Fern update - further help needed.

[Fern123]

Hi all,

I was just reading back on my first post and it was nice to see that the three areas I mentioned needing help on have improved! She is now completely comfortable around horses and pays no interest, she is so much better in the evenings, just settles down, and I have seen a small improvement with her lead walking (admittedly, only very small).

Although she has improved in areas, I'm still really struggling with some things. She seems to be a pretty highly strung dog which I really find difficult at times. I'm trying to understand her so I can help her more effectively.

Any advise on the below would be much appreciated 🙂.

1) Lead walking. I mentioned this last time and although there has been a small improvement, she is still pretty bad. I know there isn't an overnight fix but as her lead walking can be quite bad, it then results in her being over the top and quite frantic in certain situations. For example, when we stop off at a pub or even just stop on a walk, she will bark a lot and just be pulling all over the place. The technique i used for lead walking which has made some improvement is the use of treats. This has made the walks feel a lot calmer and although she isn't constantly to my heel, it's better and makes walking past dogs, people, bikes etc easier. My only concern with this technique is I feel she is just hanging around for the treat and doesn't actually understand what I want from her. This then makes going to different areas hard as she's more interested in the surrounding area than the treat. Any advise? Have others used the treating method?

2) As mentioned, Fern isn't very good in public places or even just standing still on a walk. She seems frantic and the becomes vocal which can be rather embarrassing if you're in a pub garden or something. Fern is now 19 months and has always been quite gobby. We have sorted it at home as she used to bark at us on the sofa etc but it's proving more of a challenge in public, partly because i find it very embarrassing and get rather anxious. We went to the pub the other day and sat outside. There was noone sat near us, just another couple sat further away. For the first few minutes she was ok but as time went on, she barked and barked and barked. Previously I have given her bones or treats to keep her quiet but I found that as soon as her focus was off of whatever it was I gave her, she would bark. This time, we tried the ignoring tactic and it was quiet but she just got worse. Is it a case of just keep taking her to these places and hope she because more relaxed or is there another method I could try?

3) People coming into the house. When a visitor comes round, she will be very OTT. Jumping and barking. If the guest is stood and ignores her, after a while she will stop barking. As soon as we sit down on the sofa though she is jumping all over them. I attach a long line so I can control her more but she is very persistent. If we shut her out, she will bark. Am I doing something wrong?

Fern seems to get very over excited, or maybe even anxious, very easily. At home when it's just me and my partner, she is calm and chilled. I'm just trying to find out ways to help keep her under control in different situations.

Lastly, does anyone know of any behaviorist in the Hampshire area? There are so many trainers and behaviorists out there but im struggling to find a good one that isn't a million miles away. One that particularly works with spaniels would be even better!

Thanks 🙂

[bizzylizzy]

Hi, - Fern sounds very typical of an excited cocker, I think most of us have had deal with all those issues at some point, its very tiresome and I‘ve got really wound up in the past. (I really try to make an effort to stay calm now as I know it just makes the situation worse!)
A few tips that might help:
Train impulse control regularly - start in a calm situation, make her sit and stay and treat when she does so, you can then practice moving a few steps away, go back and treat and release her, then go a bit further, wait a few seconds, go back and treat and release. You can practice sitting on a bench or stand by a shop window, make her sit and wait and treat and praise when she’s quiet, you can gradually increase the distractions by going somewhere a bit busier but do that slowly, if the distraction starts her barking, turn around and take her put of the situation and treat her ONLY when she‘s quiet again - You should be treating for good behaviour (ignore the bad) - if you use treats as a distraction you‘ll end up being blackmailed!  .
Walking on the lead is a  problem for most cocker owners and I still battle sometimes because Humphrey’s more used to an off lead country environment but there again, practising in advance in a calm environment is vital and make sure you use the treats as the reward not the encouragement. I had the most success with stopping everytime he pulled and then waiting until he walked back to me and then rewarding him. Its a long job I admit but the key is consistency and giving the dog the chance to get it right, somewhere relatively quiet before he has to deal with a crowded street.
Over excitement meeting people is also a cocker thing, they‘re just friendly  - but you can use the impulse control here too. As the soon as the door bell goes, teach her to go to her bed/ a rug/ a corner, whereever you want and stay there until YOU release her. (The release command is important so she knows how long she has to stay there, otherwise she‘ll just „release“ herself.) When she‘s calm she can greet the guests  politely - and again, treat only for the good calm behaviour.
You can train staying calm in all in situations, - make her lie down and stay where she is while you‘re in the garden, on a walk, in the kitchen and once she‘s mastered it, she‘ll be better equipped to deal with pubs and cafes etc.
If you can find someone else to train with now and again it makes it more fun and you can also help each other with providing distractions etc.
Hope that helps a bit! 

[Fern123]

Thank you for the tips 😀!

I've just taken her for a walk tonight and sat on a bench for 10 minutes. She did pretty good until she heard a strange noise then barked.

With the lead walking, how did your dog learn that when you stop, it means he must come back closer to you? All Fern does is sit on the spot where she is at and then after a while looks at me as if to say come on! I'm determined to get her walking nicely more regularly than she is now!

[bizzylizzy]

It does take patience and it might take you half and hour to move a few yards until she catches on - as soon as she looks back at you, try using your hand to beckon /encourage her to come back,  start walking again and while she‘s still at your side, praise and treat. I wasn‘t too concerned about getting a perfect heel position,  the main thing was to stop him pulling on the lead. Another thing you can try is changing your pace, walk very slowly and then change to a trot and keep changing direction, the aim is to keep her focusing on you.
It might help to have a look online at some of the training videos, I like to watch Youtube ones with Zak George, but there are lots of others.
Its not easy and it took me a while before I finally accepted that I‘d probably never get Humphrey to trot along casually at my side in all situations, his nose still rules  but he has got a lot better.
Like everything else you’re trying to train, try to chose a quiet environment with low distraction to start with and then you can advance. 

[Fern123]

Thank you, really appreciate your help 🙂.