Our 8 month old Cocker spaniel pup is driving us all insane.

We took him to training classes and he was really good, however he has regressed so badly it’s making walking him a chore rather than being fun.

He is also…..

Chasing birds
Not doing his recall
Going so far away from us when off the lead we can’t see him
Digging holes
Stealing food off table
Jumping on sofa and doing wall of death around the front room
He has snapped at the wife
Burning the grass with his wee
Chewing his beds and toys to bit
Stealing the boys teddy’s off the beds.

It’s getting to the point where its not enjoyable to have him around any more.

He gets lots of walks and attention bit still he is a pain.

We have even talked about taking him to a rescue centre and giving him away. We would never do this with any of our previous dogs.

Someone tell me it gets better !!!

Have you had spaniels before? They are HARD work, they just never seem to calm down.

Yep our last dog was a springer spaniel.

Totally different to this one.

My sister-in-law’s spaniel is 4 and still does all of those things. I really dread going to visit her because of it.

Does he still have his nuts?

I cannot help with anything but I don’t think you should be letting him off his lead again if you can’t control him/ recall him effectively.

A lot of my family have cockers and they all seem mad. All the stuff you mentioned (apart from the snapping, I’d put a stop to that sharpish) seems to be fairly normal for them.
I have greyhounds though, so any dog that wants to run for more than a minute seems mad to me

He has lost his nuts…. Made no difference.

We didn’t want a dog that spends his life on a lead as that’s no fun for any of us.

The trainer taught us to not punish him after he has buggered off and then come back under his steam, so not sure where we go from here.

I’ve had 2, one was bonkers and did all the stuff yours is doing, the other a dopy fun loving cheerful chap.

Despite all the training (professional Gun dog trainer) the bonkers one went back to the farmer to hunt, and was a fabulous dog there on, the other dopy one stayed with me.

Springers are like that, think you’ve got your hands full.

He goes absolutely mad when he sees birds. Goes into proper hunting mode despite having no training to do so.

our cockapoo (working cocker mum / poodle dad) went through a spate of that at about the same sort of age; our trainer friend said it’s almost adolescence (although as a spayed bitch / neutered male it’s not hormones is it!) but at that age before they are properly out of puppy years they often have another period of regression / reasserting to find out if they can advance in the pecking order a bit.

Don’t give up; like so much it could be just a phase.

He has lost his nuts…. Made no difference.

Guess he’s just a wrong un then…I know a guy that trains springers, he is uncomfortably strict with them, almost to the point of cruel, he turns out great gun dogs but I wouldn’t want one as a pet.

We had several cocker spaniels when I was growing up. Females…..they we’re nice dogs but prone to just running off into hedgerows chasing rabbits and birds. I lost count of the amount of hours spent calling for them. Sometimes we would just have to go home and they would turn up after crossing roads. Not good.

Once, when we had mother and daughter, we were waling on the Quantocks and they just went….gone. They were out for 48hrs eventually found by a farmer and returned home. Again, not good.

Well, my bonkers one went through 2 years of training, pretty damn Gun dog at the end of it mind. Trouble was he needed to be hunting or with the pack, the farmer had 11. Left at home with his brother was clearly no fun at all and ate the sofa, curtain, carpet around the open fire, shoes, rope.. lots of rope… whilst his brother lay comatose rammed up against the aga. I gave all I could to them both but the bonkers one just wanted to hunt bless him. But mine did come from a farmer who bread them for hunting, it came as no surprise the farmer kept saying “hand the bonkers one back, look he’s happy here and just becomes one of the pack, when you take him home he gets unsettled and simply wants to come back” Gah, I was gutted. Best for the dog though. We went on hunts with the farmer and his pack many times before I bought them and after, damn if the bonkers one didn’t jump all over me each time we went up to the farm.

My story is no where near what you are going through, my only advice is don’t give up because once they know they’ve won you are doomed.

Just from a different angle… (edit – ok, so a few posts appeared along the same lines while I was typing 🙂 )

I have a Kelpie, she nearly broke me at that age too. Chewing everything including furniture, climbing on all furniture including work tops, complete escape artist. She virtually trashed the house if I turned my back.

Like you we did all the training when she was younger, but she just seemed to go backwards at about 9 months.

