Cocker Spaniel issue

bryangiggsy

We have an 18 mth old male Cocker Spaniel who is wired and keeps getting up in the middle of the night and scratching the door to get out . He might sleep thru 2 nights in A row then get up 2 nights in a row . It’s driving me nuts . I take him out for walk every night before bed where he does his business . He sleeps in a dog bed at the bottom of the stairs . Looking for tips on how best to deal with the issue . If I lock him in a crate he goes nuts . He has not been neutered yet . Tks in advance .

tedpan

I thought all cockers were wired? We have a nine month old, he sleeps in our bedroom but wakes up 2-3 times a night. Hopefully he will learn from our other dogs and get through the night soon. We love him and would never crate him, not sure what advice to give!

cocker5

bryangiggsy wrote: »

We have an 18 mth old male Cocker Spaniel who is wired and keeps getting up in the middle of the night and scratching the door to get out . He might sleep thru 2 nights in A row then get up 2 nights in a row . It’s driving me nuts . I take him out for walk every night before bed where he does his business . He sleeps in a dog bed at the bottom of the stairs . Looking for tips on how best to deal with the issue . If I lock him in a crate he goes nuts . He has not been neutered yet . Tks in advance .

I had a cocker for over 14 years and no they are not all wired and mad...

There could be a few things at play here OP...

1 - exercise.. you mention a walk? What time in the evening abc for how long?

Cockers need a decent amount of exercise everyday .. an hour at least and some off lead for running etc .. helps burn of excess energy. But not straight before bed or close to his bed time as it can overstimulate his brain... a few hours before bedtime

2 - could be a bitch in heat locally .. get him neutered

3 - what time do you feed him each day?
Feeding too late or close to bedtime can cause him to wake up during the night

4 - mental stimulation.. what training / tricks are you teaching him? Great to tire him out

5 - habit .. you getting up and letting him out is a habit now .. ignore him

6 - noise / lights outside - are you sure something isn’t waking him and he wants to go out and explore?

bryangiggsy

cocker5 wrote: »

I had a cocker for over 14 years and no they are not all wired and mad...

There could be a few things at play here OP...

1 - exercise.. you mention a walk? What time in the evening abc for how long?
I take him out about 20 mins every eve. and he would get a walk most days during day for about half an hour

Cockers need a decent amount of exercise everyday .. an hour at least and some off lead for running etc .. helps burn of excess energy. But not straight before bed or close to his bed time as it can overstimulate his brain... a few hours before bedtime (nned to work on this)

2 - could be a bitch in heat locally .. get him neutered . Going to get done over next couple of weeks

3 - what time do you feed him each day?
Feeding too late or close to bedtime can cause him to wake up during the night
Feed him between 6 and 7pm

4 - mental stimulation.. what training / tricks are you teaching him? Great to tire him out
What ones do you recommend?

5 - habit .. you getting up and letting him out is a habit now .. ignore him
Will do

6 - noise / lights outside - are you sure something isn’t waking him and he wants to go out and explore? No quiet estate so dont think an issue

Please see responses above. Cheers for getting back.

cocker5

bryangiggsy wrote: »

Please see responses above. Cheers for getting back.

No bother at all..

With regard to tricks / training .. a snuffle mat can be great ..


https://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_toys_dog_training/intelligence_games/146815

Click on this link and scroll down .. there loads of affordable toys you can buy to make him use his brain

https://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_toys_dog_training/intelligence_games

Also look at what your feeding him.. diet is really important in keeping dogs less hyper and over bearing .. look at his food .. cut out all processed treats .. give him sugar snap peas / raw full carrot ..

ILoveYourVibes

cocker5 wrote: »

I had a cocker for over 14 years and no they are not all wired and mad...

Its very much a part of some bloodlines. A lot of them are mad or high energy as i would prefer to put it.

Our one we would let out before bed ......like we would let her out and keep her out for like three hrs....then bed ...sometimes she would refuse to come in though.

During the summer sometimes she would prefer to sleep outside until she got old. Obv not during cold weather or rain though.

She never got less hyper though. I did train her ..she would sit ..stay ..heel come to her name etc but she was mad and hyper.

We tried all diets exercise etc. It was just how she was.

I am not saying this is just how your dog is. But we just had to accept our cocker spaniel was very high energy.

cocker5

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

Its very much a part of some bloodlines. A lot of them are mad or high energy as i would prefer to put it.

