conflicting boundary advice= very confused owner

[happydog]

Welcome to the world of working cocker ownership  . It does get better, truly it does! You have been given some really good advice and ideas here.

Lindylou has said it all, especially this.

However, I feel I have to say, relax, enjoy and take some of that pressure off yourself!

The more chilled you can be, the better chance you have of chilling out your working cocker.

I am also not sure about the cereal packets and cardboard toilet rolls. i never wanted Baxter to shred and destroy. Do you not think this could lead Bo to believe it's ok to shred your mail, magazines and newspapers?

FWIW I have always allowed toilet rolls (stuffed with newspaper and the occasional biccie) and cardboard (checked and all staples removed beforehand) with my teething pups and have had no problem with mail/magazines etc being shredded, because I teach them that it is only what I give them that they are allowed to keep. As soon as I could I taught Fern to 'fetch' the post when it dropped through the letter box, which received a treat in exchange. I did the same if she 'came upon' a newspaper or magazine that I wanted. Even if I no longer wanted it I would get her to 'fetch' it to me  and then give it back to her with a 'take it' command. It does need consistent training early on, especially until teething is out of the way, but it works well with retrieving breeds like working cockers. Shredding stuff will keep them occupied for hours (and you too, as it seems like you are forever picking up bits of shredded soggy cardboard  ) Yes a bit gets eaten, but it has always come out the other end and all mine lived.

 At nearly ten years old she still brings me the post, although if I'm not around she will take it to her basket until I am. The worst damage has been a soggy corner.

[bibathediva]

Agree with what all others have said...she is still only a baby and perhaps you are trying to overcome too much with her at once...as Colin says pick your battles...i think the more you try and do when they are small the more confused they become..there little brains cant cope  so one step at a time otherwise you get frustrated because things are not going as you wish and the pup get frustrated because its not sure what it should be doing  most of what you describe is normal and Lindylou was right in saying relax a little you have many years to train your dog ..so enjoy your baby as before you know it that stage has gone 
Mine have also had loo roll holders with treats in to shread and never really had major problems with them chewing other stuff 

[wrenside]

If you're worried about lots of cardboard in her poo because of chewing lots of loo rolls, try putting an empty (washed out) plastic milk carton on the floor for her to scoot around with and play with too. I've found that they last longer, are wonderful fun for a teething little pup, make a fab noise to keep them interested and don't cost very much! 

With the biting problem. Sit down on the floor with her and let her climb all over you and play silly little games. As soon as she mouths you too hard, make a loud squeak noise (this will probably startle her) and then carry on the game you were just playing and give her a stroke (after she's let go of your hand, not before). This is how her dam would have disciplined her about biting and also how her siblings would have reacted during play when it got too rough. Basically the loud noise will startle her out of continuing to nibble you, and then the play starts again as soon as she's not biting you, so she learns that play is acceptable but nibbling isn't. She also won't get hand shy or frightened of you.

Playing with your pup is really important to build up a trusting bond between the two of you.  Rigorous training at this age isn't really your main priority, the first thing you need to establish is a good loving relationship 

With the toilet training. I would by-pass the puppy training pads. Instead just make sure that you take her out regularly to the garden for loo breaks and praise her when she goes outside (also choose a phrase like "hurry up" or "last wee" to say when she does go to the loo outside) This will help when she's older with asking her to toilet on command (useful for long journeys or if you've only got a short amount of time to let her outside for the loo). If there are any accidents in the house, just clean them up and make sure that you let her outside a little more often so that there's less chance of her making a mistake. Pups learn very quickly about asking to go outside for the loo if you choose to toilet train her like this 

Finally the barrier is a great idea for across the sitting room area. If she does hop over it, go and pick her up and put her back in the area you want her to be in. If you catch her attempting to hop over the barrier I would say "no" or "off" firmly so that she stops and looks at you, and then chuck an empty milk carton in the area you want her to be in away from the barrier and say "go fetch" (or something similar) in a nice happy voice. This will make her feel your displeasure at her trying to get over the barrier, but will also immediately reward her for not hopping over and initiate a nice little play session in which you can build upon your bond with her.

