Cocker Specific Discussion > General Cocker Spaniel Discussion

Nose to the ground.

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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. ;D

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 !  :-X  ;D                    

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

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 ;D


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! ::)                    

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