Ok, so I have a 2 y/o Cocker Spaniel - Male. His name is Charley. He
has been fixed/neuteured/etc... he is incredibly hyper and annoys the
crap out of my wife. He only listens to me even though I am not home
most of the day. When I am not home, he jumps on the couch and
sometimes on the bed. We have a house and she lets him out many times
(maybe 12) throughout the day. We have a large yard for him to play in.
We have a baby and he is sometimes just a little too rough for her and
knocks her over.. which causes her to cry, etc. He likes to lay on my
wife by sitting as close as possible to her. My wife has been
threatening for sometime to take him to the pound for which I do not
want to do because I know that if does not get adopted, they will kill
him. My alternative is to give him to a good home or come up with a
solution so he does not annoy my wife all day. She is a stay at home
mom. I dont want to get rid of him. Aside from locking him up all day
or giving him sedatives, what alternatives do I have?

Brian wrote:
Ok, so I have a 2 y/o Cocker Spaniel - Male. His name is Charley. He
has been fixed/neuteured/etc... he is incredibly hyper and annoys the
crap out of my wife. He only listens to me even though I am not home
most of the day. When I am not home, he jumps on the couch and
sometimes on the bed. We have a house and she lets him out many times
(maybe 12) throughout the day. We have a large yard for him to play in.

Cockers are active dogs. What are you doing to exercise his mind
and body? Because "letting him out," even if it's a hundred times a
day, is not sufficient. He needs to be given actual exercise. He
also needs mental stimulation. An obedience class will provide the
necessary mental stimulation, while at the same time giving you
better control over his behavior.

My wife has been threatening for sometime to take him to the
pound for which I do not want to do because I know that if does
not get adopted, they will kill him.

If you are unable to meet the dog's needs, I would recommend
contacting Cocker rescue in your area.

My alternative is to give him to a good home or come up with a
solution so he does not annoy my wife all day. She is a stay at home
mom. I dont want to get rid of him. Aside from locking him up all day
or giving him sedatives, what alternatives do I have?

Not many, probably, if your wife is unwilling to take an active part
in exercising and training the dog.

--
Shelly (Warning: see label for details)
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

shelly wrote:
Brian wrote:
Ok, so I have a 2 y/o Cocker Spaniel - Male. His name is Charley. He
has been fixed/neuteured/etc... he is incredibly hyper and annoys the
crap out of my wife. He only listens to me even though I am not home
most of the day. When I am not home, he jumps on the couch and
sometimes on the bed. We have a house and she lets him out many times
(maybe 12) throughout the day. We have a large yard for him to play in.

Cockers are active dogs. What are you doing to exercise his mind
and body? Because "letting him out," even if it's a hundred times a
day, is not sufficient. He needs to be given actual exercise. He
also needs mental stimulation. An obedience class will provide the
necessary mental stimulation, while at the same time giving you
better control over his behavior.


We tried obedience class at PetSmart when he was 1 y/o. He did not do
well. But he learned how to sit at least.. and I can get him to do
that. He is an extremely playful dog. How do you mentally stimulate a
dog? I have lived with pets all my life.. My parents had at least 4
cats and 2 dogs at any given time. We owned a greyhound for sometime. I
dont remember ever doing some sort of mental stimulation. Please
elaborate.


My wife has been threatening for sometime to take him to the
pound for which I do not want to do because I know that if does
not get adopted, they will kill him.

If you are unable to meet the dog's needs, I would recommend
contacting Cocker rescue in your area.


That may be an option.

My alternative is to give him to a good home or come up with a
solution so he does not annoy my wife all day. She is a stay at home
mom. I dont want to get rid of him. Aside from locking him up all day
or giving him sedatives, what alternatives do I have?

Not many, probably, if your wife is unwilling to take an active part
in exercising and training the dog.

--
Shelly (Warning: see label for details)
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

Brian wrote:

We tried obedience class at PetSmart when he was 1 y/o.

I would not recommend a Petsmart class. Do you have any other
trainers in your area? Ask your dog owning friends or your vet for
recommendations, if you don't know where to look. You can also
contact area dog sport groups (e.g. agility) and ask them who they'd
recommend.

He did not do well. But he learned how to sit at least.. and I
can get him to do that.

Training is an ongoing thing. Even if he were trained (and he's
clearly not), you would still need to work with him on a regular
basis. Long-term, that doesn't mean anything formal or complicated.
It's actually best if you just incorporate using the commands he
knows into your everyday life.

He is an extremely playful dog. How do you mentally stimulate a
dog?

For a start, play *with* him. Leaving him to entertain himself
will, as you've found out, result in a bored dog who acts out
because he doesn't know what to do with himself. He needs structure
and an acceptable outlet for his energy. You can provide those
things for him.

