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[ZoieW]

I have a 12 week old cocker spaniel. We have had him home 2 weeks now. This past week he has totally changed. He suddenly goes crazy for no reason and hides under the sofa snarling and barking. When you try and coax him out he goes to bite.
He isn't sleeping alot during the day either. We are stimulating him. Playing. He hasn't had his second jab yet so is limited to back garden We take him out but he has started going for stones all the time. He does well with training but then the next minute he becomes stubborn and won't listen. Has anyone else had these problems? If so any advice greatly accepted. As we are struggling with what to do.

 

[excuseme]

Which type of Cocker do you have. What are you feeding him. the brand name. How does he spend his day and where.
Some puppies are complete monsters.
Training sessions should be very short with a youngster and not so long that they become boring !
Puppies can lean a lot through play, not too much but interesting, and always end on a good positive note, never try to do it just once more.

 

[JudyN]

He does well with training but then the next minute he becomes stubborn and won't listen.

It's not so much stubborn and not listening - it's more 'I've considered your suggestion but I've decided it's not a very good one.' Most dogs aren't wired to be naturally obedient (collies may be an exception!) - they have to think that what you're asking them to do is worth doing (aka reward), and in time that becomes habit. Expecting too much too early is like giving a rather hyperactive child a page of sums on a lovely sunny day - they might do a few, but then their brain pretty much tunes out and they simply can't to any more. Train in short bursts throughout the day, choosing times when he's in the right frame of mind and there aren't distractions. If he's tuning out, either end the session, increase the value of the reward, or do something he enjoys more (maybe 'fetch' or 'hunt the tennis ball' if he's more likely to comply with that than 'sit' or 'paw').

I can't tell why he goes behind the sofa, but I would pretty much leave him be and let him come out in his own good time. Avoid all confrontation - he's feeling uncomfortable for some reason, and you trying to coax him out will make him more stressed. Avoiding confrontation isn't a case of spoiling him and letting him get his own way - it's about not setting him up to fail, so he doesn't develop 'inconvenient coping strategies' at an age where he learns fast, and also doesn't have the self-control to stop himself acting on his turbulent teenogre emotions.

Just a thought - could he be hearing fireworks? He'll be able to hear ones from a lot further away than you.

 

[ZoieW]

Which type of Cocker do you have. What are you feeding him. the brand name. How does he spend his day and where.
Some puppies are complete monsters.
Training sessions should be very short with a youngster and not so long that they become boring !
Puppies can lean a lot through play, not too much but interesting, and always end on a good positive note, never try to do it just once more.

We feed him millies wolfheart County mix. As this is what the breeder gave us.
He is a working/show. He spends his day kitchand and living room.
We do short bursts of training with him. He seems to have lost interest in playing at the minute. He is so overtired but he only sleeps like 10 minutes. So I don't know if that's the problem

 

[Hemlock]

I wouldn't be giving formal training to a puppy that young. He's really just a baby. I'd concentrate on life skills such as learning about traffic going past the gate, that if you call him it's always for something good, getting the house-training good, being gently handled and groomed, learning that nail clippers near his feet doesn't necessarily mean he is going to have his nails cut, and when you do cut, it's only one nail at a time with a good reward afterwards, having his lead on and off, that sort of thing. Take everything really slowly, make each new experience positive.


It's such a steep learning curve for all of you - but it WILL shake down, and he will be a lovely friend in time. Before then, you each have to learn a lot, because no matter how many dogs anyone has had, each pup offers new experience!

 

[RGC]

Do you have children who you’ve involved in his training and/or playing? Could he be getting mixed or inconsistent messages? As has been said, allow him his own space and time. He’s been through one helluva lot of changes in a very short period. Let him come to you, don’t force yourself on him. Patience will deliver a secure pup which, by what you’ve said, you don’t have currently.