cocker spaniels

falabo

Hi there

just windering if anyone who has a cocker spaniel could share their experience with me

basically I have 2 cocker spaniels, 12 months and 11 months old .... my question is: they are still crazy, very much acting like puppy: wrestling, running after leaves on the lead, rushing to thr kitchen at full speed to get fed etc etc

Is it normal at their age to still be behaving like this? they get walked twice a day, soemtimes 3.

Cheers

cocker5

falabo wrote: »

Hi there

just windering if anyone who has a cocker spaniel could share their experience with me

basically I have 2 cocker spaniels, 12 months and 11 months old .... my question is: they are still crazy, very much acting like puppy: wrestling, running after leaves on the lead, rushing to thr kitchen at full speed to get fed etc etc

Is it normal at their age to still be behaving like this? they get walked twice a day, soemtimes 3.

Cheers

ahhhh the joys of being a cocker spaniel owner

In their nature cockers are mad... fun loving dogs with endless energy!!

I have a 6 year old cocker... he is very relaxed and calm now... but up until the age of 18 months - 2 years he was MENTAL!! so i feel your pain...

At around 18 months we got a trainer in ... as our fella was crazy... and showed no signs of relaxing etc... he was well behaved ie sit, stay, paw etc... but he was a hell raiser in the house...

so she gave us 5 things to do.... we did everything she said and within one month he was a different dog.... still fun loving etc .. but not a mental case... if you wants some ideas just let me know.

do you mind if i ask what your are feeding them?

EGAR

My Cocker is very much a pup at heart although she is trying to be a bit of a *lady* as well. She is 4 and races around like a madcap, very very funny to watch!

falabo

hey

thanks for you inpu, I am very interested in those 5 things the trainer got you to do

My dogs are actually really good, they sit on command, dont touch their foods until they're told, know numerous words and names: auntie andrea, bailey, aisling, go to school, go off. walkies, and so on ...

they are quiet enough inside except when wrestling and they are still WILD on the lead depsite going to classes ....

yes the joy of being cockers owner !!! worth it though !!

falabo

cocker5 wrote: »

ahhhh the joys of being a cocker spaniel owner

In their nature cockers are mad... fun loving dogs with endless energy!!

I have a 6 year old cocker... he is very relaxed and calm now... but up until the age of 18 months - 2 years he was MENTAL!! so i feel your pain...

At around 18 months we got a trainer in ... as our fella was crazy... and showed no signs of relaxing etc... he was well behaved ie sit, stay, paw etc... but he was a hell raiser in the house...

so she gave us 5 things to do.... we did everything she said and within one month he was a different dog.... still fun loving etc .. but not a mental case... if you wants some ideas just let me know.

do you mind if i ask what your are feeding them?

I FEED THEM JAMES WELLBELOVED JUNIOR FOOD LAMB

reeta

falabo wrote: »

hey

thanks for you inpu, I am very interested in those 5 things the trainer got you to do

My dogs are actually really good, they sit on command, dont touch their foods until they're told, know numerous words and names: auntie andrea, bailey, aisling, go to school, go off. walkies, and so on ...

they are quiet enough inside except when wrestling and they are still WILD on the lead depsite going to classes ....

yes the joy of being cockers owner !!! worth it though !!

I have a cocker/springer spaniel (yes the springer brings an extra bit of madness). She is ten months old and great in the house but horrendous on the lead. Can anyone offer advice to get her to walk beside me on the lead.... She is brought out 3-4 times a day but usually to a park where I can take her off the lead (which I know doesnt help), but if I have her on the lead she pulls so much my back and arm are sore for days

falabo

reeta wrote: »

I have a cocker/springer spaniel (yes the springer brings an extra bit of madness). She is ten months old and great in the house but horrendous on the lead. Can anyone offer advice to get her to walk beside me on the lead.... She is brought out 3-4 times a day but usually to a park where I can take her off the lead (which I know doesnt help), but if I have her on the lead she pulls so much my back and arm are sore for days

I feel you pain. its funny because as I said in my previous post the dogs are crazy ON THE LEAD on the usual walks. they probably know they might be let off the lead. we go to training classes and they are VERY GOOD but the minute we do the usual walks they are insane

hadook

It's been my experience that they get better but they never grown out of it! I have a teenage cocker x and he's still prone to being a bit of a loon when the mood takes him. For instance, he used to often bark just for the sheer pleasure of hearing his own muppety voice at the start of a walk. :rolleyes: He knows "speak" and "quiet" but any attempt to use a command just winds him up further so these days I just ignore him and he stops pretty quickly.

