Sniffing about is obviously a Cocker trait but how do you train them out of it ? How do you show people manage to get your dog's to carry their heads high ?
I took Misty to ringcraft last night and she did pretty well considering it was her first time, but could I get her to raise her head even an inch from the floor ? No chance.
I've tried bits of cheese when walking in the street (I forgot to take them last night) but she seems to prefer taking her chances of finding something better from grubbing around on the pavements. She carries herself so low that she even managed to tread on an ear and trip over the other day.
I remember Jimmy being much the same as a pup and he only really stopped once he learnt to cock his leg. He still sniffs, but higher up....trees and lamposts are his favoured places now rather than snuffling along the ground !
Misty, being a girl, isn't likely to follow this course. He wasn't as food orientated as Misty either, so he didn't see walks as an opportunity for gorging on assorted bits of debris like she does. She reminds me of one of those pacmen from the old video game, chomping her way through everything in her path.
Is it just a case of me using bits of cheese ( or the dreaded liver cake ) to distract her and make her more attentive to me, or are there any other methods I could use ? Or is it just a matter of time and she'll outgrow this to a certain extent ? I've had to coax so many disgusting things out her mouth I'm thinking of wearing rubber gloves !