All the relentless dog training is getting me down

[Kammee]

I am so sad a lot of the time. I don’t feel strong enough to cope some days. I have tried so hard to train her and it just feels relentless. She still pulls on the lead. She barks in the garden at noises that she hears and then we have to bring her in because dont think it’s fair on the neighbours. Blinds are pulled closed cos she barks at the birds she see outside. I cant walk her on pavements due to her being scared of every car that goes past. She is improving in this area, but we still have to walk on quieter streets. She jumps up on people she knows and also sometimes strangers. Family members seem to be getting frustrated with her jumping up to say hello and expecting me to train this habit out of her. But it’s not even that high a priority for me. She jumps up to say hello that lasts about 10 seconds then she mostly leaves them alone after that. I know I need to deal with it but it’s one thing on a massive list of things that I need to train her for. And I am just exhausted by it. It feels quite isolating. Sorry not sure what I am posting here but just wanted to get it out.

I have taken her to a few different trainers but haven’t found many to be very helpful. She knows lots of commands - wait, leave, sit, stay, down, etc and does these really well. The things I need to improve I feel aren’t really taught by a trainer but require perseverance by me day in day out.

You are right I probably am expecting too much

It’s such a tricky age. She is a baby really. Something I found that helps with the jumping is to go down to the dogs level and give her a pet and encourage others to do the same. Teaches that she’ll get attention without leaping up to say hello.

In the nicest possible way, yes you are. She’s a baby. Dogs can take up until about two years before they mature and calm down. Sprinter spaniels are notoriously bouncy dogs. They are a working breed so can need a lot of hard work and stimulation. Sounds like you’re doing everything right so far. You just need to persevere. Pulling can be an ongoing problem. My lab is now six, we’ve been training since he was a pup, he’s absolutely brilliant in every respect but he will still pull on the lead.
Also you need to lower your expectations a bit. You’re right in that you can’t control her reactions every time but you can control yours. Whereabouts are you in the country? I have a brilliant dog trainer. Can highly recommend her.

It’s all about learning what makes your dog tick and reading their body language. Don’t give up now, you sound like you’re doing really well.

Woeismethischristmas I always go down to her level to pet her and it works fairly well with me. She is calmer with me. Problem is when I advise others to do that she ends up licking their faces !

I am in Scotland msadorabelledearheartvonlipwig

I would really like to find a no nonsense sort of trainer, maybe more working type training style. Most of the ones I have used are more city based and use treats a bit too freely I think. I would like a closer connection with her that doesn’t rely too much on treats as a bribe basically

I’m not sure what you mean by no nonsense. I use treats when training. Positive and reward based training is the best way to build the relationship you want.

Well she will walk at heel. But I need to be regularly dipositing treats in to her mouth. I believe heel training can be done without this and I would like to get to that point

I think a lot can be achieved with correct body language, tone of voice etc I did find a good trainer who she seemed to walk nicely on the lead with just through this ladies mannerisms. She gently tugged lead when she went out of heel position and it seemed to work.

Your doing a great job, it does take time and she is still so young.
I used to get abit anxious when l was training my rehomed lurcher and
I think l inadvertently passed that on to her. Especially when it came to walking past other dogs as she was so unpredictable. I know it's very tiring, but try to relax and enjoy it, rather than see it as a chore. r
Consistency is key.

@Kammee

I think a lot can be achieved with correct body language, tone of voice etc I did find a good trainer who she seemed to walk nicely on the lead with just through this ladies mannerisms. She gently tugged lead when she went out of heel position and it seemed to work.

The issue with this type of training, is as soon as a "gentle tug" stops working, the owners' instinct is to tug harder until it does work - meaning you can cause real damage to your dogs' throat and windpipe.

Yes, body language and tone of voice are important, but dogs thrive off praise and rewards. You want them to do as you ask because they want to please you, not because they're scared you're going to hurt them by pulling them about by the neck.

The idea with treats is that, yes, you use them a LOT when they're puppies but over time (as in, over a year or so) you phase them out, but only once the dog is responding 99% of the time with treats.

So, my beagle will sit, stay and do various other tricks without treats now (aged three) so I can use praise for those things. However, due to his breed, his recall needs to be constantly reinforced, so every time I call him back, he's rewarded with sausage.

It's not bribery - it's training and keeping him safe and under control. If he knew there was a chance I wouldn't give him anything, he'd stop coming back at all.

