Cocker pup problem

[Farcombehall]

Hi everyone sorry I bet this has been done loads of times but I need advice I have a 22 week old cocker hunts well and finds every time but!! He then runs off with it, if we are in woods he tries to bury it but in a field he runs off holding the dummy, I runaway from him and eventually he comes to me but this has been going on with no change for the last two weeks I have also changed the dummy and tried tennis balls befor this he was straight back I know I'm doing something wrong so should I stop this part of his training for a couple of weeks, the training sessions are only 10 to 15 min per day and the rest of the time he's being a pup, am worried about nothing many thanks.

[JDog]

Far too young for any training like that. Let it be a pup for a year then start light training.

[WelshAndy]

What Jdog said! Far to young.

[neil w]

Agree far too young. Do the basic training and said let him be a puppy.

[Farcombehall]

Thanks for replies thought as much will let him be a pup and limit training to sit, come and play and start seriouse training when he's older many thanks

[WGD]

Nonsense far too young. Get the retrieving engrained early before his hunting instinct kicks in. It should all be fun and conditioning good habits but it is training nonetheless.

 

You must control the environment, retrieve in a lane or corridor and make sure he is coming to you 100% of the time. The recall must be 100%, if he won't recall with nothing in his mouth he's not going to come back with something in his mouth that he has already learned he can run away with.

When he does come in to you don't be in any hurry to take the ball or dummy from him, make a big fuss while he's holding on to it. Given he's been running off with it, I'd give him a break for a week or two. He does have to be a puppy, but you have to strike the balance between ending up with a dog that will give you problems at 9 - 18 months, and one whose good habits you can build on in training.

[fenboy]

I agree , when I had spaniels then I always had them retrieving at a very young age as by leaving it they can be reluctant and prefer to hunt above all else .

Trying to bury stuff can be a bit of a cocker trait , hence the nickname "the undertaker dog"

[lee-kinsman]

What WGD said. Your pup is plenty old enough.

[wj939]

If I read this correctly he brings balls back but not dummies? You can get tennis ball dummies, have a Google. If the dummy is of more value to him you can hold that and let him hedge his bets if he brings the ball back you might throw the dummy for him.

 

I'd Practise the recall first, then work up to a narrow alleyway with a ball and so on. Its important you don't let him fail at this stage so keep it simple and reduce the risk of him going wrong. Good luck, the guys above have given some sound advice.

Edited September 10, 2015 by wj939

[Dr D]

If he runs off then you obviously can't stop him! If he doesn't come when you call him and stop when you tell him then you shouldn't be doing anything else. Let him be a pup and concentrate on instilling gentle discipline. Once you have this cracked then I would start with the rest. Not before.

[Dr D]

Oh. When you do decide to start retrieving again do exactly what WGD suggests.

[dawntredder]

Thanks for replies thought as much will let him be a pup and limit training to sit, come and play and start seriouse training when he's older many thanks

yeh i trained mine from 10/11 mths old for about same time 10mths,i read a book called gundogs by Joe Irving it is very good to follow then i trained her chapter by chapter until I had what I needed and she turned out a pleasure to call my gundog...atb DT ;-)

[sonicdmb]

I found Joe Irvings books good but I disagree with his time table in hind sight If your pup has lots of drive don't worry about stickyness which is the main reason given not to start training too soon.

My Cocker has FTch galore in her pedigree, the result a hot dog who is hard work to keep in check.

 

My advice get Heel Recall and stay solid before allowing Him to hunt freely on any ground with game scent.

 

High value treats came in very handy for retrieving work (wife and kids and snatching things of her). Basically make it really worthwhile giving you the dummy. Not every time keep him guessing.

 

WGD hits the nail on the head control the situation.

 

If your pup is also a house pet half the training battle is family and friends. Rewards should be sparing from others YOU should be the centre of his universe where pleasure comes from and security is found. competing with others makes training harder.

[ShootingEgg]

 

If your pup is also a house pet half the training battle is family and friends. Rewards should be sparing from others YOU should be the centre of his universe where pleasure comes from and security is found. competing with others makes training harder.

+1

[motty]

If he runs off then you obviously can't stop him! If he doesn't come when you call him and stop when you tell him then you shouldn't be doing anything else. Let him be a pup and concentrate on instilling gentle discipline. Once you have this cracked then I would start with the rest. Not before.

I think if a dog runs off with a retrieve, then a good idea is to only let the animal retrieve when on a check lead. Then it HAS to come back.

[Alan Maughan]

Hi everyone sorry I bet this has been done loads of times but I need advice I have a 22 week old cocker hunts well and finds every time but!! He then runs off with it, if we are in woods he tries to bury it but in a field he runs off holding the dummy, I runaway from him and eventually he comes to me but this has been going on with no change for the last two weeks I have also changed the dummy and tried tennis balls befor this he was straight back I know I'm doing something wrong so should I stop this part of his training for a couple of weeks, the training sessions are only 10 to 15 min per day and the rest of the time he's being a pup, am worried about nothing many thanks.

 

I wouldn't give my cocker pup a retrieve until recall is fast and 100% - some pups recall 100% at less than 5 months. Relationship is everything IMHO, as has been said you should be the centre of your pups world and everything good in his life comes from you. Have you trained a cocker pup before? if not then seek some help from someone with a good reputation, cockers can be wilful and its easy to go wrong.

 

The conflict of advice between him being too young and old enough for training is common and every dog is different. I kept a cocker bitch from a littler 18 months ago now, at 5 months she was retrieving balls and dummies and even pigeons very nicely, her brother has only started retrieving well in the last month. Its a marathon not a sprint, too many people expect too much too soon, some dogs can do it but many can't - the secret to telling one dog from another.

 

If you just worked on basic training (sit, stay, recall, heel on and off the lead) for 9 months you would do no harm at all so long as you dont let the dog hunt for himself. Throw in a few (two or three) retrieves once a week and if he doesn't bring them back then stop them for a couple of weeks - less can often be more and its easy to overtrain a cocker and make it so bored it look to make its own amusement and this is where the real problems start.

 

10-15 minutes of training is far too much for me, at his age it would be 2-3 minutes if he were mine.

Edited September 11, 2015 by Alan Maughan