Our one we would let out before bed ......like we would let her out and keep her out for like three hrs....then bed ...sometimes she would refuse to come in though.

During the summer sometimes she would prefer to sleep outside until she got old. Obv not during cold weather or rain though.

She never got less hyper though. I did train her ..she would sit ..stay ..heel come to her name etc but she was mad and hyper.

We tried all diets exercise etc. It was just how she was.

I am not saying this is just how your dog is. But we just had to accept our cocker spaniel was very high energy.

Agree with you that they are high energy.. my point was with a proper diet (not kibble etc free from additives) and the proper levels of exercise they level of hyperness can be reduced ..

I find lots of people (not directed at you) have no idea what proper exercise / levels of exercise a dog requires .. and spaniels specifically.. we used to do 15km hikes with our guy every weekend and 6km walks each day .. he was chillaxed and had a lovely temperament.. from 1-2 he was bananas as we didn’t exercise him enough .. once we got him on a proper diet / exercise .. 2 months later he was a different dog

It takes time and patience etc but it can be .. as well as the dog getting older / more mature

bryangiggsy

cocker5 wrote: »

Agree with you that they are high energy.. my point was with a proper diet (not kibble etc free from additives) and the proper levels of exercise they level of hyperness can be reduced ..

I find lots of people (not directed at you) have no idea what proper exercise / levels of exercise a dog requires .. and spaniels specifically.. we used to do 15km hikes with our guy every weekend and 6km walks each day .. he was chillaxed and had a lovely temperament.. from 1-2 he was bananas as we didn’t exercise him enough .. once we got him on a proper diet / exercise .. 2 months later he was a different dog

It takes time and patience etc but it can be .. as well as the dog getting older / more mature

What did you end up feeding him ? Other than the peas and carrot ?

cocker5

bryangiggsy wrote: »

What did you end up feeding him ? Other than the peas and carrot ?

Carrots and sugar snap peas were his treats (no commercial treats for the most part).. raw lamb / beef bones

Fed him a RAW diet for most of his life .. pre made raw chubbs purchased each month frozen online .. defrosted each day .. super easy .. kept him slim too

when he got old and Ill I feed a home cooked diet (boiled chicken, turkey mince, minced beef, liver, eggs, grilled white fish etc)

MayoSalmon

bryangiggsy wrote: »

We have an 18 mth old male Cocker Spaniel who is wired and keeps getting up in the middle of the night and scratching the door to get out . He might sleep thru 2 nights in A row then get up 2 nights in a row . It’s driving me nuts . I take him out for walk every night before bed where he does his business . He sleeps in a dog bed at the bottom of the stairs . Looking for tips on how best to deal with the issue . If I lock him in a crate he goes nuts . He has not been neutered yet . Tks in advance .

You should re-title the thread dog owner issue as this has nothing to do with the breed or the dog in general.

Dog should of bee crated from an early age or whenever you got him. Crates are a positive place not negative and should of been introduced as such.

bryangiggsy

MayoSalmon wrote: »

You should re-title the thread dog owner issue as this has nothing to do with the breed or the dog in general.

Dog should of bee crated from an early age or whenever you got him. Crates are a positive place not negative and should of been introduced as such.

If you were handed my dog now what would you do ?

bryangiggsy

cocker5 wrote: »

Carrots and sugar snap peas were his treats (no commercial treats for the most part).. raw lamb / beef bones

Fed him a RAW diet for most of his life .. pre made raw chubbs purchased each month frozen online .. defrosted each day .. super easy .. kept him slim too

when he got old and Ill I feed a home cooked diet (boiled chicken, turkey mince, minced beef, liver, eggs, grilled white fish etc)

Thank you . That’s great information .

Hoboo

bryangiggsy wrote: »

If you were handed my dog now what would you do ?

I'd keep him.

Only kidding, I'd be up an hour earlier for a brisk walk and preferably some off lead. I'd do the same in the early evening well before bed. Means I don't suffer through ****e tv or staring at a phone.

I'd get a dog walker to do the same after lunch (price of two pints) if away for the day.

I'd a cocker as a kid, so she was non stop running around anyhow, now ive a lab and had the same issue you have. Exercise and lots of it sorted it out. And a baby gate.

Get him neutered definitely.

Could be numerous things but I'd start with those two.

shamrock55

I gt a Kennal for my fella about a year ago, he's 3 yrs old now, put him out at night and he goes straight into it no bother at all, he's in the house from morning till night as he loves being around us but there's never a peep when he pops in to his kennel for the night, I was given advice on here not to do it etc etc, but after about a week of crying and moaning he's happy out with it now

He's not neutered either

cocker5

bryangiggsy wrote: »

If you were handed my dog now what would you do ?

