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"Is it dead mister?"


Dead-Eyed Duck
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I recently retired, and promised myself that I would get a dog again after several years. This one I was determined would be a doggie icon of steadfastness, obedience and instant reaction to my command. After all, the last one was a source of endless jokes, shame and ridicule, and I put this down to the fact that I got her when she was 10 months old, and well past the training age..... The kind of excuses that all owners of ill-behaved mutts make.

 

She (Bella) is now 5 months old, and I have had her for 2 months. She sits to command, doesn't steal food, and is a real character. For all non-owners of cockers I would state that the best description of the breed is that they are 'independent'. This means that they know best, and if in doubt will follow their natural instincts. Springers are docile by comparison. I don't know why I got a cocker again after the last 14 years of trauma, and that goes to show how it is a body's natural tendency to squirrel extreme pain and anguish away in the deepest recesses of the brain. A bit like ladies endure during childbirth I suppose...

 

I keep on telling myself that she has to enjoy being a pup, and not to rush her training, but overall, on the right day, she is doing very well. However, she has transformed the garden to a quarry, with piles of earth and holes everywhere (the last dog didn't dig, and so this came as a shock). The wife complains about 'her' destroyed flower beds and shrubs, but what the heck, as I do all the gardening anyway. Bella has the knack of racing about the garden at top speed, snatching off the heads of flowers in the process. A great game, especially if the wife sees her and shrieks at her to stop...

 

Anyway, the last source of shame was last week when I took her for a long walk along the local canal to tire her out. These walks are very character building for her, as I alternate between walking to heel (off the lead !!), and then 'walking on', and recall to the whistle; stop to the whistle etc., etc.

 

We approached a fisherman 100 yards away, and I instantly called her to heel. Immaculate! The fisherman had a couple of young lads with him, and as we got closer I heard him say to one of the boys "Leave that poorly pigeon alone!". Even closer, and Bella was put on the lead, as she tends to regard all fisherman as deepest friends, and has been known to jump all over them, treading in the boxes full of maggots etc.

 

Sure enough, as we got 5 yards away there was a pigeon on the side of the towpath, looking very sorry for itself. "Leave", I commanded, but I could see that she had clocked it by the gleam in her eyes. Still, she didn't break stride, and I was very pleased at yet another lesson learned.

 

After a couple of hundred yards we retraced our steps, and with Bella off the lead and to heel we walked back past the fisherman. Not a hesitation on her part, and on we progressed with me pleased as Punch. 100 yards further on I commanded her to 'Walk on'... The little sod streaked back towards the fisherman, with me blowing recall and stop commands on the whistle like a guard on a steam train.. She screeched to a halt, grabbed the pigeon, and trotted back to me with the pigeon feebly flapping a wing in her face. Humiliated beyond description I told her "Dead" in the sternest voice and she dropped said pigeon into my hands - it was still alive, but somewhat further traumatised.

 

The little lad walked up to me, and after hearing my command enquired in an anxious voice "Is it dead mister?" Bella sat there with a mouth full of pigeon feathers, with a look of smugness on her innocent face.

 

"No", I said, "It's quite all right" and I carefully placed it underneath a bush on the towpath and hastily retreated with my mind in turmoil.

 

My feelings were mixed - her first retrieve of game (dead or alive) was, in retrospect, beautifully performed. She obviously doesn't have a hard mouth, and brought it straight back to me.

 

However, there was obviously the matter of a clear and wilful ignorance of the recall and stop whistle.... One cannot 'punish' her for this for obvious reasons, but there is obviously a need for more endless training with the stop whistle.

 

Cockers - who would have them!

 

 

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I can sympathise with you. My Cocker is now 3 and constantly puts a smile on my face every time we go out.

It took a lot of time & effort to train him & me (my first gundog) but I would not have another breed of gundog, he does everthing I want, beating & rough shooting with him. Have fun and most of all a sense of humour.

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I recently retired, and promised myself that I would get a dog again after several years. This one I was determined would be a doggie icon of steadfastness, obedience and instant reaction to my command. After all, the last one was a source of endless jokes, shame and ridicule, and I put this down to the fact that I got her when she was 10 months old, and well past the training age..... The kind of excuses that all owners of ill-behaved mutts make.

 

She (Bella) is now 5 months old, and I have had her for 2 months. She sits to command, doesn't steal food, and is a real character. For all non-owners of cockers I would state that the best description of the breed is that they are 'independent'. This means that they know best, and if in doubt will follow their natural instincts. Springers are docile by comparison. I don't know why I got a cocker again after the last 14 years of trauma, and that goes to show how it is a body's natural tendency to squirrel extreme pain and anguish away in the deepest recesses of the brain. A bit like ladies endure during childbirth I suppose...

