i am getting a cocker spaniel in the autumn and have been reading up on a lot of dog info.i have 2 children aged 4 and 8 yrs,2 guinea pigs and a cat.i have grown up with dogs as a child. i was wondering if u experienced dog lovers have any tips or golden rules it would be useful to know?thanks s.baxter

Congratulations on your up coming pup! Well....here are some golden rules that I think of:

Always supervise your children with the pup and make sure to teach them how to be gentle and respectful of the dog and to allow it some quiet time by itself. If you want a quieter, relaxed dog, I discourage too much wild, rough play. That tends to ruin a dog in my opinion, makes them hyper and nervous. Puppies need a LOT of sleep. By respect, I mean teach them not to put both hands on either side of it's head or face and kiss the dog or hug the dog too hard. Dogs regard this gesture as aggression toward them and a lot of kids get bitten this way. So, again....never leave kids unattended around the dog. Also, kids being smaller than adults are not always viewed by the dog as above them on the heirarchy ladder.

The kids could take turns each mealtime putting the food bowl down for the pup and hand feeding it a few kibbles, giving a pat, putting a little piece of cheese or meat in the bowl while it eats. Then walk away and not pester it anymore. But a little exposure like that will help the dog not be possession aggressive. The kids could also teach the dog fetch and the dog should "give" the toy to someone and then that someone can give it right back or swap for a treat. This helps prevent that growling thing that some dogs do when someone takes something from it.

Then as far as the other kinds of training, you can read a lot of stuff online. One site I really really think is good is Dr. P's dog training. If you type that in in Google, you'll see a huge library of topics....great site. Plus, I'm sure others  here can give some great advise.

Good luck.

Carrie

Get a copy of The Perfect Puppy by Gwen Bailey which will see you through to 2 years with your pup, and search the house for all the haz\ards you used to whisk off the floor when your kids were toddlers - Barbie shoes, Barbie as her legs seem very tasty, felt pen tops, human shoes, electric flex, edible waste paper bins .... I used to have lovely willow ones until Morse arrived :D
A crate will give you and the pup some respite if you choose to use one. Kids need to learn no-one picks up the pup and to tidy up if they dont want their treasures eaten.

Investigate local puppy or training classes now before you get the dog and see which ones use positive reward based methods, are well ordered, not too big and are happy for you to visit.

Have you chosen a name yet? Another tip - dont let kids choose name as mine would have saddled us with some horrors like Kenzie :D

thanks carrie great advice tips to help my kids bond and learn to respect our new puppy which will in turn teach the puppy to respect them too.brilliant tip i will take that all on board.            thanks also to lovelei i will certainly order that book for all the family to read.we have been to see a dog training class just 2 miles from our house,lovely atmosphere lots of praise for the dog when they got it right,and wrong behaviour was ignored,they gave lots of tips and were happy to answer/solve problems.we are getting a dog called alfie, funny my 4yr old is soo excited in a pet shop we bought a friends dog a treat and she can`t part with it it`s for her alfie.thanks again advice from experienced dog owners is very valueable

Hiya
You've chosen a wonderful breed of dog, my Cocker is 11 months old now & he is a fabulous little chap. My daughter is 5, & they are the bestest of friends, she even helps with his training. It's lovely to see her telling him to wait & then calling him, he does it perfectly for her, even with a proper finish. (I'm so proud of how well he's taken to training)
My advise would be to get the Gwen Bailey book & watch these pages. Theres also a Cockers online site that is brilliant, I'm sure someone will post the link for that soon. (I'm hopeless at links :-()
Good luck with your new pup, have you found a breeder yet? I contacted one months before mine was born good job I did because there was already a queue for puppies!
Penny 

thanks i`m getting him from the same breeder as my friend and she will look after him if i can bear to part with him for a holiday next year.her dog is so friendly,happy and great temperment.the breeder hopes to breed very soon and i`m just waiting to hear of any news.this breeder also has cats so i`m hopeing  when it see`s our`s it won`t be too fased by it.what colour is yours? iv`e been so lucky iv`e found  a nice training school and a nice dog groomer that has a cocker spaniel too she`s given me lots of advice.

Hi
Dylan is a blue roan, & we've got a cat, they tolerate each other lol I think the cat would rather be left alone while the dog just wants to play!
My husband is learning to groom Dylan, we went to a local Cocker breeder & he showed us how to do it. He did one side & our homework for the week was to come back with the other side to match. I was all set to do the grooming but my hubby is far better at it than me so he does it now. Once youve bought the equipment it saves a fortune in grooming costs. & I must say hes looking pretty good, all grown up now with no puppy coat making him look like a teddy bear!
Penny

hi penny our dog will be blue roan possibly with tan not sure if thats depending on what she breeds with or wether the tan comes through. i`m happy what ever colour my friends is a blue roan too.do you know how much daily exercise the cockers can have when 18 months old i know they can have loads but is there a minium.say for instant if one of my kids where ill and i was struggling to get out although i do have a close friend who would take him out as would i hers,this being one just around the corner she has a dalmation.i am planning to walk quite a bit eventually  i do have a few pounds i`d rather be without!   s baxter

Hiya

Id get some books about clicker training.... this is really great way to train, and cockers are very trainable dogs....if you cant get the dog out for a walk, some time spent playing 'problem solving' games, and clicker training will suffice....... you can start clicker training your puppy as soon as you get it, and the better they learn when they are tiny, the bigger the chance they will keep that training, even when they go through the 'teenager' stage.

