Help required!!

[alickie]

We have been dogless for a bit of time since sadly having to put our fantastic Sheltie to sleep due to fitting, blindness, deafness and general old age.At first I couldn't bear to think of replacing him, but then didn't wan't to be dogless anymore! We decided not to get another Sheltie, he was an amazing dog and could never be replaced. After lots of soul searching and research, we decided on a cocker - I had previously, as a youngster, owned and bred cavalier King Charles.

I have to say we were, initially, looking for a puppy to train our way, right from the start. A 16 month old, however, became available. We went to see him and fell in love, and a short time later he was ours. The reason for the previous owner needing to pass him on was very genuine, and I have absolutely no doubt he was showered with love. I just don't think he received a lot of discipline, which is why I am seeking all your advice.

When we got him he didn't appear to recognise his name. I think we are making in roads with that. With things he has learned in such short space of time he is clearly a very intelligent little lad, which gives me great hope, but he does have a few behavioural issues we need to sort. He also appears to behave better for me and my son than my wife, but regardless of how much trouble he has got himself in to with her he still prefers to jump up and cuddle in to her than me or my son. Is it possible the woman in his old house was an "easy touch" and he therefore feels he can get off with anything with a female.

The main conquests so far are;
1.   At first he went wild trying to get at the plates etc when we were eating. He also got so excited when empty plates were scraped in to the bin etc. I suspect, in his old house, dishes were scraped in to his bowl and left overs were his? Although he is not perfect, and still paces around when we are eating, he does go away when told to. Any advice for further progress appreciated.
2.   As I previously said, he didn't seem to know his own name. Progress has been made. Tips appreciated.
3.   He used to pull terribly on the lead. he is now really pretty good, for me an son. He still pulls badly with my wife. With my son and me, in a very short space of time, he sits at the kerb before crossing the road, often without being prompted by command. Tips for further progress, especially in relation to my wife walking him, appreciated.
4.   He sits, and lies down, on command, for a treat.

The main continuing issues, so far, are;
1.   He seeks out things to pick up, and chew, that he almost appears to know he shouldn't. He appears, if it doesn't sound silly, to want to antagonise you. Favourites are shoes/trainers, socks, really pretty much anything. This is despite having a huge array of his own toys and chews.
2.   When he gets in to trouble, for example for above, he often bangs down on his front paws, almost appearing to antagonise you to chase, continually barking.
3.   If, for example, a door is opened, he would bolt, and wouldn't "recall", possibly partly because he doesn't recognise his name?
4.   He jumps up to welcome everyone and won't calm down etc. Not really a big issue, just need some tips to get him to stop when told!
Any help/advice/direction to sources of information would be so welcomed.

Now, to finish off, I hope I haven't sounded too negative. He is a gorgeous we man with a unique personality and a much loved pet. I just would love your ideas on how to progress on the problems and help the wee man keep out of trouble. He is so intelligent I know he will make it, I'm just not sure I know exactly how to help him get there!!

One last question, does anyone have any views on insurance? Max time, max benefit, lifelong?

Thanks in anticipation.

[Ian Wright]

sounds like a normal cocker puppy wanting to play. ?  i am sure she will grow out of it and i would try not to worry to much

[ollie nathan's mum]

He certainly sounds like a normal happy cocker puppy.

[8 Hairy Feet]

We got Ellie when she was 1 so
still young but she had no training
and hadn't lived inside so I'm sure
you can imagine the chaos ;)At the same
time we already had Pepper who came from
the same place but had been with us for 2 months
so we were already making progress with her;the
best thing we did was get a trainer into the
house to visit with both of them, she assessed them
and gave us some good excersises and tips too
about how to manage, not terribly expensive
about £35 for 2 hours ,well worth it(APDT trainer)
and she came at the weekend too.
Or how about some classes, they don't have to
be young pups to get advantage from these.
It trains you too!
www.apdt.co.uk/
steffxxx

[lindseyp]

Morning alickie  welcome to the forum   

Well done you on taking on this little lad - he really does sound fab & in all honesty it sounds like making great strides with him in the right direction already so all praise to you     ....if you read back through your post, you already seem to answer all your questions & concerns, so think you have this liittle lad pretty well sussed - hope you're enjoying having a cocker around the place, they really are an interesting, wonderful breed 

