Issue with Over the top CockerSpaniel

Splinter

Hey all,

Recently myself and my fiancé have taken ownership of her dads dog. She's a 4 year old cocker spaniel with a lot of personality.

The problem is, we can't control her at times. We had a baby over and while the baby is never left alone with her, as soon as anyone talks to the baby, the dog goes crazy, I took her out of the room and into the garden but she's just barking constantly.

She appears to be getting very jealous but unsure how to stop this. In order to relax her now I've locked her in another room with me and the radio so she can't hear what's going on.

She wouldn't get a huge amount of walks, perhaps 30 ish minutes a day but I'll admit thats probably not enough. Is she too old for obedience classes? She also gets very motivated by food but I get the opinion thats a trait with the breed.

Thanks,
Splinter

cocker5

OP,

I have a cocker (nearly 11) and they do like be included in everything you are doing so if im honest locking her in a room alone isn’t helping the situation – you are punishing her. They are VERY family orientated and just want to be with you at all times… and they are local little dogs too it’s part of their personalities.

How long have you had her? It’s take a good while for a dog to settle in to their new home.

30 mins is def. not enough exercise for a cocker – my guy get an hour each evening and has done for the last 10 years… we do 6.6k - he is very well behaved

What is she being fed ?
You need to realise food and exercise are hugely linked to behavioural issues – if you can get these sorted this may help.

Where does she sleep? As in is she crate trained? Or do she have her own bed? Have you tried putting her in her bed with a stuffed Kong / chew raw hide when people come over?
This will distract her and show her a reward for staying in her bed. You need to try a distraction technique.

Although please note you should never allow a baby / child to annoy her in her bed or when she is eating / chewing etc.

Personally I wouldn’t bother with training classes per say as she is 4, what you need is a behaviourist… costs the same anyway and will address your issues directly… where are you based?

Savvy student

cocker5 wrote: »

OP,

I have a cocker (nearly 11) and they do like be included in everything you are doing so if im honest locking her in a room alone isn’t helping the situation – you are punishing her. They are VERY family orientated and just want to be with you at all times… and they are local little dogs too it’s part of their personalities.

How long have you had her? It’s take a good while for a dog to settle in to their new home.

30 mins is def. not enough exercise for a cocker – my guy get an hour each evening and has done for the last 10 years… we do 6.6k - he is very well behaved

What is she being fed ?
You need to realise food and exercise are hugely linked to behavioural issues – if you can get these sorted this may help.

Where does she sleep? As in is she crate trained? Or do she have her own bed? Have you tried putting her in her bed with a stuffed Kong / chew raw hide when people come over?
This will distract her and show her a reward for staying in her bed. You need to try a distraction technique.

Although please note you should never allow a baby / child to annoy her in her bed or when she is eating / chewing etc.

Personally I wouldn’t bother with training classes per say as she is 4, what you need is a behaviourist… costs the same anyway and will address your issues directly… where are you based?

Couldn't agree more. My Cocker is turning the big 10 this year. If I'm honest, he's really only calmed down in the last year. My Max is and was always very active. Cockers tend to be big babies, my boy cries if left alone in a room for a minute!

I also agree with the crate training, Max never cries in the crate because he knows it's peanut butter-kong time. When my niece is over (she's 6) and he gets tired/annoyed with the noise, he knows he will be left alone in his crate. I've shown my niece how to properly pet a dog, and I've trained my dog to sit and be still (he used to knock her down) when interacting with a child (Always under supervision of course).

Good Luck with your Cocker, they can make fabulous family pets!

Whispered

Agree with everything said above except for the comment on training classes. Depending on the class it could do the dog a lot of good as you would both learn to interact and be calm while there are other things going on.
Do speak to the trainer first and let them know what's happening though, so they can help you decide what's appropriate for your situation.

Latatian

Never too old for obedience classes, it might give her something to do and make her less bored. That can be part of it for a 'jealous' dog- they see you doing something and want to be involved, are trying to get more attention etc. She's only 4, that's a young dog. I've a 14 year old who learned to fetch (from scratch, showing no interest in toys etc) age 13. Bit of trick training every day could help with that too. It's not so much that these things will teach the dog not to do that- it's that the dog will have more to think about, become a bit calmer, and will learn more about more appropriate behaviours to get attention.

Definitely increase the walks- another half hour a day would be a good place to start. Behaviourist might be the way to go?

aonb

Boredom can be a big issue with an intelligent dog.
I have a dog that needs stimulation - he is walked a lot - loves his walks - but we do a 'class' with him most days. These can be games and teaching him new tricks - anything that makes him think to work things out are stimulating.
We do things like:
- wrap a bit of kibble in many layers of newspapers. Makes a mess but good fun to get at the hidden treat
- Put a toy or a piece of kibble in a tightly closed box. He'll work out how to get into the box himself if you 'show' him the first time!
- I buy stuffed toys in the charity shops - 20c for a ratty old toy that the shop cant sell - you could ask them to keep them for you - as long as there are no beanbags inside, and you clip out the hard eyes (or leave them in if you supervise the game) - then tug of war and let the dog rip the toy to pieces!
- tie a couple of old socks in a big knot, and tie them to the leg of the chair you are sitting on - good for tug of war again
- a big raw bone provides hours of chewing/good for their teeth
- fill a kong with peanut butter - you can pop it in the freezer for extra entertainment. I put probiotic yoghurt into a kong and freeze that too - or a bit of minced meat for variety
- Hide bits of kibble around the room - under a rug, behind a chair, under a sofa, behind an open door etc - we use the command "find it!" and he goes searching!
- Get an empty plastic vitamin jar - screw on lid - put something in it to make it rattle - he can 'chew' it (under supervision) and you throw it around the room, he has to 'fetch'
- a stick with a long piece of twine, knotted around a stuffed toy or old sock, jerking it around with him chasing it or pulling it while you hold on tight
Endless fun and games - use your imagination and let him use his - you will find what things he really enjoys - great stimulation and bonding for both of you

Gael23

Had a cocker for 15 years.
He always had to be part of everything and later in life he would bark if he was left alone in a room. I don't know of that craving for human interaction was just hi or is that typical.
As for exercise, obviously walks are best but throwing a ball around the garden for a while is better than nothing. toys and bones keep them amused too but he nearly died from swallowing a splintered bone once so he didn't get bones again after that.
Cockers can be hard work, ours swallowed a piece of bone when he was 11, we got him back but that was the end of the crazy days and he was a lot calmer. Still though we got 4 more happy and as healthy as possible years with him after. The affection and loyalty they give you repays everything