Hi everyone . Just wondered if anyone could advise me on good training DVD's for wcs.

Gone back to the basics with Alfie after consulting a gundog trainer.  I basically have given up hillwalking in the meantime until I try to get us sorted. Could not stop him racing off to hunt,no matter what . Nearly lost him a couple of times which was pretty scary to say the least, he was miles away !!!!!!

So back to the basics trying to strengthen his recall and get him focused. Just thought watching some DVD's might reinforce my train of thoughts.

If anyone knows of good DVD's I would be grateful if you could let me know. 

Thanks, and hope everyone has a good Easter .Not too many chocolate eggs I hope !!

Hi iam new to the forum and this is my first post but happend to sead your post and think we can all relate to this problenm at one time or another.

for dvds  I have both the Simone Tyres and David Lisett and both are very good.

how old is Alfie and what training have you been doing with him do you allow him to free hunt and range out as he pleases etc?

Hi Tom

Alfie is 11 months old and is a clever wee character. He is a pet and we do not shoot.  I love his energy and lust for life and want him to be a hillwalking companion.  I am happy for him to hunt as long as he doesn't go too far, but this is proving to be impossible and as time is going on he is going further and further which is not acceptable.

I can get him to sit, wait,retrieve a ball,heel and come . His recall is not consistent if there are other dogs or distractions so I know I have to work on that.

I am willing to put in the work so I am hoping to get results.  Thanks for advising me re the DVD's.

Simon Tyers DVD's are excellent. You do not shoot - but Alfie is a working cocker. He was born to work & will love the training. Why not train him as a gun dog & help him to realise his full potential. If you have a problem with country sports, you could train him up to the point of retrieving game but stick with dummies (& maybe enter some working tests)? You say you want him as a hill walking companion. What does Alphie want? I am sorry to say that long hill walks with a wc at heel will not be Alfie's idea of fun. Spaniels are hunting dogs. That's what they do. A working cocker is in heaven working in cover & retrieving for you. Train him to do what he was born to do & you will both have the time of your lives.

A few sessions with a a good trainer is what you will benifit from more than the DVDs, however dvds are great you can see what these dogs are capable of and you can aspire to the D lissets one are very good and easy to follow.

 From what you have just said there I would guess you need set some rules and stick to them be consistant. dont one day let him run 100yds up the park to see a friends lab and have a play then next take hime for a walk on the hill and not expect him to want to range out and look for fun, you want all the nice things and fun things that happent to him to happent at your feet. You need to be on the ball and try and pr empt him running off and call him up if he brakes get on him straight away if it means running at him and in a gruff voice telling him.if you are to slow and hes bolted never scold him on his return. and with the recall if you call him and he blanks you dont carry on calling him for every time he fails to do as you say hes learning to ignore you more

best of luck

Tom

p,s keep your commands consistant and  work on that re call where there is no distractions the more sucess you have with it the quicker it will sink in

Hi Audrey

The videos are great and really help.  Currently Alfie is free hunting, which is what they do if allowed.  There is nothing wrong with him hunting, but he needs to do it for you and not himself.

Initially I teach my dogs a word that means "if you hunt in here, at my command, you will find something"  I tend to start off with tennis balls or small puppy dummies but it can be anything that Alfie loves to play with.  He will eventually learn that when you tell him to hunt in a certain place, there is something there and he is rewarded and he will then stay focused on you, as you provide the entertainment.

Don't stop the hill walking, just change how you do it.  So have a session with him on the lead, just walking to heel, then a few minutes hunting for you, then back on the lead again, then maybe a few minutes retrieving.  Whilst doing these exercises, you can reinforce the stop whistle and recall whistle etc.

Once Alfie is focused on you and you have his attention, he will be easier to deal with.  Tom B is correct, consistency is the key along with patience.  The more inconsistent you are with your dog, the more persistant he will become, because he has learnt that you will eventually slip up and that one time that you are not consistent, you will go back 10 paces in his training. Good luck

If you want to try the DVDs I can highly recomend the Edward Martin Cocker Spaniel Training Masterclass, informative and very entertaining also.

Thank you everyone for your comments.

I am no expert as this is my first wcs, having had labs and springers in the past.  Our Ollie used to be off the lead and I let him go too far before christmas and he went off, more losing direction than hunting - maybe air scent.  For a month he only went out on the lead, but we did sit - verbal and whistle.  Recall even though only a couple of meters.  We did training in the garden, sit, stay, recall and retrieve - verbal and whistle.  We have since progressed to a 10m long line where I tell him no, wait or stay when he gets to the end of it - now been at it for 2 months, again all commands given when out.  I appreciate some people may consider this not the best way, but it is giving me confidence that when the day comes to let him off - don't hold the line now most of the time anyway and that I won't transfer my anxiety to him as I when he is free.  Yes he could be smart and realise he is off the line, but I propose shorting it over a period of time until it is just a few feet before complete freedom.  We couldn't bare to loose Ollie, hence taking the time.  Ollie by the way is just 10 months.  On previous post Svenk advised me not to let him get more than about 10 yds away and if he started to get further then stop and get after him makiing what ever noise it took to stop him - very sound advice.

With regard to DVDs I have the Edward Martin Cocker Masterclass and are very good and entertaining.  David Lisset, although Springers is very good and also show how to correct faults.

Good luck you will get there with time and patience.  Believe me I have been there!!.  Marc

Make yourself the most interesting thing around. Lighten the tone of your voice so that it sounds very interesting and persevere with whatever you find helps keep his attention. We were on holiday a couple of weeks ago and my oh climbed Ben Imme with two of our cockers. they were more than happy to walk at heel all the way up and all the way down. 

Thanks again guys . Tomorrow is another day ........... let the training in the garden commence !

I've always imagined a box around me and my cocker, it's the size that I consider to be 'My' comfort zone (not his). Even if we were out 'walking', if he reached the end of the box I immediately recalled him. It sounds strange but the imaginary box meant he grew up learning what is an acceptable distance, maybe you could use what you learn but keep the 'box' in your mind.

Manda at April 23, 2011 at 1:26 PM

There's a lot of good advice here - particularly the 'make yourself the most interesting thing to your dog' - the key question is how to do that... As a basic dog training book, not necessarily a gundog book. 'Ruff Love' by thee agility trainer Susan Garrett is excellent - it talks the reader through a training programme to do exactly what you're wanting to do . She backs it up with information on her blog (http://susangarrettdogagility.com/) - and I'm in the process of doing her 5 week online training course which has been an outstanding experience. The gundog DVDs mentioned are excellent, but they don't specifically address the issue of recall when the dog has learned that the most rewarding thing in its life is to get its nose on a trail and get hunting... So - you need a systematic approach in which every member of the family is consistent and you need to make sure that you're the focus of his attention - which is easier said than done. But you sound as if you're heading the right way - good luck... m

Manda, out of interest where woul I find information on the online training course.  Thanks Marc.

Thanks again everyone for your comments . looked at Susan Garrett's blog - very interesting. 

Had a good day with Alfie today he was responding well to my training ! Thank goodness.