overexcited

[Tjarda]

Hai everyone,

I just found this forum and it's really great, because I have so much questions and I am really verry curious about other people's experiences with cocker spaniels. I am the owner of an almost 7 month old puppy and she is really very sweet, but she is so excited about meeting other dogs and people that she just cannot control herself and jumps up on everyone (dogs and people) she sees. It's really a problem with little children because she often scares them by jumping up and then they start screaming and that just makes things more exciting for my pup Gwenda. I have tried making her sit and I have tried pulling her down but she just doesn't get it.  And a lot of dogs find it irritating too and they growl at her but she doesn't seem to care and keeps jumping on top of these dogs. I could really use some great tips.  And I'm wondering who everyone else deals with this.

Tjarda                    

[KellyP]

Hi Tjarda,

Millie suffers from a similar "problem".
When we're walking with her on the lead i will not let her say hello to other dogs and people - in order to gether attention and so her from getting too excited just as a person or dog approaches I start to call her name and show her a treat that I have in my hand; whilst her attentio is on me I praise her and kepp "cooing and cucking" to hold her attention. Once we've past the person/dogs I praise her using my normal good girl phrase (yes Millie yes good girl   ) and if she hasn't made a fuss she gets the treat. She's still getting excited, but its getting easier to calm her down, but it's essential to get her attention quick enough. If I can't I tend to stop, make her sit and scold her with my command s fro bad and quiet (no Millie, enough, no) - wait for the other person / dog to pass and then walk on.

She is much better with people, but still tries it on when we see other dogs.

Off the lead, its a different matter - we always try to keep her attention on us, and she is good at re-call, she's even started coming back even if there's somehting REALLY REALLY intersting over there!  :roll: which means we can usually grab her attention and get her to stay by us. If its just people walking by I usually get her to "stay close" by using a similar technique to when she's on the lead - it keeps her out of the passers-by way. If its another dog, and its off the lead I let her go and be friendly.

Surprisingly she's much calmer and better behavd when she meets another and is off the lead as opposed to when she's on it  :?:   :roll:

Hopefully all that's clear, and hopefully I've been doing the right thing!

Anyone else have any thoughts on hyper-friendly cockers?                    

[Colin]

Your Gwenda sounds very simillar to my Misty, who is also almost 7 months old. It is great having a confident and outgoing pup but it does present problems. :roll:

I have struggled to find a solution to the jumping up on children other than to let Misty have a ball to carry when off-lead. It seems to divert her attention a bit. It's important to try not to shout and lunge to get the pup off, it seems to excite the puppy even more in the same way that kids' screaming does. Trying to stay calm while your dog terrorises a small child is easier said than done though. :wink:

Another option is a long line or lunge rein, if you leave this on Gwenda when she's off-lead you can always step on it and pull her in if she's misbehaving. They are handy for teaching recall too. Once the recall is good the task becomes much easier.

Jimmy is almost 2 now and he did grow out of a similar phase, finding other things in the park more interesting than people eventually. It's a matter of teaching them the proper way to behave and waiting for it to sink in.                    

[Julie Marie]

My Benny is six months old and he too gets over excited when he sees children. Am going to try the treat method. Thanks for the advice.

Daisy                      

[Gilly]

Trying to stay calm while your dog terrorises a small child is easier said than done though.  

Will you be flapping on Sunday then Colin whilst Misty terrorises my kids  :wink: Luckily they are used to it  :wink:

I must admit i don't find it a problem with other dogs...but people is a different story all together...Butty is definitly a "people" dog...which can be a nightmare when she's muddy  :?                    

[Tjarda]

Thanks for replying

I am a bit relieved to see others are dealing with this too, because when I go for a walk in the park, Gwenda seems to be the only one bothering other people with her enthousiasm. The problem is in fact that when I walk her in the park she's always off lead and when she sees someone with a dog, she sets out for them, so she's always there before me, therefore I can never correct her when she jumps up on them. And the problem with guests is that they're not really cooperating, some even make it worse.
But since 2 days now, she listens to me much better. She pays much more attention. She even comes back to me at one recall, which is very  good for her, knowing she used to ignore my recalls. I've got the feeling she left the stage of puberty allready.  Am I mistaken and is the worst yet to come? She is only 7 months old now, but she really doesn't provoke me anymore at all. Except for the jumping on people, but I don't really know if she realizes I don't want her to do that. I havn't been able to be consequent with her at that point.
 
Is it that cockers tend to calm down a bit growing up? Or are they as much excited when they're 10 as when they're 1 year old.

P.S. There may be some grammatical and spelling mistakes, because English is not my mother tongue, hope that doesn't bother.

Just one last thing; I love reading all the messages on this forum, it's really interesting to see how other cockers are doing, I myself can't stop talking about my own cocker Gwenda. And I think the people around me get tired of all my anekdotes, but she's just so wonderful. She brightens up every day. She is my first dog, but I know for sure there are many more to follow. Just needed to say that.

Tjarda                    

[Mike]

I think most of us can relate, Tjarda - cockers are known for their enthusiasm, and Gwenda is still young and has so many hormones rushing around inside her I was just wondering if looking into clicker training might be useful, to help moderate her jumping up on people?

Do cockers ever grow up... well, I guess some do, some dont. With old(er) age they'll definitely slow down and probably calm down, but I think they'll always retain their enthusiam and spirit - that's why we love the breed so much  :mrgreen: