plan, we asked the vet and he said to wait a week longer and if he's still the same to call him?  anyway that's my moan,  it's like living in a mad house, and i should know i worked for mental health for over 6 years..... and yeah they were better behaved

[Cob-Web]

I know everyone will say that that's puppy's for you?  But i am sorry we have had over a dozen people call and they have all said "there's something wrong with him" and this is a few experienced dog owners?

Are they experienced cocker/spaniel people though? I have seen many experienced dog people brought to their knees by an active cocker puppy, some really can be whirling dirvishes 

Personally I don't like the idea of "sending them away to be trained" - I think it is important that they bond with the family they are living with and training is a brilliant way of doing this  You also have another dog to consider, and sending him away for a period of time would change the dynamics of their relationship If you are concerned then I would recommend that you contact a local APDT trainer (look here for a list of trainers in your area) who will be able to come and observe Archie, and teach you how to handle his behaviour 

Good luck 

[Helen]

i think the diet change will help - pedigree is full of additives and rubbish and may well be contributing to his hyperactivity.

behaviourist is a good idea - you could look at ttouch too, and the ttouch body wrap? - i'm no expert but i'm sure a col genius will let you know if he's too young or if ttouch would help.

i'm with rachel - don't think you should send him away to be trained.  he needs consistency and guidance from you.  Maybe introduce something like clicker training to try and tire him out a bit.  Learning seems to be more exhausting then running for pups!

Are you taking him to puppy classes?

[Penel]

You can do Ttouch at any age.
So when is he going to be able to go out into the garden - you will never succeed at housetraining him if you don't get him out there soon...
ALL puppies are a nightmare - especially if they are fed on crappy food.
Are you in the UK - or US?
Science Plan ain't really "all that" either  try and head for something more natural  such as Naturediet, Natures Menu .... do you have a puppy crate / cage - so you can give him, and you, some time out.

[Sue67]

I was having problems toilet training Indy, since we got a crate, she's come on leaps and bounds, (sorry, you don't want Archie to do that, but you know what I mean).

We tried puppy pads, but they were hit and miss, much more miss than hit actually, I've done away with them completely now, we're still having the odd accident in the house, which is mainly a sneaky wee, since tuesday, only 1 poo and that was OH's fault because he didn't follow the routine.

Could there be a bitch in heat nearby which your other dog's picking up on and Archie's picking up there's something going on which he's no way of understanding?

[Sue67]

Hold on, Is Ben another dog, or your son?

        

[clairep4]

We had the problem of stairs when we first got Bella as we were in a first floor flat - had a 50' garden but it was two flights of stairs to get to it. We still did it though, carried Bella up and down about a hundred times a day and although her house training took longer than it would've done if we'd had direct access to the garden, we did get there. You really have to just watch for those signs, the sniffing and circling they do, and grab the pup and carry it to the garden so that you can praise him when he goes outside, otherwise he won't learn that this is desirable behaviour. You also need to take him out really frequently, we used to take Bella once an hour plus the moment she started to stir from sleep, plus after each meal - it was hard work with all the stairs and I used to feel like Anneka Rice watching for her to stir then grabbing her, coat on, shoes on, down the stairs, down the side of the house and finally plonk little sleepyhead down so she could wee and I could praise like mad  .

I agree with others - get a playpen or crate if you haven't done so already so that you can put him in a safe place to give yourself a break. You'll know he isn't doing anything he shouldn't and it also helps them stop discovering things that they shouldn't do, eg chewing cables, shoes etc etc.

They really can be whirling dervishes and it's exhausting but they do calm down, especially once they can go for walks (how old is he, how far off from being able to go out properly?).

Hold on in there, it'll get better! 

[PennyB]

I wouldn't send him away for training either (especially to the well known trainers in South Wales who do this sort of thing). You still have to be responsible for ongoing training anyway.

There are some good trainers in South Wales but not sure which part you're in.

Pups do vary and yes diet is important but some pups are just really lively and can be a bit of a shock (Ruby was, Wilf wasn't --- he was so laid back he slept through his puppy months until he hit adolescence).

[Jan/Billy]

?  told us to get him off pedigree which we had done last week

If Billy was on this my god would we know about it!!! He'd be absolutely bonkers and climbing the walls!! Very sensitive to the crap and e numbers that are added to certain foods 

[lillymay]

Thanks for all the info, Archie is allowed to go into the garden, but that's all we are doing is in and out, i know what to expect all in all i have had about 8 dogs in my life (from pups) so i know what to expect, but we take him out into the garden wait about 10-20mins and he won't Go, then as soon as we are in and out back is turned to close the door, he goes?? this has been going on for ages now, and not only that Ben now pees in the house again??? well only sometimes? it's so frustrating I'm not sure about the food yet though? He cannot go out for 3 weeks so we can;t wait to be able to take him for a walk as this is know will tire him out thank goodness, I am going to take him to puppy classes there are some in Aberdare apparently in South wales where i am, well about 6 miles from Aberdare.  So well wait and see.  I know that none of you are happy with what i said about sending him for training, but it's not something that we have decided on the spur of the moment, an easy way out then, we have spoken to several Experts now in the last few days and they said it can be a godsend or a nightmare?  i think it's a risk we may take, i haven't made up my mind yet.  Anyway thanks for all the advice and your opinions and i'll let you know how were all getting on 

[PennyB]

Ben might be misbehaving as he's still going through adolescence and anything the pup can do he can match I had this problem for a while when I got Wilf as a pup, Ruby regressed a little.