Keep in mind, dogs do things that are rewarding to them, and dont do things which are not, so make sure you dont inadvertantly reward your pup for doing things you dont want him/her to do (rewards can be attention, even if you are cross with the puppy).

ALL puppys play bite..... when they are still with their litter mates this teaches them bite inhibition, so they know how hard is acceptable to bite...... if your puppy bites you, you need to stop ALL games, and definately make sure your kids are capable of doing this. There is a 'yelp' technique, which can wor, (you yelp as if you are really really hurt and stop the games) BUT, with small children they tend to yelp in an exciting way , rather than in a 'im hurt' sort of way, so be careful with this one.

There are loads of other things, socialisation, house training etc..... as someone else said, get a copy of The Perfect Puppy by Gwen Bailey, and see if there are any Puppy School classes in your area..... puppy school is a training scheme run by Gwen.

Em

hi em,good idea about games i do have a book about games to play with your dog so not the end of the world if doggie friend does`nt get  a descent long walk if i substitute it with some some other activity for a day

Hi there

Well I've got 2 cockers - Morgan (gold) is two years old and Cooper (blue roan) is 18 weeks - so I'd definately say you've made the perfect choice :-).  As everyone else has said Gwen Bailey's Perfect Puppy is a must have for puppy owners.  There are also some excellent Cocker books if you don't have any already.  I've actually lent mine to someone at the moment so forgive the spellings as I can't check them - one by Lesley Scott Ordish is good and Collins publish another that's quite informative (with lots of gorgeous cocker pictures too:-) )  I've got another good one and can't remember the authors name but it's published by a company called Petlove who do lots of breed specific books. 

For cockers I'd say be prepared to be just as determined as they are and don't give in (well not every time) to the sad eyes :-)

You can try here if you have any cocker questions.

Best of luck with your new pup when it arrives

Shirley :-)

I know not everyone on here agrees, but a crate is the best thing you can buy, especially when you have young children - it helps in the training of both puppy and children, as the kids soon learn that when pup is in the crate it is not playtime and pup learns it is a safe space when "time out" is needed.

thanks fillis,we plan to put a crate in the kitchen with a puppy pen attached so he can go in and out of crate although we plan to shut the door at night possibly when were out it depends if the pen is escape proof.also has anyone trained or encouraged their dog to foul in a particular part of their garden .because we have children i thought this may be a good idea?we thougt maybe fence and gate off a 9 ft x 12 ft area but i have no idea if i should bother or not wot do other people do to keep their grass clear of little "gifts" as we call  cat or fox poo`s?

hello baxter,
my dad had a german shepherd and he trained her when she was a pup to wee and poo in a certain part of the garden, because us kids were little when he got her, i think how he did it was just consistancy, and keeping a eye on her, not quite sure of the full technique that he used but i shall be asking him soon for when i get my dog. sadley though she passed away not so long ago, but she was such a good dog, my dad used to say walkies, and she would go and got her lead of the side and give it to him, i have never known such a inteligent and obedient dog like Sable was.

This is really useful - but it can backfire on you if you take your dog out and about a lot (family trips etc.) as you can end up with a dog who won't 'go' for days and days :(

thanks jo,so it can work i`ll plan and think carefully about how i`ll train.thanks digger too for your info i had`nt thought about the dog getting into a problem of holding it all in .maybe if i try praising him if he poo`ss in the fenced of area bit and alternate this with walking him outside up the road straight after eating to he`ll understand both places are ok.and ignore any poo`s on the kids running around grass area.surely if i really get excited and give him tons of praise when he gets it right he`ll understand?hopefully  s baxter

Yep, definately possible to get a dog to go in a specific place......

Just praise him lots for going in the right place(s).

A fenced off section of the garden is a great idea, try using gravel or concrete, as its much easier to clean down, and means you can let the pup out and not bring it back in all muddy! (you will appreciate that in winter!)

If you ahve a go at clicker training, you can click for poops/pees in the right places, make sure you click when the dog is finishing up, as the click signals the end of the behaviour..... and always treat if you ahve clicked.

Em

Read loads especially The perfect Puppy by Gwen Bailey, the Bible of dog behaviour The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson, You can teach a new dog old tricks by Dr Ian Dunbar.  These 3 books will probably be of the most help during your whole time with your dog, from birth to death.

Find yourself a good puppy class that uses kind, fair and effective techniques such as those run by the APDT, that are reward based and do not use check/choke chains with a competent trainer.

As a cocker owner you will also have a close relationship with a groomer :D

But the main golden rule is - Have fun!

Hello baxter
yes i have just spoken to my dad and asked him how he did it, and he said lots of praise was given, when she did it in the right area, when he took her out for walks if she needed to go she would only do it a piece of grass never on a path or anything like that,  my dad has a large garden with two large areas of grass seperated by a path! and she would always do it on her bit of the garden,it wasnt fenced of or anything so i think its really clever and yes it can be done, i'll have to let you know how i get on when i get mine, but be sure to let us know how you get on aswell

theema, thanks for that reply i would like to get some more info on clicker training as i`m not sure wot the end use of it is ie i mean you give treats and praise to young dogs when they need it but do u give up treats and just praise or do you give treats lifelong.is the click the praise in a way i`m a bit confuesd?TOHME,thanks too i have ordered the perfect puppy and will note the other 2 books.i love reading up as my confidence is growing in dog knowledge.JO, thanks so much for replying again,i may still fence it off as i have kids it would be good on nice days for the dog to have outside space of his own to chill out!everyone has been so helpful i`m really chuffed!!! Sue B