New puppy like a whirlwind!

[Sarahoverson]

Hi there

We got Coco our cocker spaniel puppy on Thursday, and she has settled very well and taken it all in her stride. She is so lively and playful though, more so than i expected! we have two dachsunds already and when we got them i dont remember them being half so active. Coco runs and leaps about alot when playing and is like a whirlwind and seems to wind herself up and up until we encourage her to rest, although she seems to accept then that she is tired and settles well in her crate. I think I know the answer to my question, but are they all this playful and do they stay this way?! I thought my dachshunds were quite playful but nowhere near in comparison. Any tips for quiet games at playtime appreciated. We have done some command training and she seems to cotton on quite quick.

also, she wees a lot! almost every half an hour, but very small puddles.  is that normal? again dont remeber the daxis doing so many, and there were two of them! Thank you x

[MIN]

enjoy the whirlwind, the tornado is coming  batton down the hatches    enjoy

[Sarahoverson]

Oh dear...I had a feeling I might get that answer!! Looks like we've got our work cut out then!

[lescef]

I think most spaniels are like that, some stay that way and others calm down just a bit    You haven't had her very long so she has lots of learning to do and should sleep a lot.
Are you going to go to training classes? You will pick up lots of tips if you find a good trainer.
I bought Bramble a treat ball from Ancol so that she could keep herself busy. You could also try a kong -that will use mental energy and quieten her.
Enjoy - the puppy stage soon passes

[Redked]

Yes very normal. Hyper little darlings they sure are 

Bonnie is 1 this month and only just calming down (first season in November made a difference). But when a Cocker calms down, remember, that is still not what most dog owners imagine as 'calm'. I say to people we meet on walks that she is much calmer now and they look at me like I'm mad!!

The weeing bit was same for us. She used to be taken out every 15-30 mins and always did a tiny wee. We thought she might have a water infection but it was just her way. Again, they eventually do normal wees (so big that you will have a gorgeous brown, yellow and green patchwork garden). Welcome to the joys of the Cocker spangle xx

[Archie bean]

Sounds like normal cocker pup behaviour!  

On the wee front, some do seem to pee for England but if she is straining but not producing much or seems to be in discomfort, it might be worth checking with your vet. My Archie was peeing every 15 mins or so when he first came home and it turned out he had a urine infection. It was easily dealt with with a course of antibiotics but did delay his injections and therefore his walks. Extra week stuck indoors with a craaaazy puppy!!

[Emilyoliver]

Yes, completely normal  . My 9 year old male cocker, Ollie has never grown up - he is still known as 'the baby'  . But as said - they are all different and my 12 year old is very wise and the matriarch. They can be very trying as pups, but great fun.

Have you done clicker training before?  If not it doesn't matter, but have a look at the 'kikopup' videos on YouTube - some ideas for teaching puppies fun and useful commands.

[mitches]

Our 12 week old puppy is completely nuts, often has mad half hours where she runs wild and tries to chew or bite everything in sight!
Sometimes she is over tired or is needing a poo!
My sister has a mini dachshund, who we looked after a lot when she was a puppy, she wasnt nearly so excitable!
Your puppy is really young, maybe the older dogs will teach her to calm down a bit come time

[Debs46]

Totally normal.  I've got a worker and a show puppy one aged 11 months and the other is 8 months. Absolutely bonkers.  I let them have a mad hour first thing to get the worst of it out of the way.  Then I start putting the furniture the right way round and putting stuff back on shelves etc.  Normal routine.  Then the same again in the afternoon.  They have created a lovely round circle around the fenced off fish pond in the garden.  Just going round and round, flat out.  And yes the pond is fenced off because I often found two little puppy dogs in there with great big smiles on their faces surrounded by fish. lol

Enjoy..

[Rich-n-Chuckles]

Another post to confirm all is normal. My lad is just the same.
Like you my previous dog wasn't like this and I started to wonder if there was something wrong.
Nope they're just nuts. Why didn't I find this site before I got him. 
For a few weeks I questioned whether I could put up with it but now it's just part of his charm. Now if he doesn't do it I'll know there's something wrong.
Funny thing is he's grown so quickly spaces he flew through a few days ago are a bit tight now resulting in something on the floor that shouldn't be.
He has calmed a little but better still he's started to realise there's a time for running round the walls and a time to play quietly.

It gets better....a bit. 

[Geordietyke]

My Archie is nearly 22 weeks old and he can still squeeze wees out if I go out of sight (ie. upstairs), even if I've just been outside with him, it's frustrating at times, especially as he can hold it all night for 8 hours.....

He also does have his whirlwind moments but on the whole, is a fairly calm pupster (for a cocker that is).

[woollypigs]

Hehe, sounds like you are having fun!

No experience here with cocker pups but we do have a very active collie cross who regularly needs calming down, especially now that she's recovering from an operation. I found a great YouTube channel by tab289 with clicker training calming exercises which are BRILLIANT. I especially like the trick where you encourage the pup to lay its head on the ground - our cue word for this action is "sleepy" and our Tilley has picked it up brilliantly. It's great for getting her to almost immediately calm down, and because she naturally associates the action of laying her head down with being calm, it does help pacify her. We have also clicker trained her to go into her crate, and she now dashes in there when we say the cue word, and lies down. It's a great game to her. 

Here is the YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/tab289

[Sarahoverson]

Thanks for all the replies! Glad to know she is normal for a cocker. My two daxis don't know what's hit them! She has launched herself on them a come of times but they have been good and have given her a little growl to know its not welcome.

She is weeing without a problem, no straining but there's just lots of them! I will mention to vet when we go Friday.

I will have a look at the clicker training. I've never tried it before, the daxis only learn what they feel like learning (!) so it wasn't something we have tried with them, but coco seems to pick things up quick so might be good for her, keep her brain ticking. She is really interested in sounds such as on tv and sits stock still watching the pictures and everything, which is a novelty to us!

I'm going to bath her at the weekend...that will be fun!

[Charlie Pup]

This is my first post too and I am the owner of a 20 week old black cocker.  We have had him now for 8 weeks and he is a little calmer but only because I am starting to recognise certain signs, ie/ when he is going crazy crazy, quite often he needs a poo.  He still pees lots when awake during the day, if he's not playing with toys by the fire (keeps him calm!) it is every 30 mins or so, however he too sleeps 8 hours at night no problem.

I've been looking round this forum for a few days as have some questions too re: sorts of indoor games and selective hearing when giving commands outside which I am shortly going to write a post but what I will say is it is so reassuring it is not just him    

[black taz]

Thats what cockers do best!!!!!

To help in the longer term, reward calm behaviour (or any other behaviour you like), can just be a stroke or a good boy/girl.  Try and ignore the naughty stuff if you can, cockers soon get fed up of being ignored.