Does your cocker do "fetch"?

[Luvlylady]

yes but runs miles away and drops it and wont pick it up again untill ur right up to the ball then does the same  :roll:                    

[watermelon0719]

Nope, Odie will not fetch!! He loves to chase the ball, though, and he will throw it up in the air and play around like that, but if you expect it to bring him back, you're gonna be waiting forever!  :roll:                      

[Katina]

Playing "chase" is a BIG NO NO, if you want to teach your cocker to fetch.
I have had to teach only one of my dogs to fetch, with the others it has come naturally. Of course I have had to teach them all to stop (sit down) on gunshot/command before fetching as when hunting it can get quite dangerous (and it makes you score minuspoints in the fieldtrials) if the dog goes straight after the bird/rabbit.                    

[Pipers Mummy]

Morgan has been a bit of a naughty boy on his walks lately - not coming as he realises we're getting near the car :x .  A couple of weeks ago while leaving the beach he went into a loch nearby and wouldn't come out.  He just sat there shivering  :roll:  He'd come to the edge but if I went to grab him he'd back further into the water  :x .  I was there for about 20 minutes shouting whistling, walking/running in the opposite direction.  !

Shirley I can just imagine your frustration (and probably red face  :shock:  :oops: ).  Sometimes the little tinkers just get the devil in them don't they?

Piper will not go anywhere near water, she will stand carefully near the edge - not too close though, just to be safe  :roll:  - and watch her friends splashing around, so I have never had to deal with your particular problem.

There have been a few tantrums though when she does not want to go home and refuses to come to me to put her lead back on.  Initially, I would try everything and she would just run off a bit further and pretend to sniff the ground whilst she was secretly watching me

Now, when she's having a strop I just casually walk off - sometimes hiding behind a tree (yes, I know that's a bit odd....) and she is there in a flash, or I stop and turn my back to her for as long as it takes and then her curiosity gets the better of her and she creeps up behind me and will just sit there                      

[Jan/Billy]

phew! thought i had an odd cocker        

I dont chase Billy anymore as i want him to get out of the habit, it is difficult though when he is running round the garden with my mobile phone in his mouth!!!  :oops:  :oops:

If i throw the ball he will chase after it but then when i call him back he comes back minus the ball  :?  :?

I will have to practise more.

One thing i am concerned about is the fact he is totally obsessed with birds!!! We is very very well socialised loves all animals but not birds.
If he sees a cat he wants toplay if he sees a bird thats it he off like a rocket and nothing absolutley nothing will stop him during chase. The trouble is that he is getting faster and faster, he bounces accross the field
like a rabbit at tromendous speed. This morning he nearly caught a sparrow, i cringed and couldnt look  :oops:  :oops:  :oops:  :oops:
I wondered what would he would have done if he had caught it??? I thought cockers  were only meant to"flush" birds not actually catch them when they are still alive??? :?  :?                    

[Katina]

If i throw the ball he will chase after it but then when i call him back he comes back minus the ball  :?  :?

First teach him to keep the ball in his mouth, then teach him to give the ball to you and AFTER that start throwing the ball .
And in the beginning do not throw the ball far.                    

[TOPAZ BILLY]

phew! thought i had an odd cocker          

I dont chase Billy anymore as i want him to get out of the habit, it is difficult though when he is running round the garden with my mobile phone in his mouth!!!  :oops:  :oops:  

If i throw the ball he will chase after it but then when i call him back he comes back minus the ball  :?  :?  

I will have to practise more.  

One thing i am concerned about is the fact he is totally obsessed with birds!!! We is very very well socialised loves all animals but not birds.
If he sees a cat he wants toplay if he sees a bird thats it he off like a rocket and nothing absolutley nothing will stop him during chase. The trouble is that he is getting faster and faster, he bounces accross the field
like a rabbit at tromendous speed. This morning he nearly caught a sparrow, i cringed and couldnt look  :oops:  :oops:  :oops:  :oops:  
I wondered what would he would have done if he had caught it??? I thought cockers  were only meant to\"flush\" birds not actually catch them when they are still alive??? :?  :?

Jan it must be something in the name, all the behaviour you have described is our Billy to  He will fetch something and bring it back so far then as you reach to take it from him he turns round and will do this for ages until you ignore him :roll:  He also love chasing birds and will watch from the french doors for them landing in the garden he will then fly out the kitchen door to chase them :roll: he makes that much noise the birds are long gone before he gets there. The only problem we have is planes he hasn't quite got the hang of the big silver bird and will still run out into the garden to give chase to anything going over head :roll:  :roll:

Michelle                    

[Jan/Billy]

           Ha ha ha that's so cute Michelle
, if only we could tell them that they will never reach the big bird    

Billy is sometimes quite clever in that when he sees a bird he will sink to the ground and lie flat in the grass & i mean totally flat so that his back paws are facing upwards, and then he will slowly creep up to the bird he
then shoots off in chase. I then start shouting and waving my arms in the air to warn the bird he is coming, i must look barmey  :oops:  :oops:
Billy must be from working stock perhaps???

I just want to know what he would do if he actually caught one. He has so much energy that he has to be let off the lead once a day & have a good run otherwise he is a real pain, he just runs round and round the house jumping all over the furniture etc  :shock:  :shock:  :shock:  :shock:

he settles down after he has had a run around                    

[Luvlylady]

bella is a tease with the ball as youthink shes going to put it in your hand off she runs as you go to grab it , shes always done it , pain in the bum when you want to take somthing off her thats the reason i taught her drop . comes in handy for all sorts of other things  :wink:
fotunatly i have a really big garden so bells allowed to run riot there i used to take her for 3 walks . but the past 3 weeks we found that shes started to come when of the lead so she gets a run round the local park thats huge about a hour walk going fast   , and a late night walk . i cant put my trainers on now without wimpering as she thinks shes off for her run  :shock:                    

[picklesmum]

Hi Jan. Pickle also has a bird obsession, which is quite worrying as there are lots of wee baby birds around at this time of year. Like Billy, he creeps up on them, and then charges towarsd them at top speed.
I couldn't deal with him killing a baby bird - I'd be so upset. So what I've done is buy him the biggest cat bell I could find (only cost about 16p) and attached it to his collar  :wink: ! So now the wee birds get good warning when they hear the sneaky Cocker creeping up on them!!!
Pickle was so confused when the bell went on at first - it was hillarious! Now he doesn't really notice it, and so far, all the birds have escaped!
Might be worth a try - a friend has a Swiss cowbell on her Retreiver for similar reasons - sounds like a herd of goats is approaching  
Emma and Pickle xx                    

[Jan/Billy]

aaahhhhhh a bell good idea!! i will try it        

yeah would be awful if he actually caught one and killed it, or even worse left it half dead, then i would have a dilema!!! :cry:  :cry:                    

[Hel]

The best way to teach 'fetch' is in the house - let things to distract - then go to the garden and beyond.

I recently taught my 7 yo rescue Pip to fetch (and screamed about it here - I was so pleased  ), although he has a wonderful example in Fletch.  Fletch lives for anyone to throw anything and for him to bring it back - I never have to use the word 'fetch' with him!