Just a word of advice my guy didn’t do well in confined spaces .. a groomer tried to crate him
At 15 months .. he freaked out and broke out of the crate .. bending the crate etc .. she wasn’t best pleased ..

So don’t worry op you didn’t crate your dog it’s not detrimental etc

MayoSalmon

cocker5 wrote: »

Just a word of advice my guy didn’t do well in confined spaces .. a groomer tried to crate him
At 15 months .. he freaked out and broke out of the crate .. bending the crate etc .. she wasn’t best pleased ..

So don’t worry op you didn’t crate your dog it’s not detrimental etc

Sigh...again a crate should be introduced to a dog in a positive manner and seen by the dog as positive place. Only difference between a young and old dog here will be the amount of time needed to condition this.

To really drum home this as it seems to be lost on some...starting today everything positive that happens to the dog should only happen when its in their crate.

For example food, affection, toys, treats, everything for the next couple of weeks should only happen in the crate. Quick quickly the dog will come to associate the crate with the best place on earth.

It should go without saying but remove all beds from outside the crate and put nice comfy one in their..obviously remove for feed times etc

cocker5

MayoSalmon wrote: »

Sigh...again a crate should be introduced to a dog in a positive manner and seen by the dog as positive place. Only difference between a young and old dog here will be the amount of time needed to condition this.

To really drum home this as it seems to be lost on some...starting today everything positive that happens to the dog should only happen when its in their crate.

For example food, affection, toys, treats, everything for the next couple of weeks should only happen in the crate. Quick quickly the dog will come to associate the crate with the best place on earth.

It should go without saying but remove all beds from outside the crate and put nice comfy one in their..obviously remove for feed times etc

You can sigh all you like .. I didn’t crate train him and he lived a long and happy life .. he had his choice of beds around the house .. it never caused any issues ... I don’t regret not crate training him!

Yes crate training is great but it not the be all of everything ... different strokes different folks and all that 😆

MayoSalmon

cocker5 wrote: »

You can sigh all you like .. I didn’t crate train him and he lived a long and happy life .. he had his choice of beds around the house .. it never caused any issues ... I don’t regret not crate training him!

Yes crate training is great but it not the be all of everything ... different strokes different folks and all that ��

Except when he went to the groomers...that was my point So yes I will sigh again as it sounds like your dog had a horrific experience one in which it must of been in so much distress that it bent metal bars to escape..

cocker5

MayoSalmon wrote: »

Except when he went to the groomers...that was my point

Well in all honesty it was his first groom..
I didn’t know she was going to stick him in a crate?
He must have been crying etc.. so she should have let him out not wait until he broke free

His long term groomer after this never crated any of the dogs..

ILoveYourVibes

Op no one here will admit this. But you can't change the personality of a dog any more than you can a person's. These train your dog shows where this god of a trainer changes everything are ridiculous.

Some dogs are happy to have a half hr walk every day and then chill on the sofa.

Ours would play football with the kids on the green all summer for hrs get walked and still be nuts.

I trained her to sit to roll over to stay even when food was placed in front of her.

We had to just accept it. She was a working spaniel by the way.

I am not saying the op but people should be told when buying a dog .this is a breed trait and lifestyle won't change that. Because largely it won't.

All these fantastic dream owners will come and tell you how they changed their dog ...you will do exactly what they did ..it will do nothing.

Op ..my advise is to do what works once you find it. If long walks work do it ..if they don't ..then don't.

Crate training doesn't work for all dogs. I am not saying crate training is bad in every circumstance but it is banned in certain countries except to transport dogs. I dont get this sudden craze with it. Nor why people are dogmatic. If it works for you fine ..i have one dog now it would be fine with ..my spaniel would have been an Effing nightmare after taking her out of a crate! It would be an explosion of pent up energy no matter how many cuddly toys were in there!

OP i can tell you what we did ..I would say this only worked maybe 60% of the time though...we found walks and games of football etc while they did tire her ..they could also get her blood up....so we would let her in the garden for a couple of hrs of 'Quiet time' ..

Then bring her in feed her and then bed. If she wanted to go out and the weather was good we would let her sleep outside in her kennel.

She kind of got it into her head eventually that she was making a choice to in out or out for the night. We weren't going to let her change her mind.

