Cocker Specific Discussion > Behaviour & Training

Why is she doing this?

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Kat:
Bonnie is a blue roan rescue cocker, abandoned by an illegal puppy farm when her medical problems outweighed her profiting the farm  >:(  We have had her since April 2002 and have had numerous medical and behavioural problems with her which over the months have improved considerably, the behavioural problems are mainly in connection with my hubby.  She is adorable, very slightly nervous, but not agressive.  She is not afraid of new people or men.

The one thing that we have not been able to cure is her reluctance to "enjoy" herself when out for walks with hubby - on his own, or on a one to one with hubby at work or at home unless I am with her or someone else.  It has been suggested that on a one to one, she finds it too intense.

It manifests itself in not eating/drinking, head slightly down and tail pointing southwards.  Bonnie is so well behaved and will do what ever he asks but never happily.  Its distressing for all and we were hoping that someone may be able to advice me on what we can do.

We have been receiving help from a behaviourist but alas she has moved to Spain, but from her advice we are now coming to the end of a 6 week session where I have not done anything with Bonnie, including eye contact, feeding, walking etc.  This has worked tremendously on all her other problems except for this one big problem  It may not sound much, but it is when she starves herself for two days and is then sick!   :(  She can go all day until I return from work and THEN she will drink/eat.  

We normally (when not doing the "ignoring bit") "share" Bonnie during working days, both of us luckily being able to take her to work with us.  She is fine with me and with customers.  The only time Bonnie comes out of her "shell" when with hubby is if when there are other people around, even strangers.

We would really like to cure this problem because she is obviously distressed, but we're not sure how to go about it. ???

Any suggestions would be so helpful.  Bonnie has gone through so much in her 4 years of life and has so much to give.                    

Anita:
Kat

So sorry to hear your having this problem. Bonnie sounds as though she is a lovely dog despite her bad start in life. I hope someone from the group can give you some help.

Please let us know how she gets on :)                    

Christine:
Hi Kat!  Have you tried distancing yourself from her and letting hubby take over a bit, let him play with her and give her treats so she can learn to trust him.  It sounds as if she relys on you being there and maybe you need to get hubby to gain her trust.  

Dont know how useful this will be, but its worth a try.  Keep us informed                    

Mike:
I think the behaviourist (before she moved away) suggested something like that, and for Kat's husband to take over the upbringing of the dog while Kat takes a background role.

Whereas I can see that this might work, and as such is worth a go, I also think that it could easily have the opposite effect - if a dog is already anxious and insecure, then removing the source of security (Kat) doesnt necessarily mean that the dog will improve, but could become ever more anxious. It's a tricky one.

I think if I were you Kat - and of course I'm no expert and other might have more tangible techniques for you to try out - I wouldnt take a back seat altoghether, but try and involve your husband as much as possible and teach the dog to make possitive associations with him. If there is an improvement, then I would say that it's time for the dog to start spending quality alone time with your husband. I also think that this isn't likely to be a quick fix, but an improvement that will develop gradually over time.

I hope this helps a little  :)                    

Jane S:
I'm inclined to agree with Mike that distancing yourself from Bonnie too much could have a negative effect on a nervous, insecure Cocker like this. I have taken in a Cocker dog who we think had been beaten by the previous owner's boy friend & was consequently very unhappy around men, specially young men who physically resembled the violent boyfriend. We eventually rehomed him with a single man (my Uncle) where he lived a long & happy life. We were lucky that this dog was still a puppy when he came back - young enough to bounce back after a bad start. With Bonnie being so much older, you may have to accept that she may be permanently damaged by her past experiences & that there is now only so much you can do to change her. The fact she has improved in many ways is good but further progress may be very slow indeed if at all. I don't mean this to sound negative but just know that some dogs will always bear the mental scars of past bad experiences. My own approach would be for Kat's husband to take more of a back seat ie not to force Bonnie to have to interact with him if she is not happy doing this. This may be hard on your husband who understandably wants to share in caring for Bonnie but in the long run, it may mean that she learns to accept him because he is just there as part of her life ie she accepts him on her own terms rather than having to interact with him because she has to. This is the approach I have taken with some nervous dogs in the past but that's not to say it will work for Bonnie - just my personal opinion really :)                    

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