Make him work for treats and food (a modified NILIF program might be
of use to you http://www.k9station.com/NILIF.htm). This will teach
him that all good things come from you. It will get him thinking
about what he can do to please you, so that he can get what he
wants. This something you can discuss with your trainer.

I have lived with pets all my life.. My parents had at least 4
cats and 2 dogs at any given time. We owned a greyhound for sometime. I
dont remember ever doing some sort of mental stimulation. Please
elaborate.

Cockers are very different dogs from Greyhounds. Greyhounds are
likely to be much more tolerant of benign neglect than Cockers. It
may be that your lifestyle is simply better suited to a Greyhound,
and that trying to make a Cocker work is a mistake that will make
both you and the dog miserable. I obviously don't know the answer
to that, but it's something to consider.

--
Shelly (Warning: see label for details)
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

doggie daycare?

"Sandy in OK" wrote in
ups.com:

doggie daycare?

That would help, even if it's only done a couple of times a week,
but it won't solve the bigger problem, which is that they aren't
*doing* anything with the dog.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

Now is the time to tell of the prophecy I read in the mashed
potatoes, although I won't go into that right now.
-- Melora Creager

"Brian" wrote in message
oups.com...
Ok, so I have a 2 y/o Cocker Spaniel - Male. His name is Charley. He
has been fixed/neuteured/etc... he is incredibly hyper and annoys the
crap out of my wife. He only listens to me even though I am not home
most of the day. When I am not home, he jumps on the couch and
sometimes on the bed. We have a house and she lets him out many times
(maybe 12) throughout the day. We have a large yard for him to play in.
We have a baby and he is sometimes just a little too rough for her and
knocks her over.. which causes her to cry, etc. He likes to lay on my
wife by sitting as close as possible to her. My wife has been
threatening for sometime to take him to the pound for which I do not
want to do because I know that if does not get adopted, they will kill
him. My alternative is to give him to a good home or come up with a
solution so he does not annoy my wife all day. She is a stay at home
mom. I dont want to get rid of him. Aside from locking him up all day
or giving him sedatives, what alternatives do I have?

Surely your wife has ten minutes a couple times a day when she could throw a
ball for him. Dogs need to play WITH someone. They aren't real good at
entertaining themselves, usually.

BTW, the dog shouldn't get a chance to knock the baby over. Until the
Cocker is properly trained, get a crate and/or a couple baby gates and use
them correctly. Dogs and babies should ALWAYS be closely supervised when
they're together.

You need to go back to obedience class with him, and this time do your
homework. Continue doing it even after the class ends. Your wife must get
involved in this, too.

That's what she could spend one of those 10-minutes doing during the day -
obedience training.

flick 100785

on Fri, 15 Dec 2006 01:03:14 GMT, "flick" wrote:

You need to go back to obedience class with him, and this time do your
homework. Continue doing it even after the class ends. Your wife
must get involved in this, too.

better yet, since the wife spends more time with the dog, watch the baby an
evening a week and send her off to obedience class. Maybe that will help
her to bond with the dog. At the very least he will learn to obey her,
which sounds like he's going to have to learn to do or you're going to get
rid of him.

--
Lynne

http://picasaweb.google.com/what.the.hell.is.it/

Yo Brian,
This might help, might double the problem...
How about getting another dog for Charlie to play with...
Take them both to obedience classes (along with the wife and kid).
More extreme solution: Dump the wife (sounds like a lazy intolerant
PIA!).
Always trying to be helpful, Neila



Lynne wrote:
on Fri, 15 Dec 2006 01:03:14 GMT, "flick" wrote:

You need to go back to obedience class with him, and this time do your
homework. Continue doing it even after the class ends. Your wife
must get involved in this, too.

better yet, since the wife spends more time with the dog, watch the baby an
evening a week and send her off to obedience class. Maybe that will help
her to bond with the dog. At the very least he will learn to obey her,
which sounds like he's going to have to learn to do or you're going to get
rid of him.

--
Lynne

http://picasaweb.google.com/what.the.hell.is.it/

montana wildhack wrote:
On 2006-12-14 17:59:07 -0500, Shelly said:

"Sandy in OK" wrote in
ups.com:

doggie daycare?

That would help, even if it's only done a couple of times a week, but
it won't solve the bigger problem, which is that they aren't *doing*
anything with the dog.

If the wife isn't doing any obedience work with the dog, things are not
going to bode well for the dog with the children.
--
Said tongue in cheek. It honestly doesn't sound like they have any
plans to do anything with the dog. Dogs don't train themselves. People
who aren't willing to take the time to train them aren't going to be
happy with the results. Doggie daycare would at least wear the dog down
but honestly it sounds like the dog could use a more committed home.