I can't say it worked all the time though.

Our dog now is a different breed different dog ...totally different personality ...very chilled....but more of a barker ..whereas the spaniel rarely barked at all.

ILoveYourVibes

cocker5 wrote: »

Well in all honesty it was his first groom..
I didn’t know she was going to stick him in a crate?
He must have been crying etc.. so she should have let him out not wait until he broke free

His long term groomer after this never crated any of the dogs..

That's a terrible groomer.

shamrock55

I wouldn't change my crazy cocker for the world, I love that they are as mad as a box of frogs but they are also very loving, my fella is a pure pet, he's my shadow literally, no matter where I go in the house he's right nxt to me, I've lost count the amount of times I've stood on or triped over him, I checked online to see was it normal behavior and apparently it is, they even sell t shirts that say my cocker spaniel is my shadow, lol!!

Hoboo

MayoSalmon wrote: »

Sigh...again a crate should be introduced to a dog in a positive manner and seen by the dog as positive place. Only difference between a young and old dog here will be the amount of time needed to condition this.

To really drum home this as it seems to be lost on some...starting today everything positive that happens to the dog should only happen when its in their crate.

For example food, affection, toys, treats, everything for the next couple of weeks should only happen in the crate. Quick quickly the dog will come to associate the crate with the best place on earth.

It should go without saying but remove all beds from outside the crate and put nice comfy one in their..obviously remove for feed times etc

These softly softly americanisms do my head in. Call it what it is. It's a cage.

I understand the positive benefits of a cage, but apart from house training and handy for travel, unless your dog needs a safe space away from kids or other pets then theres no need, a bed that they know is theres and theres alone is enough of a safe space/sanctuary. Its an easy way to keep your dog under control when concerted effort is lacking.

I prefer for my dog to associate the beach as the best place on earth, because to her, it actually is. Not some cage she gets thrown into when it suits me.

tk123

OP I get that some dogs have more energy and drive than others but some dogs are over stimulated and don't know how to calm down.. For that reason if my dog was hyper I wouldn't be taking him for a walk before bed - I would have done that earlier and be wearing him out in other ways ie training and mental stimulation (and as mentioned making sure he's on a suitable diet that isn't adding to his energy levels) so that he's well settled for the night - my two would wind down after their supper at 8pm each evening and won't even go out to the loo after that lol. ... Have you done any training with him? Is there anything you'd be interested in doing? Obedience, ticks, scent work, agility etc?

My dog had multiple surgeries that required strict crate rest for weeks and further restriction for 2-3 months - we got through it by practicing training with him - tricks, commands etc etc And for the record - both of my dogs LOVE their crate as its beside the radiator lol. I don't have the doors on it so it's basically a cave - there's usually one of them in relaxing. Crate training takes time and patience compared to turfing your dog outside for hours - as does dog training in general. I have done TONS of training with my dogs - they love it.

MayoSalmon

Hoboo wrote: »

These softly softly americanisms do my head in. Call it what it is. It's a cage.

I understand the positive benefits of a cage, but apart from house training and handy for travel, unless your dog needs a safe space away from kids or other pets then theres no need, a bed that they know is theres and theres alone is enough of a safe space/sanctuary. Its an easy way to keep your dog under control when concerted effort is lacking.

I prefer for my dog to associate the beach as the best place on earth, because to her, it actually is. Not some cage she gets thrown into when it suits me.

Theres also no need for human beings to enslave animals in general aka a keeping a dog but that's what we do. Stop being contrary for the sake of it.

Your dog probably likes licking its own hole more than the beach but suit yourself.

DBB

MayoSalmon wrote: »

Theres also no need for human beings to enslave animals in general aka a keeping a dog but that's what we do. Stop being contrary for the sake of it.

Your dog probably likes licking its own hole more than the beach but suit yourself.

MayoSalmon,
The tone of your posts throughout this and other threads in this forum leaves a lot to be desired, particularly in light of the forum requirement that posters are respectful towards one another.
Your pushyness with your own strong opinion on matters is soapboxing, which is also contrary to the forum and site rules. People are allowed have differences of opinion without the contrary view being shoved in their faces, and are allowed to express them with the expectation of a civil response.
Consider this a final warning MayoSalmon. Do not soapbox, and dial back what can only be perceived as your needlessly aggressive posting style.
If you wish to discuss this warning with myself and/or the other forum mods, please do so by pm.
Thanks,
DBB