Learning Cocker

[duane87 11]

help my cocker spaniel pup aged 5 months whont consentrate .in training I have walked her to try and carm her down.but it hasnt don't worked she will retrieve anything which is good I no but everythink else she just so exited I understand she a pup but her sister is doing great with her training and she is very laidback...if anyone can help with telling me where I can start to get this corrected then that would be great there not many people around here with spaniels that I can ask ...so any help would be greatfully recived REGARDS DUANE 87

[sikastag_1 689]

Mate if I was you I would look for a gundog trainer in your area and book a session with them, hel tell you what you should be doing and help you bring the best out the dog, if continue to see him throughout the training

[duane87 11]

I wanna do it my self just wanted as much advice as I can get the more I no the better chance I would have training her

[Dan Newcombe 58]

Exactly why you should go to a trainer, even just couple of times.

 

Group sessions can also be really good because the dogs gets used to working in company

 

They will teach you how to teach the dog!

 

5 months is very young though so I wouldn't expect much concentration wise from some pups.

 

We have litter sisters here, 8 or so months old. One is really focused on you, concentrates and you can get stuff done with her ........... very rewarding.

 

The other has the attention span of a gnat and although loves being with you she is not ready for anything structured, just basic all the way and keeping her happy to be with you. Could not be more different, one is like a bull in a china shop and the other is like a fox - very clever and working things out!

 

Dan

[Casso 1,256]

Trying to prevent over excitement is a real help in working with dogs, not hyper stimulating pups as they grow helps to raise a calm dog,

 

The reason for this is ,that how a pup feels inside is what it feels makes things happen

So if a pup gets worked up before feeding or letting it out , that excitement it feels as far as their concerned makes what happens happen if ya get my drift,

So before it do anything for a pup I get a certain behaviour, box work is great for this , the box must be high enough so if the pup lunged forward to get fed it goes off the edge and has to climb back up again, feed on the box luring the pup into the down only feeding in the down , it teaches that less is more, so by staying still I still get what I want from the pups point of view, in other words it's Impulse Control training ,

Have a dog here that Downs for everything because that's the action it feels makes things happen , it feels that action has potential in it

 

Training is getting a behaviour first, then rewarding without commands, the command comes after the action is cemented but it's working at the dogs pace , the dog is learning from the inside out because it wants to not because it has to ,

Don't reward for excitement, make things only happen when the pup is calm , may take time but your trying to ingrain a behaviour in the pups mind , the good news is pups learn fast and once it figures less is more it becomes a habit

Best of luck with the pup

Just to add , don't fuss with the pup, zero attention in the home , may seem cruel but when we stimulate a pup the energy we cause has to go somewhere, keep it calm as much as you can

Edited December 15, 2014 by Casso

[duane87 11]

THANKYOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR ADVICE HELPS ALOT

[sikastag_1 689]

You will still be training the dog yourself mate, but a trainer can look on give you advice and an action plan.

[duane87 11]

oh ok grant thought u give them the dog to do the work sorry misunderstanding on my part