6 years on she is an amazing dog. Once she went through her ‘teenage’ stage (upto about 18 months I’m afraid) all her initial training resurfaced. She is still a character, but perfect house manners. Her recall is spot on, although she still stops an arm length away, just to make her point. She is probably the best dog I’ve owned, so intelligent, almost reads my mind.

I have to admit that I did get another dog, to keep her company / wear her out, and that seemed to help. The second dog was younger, but much calmer. Also a Kelpie.

It’s up to you, but in my experience it does get better, slowly.

Had 4 wotking sptingers over my lifetime – theyre all batshit mental unless ptoperly worked.

Get a poodle or a poodle cross, they are literally a bazillion times eadier to train and much more focused on being socially accepted.

Theyre a reason they suddenly exploded in popularity – despite being a little bit effete they are great.

He goes absolutely mad when he sees birds. Goes into proper hunting mode despite having no training to do so.

Thats my sisters springer, absolute loon when he sees a bird.

I’m not a dog person but it sounds to me like he’s not getting enough stimulus / exercise.

On holiday once I watched a farmer exercising a spaniel, he had some sort of plastic slingshot thing that could throw a tennis ball an unbelievably long way, like the full length of a field. He was out with it for a long time, ran the bugger ragged, only stopped when it was walking back rather than running. I’d respectfully suggest that your “lots of walks” may be insufficient.

However,

He has snapped at the wife

This would give me serious cause for concern.

The trainer taught us to not punish him after he has buggered off and then come back under his steam, so not sure where we go from here.

Back to the trainer, I’d have thought?

If it was better behaved when being trained and has regressed its might be worth looking at any bad habits the rest of you might have gotten into. Training teaches dogs what to do when it hears a command but its your authority that makes the dog actually pay attention. Little bad habits like feeding scraps off the table, allowing the dog up in the furniture etc all undermine that authority. If your in a household with young kids and a dog then they’ll likely be less consistent with all that.

My friend had quite an old dog who obedience dropped off a cliff and it was simply because his young kids started inviting the dog up onto to the sofa – whenever the kids were about the dog didn’t respond to commands from anyone because they’d changed the hierarchy.

Another consistency aspect is having formalised routines and actions all the time – telling the dog to sit or wait or calling them to you before you do anything – a pat of the head or feeding whatever and not just trying to give commands when they’re doing something they shouldn’t.

Also as a family you might need to train yourselves a bit to give commands in the same way and have the same routines for day to day situations.

He has snapped at the wife

It depends a bit on what ‘snapped at’ was. Spaniels seem to have a trait of grabbing and tugging for attention – normally your sleeve, although they’re obviously doing it with their sharp toothy mouths its actually pretty gentle. But that would tend to be in pretty calm situations where they’re being ignored (usually these days by someone who’s starring at a screen) as opposed to any confrontational situation.

Spaniels need mental stimulation as much as physical. If you just go in a field and launch something all day it’ll just fetch it and run all day getting fitter and fitter to a point. Same with walking all day. You can’t go for a walk with a spaniel chatting to your mate and ignoring the dog, you need to be constantly sending the dog off and getting it to search, come back, talking to it etc. Once you’ve got the dog trained and you’re the key thing in its life then it’ll trot along beside you fine perhaps but it’s not guaranteed.

Get along to a trainer and perhaps get some one to one time rather than in a group. Ours was a bit mad in groups at that age. She’s still a bit mad now to be fair and she’s 11.

I had a spaniel as I was out in the woods all day and she spent time with me either outside in the woods or curled up in her cage in the truck happy in here little den. I’m lucky I didn’t have to leave her at home. I don’t think spaniels are the best at being left, especially cockers as they like interaction.

I’m no dog trainer and ours isn’t perfect I wish I’d taken my own advice in some of the above early on! We chucked a thrower for her to “tire her out” when she was a pup but I’m sure that just wound her up more.

Very rewarding little dogs when you sort out it’s issues though I’m sure. Get some help.

Chasing birds
Not doing his recall
Going so far away from us when off the lead we can’t see him
Digging holes
Stealing food off table
Jumping on sofa and doing wall of death around the front room
He has snapped at the wife
Burning the grass with his wee
Chewing his beds and toys to bit
Stealing the boys teddy’s off the beds.