I really am not expert & you'll get lots of god advice from people who do know in ref to the questions you ask but in my opionion he does sound like a teenage lad that hasn't had that much 'groundwork' done with him & he's pushing his bounderies .....& boy can they push them when they want to   

However, on reading your post I would suggest a check up with his vet in ref to his hearing  - it is rare but possible for dogs to be deaf (or partly) & for it not to be picked up - I'm not saying that to worry you in anyway but perhaps get it checked & hopefull cancelled out as a possibility - just so you now really. His lack of knowing his name & recall could be just selective hearing  (well known in cockers at times  ) but at least you would know for sure & adjust his training if needed 

good to have you on the forum & look forwards to seing & hearing more tales of your special boy 

Lindsey x

[KayJay]

Sounds like a young dog who was never taught any boundaries, bless him. A few suggestions:

Something we tend to assume is that a dog will learn its name....this isn't always the case, it can get lost in the general chatter we aim at them all the time, or we don't make it relevant and meaningful to the dog. To teach his name, associate it with something yummy....classically condition his response to it. Say his name, give him a treat. Over and over and over. Keep it to short sessions, scattered through the day, and start where there are no distractions - in the house - before you try it in the garden, then elsewhere. It's also the first step in teaching a recall. You want him to automatically turn to you when he hears his name, because it's come to mean something good.

For the scrounging, you to use a crate or teach go to a bed, and give him a stuffed kong to amuse him while you eat. Having said that, mine is a pain at mealtimes too, it seems to be a cocker thing! I should follow my own advice!!

Pulling....maybe look at a headcollar for when your wife takes him out? Sometimes managing things can be the easiest solution, at least while you work on the loose lead walking.

He's probably running off with "forbidden" things because he's worked out that they send you into a frenzy of chasing/attention when you try and get them back. Dogs do what works! He's not trying to antagonise you, dogs don't think like that......he's just found a great game! For the short term, try and make sure everything forbidden is out of reach/put away, to build an alternative behaviour actively encourage his interaction with the allowed things......play with him so the toys and chews become more valuable to him rather than just things lying around that don't provoke a reaction from you.

Same for the (sounds like) play bowing and barking.....he's attention-seeking, not being defiant or antagonistic. I'd ignore it, literally turn away dog doesn't exist when he's barking at you, and hopefully it should fade away.

For the door-dashing....teach him to sit and wait at doors. No need even for treats for this one; to get the door to open he needs to sit, the reward is to be released to go through the door! If he tries to shove through just shut the door again.

Jumping up/excitement with visitors......he's a spaniel! Seems to go with the territory! Having said that, paying him no attention while he's being a whirling dervish (visitors must, too!), and giving him a bit of fuss (not over-the-top) when he's calm(er) should help! You could try teaching a sit to greet, which would give something else to do rather than jump up....it's easier to teach a behaviour that you DO want (like sitting) than teach what you DON'T want (jumping up).....dogs don't really have a concept of "don't...." I'm also a big fan of teaching a default behaviour that the dog can use to ask for permission to do things like say hi, go through doors, have dinner, have the lead off etc. You use the thing they want as reward for showing a bit of self-control.

Hope some of that's helpful, he sounds like a lovely little man!

[elaine.e]

Hi Alickie and welcome to COL

Your boy sounds like a perfectly normal adolescent male Cocker (watch out, it will be tattoos and piercings soon) , so I don't think you have anything major to worry about, but appreciate that some of his behaviour must be a bit of a shock after your lovely old Sheltie.

I think your boy probably didn't get much training in his previous home, especially as he doesn't seem to know his name. With regard to that you could simply try calling his name and as soon as he responds, even by turning his head to look at you, praise him and give him a small treat.

You could also train a "watch me", which is a good way to get a dog to focus on you rather than on whatever you don't want him to be distracted by. Get him to sit in front of you, have a treat in one hand that he can see and lift that hand to your eye level to encourage him to look at your face and eyes and focus on you. Reward him when he does and then introduce the words "watch me" or whatever you want to use.

As far as the chewing things you don't want chewed, keep them out of his way! If he does get hold of something you don't want him to have try distracting him with something else that he's allowed to have, preferably something that he really sees as high value and that you don't let him have all the time. Some Cockers are keen chewers, but he may outgrow it as he matures anyway.

