WCS puppy - how to accept collar/lead?

I wondered if anyone might be able to offer some advice on calming an overexcited working cocker spaniel, and particularly on encouraging her to accept and tolerate leads/collars/harnesses? (Sorry, I know this is the Labrador forum, but people seem to offer such good advice I hoped you wouldn't mind helping out a spaniel owner!)

I'm not naive about WCS and their intelligence/energy. This pup was bred by my father, who owns both the pup’s parents & they are both lovely dogs. I’m very optimistic that my pup will turn out well too, if I can get the initial training right. She is doing really well in in the house – pretty much housetrained already, sleeps through the night, settles quietly in her crate when I go out and is learning good manners (sits on command, sits for her food, is learning not to jump up and nip). She still gets hyper and overexcited and nippy sometimes, but usually when she is already overtired. I am clicker training with lots of treats and that is working well in the house and garden.

The problem: Now that she’s finished her vaccinations and I can take her out and about on the ground, she gets very overexcited. She also resists any type of restraint – collar, lead, harness. She bites at them (not at me, but at the collar/harness) and wriggles furiously so that I can’t fasten them. For the last 2-3 days I’ve been trying clicker + treats. She eats the treats, lets me touch her with the collar/harness while she’s eating the treats, eats treats through the collar/harness – but when I actually try to put it on her she flips out every time. I realise it might just take more time of this to sensitise her, but in the meantime I need to walk her! I know she doesn’t need long walks – I'm only taking her out for 10-15 minutes each time – but she does need something more energetic than is possible in my small garden.

When she gets overexcited, she wants to run towards people/dogs/exciting smells. She strains madly on the lead and becomes completely oblivious to me. She has no interest in treats generally when she's out of the house. I’m worried she will injure her neck, but (as noted above) she won’t accept a harness. (She does walk quite well on the lead in the house and garden - and she DOES sit when I ask her to on walks, which is quite surprising - but i don't want to overdo this command in case she starts ignoring it).

I’ve tried using a long line but because it’s attached to a collar rather than harness, and because she likes to bite and battle it, she gets it caught around her paws and even her neck and there seems to be considerable potential for injury. In desperation this morning I bought a sliplead, which surprisingly seemed to work much better than the nylon collar and lead that I’d been using. But I’m worried a bit about injury with this too.

Can anyone offer advice on how I should deal with this? Is the problem one of accepting the collar/lead/harness, or of learning to calm down on walks outside? What is the best way to deal with it?
I’d really appreciate any advice. This is my first puppy and I’m probably a bit anxious. I want to get it right!

 

Oh those wriggly spaniel puppies, theyre so scrumptious but so troublesome

I think you're doing the right things in terms of desensitisation. If you can get a collar on I think you'll be able to get a harness on too. Every time you have two minutes spare put it on, play a game and take it off. You may need to work out a technique to get it on your wriggly pup but persevere. I do use harnesses with both mine sometimes now they're older but I'm far from wedded to harnesses, I really do think for fragile, growing necks they're the best option. Or carry her to somewhere she can be offlead for training.

You might want to scope out some suitable benches where you and she can just park up and watch the world go by. She may settle more then and you'll get the opportunity to reward her. Also then you don't have to manage the lead in quite the same way if you're only trying to stay still....

Keep going, you'll get there. It's a livewire breed though, she'll keep you on your toes!!!

 

Hello and welcome to the forum. We have plenty of spaniel owners here, so you're in good company

WCS are so cute, but OMG, the energy! I'm breaking out in a sweat even thinking about the puppy version. Good luck with that

Barbara has given you good advice that I can't really add to.

When you say you're worried she'll start ignoring the sit if you overdo it, I don't see this as being a problem as long as she's well rewarded each time she sits. In fact, it should reinforce it, unless you're doing it to the point of boredom. Make it a game with her to keep her engaged with her attention on you.

 

Scooting by quickly to say hi and you are very welcome to the Forum with your lovely WCS pup x

 

Oh, and we'd really love to see any pictures you have of her

 

Thank you so much for the helpful responses. I tried implementing the suggestions and had quite a successful afternoon. I got her light collar back on with much less resistance, and got her to allow me to put on the harness (basically by distracting her with lots of pieces of chicken!). Once the harness was on I played a quick treat game and took it off a minute or two later so that she didn't have much chance to resent it. I took her out twice on the sliplead and she was quite ok - pulled a bit but not as much as on the nylon lead and we had something approaching a normal walk. I picked her up when we walked past people and she stayed relatively calm. Then I stopped at a park bench and kept her on my lap feeding treats while we watched the children playing - that was very successful and she stayed calm, though very interested and watchful. I think we're making progress. Many thanks!