Heel training with her will be similar - breeds like spaniels aren't designed to be kept on leads, they're bred to run off into undergrowth and flush out birds. So being on lead is unnatural to her. So, for now, you will need to use lots of treats to encourage her behaviour - this is going to be especially tough as she's in her teenage years, but you just need to persist. Personally I would use a harness with two D-rings (one on the chest, one on the back) and a double-ended lead so that you have as much control over her as possible while you're working on her lead manners.

You'll have good days and bad days till she's through adolescence

I thought we had cracked lead training and then it suddenly got worse again and he's back to pulling (1yr old spaniel) though his recall has come back thank fuck

We turned our backs for jumping up and it stopped it v quickly but you must get the kids to do the same. It's important as she'll get bigger and will be able to knock people over!

Without meaning to be rude, I don't think you are understanding the basis of training. Look up conditioning.

For instance when your children allow her to jump up, it isn't just that she isn't getting the message, she is being rewarded for jumping up by their reaction and by her licking.

It’s just so much harder than I thought and the learning curve so steep. I will definitely try to get everyone to turn round when she jumps up. We were trying to actively ask her to sit but either she would sit until we pet her. Then she would start jumping again. So we would re ask her to sit again and again and she just got pissed off and wandered off to do something else as I think she didn’t really understand. Which was kind of sad as we weren’t getting the hello she wanted to give us.

I will also persevere with the treats for lead walking then. I have bought a harness to try the double ended lead but haven’t tried it on her yet. It’s a pain just getting collar on to her so not sure how she will feel about a harness.

Totally agree with iced. The thing about using masses of treats is that you make walking where you want them to incredibly rewarding. You’re not forcing them.

Also don’t think you need your dog to greet lots of people. I prefer my dogs to ignore people unless given permission to approach.

I know I am getting some things wrong. It just feels like their are so many pit falls where you can inadvertently make a mistake

Yes I don’t let her speak to strangers at all really. Well I don’t encourage it but sometimes it happens before I mean it to.

I don’t think it sounds at all like you’re getting lots wrong. Just like you’re trying to train everything all in one go. You sound tired and overwhelmed. That’s all.
My youngest is nearly two. I’m still working on some things. Probably always will be!!

It’s just so much harder than I thought and the learning curve so steep.

It IS hard - nobody is saying otherwise, but it will continue to be hard for a good couple of years yet. Mine only stopped being "work" when he was about 2-2.5 years old.

Is she your first dog? What attracted you to the breed?

I only ask because springers are very energetic and clever dogs. My family have had springers and cocker spaniels for years - they've all been as mad as a box of frogs and I don't think any of them calmed down until they hit about 6-7 years old at the earliest.

All the springers I meet nowadays are walked for a good couple of hours each day as adults, and that involves swimming, hunting for balls and running about off the lead - they also have "jobs" - water retrieval, cani-cross, scent work, agility, gun dog training etc.

They have fantastic personalities but they're like a mini whirlwind - the same goes for cockers and sprockers. They're just bonkers! I'm not saying all this to scare you, but to kind of say that you need to work with the dog you have in front of you - a young, energetic spaniel won't walk nicely at heel without a lot of motivation!

As a thought - have you tried getting her to carry a ball in her mouth while out? That can give them something to focus on while walking on lead.

@Kammee don't be too hard on yourself. I always say on threads that springers/working cocker spaniels are really not the greatest dogs for first time owners as they are such high energy and they are so clever, they like jobs! They also tend to pull on the lead as someone said further down the thread, it's not where they naturally were bred to be.

Take things one issue at a time and also focus on the basic control - like her looking back at you etc

I know our cocker pulling on the lead is pure excitement as he doesn't do it on his round the block wee walk! Once you get her triggers, you'll start to understand her behaviour better.

Cross posted with @icedcoffees !

We found a good breeder locally and we spend a lot of time hill walking so think an energetic dog will suit us. Although we still need her to cope with day to day walks on pavements / at parks if possible. As soon as she is old enough for hills I will take her in the mountains which I think will suit her more.

Yes first dog. I think I would feel more relaxed if I had been through it before and knew it would come good in the end

@Kammee

Yes first dog. I think I would feel more relaxed if I had been through it before and knew it would come good in the end

I think you're trying to do everything at once and it's making you feel overwhelmed.

So, for lead walking, I would have some walks where you JUST train lead walking. Use her harness and a double-ended lead so she understands those walks are for training time. Then, have some other walks where she CAN pull and be off-lead and just loon about being a spaniel.

Not everything has to be about training - you have to enjoy your dog too :)

I think I had overstimulated her this morning by taking her to a park that was very busy. She has been asleep for 4 hours this afternoon! I suppose it’s a bit like kids and you have to stick to your guns with what is right for them.