hi all

[pottsi]

hi all I'm a new cocker owner looking for alot of advice .i have a working type male cocker called max and hes 1 year old on the 9th of this month .we got him from a man who was going through a devoice and had no time or room for him .the man was brilliant with him and max did everything his old owner told him ,he had him taking commands from a whistle and was amazing .the man cryed like Ive never seen a man cry before so max was very loved .any way now we have had him for 2 weeks and we love him very much we have 3 young kids and everything is great .he has never had any accidents in the house ,doesn't bark ,goes to his bed when told(which is a basket bed now cause his last owner gave us a cage which we didn't think was a nice place to keep our pet don't know what you all think ?) I'm after advice on training though because apart from a long loud blow on the whistle which makes him come running from where ever he is ,not alot else works .he sits after lots of times telling him but he wont stop pulling when hes on a lead . he isn't as bad as i thought he would be but after seeing him with his old boss I'm a bit gutted cause i cant do the same . I'm sure it is my fault and not max so how can i learn to take control .


thanks for any advice and i hope to learn alot from other dog handling pros

[EmmaA]

Hello and welcome

You've come to the right place for advice there are alot of knowledgable people on here. I unfortunately am not one of them 
But here is the little bit I can give you. Firstly give him his crate back. A lot of people use crates these days and I have one for my cocker Eric, he absolutely loves it and most of the time I leave the door open and he just likes to go in it for time out. It's his safe place and he feels happier left in it. I close the door at night (I tried leaving it open but he cried) and when I am going out for a short period of time. There is nothing cruel about using a crate and if he's used to it he might be finding it unsettling to not have it.
I would give it time with the training, dogs tend to respond to a certain tone of voice (after all they don't understand words) and it is the sound of the word that they respond to not the word. I have to say commands in a very stern tone as otherwise Eric doesn't respond. I think training will get better for you once Max has settled in. I would expect it to take quite a long time for him to settle but don't despair things will get better.

HTH

Em

[Hurtwood Dogs]

Welcome!

Firstly, when dogs are rehomed it can upset them and you will probably be handling him in a different way to his last owner etc which may be confusing him. Don't forget he's going through a lot right now and doesn't really know you or your family and taking commands from a total stranger is not something he's had to do before and if you are unfamiliar with owning a dog too then you're both learning a lot right now! He's clearly had a lot of work put into him and if you've got a one year old worker with good recall you're very lucky and you should be able to get everthing else sorted pretty quickly!

Your best bet would be to find a really good training school, explain the situation and get yourself signed up so you can learn how to work with him and how to think 'dog' and train him in a positive way and start building the sort of bond he had with his last owner. Try not to give him commands repeatedly, wait until you have his attention then give him a comand once. If he's not responding don't keep repeating it as you are only teaching him to ignore what you're saying. With 'sit' for example, try holding a little treat (something like a very small piece of ham) in one hand then give him the comand as you raise the treat close to but above his head, as his head follows it up he should sit anyway and as soon as he does praise him and reward him with the ham - you could be shown how to use a 'clicker' by a good trainer to make sure he knows when he's done what you were asking and that's why he was rewarded. you make it 'click' as soon as his bum touches the floor so he knows that's why he's got the treat.

There is lots of wonderful info on this site so do lots of reading on here, get yourself along to some good training classes (ADPT certified with positive training methods only) and you will really start to enjoy everything that comes with owning a working cocker - they can be hard work and need lots of mental stimulation and exercise but are so rewarding and SO much fun!

Let us know how you get on!
Hannah xxx

Learning to work 'with' your dog is so rewarding 

[LizzieD]

Hi and welcome to COL
I'm owned by Millie a 2 yr old b&w worker.  -
We were complete novices when we got Millie and have found this site a goldmine of information and advice. 
I agree with EmmaA, (if you've got room for a crate) then I would let Max use it. Millie loves her crate, its her own space - the kids are not allowed to bother her while she's in it - so its a safe haven for her. Now at 2yrs old the door is rarely shut but it is useful on the odd occasion to know that you can pop her in it and, if neccessary, deal with any domestic emergency.  (Or put the hoover round.  )
Hope you enjoy the site.