(I'll post a photo shortly, when I figure out how to do it...)

 

I just wanted to welcome you from Hattie 8 years and our rescue boy Charlie 5 years. Quite a few Spaniel owners on the forum will be only too happy to help.

 

If, in the short term, the slip lead is working best for you, maybe you could consider getting a limited slip lead? That way, at least, when she does pull, the slip won't be tightening around her delicate throat? I'd still recommend getting her used to the regular flat collar and harness in the meantime, but as a stop gap, it would certainly be kinder on her neck than a regular slip lead that can over-tighten.

I have these ones for my two for when I'm training:
http://www.tuffstuff-ltd.co.uk/p/23/limited-slip-lead

To add, the tuff stuff limited slip leads are also far broader than traditional rope slips, so will also be kinder to her throat.

 

Is there any way that you could avoid walking her on lead? So could you find a safe field to train in, for example? All of these problems are caused by walking a dog on a lead before they have learned how. If there is any way you could first train an off lead heel and then slip a (limited) slip lead over her head that would be perfect. Then up distractions very slowly.

Absolutely appreciate that options for you might be limited but, actually, the last thing a young dog needs in terms of training is a 10-15 mins drag on a lead in an environment that's too exciting. It does pretty much nothing in terms of exercise either.

 

Thanks, I'll look into the limited slip lead option - I didn't know that was an option. And I would love to be able to find a safe field to train her in. I agree entirely that it would be much better to teach her how to walk on the lead first. Unfortunately every safe open space that I know of is also used by other dog walkers. I don't think she would run away from me at this stage but as she's so excited to see other dogs, I do think that she would run to meet them. She's only young but if she runs full tilt there's no chance I could catch her and I don't want her to have a bad experience with an adult dog at this stage. (and as I said above, the long line isn't working very well attached to a collar, so I feel that I need to get her used to the harness first before I can give her a bit more freedom in a park).

But if anyone here lives in the Leamington/Warwick area and has any suggestions of a safe open field that I could use, I would love to know about it....

 

You could look round for equestrian centres, dog training companies with outside paddocks, and small sports clubs - approach them and ask if you can rent any outside space for a few hours a week.

I pay a small amount to use a strip of land down the side of a rugby pitch (all other dogs are banned) from a small local club. It's not secure, but I don't need that, I just need a dog free space. I don't pay much at all, probably enough to cover the cost of the light bulb electricity in the club house.

 

Are you on Facebook? There's a group call Dog Walking Fields and they have a map of secure fields that are free or available for rent.

 

Just wanted to say hi and also to add that I wish I persevered more when my girl was a pup with lead training as she still at times pulls like a train. Keep going

 

Thanks again! After my optimism this afternoon, tonight she's been absolutely mad again. I tried burning off her energy in the garden but it didn't seem to be working so I took her out on the collar and lead. It was absolutely back to square one - pulling and twisting so hard that I thought she would injure herself. I ended up picking her up and carrying her home after about five minutes. The idea of renting a safe open space is absolutely perfect. I really hope I can find something in the vicinity. I'm not on Facebook but will ask someone else to check for me. This is such a helpful forum!

 

Try not to get despondent she's very young and there will be good days and bad days. Stick at it and she will come right!

 

A quick search for equestrian centres has thrown up a place less than 10 minutes away from my house with a menage for hire. Their hourly cost for riding lessons is only £25 so the menage hire is surely a lot less. I've sent them an email and hopefully that will work out. That would really be the best answer, to allow me to have her off lead and introduce the lead more slowly. Fingers crossed....

Many thanks to all who have offered welcomes and helpful advice. It is a rare thing to find a knowledgeable & supportive internet forum!

 

Oh, a menage would be perfect to start with! I hope it's just what you're looking for
I'm sure you already know, but just to reiterate to other newbies that the most important thing for tiring out a dog isn't physical exercise but mental stimulation, so some short training sessions will do more to tire her out than the equivalent time in walking etc. But if you have a safe space, things like recall training, walking to heel etc are great things to practice - that way she gets mental stimulation alongside the physical stuff. Best of both worlds!

 

I was thinking about you this morning, as I read a report on facebook of someone finding a secure field where they could let their dog have a run. I looked up where it was, just in case it was near Warwick (it wasn't, nevermind). But then having checked where Warwick is, see you are not far from a gundog trainer called Helen Phillips - she wrote a book called Clicker Gundog. You really need to join facebook, and join the Clicker Gundog group. There are masses of people on there that will be in your area and might be able to help with all sorts of things.

 

Hi, this might help you to find a secure field, you just put in your postcode

http://www.dogwalkingfields.co.uk/

 

If I lived closer to Helen Phillips I would definitely try her classes. Indeed I know several people who travel long distances to train with her