Having time apart from your pup is also important. Even if it's just popping out to the shops or going into another room and closing the door for a minute or two. Your pup must learn that it's okay for you not to be there because you always come back again. Desensitizing your dog to you leaving them for a while is very important to stop issues of separation anxiety developing 

Good luck with your gorgeous little pup   

Best wishes,

Mary xxx

[Han]

I work from home and when Darcey was tiny I would crate her during the day so I could get some work done. So wake up, out to toilet, play and training and cuddles for 30 mins to an hour the into her crate with a couple of kongs and some toys for a couple of hours. Repeat endlessly throughout day. Worked really well - she learnt to settle on her own as well as helping with toilet training etc. In fact it is only since Christmas that I can trust her to settle downstairs in the house while I am upstairs working without destroying the place  .

HTH - it'll get easier 

[Colin]

Re the living area problem again I think some kind of barrier is pretty essential. To a human the boundaries between your living and dining areas would be obvious but to a dog it's just one large space and it's doubtful if Bo is able to differentiate and understand why he keeps getting removed from one part of this space. Imagine if you had a grassy lawn then beyond that a field, with just a step down separating the two - it would be extremely difficult trying to teach a dog where the boundary lies. Even more of a problem if you were sitting in the field for a few hours at a time and Bo had to stay on the lawn away from you. It wouldn't be impossible to teach a dog this 'invisible' boundary with constant supervision and training but once left on it's own the dog would find it really hard to resist the temptation to explore the forbidden territory... so even if Bo does eventually learn to accept your line between living and dining areas whilst you are there, I think it's pretty much guaranteed she'd conveniently forget about it when you go out. 

I live in a large L-shaped open plan flat ( or loft apartment if I want to sound posh  ) - I wanted to keep it open plan but it was just too difficult trying to teach the dogs they could go anywhere they liked but not in the bedroom area. In the end I had to compromise and re-arrange everything to totally separate the part of the L where the bedroom is with a semi-permanent partition... it saved a lot of needless hassle.

[sophiep]

ok. deep breath. today has been trying to say the least. i have just turned bo's puppy pen into a barrier that divides the dining room and living room. i think it is sound advice and take on board what you say colin about it being an obvious divide to humans but not dogs. i was quite hopeful as the two dogs i look after occasionally (adult admittedly ) have understood the boundary after a couple of attempts. its not something i planned to achieve earlier than when she'd been here for a few months as although it is divided by a step down and is not an invisible line she is still a baby so we will be taking small steps - like you say pick your battles.

since writing that bit i've been away for 15 mins doing a bit of play with bo and we are both so much more relaxed for the barrier being there. she was showing quite a lot of white in her eyes and getting quite agressive when i was having to pick her up out of the living room. where as now she's more relaxed in her face and playing happily.

ok another 10 mins passed and now she's onto the her other trick running up stairs. am clearly going to have to buy a stairgate too. so thats next on the shopping list.

whats really hard is for two weeks we were doing so well. she was really listening and enjoying her play and training with me and we had a nice routine where i was doing a bit of work whilst she was settled in the pen and then spending good quality positive time together when she was out. plus she seemed to understand not to go in the living room area.. where as now it feels a little bit like battle of the wills... i wish i'd stuck with my own instinct and not had the trainer round. i'm sure it wouldn't have deteoriated so much and so rapidly if we hadn't changed our tactics. poor thing probably totally confused.

dont know what else to say. feel like a rubbish mum today.

[Colin]

It can be hard getting used to the fact that such a small bundle of fur can cause such chaos and self-doubt but I'm sure we've all been through it. Often it can feel like one step forward, two steps back but you'll both get there in the end. I'd just put the whole business of yesterday behind you and try and start afresh, things will be so much easier when you can start taking Bo out for walks. Are you planning on taking her to puppy socialisation classes ? They can be great fun and swopping puppy horror stories with fellow sufferers can help put things in perspective too - it's always a relief to know others are going through the same thing.

[PennyB]

... and just to add to what Colin has said they bascially also keep you on your toes (mine still do) - you most certainly need a sense of humour to be owned by a cocker.

