Cocker Specific Discussion > Puppies

What is normal?

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russ-g:
Hiya,

Newbie here with a 15 wk old Cocker. I seem to spend most of my time wondering 'is this normal?'. I've worked out many answers myself as time has gone on, but I have some unanswered ones so I figured I'd ask!

Here goes:

- He won't go to the toilet anywhere that isn't our garden (other than accidents in the house)
- He won't be outside without me. Waits by back door. I expected him to want to go and explore, but I have to be there come rain or shine.
- He follows me everywhere! Always at my feet, sometimes literally underneath them!
- He behaves differently (better) with me than with other members of the family (wife + 2 children).
- It's practically impossible to get his attention (let alone recall him) when he's smelling something.
- He jumps up and paws at the faces of other dogs he meets, nothing aggressive, just play I think, but I worry it will generate a negative reaction from other dogs.

And then, a question:

- Sometimes he'll completely ignore my command, which I suspect is normal, but what is the best thing to do in this circumstance? This happens indoors and outdoors at different times, usually when he's found something he's interested in or has something he shouldn't. I've noticed sometimes it's a game, other times he seems scared, other times he'll just ignore me entirely. But I want to make sure I'm not making things worse. What's the best way to approach these situations where he ignores a command or refuses to do what he's told? I'm conscious of not repeating commands, but I still need to move forward in these situations, somehow!

Cheers
Russ

bizzylizzy:
hi and welcome to you and Stanley! (Love the name! :luv:)
First and foremost, yes, everything you describe is normal  ;) , - all puppies are little individuals and whereas some will head off out and want to explore everything on their own, others are more hesitant and need a bit more encouragement, the fact that Stanley has obviously bonded with you so well is great, I personally think its more reassuring for a pup to have one handler showing him the ropes at first anyway, we all send out different signals even if we think we‘re giving the same commands which, for him, can be confusing so its understandable that he‘ll react differently to different members of the family.
He still is very much a baby and a lot of these things will sort themselves eventually as he gains more confidence, he toilets where he feels safe, in the garden and that fact he follows you everywhere is absolutely normal for a cocker  :lol2: - they’re generally referred to on here as Velcro Dogs  :005:, they just like to be involved in everything and like/need company.
Jumping up at other dogs is normal for a puppy but I would try and discourage it as it can indeed cause a negative reaction, not all dogs tolerate it, try to limit the contact with other dogs to ones you know are friendly at first, puppy classes or supervised meet ups (by that I mean not 20 pups all racing around and not being controlled).

bizzylizzy:
Sorry, don’t know what happened here, - I hadn’t finished my reply and now its all disappeared!  >:D
To be continud.......  :005:

bizzylizzy:
Re ignoring commands - he‘s not really ignoring you, he‘s just so preoccupied with whatever else he‘s doing, he‘s switched everything else off, particularly when he‘s concentrating on what his nose is telling him  :lol2:, he just can’t hear you, when he‘s older you can train commands under distraction but at this stage that’s just a waste of time.
Concentrate for now on just teaching him the basics and teach him commands in an environment with zero distraction, there‘s nothing more frustrating and demotivating for a dog than failure so try and ensure that he has a good chance of succeeding, - e.g. if you’re teaching him to come to you, give him the command when you already have his attention and you‘re more or less 100% sure he‘ll come, then you can praise and reward him, if you call him when he‘s doing something else, that’s guaranteed to fail, all he‘ll learn is that its ok to ignore you it you end up repeating the command so often that it loses its meaning entirely. Hope that makes sense?
Its a learning curve for you as well as Stanley, so take it slowly, celebrate every little success and ignore the failures and you’ll see that he’s learning bit by bit every week.
Finally, never worry about asking anything you like on here, we don’t have all the answers but if the problem is something no one can help with (most unlikely  :lol2:), you‘ll at least be guaranteed plenty of sympathy.  :luv: Enjoy Stanley ‚s puppyhood, it all goes by so fast!
Look forward to hearing more!
Jayne and Humphrey x

ejp:
Not got much to add  :D  bizzylizzy has it covered.  Enjoy your pup  :luv:

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