Hi all,
Our cocker spaniel puppy (Bailey) is our first-ever dog. He's 10 weeks old and settling into his new home well. We love the little chap. But, as a newbie to raising a puppy I have a few questions I'd really appreciate your help with. We get so much advice, but this is mainly from people who don't have cockers. I'd love some 'first-hand' advice.
1. Biting - I understand we should expect a degree of biting in the early days. So far we've been saying a firm 'no' and if it persists (it usually does) we give him a time out in his pen. After 5-minuites (ish) we let him out. Often he starts again, and again. This morning I put him in his pen about 10 times on succession. He just wouldn't stop. Any advice?
2. Hyper - we wanted a loving family dog, but an active dog that we could take for long walks and even, in time, running with us. However, Bailey often has hyper spells which can last 20-minutes of so. Again, we expected this. But, this morning it last around 2-hours (the morning after his 2nd injections). I'm assuming this is normal but is there anything we can do?
3. Just up - Bailey is constantly jumping up at our sofa. We tell him 'down' but it rarely makes a difference. We've tried giving him a treat when he sits, which works great but it seems to encourage him to do it again. It makes me think he knows that if he jumps up, we tell him to sit and then give him a treat. Am I right?
4. We leave him from 8.30am - 12pm and 1pm - 3pm. The morning is fine as he goes to sleep when we leave, but he's a nightmare when I leave at 1pm - howling, crying etc. Will he soon get into this routine?
I think that's it. We will be starting puppy training classes in two weeks so I am sure we'll get a few answers but I'd really appreciate advice from fellow owners.
Thanks in advance,
Steve