[JennyBee]

You are not a rubbish mum.  I can remember when Brodie was that age - I felt exactly the same as you, especially after reading all those books and feeling that after two or three weeks I should have a perfect, well trained puppy .  It took me a while to realise that I was expecting too much of her (and me ).  Like Colin says, start afresh tomorrow and remember that she is still very young, and that you have plenty of time to get things right x

[KatieJean]

Hi
I thought as the turkish carpet made you laugh I would elaborate.
We got our first carpet about 9 years ago. Ordered on holiday and sent to us.
Delivered in the morning, phoned OH to say it had arrived, before he had even got home from work our golden retriever pup had chewed it.
That was our first rug and we didn't learn, bought another about 2 years ago, had new cocker pups at different times and guess what we have less fringe than we started with. Will not be buying anymore rugs.
We have just taken our stair gate down, we needed to stop them getting to the cats food, sadly we no longer have the cat but guess  what it took 2 seconds for them to run up the stairs.
It will all get better and you will have so much fun with Bo you will wonder why you worried.

[Karma]

I have given up on rugs downstairs.... Honey loves to chew them... 

As others have said, puppies are absolutely infuriating - I was reduced to tears on several occassions when Honey was young... try not to take on too much at once.  Set your ground rules and be consistent, but remember to have fun with your pup - they grow up so quickly, and you soon miss the puppy behaviour!!

[supergirl]

I have given up on rugs downstairs.... Honey loves to chew them... 

As others have said, puppies are absolutely infuriating - I was reduced to tears on several occassions when Honey was young... try not to take on too much at once.  Set your ground rules and be consistent, but remember to have fun with your pup - they grow up so quickly, and you soon miss the puppy behaviour!!

My house is in a state of renovation and I have purposely left having new carpets until the dogs are older.  Unfortunately, the dogs have had reasonable attempts at the skirting and door frame, which will need re-doing.

If you find that its getting to you, there's no harm in taking a time out.  Roly was at his worst when I had a lot of work deadlines to meet, so was already quite stressed.  Having a puppy wake you at 3am every day start to take its toll.  In order to get things back under control, a very good friend had him for a few days, and whilst I did feel guilty it made the world of difference.

After having had two puppies already, I thought that I had reasonable dog experience, but Roly was different altogether, and he has challenged me at everything.  Even now some of the simplest commands have to be debated, whereas Misha will do things 100 times over if you ask her.  However, I wouldn't change him for the world, he is an incredible softy, but he just thinks for himself.

[sophiep]

thanks everyone. i cant tell you how much better it makes me feel to hear your horror stories! today has started off much better. i'm currently making a stairgate from some wood that should stop bo running up the stairs . unless she reaches showjumping standard! 

i'm definitely going to take her to puppy training classes. i posted a while back before i got Bo whether anyone knew of any good ones in west london. and got a few replies- there is one that i'm going to go and check out down the a3 , about half an hour/ 40 mins away but considering the amount of dogs, pet (accesory) shops and demand for it around here i can't believe there aren't more training classes locally around hyde park- definitely a gap in the market for anyone who wants to set up their own business! 

and just incase anyone else is reading this who is going through the same thing... one thing i have noticed that really helps bo relax a bit is after we've gone for a walk about in my arms, she really benefits from the change of scenery and not at all scared of the traffic and really enjoys people watching (and being told how cute she is  ). so we're going to be doing plenty of walk abouts for the next couple of weeks.

[sophiep]

also forgot to mention... as my other half pointed out to me last night we also changed her food around the time we noticed the behaviour change- pedigree complete (breeders choice  ) to arden grange. i guess it makes sense that she'd have more energy on this new higher in protein diet. anyone else noticed significant changes in their dogs when changing food?

[emderpenguin]

if you've changed the amount of protien to a higher amount you should get more energy... but you may find you need to put the amount down as well (quite hard to judge with growing pups though lol)

Pepper is only a small cocker, and even tho various foods say she should have 150-200g per day she only gets 80-100g, and has done since being about 6 months old. Any more and she piles the weight on like no tomorrow. (both dogs now have dried in the morning and raw at night)