 

I keep on telling myself that she has to enjoy being a pup, and not to rush her training, but overall, on the right day, she is doing very well. However, she has transformed the garden to a quarry, with piles of earth and holes everywhere (the last dog didn't dig, and so this came as a shock). The wife complains about 'her' destroyed flower beds and shrubs, but what the heck, as I do all the gardening anyway. Bella has the knack of racing about the garden at top speed, snatching off the heads of flowers in the process. A great game, especially if the wife sees her and shrieks at her to stop...

 

Anyway, the last source of shame was last week when I took her for a long walk along the local canal to tire her out. These walks are very character building for her, as I alternate between walking to heel (off the lead !!), and then 'walking on', and recall to the whistle; stop to the whistle etc., etc.

 

We approached a fisherman 100 yards away, and I instantly called her to heel. Immaculate! The fisherman had a couple of young lads with him, and as we got closer I heard him say to one of the boys "Leave that poorly pigeon alone!". Even closer, and Bella was put on the lead, as she tends to regard all fisherman as deepest friends, and has been known to jump all over them, treading in the boxes full of maggots etc.

 

Sure enough, as we got 5 yards away there was a pigeon on the side of the towpath, looking very sorry for itself. "Leave", I commanded, but I could see that she had clocked it by the gleam in her eyes. Still, she didn't break stride, and I was very pleased at yet another lesson learned.

 

After a couple of hundred yards we retraced our steps, and with Bella off the lead and to heel we walked back past the fisherman. Not a hesitation on her part, and on we progressed with me pleased as Punch. 100 yards further on I commanded her to 'Walk on'... The little sod streaked back towards the fisherman, with me blowing recall and stop commands on the whistle like a guard on a steam train.. She screeched to a halt, grabbed the pigeon, and trotted back to me with the pigeon feebly flapping a wing in her face. Humiliated beyond description I told her "Dead" in the sternest voice and she dropped said pigeon into my hands - it was still alive, but somewhat further traumatised.

 

The little lad walked up to me, and after hearing my command enquired in an anxious voice "Is it dead mister?" Bella sat there with a mouth full of pigeon feathers, with a look of smugness on her innocent face.

 

"No", I said, "It's quite all right" and I carefully placed it underneath a bush on the towpath and hastily retreated with my mind in turmoil.

 

My feelings were mixed - her first retrieve of game (dead or alive) was, in retrospect, beautifully performed. She obviously doesn't have a hard mouth, and brought it straight back to me.

 

However, there was obviously the matter of a clear and wilful ignorance of the recall and stop whistle.... One cannot 'punish' her for this for obvious reasons, but there is obviously a need for more endless training with the stop whistle.

 

Cockers - who would have them!

 

 

Similar status with out cocker like sprocker in most ways - at five and a half months took off into cover, flushed a pigeon, took it at about 2 foot in the air and returned with it flapping, however getting it off her was another problem!! :/:whistling: .

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that's a great story and cockers are brilliant! Indepent is a good description of them!

 

I thought I had lost mine on Saturday...walking both my dogs and the terrier decided he was hot so jumped in the stream which was pretty high and muddy coloured...he also dropped his beloved ball in there and it floated under the concrete cattle bridge which had water all the way up to the top of it...my stupid cocker looked as if he was going to fetch it and so was told no and he understood...as soon as my back was turned he jumped into the stream and straight under the bridge! I honestly thought he was going to get stuck and I was going to have to go in after him and feared he was going to drown...the little so and so then backed out from under the bridge bum first and came straight out of the stream soaking wet and muddy and presented me with the ball! Can't really scold him then but he did need a shower lol!

 

He also caught a poorly pigeon a couple of weeks ago and was extremely pleased with himself when he presented it perfectly to me...luckily we were in the middle of nowhere so I was able to dispose of it more easily.

Edited by oscarsdad
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  • 2 months later...

That just brought a tear to my eye, wonderful story and the makings of a wonderful dog...

 

Edit: just seen original date! How is bella progressing in her training?

 

Bella is doing, well, er, OK.

 

Flashes of brilliance followed by me tearing my hair out.

 

Cockers are such smug little ****, and just when you think that you have 'tamed' them at last, they do their very best to prove you wrong.

 

She has now progressed to working left and right, with a brief peep on the whistle and hand signal to change direction. Getting very good at this, as long as I manage to keep her within 15 yards or so. Also she will sit whilst I throw a dummy one way, and then another in a different direction, and then send her to retrieve a particular dummy.

 

I am very fortunate to have an athletics club close by which has several tennis courts. These have lots of brambles at one end, and part of the daily routine now is to send her into the depths of the brambles to retrieve tennis balls. I can just about keep track of her, and I try to stop her on the whistle every now and again. Mostly she will now do this, but only a fortnight ago the success rate was a miserable 20% or so.

 

Some of you will twitch when I say the above, as most books etc say that if they do not stop immediately you should drag them back to where they were when you blew the whistle. However, I do this if she is blatantly ignoring the whistle in open ground, and all I can say is that she is getting a whole lot better - after all she is only 8 months and 1 week old.

 

So, progress is happening, and I am more than pleased with her to date.

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