Red cocker spaniel rage gene.

[Top Barks]

You have been given some great advice

[Mel]

You have had excellent advice. I also have had the puppy from hell in Tali and have owned three cockers spanning 27yrs. Sometimes puppyhood can come as a big shock because as experienced owners we sort of know what to expect, but it isn't quite as we remember it!

Useful dvd is Biting by Ian Dunbar from here: http://www.jamesandkenneth.co.uk/proddetail.asp?prod=dd005

Very interesting seminar which will put ALL of this into perspective. He has other dvd's and books, but this is one that just makes you realise everything stems from bite inhibition.

Welcome to COL

[Sarah1985]

Sometimes puppyhood can come as a big shock because as experienced owners we sort of know what to expect, but it isn't quite as we remember it!

I completely agree. I looked after a friends pup last week while they went to a wedding. I only had a pup this time last year and Id completely forgotten how much looking after they need. Id also forgotten the rule; if you cant see them they're prob up to no good. I was exhasted by the end of the day 

Great advice from everyone else. One thing to add is that  its easier to teach a puppy to do something rather than not to do something. So try and teach him alternatives to the behaviours you dont like. So if you want your pup to greet people without jumping up teach him to "say hello" command which you can use whenever someone wants to give him some fuss. this can be whatever behaviour you want. For my two it started as a sit with a toy in their mouth. With their bums on the ground they are alot less likely to jump up and with something in their mouth they couldnt possibly nip anyone in excitement. 

[Jay06]

Jackie,

Nicola has given you good advice on the drop command - Bailey used to steal any paper, mail/newspaper anything he could find & eat it. I had some treats ready by the front door and whenever he grabbed the mail would hold the treat out and ask him to 'drop'. As soon as the paper left his mouth he got the treat. It took a while as he's a bit dim  & very excitable when it comes to paper but he's pretty good now! I also agree with what you said about a 'step in harness' Bailey has one that goes over his head when he's at home but when he's staying with his gran he has one he 'walks into' She either places it on the floor and calls him over and he walks into it or puts it on the chair and he puts his front paws in and it clips at his back so no need to go over his head. It's similar to this: http://www.petsathome.com/shop/black-nylon-dog-harness-by-pets-at-home-14253
HTH 

[Jackie]

Today has been a rather stressful day for me, it all started off with Toby running round in circles in the house, so I said to my OH I shall let him out into the garden and give him the chance of doing his toilet there for a change. Well once in the garden he ran amok putting anything he could get hold of into his mouth, bits from shrubs, bushes, pieces from the ground, we could even here him biting and chewing on something that sounded like grit. Since being bitten from him last week, I will not pick him up nor try to take stuff out of his mouth, nor will my OH, nor will we run around chasing him as I know that is definitely a no no as he will see this as a game. Now the most frustrating thing about this was that after he went indoors, he done the same, ran round in circles, so we gave him a second chance to do his toilet in the garden. You can guess, yes he done exactly the same, he had no interest in doing his poo poos. And you guessed, once indoors, he went straight on the carpet. I was angry, I told OH to put him in his cage,and I told Toby naughty boy, we then had a bit of an argument because OH said he would not have punished him with the cage, so I said, how else are we to punish him, he had no answer to that question, nor have I. Can any one advise please? In hindsight, I now realise that I should not have told him naughty boy, as it was me who all of a sudden had changed the rules from allowing him to do toilet on the carpet and preventing him in the past of going out because I know he has no intentions of going, to all of a sudden I / we are putting our foot down and will not tolerate him using our carpet anymore. I do understand now just how confusing it must be for him.
On this basis I have now ordered a training line that is long enough to reach the end of our small garden, we aim to attach it to his collar and give him the run of the garden, at least this way we should be better able to keep more control over him.
We have used toys, the squeaky sort, but he is far too clever to fall for that one now,. I have used the clicker and treats reward a fair bit today, it does seem to have some effect.
My nurse last week suggested that when he was naughty, we was to emit a sudden sspps type of noise, that worked the first couple of times, it was a strange and sudden noise he wasn't familiar with, but making that same noise now has no effect on him.
On a positive note, Toby does not show any aggression where food is concerned, nor does he show any aggression towards the other dogs if they get near his food food, at least we can be thankful of that.

[Karma]

He isn't naughty...    You don't need to punish him.

It is far easier to simply distract from or ignore behaviour you don't want, and reward the behaviour you do. 

If you are taking him out in the garden for the toilet, keep him on a short lead so he can't get distracted - racing around isn't him being naughty, it's just that there are lots of exciting things in the garden and he will forget that he needed the loo.... once back inside he will remember...

How have you introduced the clicker?  What other training are you doing?  Are you going to puppy classes?

I wouldn't go down the route of making "ssps" noises - while a noise distraction can work, it doesn't solve the problem, and you end up having to up the ante... but with a pup you could end up frightening them which can cause a lot more problems.  We will make some noises to distract our adult dog now, but never something that will scare her, and always follow up with asking her to do something else...

As was said earlier in the thread, you shouldn't use his crate for punishment - it should be a safe haven where he can relax.  You shouldn't need to do anything for "punishment".  Where possible make sure he doesn't get the opportunity to get things wrong (like putting the lead on before he goes outside for the toilet), distract (with food or toy - something positive) or ignore (get up and walk away from him, so withdraw your attention)... then reward (with praise, toys, treats, being let off the lead to run around like a loon...) when he does things right. 

[Ninasmum]

Tbh i can see Toby must be very confused.    Crate's should never be used as punishment. 