I have a Dane as well and my usual walk strategy is to attach his lead to her harness for the first 15 minutes or so and I hold her lead. She has 4 legs so she's much better able to deal with his pulling at the beginning of a walk & it gets him nowhere All of my other dogs have been fine on the lead & he's ok once we get going but all sense just goes out the window at the start.

Everything is a joy for him though & you can't beat that He spins on the spot for toilet breaks, thinks even the short trip to collect the bin from the end of the lane is an adventure & is wiggling around on his back looking for a belly scratch if you even look like you might consider it.

falabo

hadook wrote: »

It's been my experience that they get better but they never grown out of it! I have a teenage cocker x and he's still prone to being a bit of a loon when the mood takes him. For instance, he used to often bark just for the sheer pleasure of hearing his own muppety voice at the start of a walk. :rolleyes: He knows "speak" and "quiet" but any attempt to use a command just winds him up further so these days I just ignore him and he stops pretty quickly.

I have a Dane as well and my usual walk strategy is to attach his lead to her harness for the first 15 minutes or so and I hold her lead. She has 4 legs so she's much better able to deal with his pulling at the beginning of a walk & it gets him nowhere All of my other dogs have been fine on the lead & he's ok once we get going but all sense just goes out the window at the start.

Everything is a joy for him though & you can't beat that He spins on the spot for toilet breaks, thinks even the short trip to collect the bin from the end of the lane is an adventure & is wiggling around on his back looking for a belly scratch if you even look like you might consider it.

oh the belly rubs, yes they know how to ask for them!!

lorebringer

I have a Working Cocker and he's crazy! The lead issues have been improved on but never really eliminated. We walk him on an expendable lead so that he can boot it around the place (which he does!) but still be on a lead. I have never seen my guy tired - he'll go though phases of snoozing in the sun or chilling out around the house but he has never been tired and not willing to go go go - he seems to store it up and then release it whenever he gets the chance. He has calmed (slightly) as he has gotten older (he's 3 years old) but I wouldn't say he is calm! He is very neurotic about certain things and generally crazy!

On the pulling front - have you tried a head harness or an "anti pull" harness? They need some training with them but both really takes the power control away from the dog but either turning its head or body around in the opposite direction when they pull or by giving the sensation of the dogs front end lifting up when they pull. Some brands are Sense-ible/Sense-ation, Gentle Leader, Halti and Non Pull Harness. Worth a try!

Food wise, James Wellbeloved is a great food but the "junior" variety may have too many calories for your dog. Have you tried the "adult" food? Certain foods drive my chap up the walls (some of the Royal Canin foods come to mind) so we need to watch what he is eating. At 11 and 12 months they are old enough to be switched onto an adult food and it may help calm them down a bit.

falabo

thansk lorebringer

I have tried the canny collar and the halti

the hlati actually works really well for one of them but she really hates it. every now and again she will try to get it off. the other dog keeps turning her head sideways like a wild horse and sticking her tongue out so I stopped using it for her.

yes I agree the food may have too many proteins so i will be switching to adult food. I still have one 15kg bag so I'll use it up first . . .

moving_home

Regarding the walking on the lead thing - my cocker is now 12mths and was awful on the lead. I spent about €10 on a harness and found it was the best buy for her. it is one where both her legs fit into it and it clips on her back. its hard to find a picture of it but similar to the one in this picture. got it in my local pet shop.

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_collars_dog_leads/harnesses/dog_car_harnesses/129703

I used to dread walking her on the lead so used the harness and an extendable. now I am back to the short lead and am jogging with her training for a 10k and she is amazing on the lead so would definitely recommend this type of harness.

I have seen on other threads some people don't recommend them (they prefer dogmatic or halti) but have to say it is great for her. my sister has since got one for her beagle and finds it great.

cocker5

Falabo...

