Puppy Problems

[MacTavish Boys]

What a beautiful  girl Millie is   she has such an intelligent looking face, i am glad that things seem a bit easier today, hang in there. Cockers are really worth it  
Stephanie, George and Hamish xxx

[karenl]

I would just like to say hang in there , I've been there & know exactly what you are going through , we were first time puppy owners with our dog Amber ,
We nearly rehomed her on many occasion as she was a nightmare , felt we were doing everything wrong, cutting a long story short we didn't give up on her & she is now 4 years old & pretty good  you will get through this , I never thought we would but we did . Your puppy looks adorable by the way x

[Jan D]

I can't give you any better advice than that which you have already received but I just had to say what an absolutely stunning girl Millie is 

I do love the workers

[HBP]

I had similar problems with Murphy, and still do occasionally. Just not with the growling and barking.

One thing I noticed today when Murphy was on a short walk with a neighbours 3 month old Terrier was that they literally fought the whole time they were on the walk. Just puppies being puppies and having a great time. A lot of the behaviour I saw with us was mirrored in the play fighting with the other puppy.

Time outs in another room/crate work best for Murphy.

Also, working Cockers have unbelievable amounts of energy. How much exercise is she getting?

If Murphy looks like he is about to go on one of his mad half hours I take him out for a short walk and this seems to calm him down.

Talking to many Cocker owners I meet on walks and reading many similar threads to this one, it does seem that Cocker pups are prone to biting (cockerdile is a phrase I hear a lot) but stick with it and I am sure things will get better and you will be rewarded with a fantastic companion.

After 2 weeks, I am sure 3 out of the four of us could have quite easily thrown the towel in.

Edit:Just to add, Murphy probably shows the worst behaviour of any dog in the history of dogs. He switches my Xbox off with his nose whilst I am in the middle of a game  (he likes the 'ping' sound it makes when it switches off and on) If that isn't grounds for being shipped out to the dog pound I don't know what is.

HA! Hudson does this... clever cockers 

[Des]

Working cockers are definitely a hand full, Bonnie  is our first worker and compared to our previous black lab she was a nightmare pup.The wife was in tears quite often and convinced bonnie was a savage phsyco dog and was worried for our 4 year old granddaughters safety.Stick with what your already doing, time outs and regular rest periods definatey work.Bonnie is now a loving pup and will lay and have cuddles at night.Cockers seem very strong willed and harder work than a lab but are just as intelligent and far more entertaining and characterful.Bonnie was a real cockerdile but now loves me to hold a chew/bone while she chomps on it and will release straight away if she catchs my hand so has learnt the difference.Bonnie loves a good long walk in the woods off lead and her energy is limitless but is far more tired if I incorperate some training/games while were out.She is great some days and obedient and makes me proud but the day after can be totally uninterested, it is easy to expect too much from a pup and bonnie is now in adolescence so more testing times.Consistency is the key and a regular routine helps.Good luck stick with it.

[SarahMK]

Hello all,

I'm rikkis partner (and Millie's mum)

Thank you all for all your help. After trying some of these things we have had some great progress.
She is very intelligent and can tell that by how quick she is picking things up.

Today for the first time we sat had a cuppa and mince pie with her in the room no jumping up or craving attention. A nice walk and attention before probably helped though.
Now she is fast asleep!

Sarah

[GeoW]

That is excellent news, but don't be worried or upset if she regresses from time to time over the next few months, its all part of the growing process.

Millie is a beautiful looking spaniel, just stick with it.

[SarahMK]

Thank you for this reply as we had a bit of a bad day with her yesterday.
If anyone has any advice on how to calm down barking it would be appreciated as she has started barking more. She must be getting her voice.

Sarah

[GeoW]

Excessive barking is one of those things I just can't stand, and we were worried by William as a pup as he was given to  barking fits particularly in the mornings. We had never had a barker before.

It drives you mad but we found that a combination of distraction and ignoring him was the best policy for us. If it's attention seeking barking, then ignoring him proved the best but waiting for them to stop  does really put pressure on the nerves.

I'm happy to say that as he matured the problem  just went away and now he just gives request barks when he wants to go out.

Hopefully this is something that will resolve itself for you, another hurdle we have to cross when we take on Cockers.

[Rikki]

That's good to hear. Sarah is better with the barking than I am, it really grates on me! We have been ignoring her when she does it for attention and giving her a calm 'quiet' when she does it for other reasons. I don't think she has really grasped it yet but I'm sure she will.

She's doing a lot better in general though. The biting has gotten far less frequent and the hyperactivity has certainly dropped, it seems like she is settling in now.

Thanks again for the advice

[SarahMK]

We thought we would give everyone an update on Millie!
Millie is now 9months old and after ups and downs of nipping, barking, crying, chewing and all the cocker traits we have finally broken through!
After rehoming mils at 4 months we struggled to get her routine but have finally figured each other out.

Our main problem with Millie was that she kept nipping! Naughty little pup and we tried everything!
We finally tried pet corrector ( pressurised air in a can) and it's worked not only does she not nip but she now responds to a simple "no" and knows from our tones of voices when we mean no.

She is absolutely gorgeous and glad we tried so hard with her as finally found something that has worked.

Sarah

[Mudmagnets]

Lovely update, so pleased things have improved and you are now enjoying each other's company