Cocker spaniel behaviour problems

Cocker spaniel behaviour problems

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kcrimson

Original Poster:

83 posts

170 months

Monday 1st September 2014
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I wonder if anyone can help.

A relative has a cocker spaniel and is experiencing problems.
She has a 5 year old son who plays quite roughly with the dog who gets over excited and has nipped the child to the point of drawing blood.
The dog was taken to puppy training classes but is not very obedient at all. I don't think the training has ever been really enforced.
The cocker is really hyper and races around the place barking and jumping on furniture. She is about 2 years old.

The relative is blaming the dog but I think it is a combination of not having kept up the training and also not telling her her son not to wind the dog up to the point where she bites. It has got to the point where she feels she may have to give the dog up, but in my opinion it is not the dog's fault.

What do you guys and gals think?

sumo69

2,164 posts

219 months

Monday 1st September 2014
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Your right - the dog can only be judged properly once the training regime is in place and the son is told how he can and cannot interact with the dog.

If it still bites then, its fair to say there is a problem but for now the one's at fault have 2 legs.

David

kcrimson

Original Poster:

83 posts

170 months

Monday 1st September 2014
quotequote all
Thanks David.

I can see that it may be that we could be in a position to take the dog on if she feels she can't cope with it.
I have no experience with the breed (we have a collie cross) but I would have thought that a cocker would be relatively easy to train being a gundog - are they?

pikeyboy

2,349 posts

213 months

Monday 1st September 2014
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Cockers like all dogs whether working or not are easy to train if you start young and correct them when they don't do as asked until they learn what they should do. As they get older its harder but not impossible to break habits and teach it new tricks.

kcrimson

Original Poster:

83 posts

170 months

Monday 1st September 2014
quotequote all
That is what I thought would be the case.

Although the owner took the dog to puppy training classes, she didn't then enforce the boundaries.
The dog is lovely but doesn't take a blind bit of notice of any commands. When the dog does not obey the owner just gives up.

They went camping over the summer holidays and the cocker will steal food from anywhere it can find it.
The poor thing gets blamed for being a 'bad dog' but the owner can't see that they are at fault.

Sexual Chocolate

1,583 posts

143 months

Monday 1st September 2014
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Cockers are awesome and this is from a lab man. But let them run wild and you have a nightmare on your hands. Cockers have unlimited energy and need some kind of mental stimulation all the time. Boundaries need laying down and the dog will thank them for it.

Your mate has to get on top of it and do it now. Persuade them to take it to a gundog trainer. They will teach it steadiness and help the owner get on top of the dog. A hunting cocker is a happy cocker smile but the owner has to be fully committed to the training regime otherwise its pointless.
I soooo want another cocker

Edited by Sexual Chocolate on Monday 1st September 16:32

kcrimson

Original Poster:

83 posts

170 months

Monday 1st September 2014
quotequote all
It seems to me that this is a classic case of someone who got a dog because is was cute without doing any homework to find out what the breed characteristics are.

She won't train the dog - too much like hard work. She would rather label the dog as the problem than put the work in to train it properly, or tell her son not to wind the dog up.

Jasandjules

69,825 posts

228 months

Monday 1st September 2014
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Sounds like the kids need to be told how to behave rather than this http://www.pets4homes.co.uk/pet-advice/rage-syndro...

Sexual Chocolate

1,583 posts

143 months

Monday 1st September 2014
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kcrimson said:
It seems to me that this is a classic case of someone who got a dog because is was cute without doing any homework to find re out what the breed characteristics are.

She won't train the dog - too much like hard work. She would rather label the dog as the problem than put the work in to train it properly, or tell her son not to wind the dog up.
All it needs is a firm hand and about 10 mins per day to teach the basics. Cockers learn quick and are usually fairly biddable little dogs. Then again she has probably poisoned every command by not enforcing them. Best advice I ever got was "say a command, make it happen" and best advice here is go see a proper trainer for 1 2 1 tuition. Ita not the dog that gets trained it always the owner

kcrimson

Original Poster:

83 posts

170 months

Monday 1st September 2014
quotequote all
I don't think the dog is actually aggressive. The little boy plays rough and gets right in the dog's face. Dog gets overexcited and nips him.

I am pretty sure that the dog could be trained if she bothered to put a bit of time into it.

When they visit us the dog goes tearing round the house jumping on the furniture and barking - totally overexcited but takes no notice of what the owner is saying because she knows that commands will not be enforced.

Shame really.

I am quite keen to see if we could take her on but my wife is put off because of the current behaviour.

Mobile Chicane

20,736 posts

211 months

Monday 1st September 2014
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No such thing as a bad dog, only a bad owner.

I've had a similar problem with a neighbour's springer running at me, over-excited, barking, snapping, and biting. The dog is fed on the canine equivalent of Maccy D's, gets next to no exercise, and is allowed to do what it wants.

Unsurprisingly, it's out of control. Yet the owner refuses to believe that he is any way contributing to the dog's behaviour... rolleyes

There's nothing you can do when faced with such pig-headedness. Just hope the dog doesn't maim the person it bites next.

ETA: As I hadn't seen your latest response. I do think the situation may be recoverable. The dog wants to please, but doesn't know how. I have managed to stop said neighbour's dog biting me by facing it off, shouting "No!", followed by "Sit!" and then praise for being a good boy. It isn't a bad dog fundamentally, just needs to know the rules and get appropriate play and rewards.