Here's some suggestions to help with the feisty pair

1. Try a dogmatic head collar... our cocker was a terrible puller....we tried everything: halti - it puleed his eyes and gave him eye infections, a harness - ohhh he loved that one it made him walk on his back two hindless.. got a dogmatic around four years ago and never looked back - trainer recommened this:

http://www.dogmatic.org.uk/

2. Double check the protein levels in their current food.... at around a year i was told to change to adult food.. less protien and trainer recommended Burns.... high protein can make dogs very hyper...(DEF not wet food either)...after around two weeks our guy was alot calmer...

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/burns/burns_adult/156518

once a week i give him crushed up tin of sardines for his joints and coat... in sunflower oil (i drain alot of the oil off)... he looks great ...

3. Hunting dogs has TONS of energy... sometimes waks just wont do it for them... they love to run and run... so our trainer recommended the following:

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_toys_dog_training/dog_bicycle_baskets/biking_leads/129831

for about 15 mins each night, at a slow pace... really help chill him out... now everything he sees the bike he goes hysterical... he loves it!

If possible bring them swimming... its great for excersing the cockers and for tiring them out...

4. Do training with them each night, even if for ten mins... make them work for their treats... mental stimulation is great for calming them down... after all the are supposed to be working dogs

5. if they are chewing stuff they shouldnt - my cocker was a chewer...
our trainer recommended the following:

http://www.forans.com/products.asp?Action=Detail&ProductID=30

and if you cant get that... try Vicks Vapour rub, its safe for them and trust one nibble o that stuff and they wont go back for seconds

Best of us... Post some pics of your cockers... and keep us posted!!

One last thing... cockers are crazy... excitable dogs... they will relax over time... but for now... enjoy them.. my guy is soo relaxed he's borderline in a coma at times.... for just one day i would love to see him with the devil in his eye and go crazy for a day... just like when he was a pup...

falabo

cocker5 wrote: »

Falabo...

Here's some suggestions to help with the feisty pair

1. Try a dogmatic head collar... our cocker was a terrible puller....we tried everything: halti - it puleed his eyes and gave him eye infections, a harness - ohhh he loved that one it made him walk on his back two hindless.. got a dogmatic around four years ago and never looked back - trainer recommened this:

http://www.dogmatic.org.uk/


Troed the Halti and yes indeed it goes in their eyes. they HATE it. might give the fogmatic a go. betweem differents leads, collars, coats etc, I would actually be ashamed of doing the sums to check how much I've spent so far.

2. Double check the protein levels in their current food.... at around a year i was told to change to adult food.. less protien and trainer recommended Burns.... high protein can make dogs very hyper...(DEF not wet food either)...after around two weeks our guy was alot calmer...

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/burns/burns_adult/156518

once a week i give him crushed up tin of sardines for his joints and coat... in sunflower oil (i drain alot of the oil off)... he looks great ...

I will probably switch to Burns, I noticed before that proteins content is a lot less than James Wellbeloved. I give them the skins when I cook salmon.

3. Hunting dogs has TONS of energy... sometimes waks just wont do it for them... they love to run and run... so our trainer recommended the following:

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_toys_dog_training/dog_bicycle_baskets/biking_leads/129831

for about 15 mins each night, at a slow pace... really help chill him out... now everything he sees the bike he goes hysterical... he loves it!

If possible bring them swimming... its great for excersing the cockers and for tiring them out...


They sometimes swim and run freely off the lead but I'd love to try that thing for cycling. can they not get caught in the wheels at all? is it 100% safe? I would be a bit concerned as thay usually swing from one side to another at an unbelievable speed

4. Do training with them each night, even if for ten mins... make them work for their treats... mental stimulation is great for calming them down... after all the are supposed to be working dogs

we do menatl stimulation, we have have a board game for them. tell them "play brick" and they go balistic

5. if they are chewing stuff they shouldnt - my cocker was a chewer...
our trainer recommended the following:

http://www.forans.com/products.asp?Action=Detail&ProductID=30

and if you cant get that... try Vicks Vapour rub, its safe for them and trust one nibble o that stuff and they wont go back for seconds

I have used the horsey repellent spray. works well but needs to be reapplied every so often.