Cockers are nosey, inquisitive and love to be with you all the time, which is part of their charm but can also make them quite challenging. It sounds like you're already making a lot of progress with your boy

[PennyB]

1.   He seeks out things to pick up, and chew, that he almost appears to know he shouldn't. He appears, if it doesn't sound silly, to want to antagonise you. Favourites are shoes/trainers, socks, really pretty much anything. This is despite having a huge array of his own toys and chews.

4.   He jumps up to welcome everyone and won't calm down etc. Not really a big issue, just need some tips to get him to stop when told!

No. 1 - that's young dogs for you - the trick is to tidy things away so he can't get them (as my mum always said to me if the dog had taken soemthing of mine and chewed it - it was my fault for leaving it there). Cocker's do have an 'its mine' attitude about things and love to pick items up anyway to carry around (trouble is when thye're youngsters they then don't always stop there).

No. 4 - as others have suggested he's still learning how to behave - get him to sit if you can (if he's sitting his brain is focusing a bit more as well). I will often let mine greet people when they come to the house and if they're staying for a while will then settle dogs down with a chew thing.

To be honest it will take a while as he needs to bond with you more and you will also learn how to focus him (Wilf one of my cockers is very focused on tennis balls - I had to teach him though as it didn't necessarily come naturally - I did this by playing games that were ball oriented, including hiding them and getting him to find them).

He's also still going through his teens and is bound to be a bit wild and hooligan like if he's not had much training when he was a puppy.

[alickie]

Thank you for the advice. I really appreciate it all. I think, unfortunately, I maybe came across like I didn't want to - that he was a huge problem. That really wasn't what I was trying to say. I'm just so pleased to get good tips from other cocker owners who know what works.

In the past 24 hours we have made more progress. I watched a video on you tube about teaching dogs to to answer to their name. Kris (son) and I practised with him quite a few times last night. Today, before I went to work, I was in the bedroom, him in the livingroom. I shouted "Quarri" and through he trotted for a look . Well pleased. And, for me, it proves how intelligent and trainable he is. Great wee lad. He has another wee trick, which I've got to give the previous owners credit for. He will sit (or since we have had him, lie down) for a treat. Tell him to wait and you can pretty much do anything with it - throw it, set it down between his front paws, set it on top of his head - and he wont touch it till you click your fingers and tell him to get it . Really special wee man.

Again, thanks so much to everyone.

Anyone any thoughts on the insurance question? I want to get something in place soonest but a wee bit confused with the options. I think I've pretty much written off the time one, but would welcome thought on max benefit and lifelong - and any thoughts on max time!!

[alickie]

And one other question that has come to mind - sorry for being demanding but thanks too .

I went to Pets at Home today to buy a head collar - one I bought too big!!! I also bought him this herbal dental thing, looked like a marrow bone. A totally exited wee man got it, immediately became so possessive of it, lay chewing it behind a seat and growled when anyone petted him. Totally out of character when I think of other chews or toys he has had. I think it wasn't total aggression, his tail was wagging, at times, but it certainly had more meaning than any other time!! We took it from him and don't plan giving him the other one soon!! Any ideas?

In case I appear negative again, seriously not, just trying to get things right

[Bluebell]

And one other question that has come to mind - sorry for being demanding but thanks too .

I went to Pets at Home today to buy a head collar - one I bought too big!!! I also bought him this herbal dental thing, looked like a marrow bone. A totally exited wee man got it, immediately became so possessive of it, lay chewing it behind a seat and growled when anyone petted him. Totally out of character when I think of other chews or toys he has had. I think it wasn't total aggression, his tail was wagging, at times, but it certainly had more meaning than any other time!! We took it from him and don't plan giving him the other one soon!! Any ideas?

In case I appear negative again, seriously not, just trying to get things right

I think you have answered you own question re, the bone! 'don't plan on giving him another one' is sound advice  Many dogs find bones very high value and will guard them with a vengance. He doesn't know you don't find it as appealing 
Welcome to COL btw.. Now where are the pics of your little chap ?

[Patp]

Great advice already given.  I might have missed it, but have you thought about clicker training and also whistle training?  The latter can help with the "selective deafness" issue!

Clicker training (with high value treats) can help you get the timing right in acknowledging immediately when command is carried out.

Good luck!

Pat