Edited by Mobile Chicane on Monday 1st September 19:21

Morningside

24,110 posts

228 months

Monday 1st September 2014
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Jasandjules said:
Sounds like the kids need to be told how to behave rather than this http://www.pets4homes.co.uk/pet-advice/rage-syndro...
My brothers dog had that, it was terrible. They had to have it PTS in the end.

As per the original OP question. Tell the kid off for winding the dog up. I bet if the dog was in a quiet environment the dogs attitude would change.

Seen this so many times where children follow the poor dog about hanging off its neck, pulling its ears or trying to ride it like a donkey. Or even leading the poor thing around and around the place on a lead tugging it here and tugging it there of course the dog is going to retaliate in the only way it knows.

And as I suspected by your comments the training is only done at the classes as I suspect its too much bother. People really expect this perfect slotting in dog that fits 100% from day one.

I really don't know why people get dogs when there is a child around if they don't understand each others boundaries. I bet it was the classic 'lets get a dog for the child'.

You can tell how its going to end. Dog chucked into the yard, dumped into a dogs home and then PTS as it has been labeled as a dangerous biter. I hope in one way that the creature is moved on ASAP rather than suffer from what sounds like a miserable life. Hopefully the dog does not do terrible damage to the child. Do they really want her?

Our old dog Milly was classed as a devil dog and in reality she was the sweetest dog ever, just aggravation and mad household with kids shouting at her made her that way.


kcrimson

Original Poster:

83 posts

170 months

Monday 1st September 2014
quotequote all
You are right Mobile Chicane, it's not the dog's fault - it doesn't know any better.

To reiterate my earlier point, some people get a dog because it looks nice, but don't bother to find out breed characteristics. Then it is assumed that it will somehow be automatically obedient with minimal or no training.

A good illustration of this is when we were looking to get a dog from a rescue home. They had a litter of husky/labrador puppies. Of course they were absolutely gorgeous. When I spoke to a member of staff they told us that the dogs could be hard work if the husky part was a dominant character trait. Very hard to teach recall, and of course they pull furiously when on the lead. We were told that we would not be able to train this behavior out of the dog - it's the way they are hard wired. We decided that this was not for us.

That is why we chose a collie cross, and she is absolutely brilliant.




LordHaveMurci

12,034 posts

168 months

Monday 1st September 2014
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Whereabouts in the country is the dog? I'll take it and virtually guarantee it'll be fine in a few months.

My kids have grown up with our working cocker and they get on brilliantly, cockers can be very strong willed though and as said above, those that buy one as they are cute can get quite a shock.

As also said, they need stimulation, it's frustrating seeing a working spaniel being taken into a single field and having a ball thrown for it with one of those ball throwers.

bexVN

14,682 posts

210 months

Monday 1st September 2014
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There are very rare occasions where it genuinely is the dog (well puppy) but I do not believe this is the case for this dog. The child is not being disciplined properly in how to play with the dog safely and learn boundaries (and he is old enough to know, I have a 4 yr old who knows when he is pushing his look and gets suitably told off when he does)

I would be interested to know how much exercise this dog gets because I'll be almost prepared to bet it is not enough. It doesn't need 10 miles a day but it needs a decent daily release.

If the owner is not prepared to recognise the errors they have made then it will never change.

As a side note, I am glad to say I have not seen a rage syndrome cocker for many years now. Breeders worked hard to breed it out (usually always involved Red cockers aswell)

LordHaveMurci

12,034 posts

168 months

Monday 1st September 2014
quotequote all
bexVN said:
There are very rare occasions where it genuinely is the dog (well puppy) but I do not believe this is the case for this dog. The child is not being disciplined properly in how to play with the dog safely and learn boundaries (and he is old enough to know,

I would be interested to know how much exercise this dog gets because I'll be almost prepared to bet it is not enough. It doesn't need 10 miles a day but it needs a decent daily release.

If the owner is not prepared to recognise the errors they have made then it will never change.
Couldn't agree more bexVN, especially regarding exercise.
OP, it's not internet bravado, if it's a working cocker I'd seriously be prepared to discuss rehoming the dog, for it's sake more than anything.

HelenT

263 posts

138 months

Monday 1st September 2014
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We took on our working cocker when she was 9 months old, her previous owner loved her to bits (spoilt her rotten) but couldn't provide her with the amount of exercise and especially mental stimulation the breed needs. After 18 months hard work she still has a split personality and some selective deafness occasionally but with structure and plenty of constant training (we did 1-2-1 and group classes and also do agility) she is a much happier dog.But it does take time and determination
It sounds as if both the owner and son would benefit from some time with a 1-2-1 trainer, the local vets surgery can be a good source of information.
You only have to look at sites such as "Preloved" to see loads of cockers up for re-homing.
If you and your wife are thinking about taking this dog on ,how about a short trial stay ,I'm sure you would soon see an improvement

bexVN

14,682 posts

210 months

Monday 1st September 2014
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Has it been established whether the dog is a working Cocker or a show Cocker because they are different in temperament. Though even if a show cocker boundaries and mental stimulation are still needed just not to the same degree.

bexVN

14,682 posts

210 months

Monday 1st September 2014
quotequote all
Has it been established whether the dog is a working Cocker or a show Cocker because they are different in temperament. Though even if a show cocker boundaries and mental stimulation are still needed just not to the same degree.