The cocker spaniel is renowned for his gentle and human orientated nature and as such is the ideal pet for families with children.
However, please keep in mind that just because cockers & young children can and do get on well together; you must never forget that a cocker is a DOG.
A dog, no matter how kind, gentle and good natured is basically a Wolf in “sheep’s clothing.”
The domestic dog is a direct ancestor of the common grey wolf and despite thousands of years of domestication; certain instinctive character traits (although normally well hidden by the dog) are shared. Because these traits are instinctive they will tend only to surface at times when a dog is stressed, worried, anxious, frightened or over excited. At these times, training and domestication may be forgotten; a frightened or anxious dog sometimes has no time for “social niceties.”
NEVER leave babies or young children unattended with dogs. It’s very unlikely that a cocker spaniel (especially a well socialised & trained dog) will ever behave inappropriately towards children, indeed it is often the case that the dog needs protecting from the children rather than the other way around! However, children do have a natural tendency to over excite dogs, they also can inadvertently hurt or frighten them.
Always ensure that any interaction between children (babies & children up to 14 yrs old) and your puppy/dog is supervised. This is for the safety of the child AND the dog. Do not allow young children to train or walk the dog without adult supervision, this is a task for adults only. In particular, do not allow or instruct children to reprimand a puppy/dog or to take toys, food or other objects away from him/her.
If you are always present when children & dogs are interacting, you can take appropriate steps to prevent/resolve any problems that may arise. The commonest problems a new owner experiences with a puppy/dog are usually attributable to children either pestering the dog, teasing, hitting, playing rough, frightening (sneaking up or surprising the dog), shouting at or encouraging over excitement on the part of the puppy/dog.
A puppy/dog when pushed to the limits can only respond in two ways, the first is to move away (i.e. hide itself or put itself to bed), the second is with either a growl or the use of its teeth. It is advisable not to allow situations to develop where your puppy/dog feels it has no choice but to take some form of action.
Mouthing - 'Play Biting'
When puppies play with each other (i.e. their littermates), they use their mouths, they also use their mouths to explore their world (much like human babies). When they play with you or when they are petted, they usually want to bite (nip) or “mouth.” you; this is perfectly normal behaviour and is not aggressive or vicious behaviour. However, unless you control it, it can get out of hand and turn your puppy into a menace that you no longer enjoy. It is a problem that differs in severity with each puppy and each family; however, you need to take firm control from the start.
At Powerscourt we have not found 'mouthing' to be a problem with the puppies we keep; however, we acknowledge that for novice owners and in particular, for families with children, ‘mouthing’ can be more common.
Some new puppy owners do not realise that nipping & 'mouthing' is not acceptable in the human/dog pack and that they should discourage it immediately. Many owners are observed to be actively encouraging young pups to ‘chew’ on their fingers! No matter how sweet this may seem at the time, this is still ‘mouthing’ and can and does train a puppy from a young age that ‘mouthing’ is acceptable!
Owner's who allow their dog's to 'mouth' and nip may be content & not find this unacceptable, however, in today's anti-dog society it does a dog and his new owner a disservice when for example a mother outside the school gates reports you and your dog for a biting incident. Of course as the owner, you know that 'Freddy' was playing and certainly meant no harm, however the aggrieved mother won’t be thinking this! It is important to remember that all dogs should be socially acceptable and under control at all times.
Children & 'mouthing' dogs
Young children are not able to recognise that their play & excitement will encourage a puppy to ‘mouth’ them and a situation soon arises where the children of the family are inadvertently encouraging 'mouthing' and nipping by their new family member.
If you have young children then they must not play with the puppy unsupervised & they must be taught that any physical contact with the puppy should be calm, measured and sensible.
It is very difficult for a young puppy not to ‘mouth’ a hand/foot/head of a child if the child is waving it in front of the puppy whilst at the same time emitting high-pitched sounds of joy, excitement, concern etc.!
'Mouthing' (biting/nipping) can happen for a number of reasons including becoming too excitable in play, being encouraged to play rough, being tired & wanting some peace and trying to be the boss (the dominant member of the family). The main thing to remember is control and consistency. All family members must treat the puppy the same. No one must accept any ