Cocker Training Advice

[fortune82]

Im looking for some advice on training my Cocker.

 

He is 16 months old and is perfect 99% of the time. Stop whistle, recall, heel etc.

 

Retrieving is pretty good but Im less concerned about this.

 

The problem is every so often he decides to say no chance to the stop whistle and off he goes. I took him to a guy who trains cockers and who has numerous FTCH and FTW's in his kennels. Basically he says I need more control which involves yanking his ear, kicking him etc.

 

To me this seems to be going against what I know about dog training. Would it not be better for the dog to get an e-collar and cure the problem that way?

 

Advice please!!

 

Thanks

[MadSpringer]

At 16 months he is still a young dog!

 

99% perfect at this age is totally acceptable!

 

 

I am surprised you have been advised to kick the dog by a cocker trainer, totally unacceptable advice.

 

The thing with cockers is they can have their moments and all training seems to have gone out the window. Just put him back in the kennel and try again the next day!

You can not be too hard on them, otherwise they will switch off. A light tug on the ear or scruff at the right time is ok to let them know they are in the wrong, but nothing more!

 

I am not against E-collars when used correctly and by an experience person in the right situation, they are not a short cut to training and putting the time in.

 

IMHO the majority of well bred working springers and cockers are too soft natured for the miss use of E-collars and I have seen many ruined by them, dogs in fear of breaking from heel for the fear of being shocked at the first flush!

 

A well bred Cocker will have bags of drive and can have you pulling your hair out. Learn to read the dog and avoid putting it in situations where it could go wrong, make everything fun for you and the dog. Keep him close and under control, keep sessions short and sweet and biuld on success. Cockers are so eager to please, so much so at times they can't do right from doing wrong!

 

Cockers are the only breed that can have me in tears of frustration and laughter all within a matter of seconds, wonderful little characters that I would not be without. So relax and enjoy him, he's a dog and not a robot!

 

All I'm trying to say is 99% aint bad mate

 

 

Cheers

[Sprocket]

At 16 months he is still a young dog!

 

99% perfect at this age is totally acceptable!

 

 

I am surprised you have been advised to kick the dog by a cocker trainer, totally unacceptable advice.

 

The thing with cockers is they can have their moments and all training seems to have gone out the window. Just put him back in the kennel and try again the next day!

You can not be too hard on them, otherwise they will switch off. A light tug on the ear or scruff at the right time is ok to let them know they are in the wrong, but nothing more!

 

I am not against E-collars when used correctly and by an experience person in the right situation, they are not a short cut to training and putting the time in.

 

IMHO the majority of well bred working springers and cockers are too soft natured for the miss use of E-collars and I have seen many ruined by them, dogs in fear of breaking from heel for the fear of being shocked at the first flush!

 

A well bred Cocker will have bags of drive and can have you pulling your hair out. Learn to read the dog and avoid putting it in situations where it could go wrong, make everything fun for you and the dog. Keep him close and under control, keep sessions short and sweet and biuld on success. Cockers are so eager to please, so much so at times they can't do right from doing wrong!

 

Cockers are the only breed that can have me in tears of frustration and laughter all within a matter of seconds, wonderful little characters that I would not be without. So relax and enjoy him, he's a dog and not a robot!

 

All I'm trying to say is 99% aint bad mate

 

 

Cheers

Very Sound advice from Madspringer. Could not of put it better myself.

 

I find it very difficult to understand why people need to refer to "Acts of cruelty" to train a dog -especially when they overlook the fact that they are the ones who trained the dog in the first place (I am not refering to you).

 

Try to keep him close, read the dog so that you are able to anticipate when he,s going to go wrong -and get on his case in a firm but and consistant manner (Grab him by the scruff -take him to the exact spot that he was commanded to stop on and re instate the command (Stop Whistle).

I guess your professional trainer has a Rabbit Pen, How many times have you had your dog in it? and how did he respond?

