Hi,

I have a 1 year old cocker spaniel which has a bit of and aggressive/possesive problem.  To try and solve this i have been recommended by the vet to start from the very beginning with his training.  Can anyone suggest any good ways of training him so that he becomes interested in you and good play games which incorporate training into them?

At the moment he is generally good with the sit, stand, down and come here demand when he hasn't got a toy, but when he has a toy or something he shouldn't have or if he is outside he ignores you. Also is there other things that i can teach him that are good for cocker spaniels etc to keep his mind active?

I have 2 weeks off work and want to use this time to build up a bond with him and train him as best i can. Or can anyone suggest a book that has good training and playing techniques?

Thank you, Claire

Hi Claire, Gwen Baileys Good Dog Behaviour has great ideas for training games, Perfect Puppy by the same author will show how to teach him good human/ dog manners. You can keep him active with search games such as sprinkling treats into the garden and sending him to find them, the stuffed kong or hollow marrow bone are also good.Find out what really gets him excited - food, toy etc and use this as a motivator. My dog was so unmotivated we used part of his daily food ration as a motivator.

You can start by getting him to focus on you - sit in comfy chair with pot of treats and call him when he looks at you hold the treat high and so he keeps looking at you then flick the treat over his back so he has to watch it then catch it. You can also teach a twist by calling him to you, hold treat and as he looks for it, make a quarter turn so he comes round with it. Give lots of praise when he attempts it at first then reard the best attempts. As dogs dont generalise well he may be great in house but really not understand what sit means outside so you need to train a behaviour from the beginning in a new area.

Most dog games work on search, fetch and tug - he needs to learn to leave so you can repeat the action and I wouldnt play tug with him if he gets OTT. Swaps is a good game - when he has a toy or anything dont grab it or show interest in it but have something else really tasty or special yourself and let him know - you can pretend to eat a bit cheese - then when he drops his thing you praise and reward him, move on to swops.  ONce you get that you can use a line to draw him gently to you when he fetches a toy but always let him choose to release it dont grab.HTH

http://www.clickertales.com/index.html
http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/index.htm
http://www.learningaboutdogs.com/

Training should be fun for both dog and owner, try the above sites; the latter is owned by Kay Laurence and she produces an excellent bi monthly magazine with training articles for ALL disciplines and breeds and there are seminars etc to attend both here and abroad.