My cocker is over 14 years old. He may have slowed down a bit but he still does most of the above. He did start to calm down a bit at around 7 years old but only a bit…

We had a springer.
It ate the kitchen & jumped off a quarry face to It’s doom. (probably chasing a bird)

😯

Needs moar pics..

Say “hello” beautiful..

As I sob into my left arm.

We’re on our 3rd and 4th working cockers …..

Chasing birds – completely natural – what did you expect?
Not doing his recall – you’ve stopped training
Going so far away from us when off the lead we can’t see him – see recall above
Digging holes – naughty
Stealing food off table – training
Jumping on sofa and doing wall of death around the front room – excited
He has snapped at the wife – bad
Burning the grass with his wee – thought only bitches did this
Chewing his beds and toys to bit – he’s young
Stealing the boys teddy’s off the beds – 100% normal

Sounds like you need to keep training him…. I can guarantee that a working cocker will take a lot longer than 5 or 6 months to train. Keep at it.
Do not use force, just a very laod ‘NO’ when you catch him doing anything wrong.

He’ll get the idea ifhe’s a proper working dog but if there’s some show dog in there then I can’t help – small head = small brain.

Jas (right, mum) and Inca (left 6 month daughter) on Monday:

My mum had a springer about 20 years ago – it’s was absolutely bonkers and did everything yours is doing.

In the end they gave it to a gamekeeper who could keep it busy all day.

Still bonkers, but tired.

Double the madness with a second spaniel? 😆

Tempted to say don’t treat your dog like you do your bikes…..i.e. they seem like the best thing ever, but then you quickly loose interest due to some minor niggle……okay, I accept that’s a bit harsh :?.

Some of the things you mention are causes for concern no doubt, but don’t try and find other little issues to justify your decision (rather like you do with your bikes, cars etc). For example, the following reasons you list are not good reasons to get rid of a dog:

Burning the grass with his wee
Chewing his beds and toys to bit
Stealing the boys teddy’s off the beds.

Did none of your previous dogs do this? Really? Pretty normal behaviour for a young dog. They grow out of chewing (or at least learn to chew the right things).

I seem to remember stw’s previous serial bike swapper and fellow ridiculous decision maker (hora), who you seem to have a lot in common with, had a similar problem with his dog once it no longer fitted into his lifestyle. Sorry to be so harsh, but it’s only the dogs I feel sorry for in these situations.

Think back to the previous dogs you had – most of the issues you list are just part of a phase that the dog will move on from, but more or less training may be required. If you do give him away, please make every effort to give him the best chance of finding a home where he will be happier, and the new owners will give him the time, patience and training he needs.

I seem to remember stw’s previous serial bike swapper and fellow ridiculous decision maker (hora), who you seem to have a lot in common with, had a similar problem with his dog once it no longer fitted into his lifestyle. Sorry to be so harsh, but it’s only the dogs I feel sorry for in these situations.

This is a bit harsh, the OP is asking for advice at the point of despair.

Yes, it is harsh, but the OP is coming up with some pretty stupid reasons (see my post above) to help justify his decision to ditch it. Seems like he is a bit bored with looking after the dog. Renton has shown a huge lack of patience in the past, if I’m offering any advice it’s not too make the same mistake with his dog. I hope this helps him put that into perspective. This isn’t a car or bike frame we are talking about. Dog ownership is a responsibility, it doesn’t end when it’s not fun anymore.

It depends a bit on what ‘snapped at’ was. Spaniels seem to have a trait of grabbing and tugging for attention – normally your sleeve, although they’re obviously doing it with their sharp toothy mouths its actually pretty gentle. But that would tend to be in pretty calm situations where they’re being ignored (usually these days by someone who’s starring at a screen) as opposed to any confrontational situation.

I can verify that. They can be quite mouthy.

Dogs – but especially Springers aren’t furniture for your house. Treat them with the understanding that they have exactly the same emotional range and need for stimulation as you, a human.

Yes, it is harsh, but the OP is coming up with some pretty stupid reasons (see my post above) to help justify his decision to ditch it. Seems like he is a bit bored with looking after the dog. Renton has shown a huge lack of patience in the past, if I’m offering any advice it’s not too make the same mistake with his dog. I hope this helps him put that into perspective. This isn’t a car or bike frame we are talking about. Dog ownership is a responsibility, it doesn’t end when it’s not fun anymore.

