Needy cocker spaniel

[Anna713]

I have a 12 month old cocker spaniel who is a nice natured, intelligent little dog, however he does demand a lot of attention, from me in particular, and I'm not sure how to handle it. He gets at least an hour off lead everyday and he is never left on his own for longer than a couple of hours twice a week but he gets bored easily and he won't leave me alone. He constantly paws at me for attention and whines. I try to ignore him but it's not working. He can get destructive if I put him in another room by himself. He is not so bad with my husband although he is sometimes a pain with him too. Has anyone any ideas about what I can do ? He has toys and chews but prefers me! He is only 12 months old so I hope he will get better as he gets older but I need to do something about this now. He can be a bit possessive of me too and he hates me making a fuss of another dog although he's fine with other dogs if I'm not there. Do you think 12 months is too late to get a trainer? Tia

Interesting question @icedcoffees. I've been working on tiring him out rather than calming him. I might change tack (he sleeps 9pm to 6.45 am but has recently cut down on napping in the day dramatically).

Sorry OP, didn't mean to hijack tour thread. Watching with interest.

Spaniels need their brains working: scent games, other games/puzzles. Mental tiredness is as important as physical: in fact a fit but bored one is the worst combo.

Puzzle feeders, frozen kongs, teatowels knotted with treats in, scent work games (12 tennis balls, a muffin tin and treats under 4)

@Blendabrethin

Interesting question *@icedcoffees*. I've been working on tiring him out rather than calming him. I might change tack (he sleeps 9pm to 6.45 am but has recently cut down on napping in the day dramatically).

Sorry OP, didn't mean to hijack tour thread. Watching with interest.

Honestly, up the naps. Even at 9 months they should be sleeping around 15-16 hours a day.

So a solid sleep overnight, plus a good 5-6 hours throughout the day on top of that. I find that if I give mine a chew to occupy himself with after a walk, he'll take himself off for a nap afterwards.

He is a show cocker. I wanted a working cocker originally but decided a show cocker would be easier🙄 I have taken everyone's comments on board. I think I need to take him out longer in the evenings. I am a bit confused with how much exercise he really needs. I was told that too much just builds an athlete dog. I obviously need to do more brain training with him. I do take him to training classes with mixed success. He seems to enjoy the classes though. I sometimes feel a bit sorry for him being stuck with two old codgers like me and dh but on the other hand we love him to bits and he gets loads of attention. Honestly, I brought up three children with less angst than this 😂

You need to train n him to settle and reward him for calm quiet behaviour (treats/toys/attention) and ignore when he demands attention.

Having said that all spaniels are Velcro dogs and often prone to separation anxiety

He def needs more exercise, cockers would usually need 2-3 hours/day
Mental training, scent work etc is also useful

I'm sure he adores you both op. Why not get a trainer to help you out?

He won't care about your age, honestly!

While it's true that lots of exercise creates a fit dog, one walk/outing per day for a cocker spaniel of any type is quite low - I would maybe do two walks per day but maybe do 2x40 minutes so it's more spread out.

Another option is a dog walker a few times a week.

Our cocker finally settled into herself when she was about 6

Stick with it, ours was a sucker for scent games and finding treats. She’s now a very golden oldie with dementia at 13, still a handful mind

He will probably settle down over the next year. I agree that he might need more exercise. My working cocker puppy is relentless for how much exercise he wants. DH has started running with him which I think will help a great deal. He also goes to doggy day care a couple of days, which involves multiple walks and lots of socialising with other dogs and he comes back exhausted and happy. We have another dog too and they do amuse each other and provide company for each other. They will cuddle up together on the sofa if there are no humans available.

Do you have someone who is dog friendly who you can visit? We have a relative who visits us during their Cocker’s walk. He gets a drink , some fuss, stimulating games, a sniff round our garden.
It provides some different mental stimulus and tires the dog.

God, I love spaniels, all spaniels, but they are indeed working dogs. The cocker gets shafted on that because they can be petite and are kept as pets (not saying that is you OP) but their attitude is no different to a springer. Could you at all factor it into your life to get him out first thing for a walk, even half an hour/20 mins - when no-one else is about before you start work, he'll check out his area, relax a bit. As he gets older it will get easier, but to be fair to him, that is what he wants - out and about and seeing what is going on.

If you can't up his exercise and he is reliant on you, you could consider a smaller breed companion. Someone on here may recommend one, not sure, but maybe he is a bit lonesome and there is surely a breed that would fit. He'll get older and it won't always be the same but spaniels are very task and work orientated.

I have a WCS who is now 5 years old. He used to get two walks a day at your dogs age but now one walk is plenty. The type of walks matter so lots of sniffing/flushing type walks. At the age of your dog we would be doing hunting for balls in the undergrowth which he absolutely loved.

At home we used to ignore him when he was demanding attention and we still do when he steals shoes and deliberately shows us them to say oi! play with me. But we do break up his day with 10 mins here and there of play time which involves us hiding treats round the house for him to find or us rolling or flicking a ball for him to catch or hiding it. Essentially he gets 1-1 time for a little bit and then he's back to being calm waiting for his next play.