Hello all I'm Dave, the novice owner of a 6 month old Cocker Spaniel called "Barney". I stumbled on this site by accident and am very glad I did, hope you are all OK with a non Lab owner. I've made a few mistakes during my initial training attempts. I thought I had cracked it quite early on, but I hadn't proofed what I'd taught. I tried to run before I could walk and took Barney to a gundog class where he was so overwhelmed by all the other dogs, he ran off to play with them every time I tried to do an exercise and ignored the recall and stay. This happened quite a few times so my recall is very tainted and I am a bit disheartened with the whole experience. He was also getting a bit deaf on the recall when walking, so - back to basics. Going to re teach sit, stay, recall etc using Pippa's excellent articles and have just ordered "Total Recall. I do eventually want to beat and shoot with Barney, but want to absolutely nail the recall and other obedience before I move on to Gundog work. Wish me luck!
Hello and a warm welcome to the forum. Barney is beautiful! We have a couple of spanners on the forum, as well as all sorts of other breeds and crosses, so you're most welcome. It's not unusual to have a brilliant puppy recall but for it to all start falling apart at this age. It's just that he's getting more interested in his environment, so you have to go back to basics. You'll get there again, just keep setting him up to succeed and proof, proof, proof! If you can find somewhere you can take him to training classes but don't try and take part, just get him used to being around other dog that are working, doing focus exercises at a distance he can manage, you might find that very valuable. It doesn't need to be gundog classes, just general obedience will do, but make sure the trainer knows you're not planning on joining in. I came to the realisation some time ago that nothing is ever "cracked"; even the best dogs (I should say especially the best dogs) are being constantly refreshed with their training because it will go stale over time if you don't.
Welcome from me and Lilly! Total Recall is a very good starting point. Glad to have another spaniel on board. jac
Thanks for the great welcome both! I have enrolled on a basic puppy obedience course which starts in a few weeks. I understand that it is run very much on the lines recommended on here. I will put the Gun dog class on hold for now. A question if I may? I had already taught him recall on voice, whistle and hand signal, but as I said above, these have become compromised because of me rushing ahead. So I am 2 days into starting from scratch with the "walking away" stage of Pippa's recall article. Because I'd like a voice and whistle recall, I'm unsure of which to use first when I begin stage 2 and pair my cue. Do I treat them as two totally different commands and progress through all the stages separately with each or can I incorporate both into one recall training programme. Hope that makes sense!
Welcome to you from Mags, Tatze and Mollie Tatze is my pet dog, a black Lab and she's three years old. Tatze means 'paw' in German. Mollie is my fourth Guide Dog puppy, a black Lab who is five months old. ...
Welcome Dave and Barney, what a lovely looking boy, from Hattie 9 years and our rescue Labrador x Pointer Charlie 6 years. Definitely recommend Total Recall, worked a treat with our rescue boy
What you're after is the behaviour to be "on cue". It doesn't really matter what that cue is. It's a simple process to change (or add) a cue. You just give "new cue, old cue" for a while and then start to fade the old cue. So, get the behaviour you're after with a single cue and then start to add the new cue in that way. I'd start with the whistle. It's the clearest of them all and will be easiest for the pup to associate with the behaviour.
Hello - Barney is lovely! I've got a real soft spot for Cockers (had one back in 80s- 90s). My opinion is that as you want to work him it might be best to focus on whistle recall, but I'm no expert in this.
Yes Dave, sorry meant to say, we started with a clean slate with a whistle recall for Charlie then added a voice so he responds to either which is handy should we forget our whistle! x
@editor, @bbrown and @heidrun are our experienced spaniel people, so they may have some advice for you. Also worth looking at our sister website, www.totallygundogs.com
Hello and welcome from me and my five spaniels, one of them a working cocker, and all of them working gundogs. What a lovely puppy you have. My best tip for anyone with a spaniel pup is to keep your dog close to you at all times. Most problems in young spaniels are caused by too much freedom on walks.
Thanks Heidrun. That has already become an issue, he does like to disappear into the distance! Once I have retrained the recall I intend to do the about turn exercise for a Month, in an attempt to keep him closer.
This is an article that may be of interest - "Spaniels and why not to walk them". It's not my area of experience, and I know it's controversial, but even for a non-spaniel person, it's very interesting. http://totallygundogs.com/spaniels-and-why-not-to-walk-them/ I spent some time the other morning with a puppy cocker/springer cross, and I could already see the problems manifesting from not having a job to do. The lady had a ball chucker and that was it, but even when the ball was in her hand, the puppy was off hunting, a hugely long distance away. You might be interested in the Facebook group mentioned in the article, too.
If he is already being 'self employed' at the tender age of 6 months then I don't think the about turn method is going to work. Is he your first spaniel?