Best of us... Post some pics of your cockers... and keep us posted!!

One last thing... cockers are crazy... excitable dogs... they will relax over time... but for now... enjoy them.. my guy is soo relaxed he's borderline in a coma at times.... for just one day i would love to see him with the devil in his eye and go crazy for a day... just like when he was a pup...

falabo

pagey2

Hi all, i have a 1 year cocker spaniel, she is the sweetest little pet when she is calm, but is also wild at times. My problem i used to take her out at night before bed for a game of catch but lately she runs off and wont paly or respond to my calls for her to come back, i end up standing behind the front door waiting for her to come back and then close it. She has also started to bite my feet when im on the phone or sitting down this is a new thing.
i understand the problem lies with me as im not doing something right so any advice would be great.

cocker5

Pagey2...

first thing i would say to you is you must start train ing your dog in recall... when my guy was a pup he used to let me off in the fields to run and play.... then at around a year we noticed his recall wasnt great... as in he has selective hearing... he will come back if it suits him and most other times he wont as whatever he is up to is far more interesting than coming when called.... to this day his recall still isnt great... we have worked on it no end but he still does what he wants... its a total pain as for us we cant ever let him off lead unless he is in a totally secure area... and we have to make sure he doesnt get out through to front door.... he is getting better, he is 6 now.. i think its more down to not being too bothered as apposed to doing what he is told...

I would suggest you practise recall and train your dog to respond to being called... you could try not feeding her before training and then using something fab.. like cooked sausages to entise her... giving her a treat every second time and cuddles the next time.... lots of praise.... the traet has to be amazing or she wont come back... do this over a persiod of weeks and when she is more responsive then i would trust her to go out and play ball.... etc.... when you hid behind the door etc.. its a game to her and she loves it... so i know you dont mean to but your teaching her a bad habit...

Train her maybe in our own back garden where there is less distractions first.. then other places!;)

The biting your feet etc... our guy used to nip at the back of our legs when we were playing footbal with him and we had the ball (little fecker ).. its was quiet funny because we would turn around to give out and he would like "it wasnt me" like he was totally innocent etc... she is trying to play a game... etc... best thing you can do is say a firm "NO" or aaahhh ahhhh.... loudly and sternly... once she knows you dont like it.. or its not acceptable she will stop... you must do this EVERYTHING she does this so she gets the picture... she's just testing your patience.. she will soon learn etc...

you could use:

They come in 10 meters lengths etc... until she ahs mastered recall i would use some form of lead etc... just incase she gets knocked down etc...

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_collars_dog_leads/nylon_leads/sinle_colour/194644


Best of luck

reeta

Hi,

Has anybody got any advice re my cocker/springer spaniel (11 months old) who seems to get recurring bouts of colitis (as diagnosed by vet). One week she would be grand then the next have quite severe colitis. I feed her Gold dry food with a bit of Gold wet food mixed in, but as she eats
everything in sight we do tend to give her leftover dinner etc., obviously this has to stop!! Has anyone any advice re how to prevent or help her when she gets it. Have read that dairy products & beef are main cause. At moment giving her rice and chicken/fish as advised by vet. Feel awful
as it is our fault she is getting this so want to do whatever it takes to prevent another recurrence. Thanks.

moving_home

Welcome to the crazy world of cocker ownership! My cocker is the same age, just turned one.

Think you will need to go back to basics with the recall commend. I would recommend getting a really long lead, not like a normal lead (I used one that you would normally use to tie dogs up with – think it is about 25m or so). Put her on that and call her back to you and give high value treats such a little bits of sausage or chicken each time she comes back. There are hares in our estate at the moment so when my dog gets the scent she goes crazy but I am still able to get her attention but I know my sister’s beagle goes deaf when she gets a scent so it is likely that your dog is getting some scent with all the wildlife that is around at the moment.

There are other people on here who will probably give you better advice but the above is what worked for me. I would also leave a bit of a treat at the front door and when she comes back and sees there was a treat there while she was away she will be more likely to come back. Food is the be-all and end-all with my dog so all food related training did the job!!