If you have been letting Toby go to the toilet on your carpet & then just expect him to start going in the garden, then he needs guidance/training in order to do this. I would go outside with him as often as poss, always use the same words to encourage him & be very patient. I often offer a treat with toilet training pupsters if they are not too quick at 'getting it' 

Personally, i don't think it is safe to attach a long line to his collar unless he is supervised at all times.
As you say your garden is small, perhaps just work on his recall to get him to come in.    A garden to a puppy is a playground, so i can completely understand Toby's behaviour. 

[Karma]

Have a read of this article - http://dogscouts.org/Doggie_Outlaws.html - it might give you some more understanding of where Toby is coming from in all this.

I also agree, a long line should be used under supervision, and should ideally be attached to a harness when used outside to prevent injury to the neck.

[Jeanette]

Have a read of this article - http://dogscouts.org/Doggie_Outlaws.html - it might give you some more understanding of where Toby is coming from in all this.

What a great article 

[HeatherandBenjy]

You've been given some great advice, please though can I remind you that at 15 weeks, Toby is still very much a baby and probably has very little control over his bowels and bladder.

I've not had a puppy for many years, but I have had rescue dogs who weren't housetrained and had had years of toileting wherever they were. Always, always, always praise them if they go in the right place (ie the garden) and I don't just mean a quiet "good dog", I mean making them feel like they're the best dog on earth.  I also reward with a treat, but that's maybe just me.

If they go in the house, just ignore it, don't say anything and clean it up..... after all you don't want your dog to get frightened that its going to get told off for going to the toilet.

[PennyB]

Puppy training can be very frustrating and in the beginning some things can seem to take a long time

I recently fostered 3 cocker puppies of a similar age and just had to go with the flow really re housetraining and everything else - some days they got it and other days I spent cleaning up.

I also feel that your lack of confidence in him could also make some of your problems with him worse.

[Mel]

Using food for lure and rewarding good behaviour is going to be the very best way to stop him being a whirling dervish and for you both, as Penny says, not show a lack of confidence.

Bite inhibition and socialisation is the key. Maybe you could try luring him to be picked up then drip feed treats like cheese or cooked chicken, whilst holding him to make him associate being picked up with good things.

[spanielcrazy]

What are you feeding him?

Agree with HeatherandBenjy, he is still very young so early days for all of it and a learning curve for you both.

One thing I do remember from puppy days (our memories can be merciful, eh?  ) was of mine zooming around the garden (certain times of day: the Crazy Hour), and also puppies who could be outside all day and "forget" to toilet till they got inside  While it is frustrating, it's par for the course and has to be treated that way.

If I see them doing the "poo dance" or spin (there's usually a lot of body language preceding a poo )I usually say "Oh no, thats outside" in a bit of an urgent voice. If the deed is already done then I just clean it up, but if I catch them in the act I try to get them outside.

I say to them "outside", saying in a certain way every time we go out of the house so they know that when they go through the door, they are now "outside" (Very important to make this distinction to them! It's all of a piece to them, there is no difference between your Oriental rug and the lawn to a dog until you teach it to them)

When we are outside (and during housetraining you will have to be out with him) I say to them "good tinkle" (or wee) or "good potty" (poo- have separate words for each deed) when they happen to do one or the other so they learn the word, then we can progress to asking for it on command. ("Go potty)

But don't punish. Accidents will happen, especially with very young puppies. He may just learn that is is not a good thing to toilet in your presence    

[Sarah1985]

Id suggest you section off an area of the garden whereby he is allowed to play. Keep it a safe area with nothing he can pick up. If you have a puppy pen you could bring this outside with some of his toys. That way he can have his fun and burn off lots of energy without you needing to worry. It natural for puppys to want to run around and play.

Hes not intentionally being naughty. He is just having fun with the things available to him. If you make these things inaccessable (with safe play areas) Im sure you will all be much happier.  Once he learnt a "leave" command you can gradually increase the number of "naughty" item available to him and ask him to leave them alone. Right now he doesnt understand the difference between a toy to have fun with and garden items he should be leaving alone. Its a big lesson to learn so take it gradually.

Please dont be too heavy handed with the punishments. Hes very young and still learning if he doesnt understand try and think of positive ways of teaching him how to behave rather than jumping straight to a punishment.

With regards to toilet training, Id suggest you decide now on what rules you want in place for the rest of his life and stick to it. Changing the rules is just going to cause him to be more confused. If the garden if where you want him to go to the toilet take him out on a lead and wait for him to go. Once he has give him masses of paise and a treat. If he has an accident in the house dont make a big deal about it, just make sure you up the number of times you take him out to ensure mistakes dont happen. Stick to this and he'll soon learn.

Good Luck

[Trixie780]

I would just like to add that "agressive" behaviour does not necessarily indicate a dominant dog.  Tucker displayed ALL of the behaviours that have been mentioned as a puppy...nipping, chasing, biting, growling, etc. as well as food and resource guarding.  We too were told by many that Tuck was a "dominant" dog and that he believed he was the leader of the pack.  However, we noticed things that made us doubt that.  While he growled or guarded, he would shake and his eyes would roll back.  He would pee a little while snapping at us.  He didn't like strangers or strange places.  He would get very wound up very easily (anxiety behaviours).  We quickly learned that Tucker is actually a very fearful and timid dog and lacks any confidence.  We found a trainer and have been working with her to get Tucker well-socialized and more confident.  He still engages in the guarding behaviours but it has gotten much better, especially lately.  We have learned to distract Tucker and to praise him loud and long when he does something we approve of.  There are still times when he seems to "go crazy" and we have to just wait until he calms down, but they seem to happen less often.  We recognize that he feeds off of our emotions as well - if we are high strung or anxious, he becomes worse.  When we are calm, he is calm.  He is almost two years old and it's been a long road, but we see the potential and know that he will be a wonderful part of our family for a long time.  I honestly believe that, because we've had to work harder with Tucker, we love him even more.  He's our "special" doggie.