Renton is asking for advice / reassurance. Maybe just be a bit kinder in the tone you use?

treats treats and more treats!

mine was a right PITA but just use a (mini/training) treat for every good behaviour, or even don’t feed him in one go but use his meal as treats ie instead of one meal he gets it as 20 rewards for good behaviour

mines still far from perfect but much more manageable, the best command i ever taught him was “look” with a reward only when he makes eye contact- means he can’t use selective blindness/deafness to avoid commands

it is a huge challenge to train a spaniel and you need patience but it is possible and you will slowly get there. Never ‘punish’ the dog especially for running away when he returns, it will only make it worse, always treat when he returns even after an age. Find something treat/ball/toy that it obssesses over and use that

get some toys like an antler/kong/toy you can fill with treats etc that will take his attention away from chewing other things

i sat for a couple hours teaching him not to chew each item in the lounge, always give him something better as a reward

got any friends who are dog people? let them take him off you for a break once in a while, even better if they can enforce the rules too

angeldust – Member

I seem to remember stw’s previous serial bike swapper and fellow ridiculous decision maker (hora), who you seem to have a lot in common with, had a similar problem with his dog once it no longer fitted into his lifestyle.

Not fair.
The dog became troublesome around his very young child.
He did the right thing.

And he’s not here to defend himself.

1. He’s at his teenage years. Another 6months to a year and he will be calmer.

2. He’s old enough to castrate. That should calm him a bit. If you have no interest in breeding him, i’d get that done.

3. Check your not giving him too much protein in his food. It makes some dogs a bit over active. He will be fully grown now so can go onto adult food. Some of the high quality foods especially puppy ones for growth have alot of protein.

4. There is a thing called DAP diffuser which if you plug in the house should calm him. Last about a month.

5. Some of this is training and time etc so stick with it.

6. Is he a normal cocker spaniel or a working cocker? They are different. The working cockers are the ultimate gun dog but generally dont make good pets unless people are always outside in all weathers. I see lots of them that have or will bite their owners, be dissobedient and steal food. Cocker spaniels are much more easy going in general.

stick a stair gate on so he can’t go upstairs, then at least one problem is sorted.

My dog guy tells me over and over again that i have to be the most interesting thing happening on a walk, if not the dog will find something else to amuse itself, most likely rabbits, birds, deer…. So talking, playing, rewarding and repeat

I seem to remember stw’s previous serial bike swapper and fellow ridiculous decision maker (hora), who you seem to have a lot in common with, had a similar problem with his dog once it no longer fitted into his lifestyle.

That really isnt fair on Hora… no wonder he doesnt come on here much any more.!

Yes, it is harsh, but the OP is coming up with some pretty stupid reasons (see my post above) to help justify his decision to ditch it. Seems like he is a bit bored with looking after the dog. Renton has shown a huge lack of patience in the past, if I’m offering any advice it’s not too make the same mistake with his dog. I hope this helps him put that into perspective. This isn’t a car or bike frame we are talking about. Dog ownership is a responsibility, it doesn’t end when it’s not fun anymore.

Some of the things you mention are causes for concern no doubt, but don’t try and find other little issues to justify your decision (rather like you do with your bikes, cars etc)

To be fair you are coming across as a bit of a douche.

Of course dogs arent like bikes and cars.

However when you are sat comforting your wife because she is crying due to the dog just doing the above list all day every day, you know you have a problem.

He snapped at my wife when he was having one of bouts of jumping on the sofa and getting told “Down” she went to point at him and give the command and he must of thought she was playing and snapped a little and caught her nose.

He gets lots of treat and praise when he comes back to you on a walk, even if he has taken 20 mins to do so, feels weird praising him for being naughty but you cant tell them off or else they will never return.

Both his parent are working dogs, met them both and they were both beautiful and well trained.

He also has lots of toys, not just chewy ones but things he has to move around to get treats out of to stimulate him.

He it totally different to our previous springer who was a bit mental but nothing compared to this barm pot !!

Feel for you. Full on working dogs can be a real handful. I would go as far as to say not really suitable for keeping as pets at times.

he must of thought she was playing and snapped a little and caught her nose.

when you say “snap” it implies (to me at least) a deliberate (not playful) action. So was it just really a misjudgement?

Both his parent are working dogs, met them both and they were both beautiful and well trained.

And it will have taken a huge amount of effort to get them that way. Working Cockers are mental