Cheers Sprocket

[fortune82]

Thanks for the replies!

 

He has been in the rabbit pen and in areas full of rabbits and game and he is fine. When he runs off he isnt actually chasing anything just running around aimlessly!

 

Thing is he can go weeks without doing it and then when he does its impossible to get him or to stop him.

[Dead-Eyed Duck]

Cockers seem to be pups for half of their life, and I cannot add to the advice that you have been given already.

 

Wonderful characters that keep you on your toes - by which I mean they either drive you nuts or bring a big beam to your face.

 

I made many mistakes with mine (now gone to the great kennel in the sky), but she was worth every minute. When books say that cockers are keen - then they mean keen!

 

The most annoying thing with them is that most of the time they are right - there is a pheasant in that bramble patch.....

 

You are a lucky man

 

Don

[jasper3]

good advice from the above postings...

 

never never kick or pull ears.... 99% is acceptable..show loads of love and affection..thats the way cockers work

and every now and then..give them free time

my boy knows when we go to the beach..its his time

 

[UKPoacher]

Im looking for some advice on training my Cocker.

 

He is 16 months old and is perfect 99% of the time. Stop whistle, recall, heel etc.

 

 

Thanks

 

I'd stick at that. No dog is 100%.

[WGD]

He has been in the rabbit pen and in areas full of rabbits and game and he is fine. When he runs off he isnt actually chasing anything just running around aimlessly!

 

Thing is he can go weeks without doing it and then when he does its impossible to get him or to stop him.

 

So what's making him go? What's his body language like, is he hunting with drive, is he following a trail?

 

If he's fine on game and for long periods of time something else is intermittently pulling his chain and you need to work out what it is - any possibility of a bitch in heat?

[Al Downie]

I completely agree that, for a 16 month old dog, it sounds like he's doing fine and I wouldn't worry about infrequent transgressions - I think there's something in a spaniel pup's wiring that makes them have 'mad minutes' every now and then. It sounds like the kind of thing for which there's no key or quick fix - you just have to keep plugging consistently, and when you look back in a year's time you'll realise he's much steadier than he is now.

 

I did have to resort to an ecollar, but my problem was much worse and very predictable. Because of my own mistakes when he was a pup, as soon as my cocker got on any kind of scent or if something flushed in front of him, he was off like a rocket and there was nothing I could do about it. I'm ashamed to say that this made me really angry and I compounded the problem by giving him a rollocking when he eventually came back, so eventually he stopped coming back at all. So I got a collar - not to punish the dog, but to allow me to interrupt the instinct right at the point when the chase started and get the dog's attention back to me. No fuss, no barking or squealing, no suffering - it was just like giving a tug on in invisible lead. Worked well for me in those circumstances and completely restored the relationship of trust which I broke in the first place, but like others have said above I don't think it's necessary or a good idea for your situation.

 

Sadly, and unlike others above, I'm not at all surprised by the advice you received from a professional trainer to be 'physically assertive' with your dog. I think it's MUCH more common than people think, especially among professionals who take in all kinds of dogs with serious problems, and 'break' them before they can start training them - it's not something that most would talk about in public, but it's the fast way to get results with most dogs. I've seen (well known and respected) handlers at field trials kicking their dogs and hauling them around by the ears, in full view of judges and spectators, but they still get the good marks - it seems to be silently acknowledged by the trialling community as acceptable, maybe even necessary if you want your dog to be like a robot.

 

Is it better to be feared or to be loved?

[ziplex]

I'm not really qualified to answer, but 'e collars' are for headcases like GSP's etc..........I have a GSP and a 12 month old Springer, not a Cocker I know, but equally affected by 'static shock' I would guess. My advice would be don't put an e collar anywhere near your dog.........take the above advice accordingly! Cockers and Springers do not need to be 'forced' to respond to a command. My GSP on the other hand was a running machine that brought tears to your eyes!