Regarding the nipping I let out a high pitched screech everytime my dog nipped when she was a pup and she hasn’t done it since. Now she has a very soft mouth and I could put anything in there and she wouldn’t bite it.

Edit just saw Cocker5 got in before me!

lorebringer

reeta wrote: »

Hi,

Has anybody got any advice re my cocker/springer spaniel (11 months old) who seems to get recurring bouts of colitis (as diagnosed by vet). One week she would be grand then the next have quite severe colitis. I feed her Gold dry food with a bit of Gold wet food mixed in, but as she eats
everything in sight we do tend to give her leftover dinner etc., obviously this has to stop!! Has anyone any advice re how to prevent or help her when she gets it. Have read that dairy products & beef are main cause. At moment giving her rice and chicken/fish as advised by vet. Feel awful
as it is our fault she is getting this so want to do whatever it takes to prevent another recurrence. Thanks.

One of my dogs has recurring colitis and food plays a really big role in keeping her well. Your vet may have given you Hills i/d while your dog was recovering from a bout and this is good in the short term. We feed our lady Royal Canin Sensitivity Control and she does really well on it - only one or two bouts in the past 2 years (which is amazing considering how bad she was before) and all for much shorter periods than before we started her on the food. We switched her to Burns Chicken & Rice, which she did well on for a while but after some time things started to get a bit, well, sloppy and I feared that it may trigger another bad bout so we switched her back to the RC and all cleared up within a week. I have neighbours who also have a dog that suffers from colitis and they have their little one on the RC Sensitivity control too and find it brilliant. It can be fed as a long term food. I even give it to any of my other dogs when they have a stomach upset or a bug and it works very well. I cannot recommend it enough.

The only draw back about the RC is that it is pricey and needs to be sourced at a vet practice (some don't stock it but I'm sure they would order it in for you) or online (www.medicanimal.com stock it). It really works wonders though, they don't need to be few a large volume of it so it doesn't work out super expensive and well worth every penny. We give this to me lady exclusively and also add a few bits and bobs (dinner left overs, tuna etc,) every so often - but we found out what she could and could not eat through trial and error over time.

Well worth a try - it really does work a treat!

reeta

lorebringer wrote: »

One of my dogs has recurring colitis and food plays a really big role in keeping her well. Your vet may have given you Hills i/d while your dog was recovering from a bout and this is good in the short term. We feed our lady Royal Canin Sensitivity Control and she does really well on it - only one or two bouts in the past 2 years (which is amazing considering how bad she was before) and all for much shorter periods than before we started her on the food. We switched her to Burns Chicken & Rice, which she did well on for a while but after some time things started to get a bit, well, sloppy and I feared that it may trigger another bad bout so we switched her back to the RC and all cleared up within a week. I have neighbours who also have a dog that suffers from colitis and they have their little one on the RC Sensitivity control too and find it brilliant. It can be fed as a long term food. I even give it to any of my other dogs when they have a stomach upset or a bug and it works very well. I cannot recommend it enough.

The only draw back about the RC is that it is pricey and needs to be sourced at a vet practice (some don't stock it but I'm sure they would order it in for you) or online (www.medicanimal.com stock it). It really works wonders though, they don't need to be few a large volume of it so it doesn't work out super expensive and well worth every penny. We give this to me lady exclusively and also add a few bits and bobs (dinner left overs, tuna etc,) every so often - but we found out what she could and could not eat through trial and error over time.

Well worth a try - it really does work a treat!

Really appreciate your advice, will pop into our vet (he knows me so well by now) as I think he sells it. At this stage not to worried about price as it is so painful to watch her trying to "go" one minute and not being able to stop the next minute. Again many thanks.

lorebringer

reeta wrote: »

Really appreciate your advice, will pop into our vet (he knows me so well by now) as I think he sells it. At this stage not to worried about price as it is so painful to watch her trying to "go" one minute and not being able to stop the next minute. Again many thanks.

I know exactly how you feel - it's nearly worse when the dog is sick than being sick yourself! Just forgot to mention - if your lady has had a dodgy belly for a while it may be a good idea to get her anal glands checked, they can cause problems "going" on top of the colitis and make the poor pet very uncomfortable.

