Barking - only during training

[Birtles]

Hi everyone just wondered if anyone had any ideas.....
We take Monty (15wks old) to puppy classes which consists of clicker training.  he has only been to 2 so far but for the whole hour he barks non-stop.  The trainer came up and said its typical behaviour from a show cocker (I had not heard this before), thats what they are known for but we explained honestly he does not bark at home, hes silent apart from maybe 1 bark to say he wants to come in but he is not vocal at all .......... only at clicker training classes.... like a changed dog and it is so distracting for everyone, all the other dogs did the occassional bark but monty didnt stop!
Has anyone had this experience? and how or what helped?
Hes fed on JWB but for training he gets cheese/ham etc etc to help with the training..........

[spanielkiss]

I don't have any training classes here in Mallorca so I have to try at home .My pup always barks if I try to train him with my other 4 . Normally on his own he is ok , unless of course I leave it 3 seconds instead of 2 before treating a successfull command !!

[Jane S]

The trainer came up and said its typical behaviour from a show cocker (I had not heard this before)...

Not surprised you've not heard it before as it's rubbish We take our pups to weekly training classes as soon as they are able to and they are never noisy - none of the other Cockers that attend are barky either and all are show type Does your puppy see many other dogs/puppies outside training class? If not, it could be that he's just over-excited at being in the company of so many other dogs or perhaps the barking is a sign that he's a bit fearful of the other puppies? Either way, I'd expect a good trainer to give you some sensible advice other than blaming his behaviour on his breed Did she/he not give you any suggestions at all? If the answer is no, I'd maybe think about finding another trainer

[mononj]

Rosie barks alot at puppy training classes too. I think it's her way of saying that she doesn't want to sit and listen to the trainer, when she could be playing with all those other puppies (much more interesting!!). Our dog trainer suggested bringing a raggy toy to the training classes, so that I make myself more interesting than the other puppies. We tried this and it worked! Rosie doesn't bark at home, or at other dogs when we're out working, so i'm sure it's not the breed. Just an enthusiasm to play!!

[Cob-Web]

The trainer came up and said its typical behaviour from a show cocker (I had not heard this before)...

Not surprised you've not heard it before as it's rubbish

We have a slight variation of this "myth" here on the Island - I have been told more than once that Show Cockers of a particular line (which is bred here) are all "gobby" or barky/noisy 

Molo does bark when he is excited - but we have worked on it and I have made sure he is not rewarded (he doesn't get out of the car until he is quiet, for instance ); maybe you could agree with the trainer that you will remove him from the class for a minute or two each time he barks; I doubt it will take long for him to work it out 

[Penel]

So spend a whole lesson just clicking him when he doesn't bark....

[Birtles]

thanks guys
Hmmmmm just as I thought, rubbish blaming it all on the 'breed'. 
The trainer couldn't think about why hes barking constantly so she said she'd think about it and she came back saying she doesnt really know but could it be the treats, cut out the nice treats (cheese/ham) that could be making him so excited and just give him his usual food as the treat JWB. So tomorrow night is his training class and we are just going to give him is usual JWB food and see if hes as excited.
Monty does see others dogs etc daily, he gets walks in the park etc.  Just bee in the caravan again and he met a few dogs on site and on the walks in the lakes, he doesnt seem that excited when meeting other dogs.... so maybe could be the treats, we will see tomorrow and if hes still barking for the hour non-stop then its something else.