Hi, - Fern sounds very typical of an excited cocker, I think most of us have had deal with all those issues at some point, its very tiresome and I‘ve got really wound up in the past. (I really try to make an effort to stay calm now as I know it just makes the situation worse!)
A few tips that might help:
Train impulse control regularly - start in a calm situation, make her sit and stay and treat when she does so, you can then practice moving a few steps away, go back and treat and release her, then go a bit further, wait a few seconds, go back and treat and release. You can practice sitting on a bench or stand by a shop window, make her sit and wait and treat and praise when she’s quiet, you can gradually increase the distractions by going somewhere a bit busier but do that slowly, if the distraction starts her barking, turn around and take her put of the situation and treat her ONLY when she‘s quiet again - You should be treating for good behaviour (ignore the bad) - if you use treats as a distraction you‘ll end up being blackmailed!
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Walking on the lead is a problem for most cocker owners and I still battle sometimes because Humphrey’s more used to an off lead country environment but there again, practising in advance in a calm environment is vital and make sure you use the treats as the reward not the encouragement. I had the most success with stopping everytime he pulled and then waiting until he walked back to me and then rewarding him. Its a long job I admit but the key is consistency and giving the dog the chance to get it right, somewhere relatively quiet before he has to deal with a crowded street.
Over excitement meeting people is also a cocker thing, they‘re just friendly
- but you can use the impulse control here too. As the soon as the door bell goes, teach her to go to her bed/ a rug/ a corner, whereever you want and stay there until YOU release her. (The release command is important so she knows how long she has to stay there, otherwise she‘ll just „release“ herself.) When she‘s calm she can greet the guests politely - and again, treat only for the good calm behaviour.
You can train staying calm in all in situations, - make her lie down and stay where she is while you‘re in the garden, on a walk, in the kitchen and once she‘s mastered it, she‘ll be better equipped to deal with pubs and cafes etc.
If you can find someone else to train with now and again it makes it more fun and you can also help each other with providing distractions etc.
Hope that helps a bit!