basics problems

[terry b]

hi all

my training update ,help needed!

my cocker pup is 5 months now and after a promising start he is now disobeying quite a lot,i take him to one to one training and the trainer insists he his kept on a lead until basic hand training is achieved,she advised a flexi lead to work on recall and not to let him off untill he's learnt the command and responds first time,i admit i let him off now and again but he wont return on command so its a case of persuasion and praise to get him back,he sits and heels ok on a lead ,his retrieving has turned into take away and bury.

im keeping my cool pretty well as i know he's still young so would appreciate your comments and advice

cheers terry

[jasper3]

Hi Terry

one thing i have noticed is not all dogs are the same...

my boy was fantastic at 1st then he hit the 7month old period he then wanted to start humping anything with four legs and fir he is now 8 1/2 months old and training has began again, this time he seems to be more interested and a lot of natural traits are coming out

let him be a puppy..some dogs will learn from day 1 others will take a little longer

 

when he is ready , you will know..dont give up on the training ..but be patient.. just a little bit at a time

 

jasp

[terry b]

hi jasp

thanks for that reassurance,its good to here from people who have had some experience

kind regards terry

[jasons gold]

hi jasp

thanks for that reassurance,its good to here from people who have had some experience

kind regards terry

 

is the trainer a specialist gun dog trainer

[terry b]

yes she has owned and trained gundogs and extensive experience in the shooting field but is not a dedicated gundog trainer as such,and she assures me that whatever future the dog has he needs basic hand training,does this sound right to you,

thanks terry

[fortune82]

My cocker is 11 months old now and is doing well but at your stage I thought he was never going to be of use. Relax and let him calm down with age, mine certainly has. I was taking him to a specialist trainer but stopped after 3 months because I felt I was getting stressed by what was happening and was passing this onto the dog. Train the dog to do what YOU want it to do not what a trainer does.

[jasons gold]

yes she has owned and trained gundogs and extensive experience in the shooting field but is not a dedicated gundog trainer as such,and she assures me that whatever future the dog has he needs basic hand training,does this sound right to you,

thanks terry :blink:

 

It seems to me she is more involved in labradors than spaniels hence all the early lead work

[UKPoacher]

If the pup is ignoring you throw something at it. Not to hit it, but to break its concentration and get it to focus on you. With most adult dogs I use six inch lengths of one inch link chain. My own adult ESS is a little sensitive and I can achieve the same effect with a rope lead thrown at her. With yours being a pup it might be better to use something like that. It must not be anything it associates with retrieving.

 

Here's the drill; Get the article you are going to throw in your hand ready after you let the dog off. When the dog is preoccupied with something (and is within range) give the recall command. If the dog does not immediately recall then throw the article in front of it, in its line of sight. As soon as the dog reacts give another recall signal and it should then be focused on you so work at getting it back with light happy words and actions. Go on one knee if you have to. Praise the dog when it is back to you. Don't always put it back on the leash. Keep him with you for a few seconds then allow him to go again.

 

Work on this routine once or twice a day at different times and locations. Once the dog realises that ignoring you means consequences it will start to switch on to you. Give the pup time to grow up though, don't hammer the obedience just yet. Once he's got a safe recall allow him some freedom, and use the whistle just to get him to look back when you change direction, or when he's too far in front.

[cracker]

Poacher, glad it worked for you, and may work for others as well--but I'd be quite wary about throwing an object anywhere in the vicinity of a dog, especially a pup, and particularly a spaniel pup, for fear of what the extended outcome might be. Might run from it, might more likely look at the object for the motion behind it before diverting its gaze back to you. Neither would be desirable.

 

"Hammering" home the obedience is one thing, basics--sit, heel, here--quite another. And basics are called basics because that's what they're meant to be, with nothing extraneous (treats perhaps, but nothing with negative connotation) added. If you get the obedience in the dog reliably--which again can be done without pressure (and "extras"--chain lengths, rope pieces)--then you can get the dog doing what it's meant for when something is thrown. Which would be going out and picking it, and returning to you with it. Maybe even whilst returning, casting a glance

 

 

at the next bird, already down, that's to be picked. Whether the object's meant to be associated with retrieving or not, just by dint of it, anything falling out of the sky has an association with what I want a dog picking, and I want that imparted to them from the outset. That's called marking. If you use an object to divert their attention rather making it something that's to be picked, you may get--as many spaniels unfortunately are--a poor marking dog.

 

MG

[steve0146]

It might be my bird ID skills, but is that a pale bellied brent goose that the spaniel has?

[jasons gold]

It might be my bird ID skills, but is that a pale bellied brent goose that the spaniel has?

 

It certainly is a brent goose , oops hope his dog skills are better than his quarry identification :blink:

[Crouch valley]

dont jump to conclusions lads some farms do have a licence to shoot a few brent a year he might be in the wright :blink: i know the shoot i keeper for can shoot 20 a year.

[steve0146]

He must have a license. Surely no one would put up a pic of illegally shot birds. However I logged onto another hunting website not so long back and there were pics of a load of shot black birds. I thought he meant crows etc but no, it was black birds!!! Apprently no one told him they were protected.

[GW80]

I don't think the picture was taken in the UK, judging by the type of spaniel as it's not a cocker or springer.

[Crouch valley]

He must have a license. Surely no one would put up a pic of illegally shot birds. However I logged onto another hunting website not so long back and there were pics of a load of shot black birds. I thought he meant crows etc but no, it was black birds!!! Apprently no one told him they were protected.

 

I had a chap shoot a black bird last year on a driven day when i questioned him about it he told me its alright as they are vermin i soon put him right. This chap had all the gear but no idea

[UKPoacher]

Poacher, glad it worked for you, and may work for others as well--but I'd be quite wary about throwing an object anywhere in the vicinity of a dog, especially a pup, and particularly a spaniel pup, for fear of what the extended outcome might be. Might run from it, might more likely look at the object for the motion behind it before diverting its gaze back to you. Neither would be desirable.

 

"Hammering" home the obedience is one thing, basics--sit, heel, here--quite another. And basics are called basics because that's what they're meant to be, with nothing extraneous (treats perhaps, but nothing with negative connotation) added. If you get the obedience in the dog reliably--which again can be done without pressure (and "extras"--chain lengths, rope pieces)--then you can get the dog doing what it's meant for when something is thrown. Which would be going out and picking it, and returning to you with it. Maybe even whilst returning, casting a glance

 

 

MG

 

Back to the subject; A dog is a dog. Spaniels are no different. The method works because it teaches the dog that it is not out of reach when off the leash. Once the dog realises ignoring a command isn't going to be allowed it switches on to the handler. Then you can begin your retrieve training.