Nose to the ground.

[Colin]

Sniffing about is obviously a Cocker trait but how do you train them out of it ? How do you show people manage to get your dog's to carry their heads high ?

I took Misty to ringcraft last night  and she did pretty well considering it was her first time, but could I get her to raise her head even an inch from the floor ? No chance. I've tried bits of cheese when walking in the street (I forgot to take them last night) but she seems to prefer taking her chances of finding something better from grubbing around on the pavements. She carries herself so low that she even managed to tread on an ear and trip over the other day.

I remember Jimmy being much the same as a pup and he only really stopped once he learnt to cock his leg. He still sniffs, but higher up....trees and lamposts are his favoured places now rather than snuffling along the ground ! Misty, being a girl, isn't likely to follow this course.  He wasn't as food orientated as Misty either,  so he didn't see walks as an opportunity for gorging on assorted bits of debris like she does. She reminds me of one of those pacmen from the old video game, chomping her way through everything in her path.

Is it just a case of me using bits of cheese ( or the dreaded liver cake ) to distract her and make her more attentive to me, or are there any other methods I could use ? Or is it just a matter of time and she'll outgrow this to a certain extent ? I've had to coax so many disgusting things out her mouth I'm thinking of wearing rubber gloves !                        

[Jane S]

There's no easy way of getting a pup to lift their head up Colin - just practice, practice & practice again Some Cockers have naturally high head carriage like our Ruby who we never had to teach to hold her head up but most of ours have been like Misty, more interested in whats on the ground Our very first Cocker was a swine for sniffing the ground & we spent hours in the park with her, teaching her to look at a chew stick we would hold out in front of her as she walked - it took ages but it did click eventually. You just have to find something that is really going to get Misty's attention & don't give it her at any time other than ring training. It sounds like you're gonna have to put your pinny on & get baking that liver cake                    

[Luvlylady]

haha bella walks with her nose on the floor too. most of the time she trips up over her ears   shes coming up too 2 yrs i think its a bit late to get her to stop this :-                    

[xander_ho]

Hi Colin,

Rainbow was trained since she was very little. Everytime when the breeder is about to feed the litter, he makes a clicking noise with his tongue and that usually drives the puppies mad, as they know they were about to be fed.

So when training Rainbow, I usually have some tidbits in my hand if I need her undivided attention I just click my tongue and she will look at me and nothing else because she think she's going to get some food


Alexander                    

[Karen]

I'm afraid mine are the same! Going on walks is only an exercise in scrounging rubbish - because of course I starve them all! Ear tripping and struggling to get a dog to release some awful yukky thing from their mouth is a regular occurance for me! Mind you, when I went training with Blue, if I had liver in my hand she would walk along side me and only look at me so it does work - lots of practice and patience I guess!                    

[Colin]

There's no easy way of getting a pup to lift their head up Colin - just practice, practice & practice again

Yep, practise makes perfect I suppose.......well here's hoping !

I will persist with the cheese and also try Alexander's tip of clicking (thanks Mr Ho ! )........... I think I'll leave the liver cake as a last resort, especially if it requires the wearing of a pinny to manufacture !                      

[Shirley]

Morgan is a ground sniffer too - reguarly tripping over his ears.  He can be brushed and gleaming when we go out but within a couple of minutes his ears are scraggy - now that autumn's here he's even managing to pick up a leaf or two along the way - If they're not stuck to his ears, they're stuck to his legs.                    

[Gilly]

Butty is a floor sniffer to (ask Jane ) maybe thats why she pays absolutely no attention to me when we're out for a walk  

At ringcraft i use little pieces of broken smackos...unfortunately it now means all my jean pockets are full of crumbs, even when washed so everytime i put my hand in my pockets i keep getting little pieces of smacko crumbs stuck in my finger nails...tut tut
This works well for me as now we are getting to the stage where i just pretend i've got them in my hand   When i 1st started using them i used to give her a sniff first and then set off on my triangle and this kept her attention the whole time, it doesn't take long before they realise that they will get the treat at the end   I did have a problem with people who had been around the ring before me dropping bits of treats, which then resulted in Butty nosing the ground and scrabbling for crumbs....if this happens i just pretend to pick whatever it us up quickly and she thinks I've got it in my hand..which means i get her attention again  

Gilly                    

[Luvlylady]

haha gilly , becareful you might end up with a pack of dogs following you at the ring dont think the owners would be too happy haha not too mention butty                    

[Mary]

Lottie was absolutely focused if I had ANY treat in my hand but now it would have to be pretty special

After her retreating to the car on Sunday when she decided she'd had enough , I've been taking my liver cake out with me.  Nearing the end of a walk yesterday, she trotted off ahead and sat at the gate to the field .  She knew I had liver cake and when I called her she came (which at this stage of the walk she would not normally do).

I also had the attention of about 4 other dogs all after a piece  So, get that pinny out Colin...you will have Mistys undivided attention