Good luck!

belongtojazz

reeta wrote: »

Hi,

Has anybody got any advice re my cocker/springer spaniel (11 months old) who seems to get recurring bouts of colitis (as diagnosed by vet). One week she would be grand then the next have quite severe colitis. I feed her Gold dry food with a bit of Gold wet food mixed in, but as she eats
everything in sight we do tend to give her leftover dinner etc., obviously this has to stop!! Has anyone any advice re how to prevent or help her when she gets it. Have read that dairy products & beef are main cause. At moment giving her rice and chicken/fish as advised by vet. Feel awful
as it is our fault she is getting this so want to do whatever it takes to prevent another recurrence. Thanks.

This does seem to be a common problem with Spaniels. Most people I know with Springers or Cockers do have some form of colitis.
My guy has what the vet described as "excitable" colitis in that it only flares when he gets worked up. At it's worst it meant him going for a poo up to 10 times on an hours walk, starting fine and ending in what we called the "pretend" ones, where he was trying but nothing was happening
Since I switched him to Royal Canine Mature light (older guy with a bit of weight to lose ) he's been a different dog.
I've also stopped all feeding from plates, as soon as anyone from the family gives him "human" food I know about it and believe me they pay a big price
He still suffers a little bit but nothing like before. In my experience diet is about 90% of the cure

reeta

belongtojazz wrote: »

This does seem to be a common problem with Spaniels. Most people I know with Springers or Cockers do have some form of colitis.
My guy has what the vet described as "excitable" colitis in that it only flares when he gets worked up. At it's worst it meant him going for a poo up to 10 times on an hours walk, starting fine and ending in what we called the "pretend" ones, where he was trying but nothing was happening
Since I switched him to Royal Canine Mature light (older guy with a bit of weight to lose ) he's been a different dog.
I've also stopped all feeding from plates, as soon as anyone from the family gives him "human" food I know about it and believe me they pay a big price
He still suffers a little bit but nothing like before. In my experience diet is about 90% of the cure

Thanks for your reply, over the last few days have stopped giving her food from plates etc., and watched her diet carefully I'm giving her rice/fish/chicken and the difference is amazing. Not sure how much fish I can give her in a week but she seems to love it. I have her on Gold Select but will talk to the vet about putting her on Ryal Canine Mature light. I
really think the wheat in toast/bread we were giving her from the table was doing the worse damage. From now on its dog food only

falabo

my ones had issues too: colitis
switched their food from Pedigree to JAMES WELLBELOVED
never has a problem since, it's hypo allergenic, the dogs never ever scartch themselves. in my opinion, it's fantastic food
buy it from www.zooplus.co.uk you wont get it any cheaper anywhere
I get 2 15kgs bags and it works out pretty cheap like €3 per kg or something....

belongtojazz

reeta wrote: »

Thanks for your reply, over the last few days have stopped giving her food from plates etc., and watched her diet carefully I'm giving her rice/fish/chicken and the difference is amazing. Not sure how much fish I can give her in a week but she seems to love it. I have her on Gold Select but will talk to the vet about putting her on Ryal Canine Mature light. I
really think the wheat in toast/bread we were giving her from the table was doing the worse damage. From now on its dog food only

I get my RC from Zooplus.ie or zooplus.co.uk I find it's much cheaper. Your guy doesn't need the mature version as that's for dogs over 8yrs old. My guy is on the light version as he needs to lose a bit of weight

Isn't it amazing the difference diet makes to them

moving_home

god i feel lucky now that my dog has never shown any symptons of colitis. do ye feed your dog alot of people food or what causes it?

belongtojazz

I've never fed my guys human food. They don't even get the dinner leftovers, they go to the birds
Food is a major contributor of it but not the only one. For some reason Spaniels just seem to be prone to it. My Springer and my JRT could eat the same diet, she'll be fine and he'll spend most of his walk crouched down trying to poo:(

Another cause with my guy is stress. If his routine is disturbed he can go through some bad times :rolleyes:

moving_home

I looked up the symptons there and our cocker has never shown any signs of it thank god. i would feed her leftover meat (as long as there was no sauce), cooked potato and cooked veg the odd time but only once or twice a week.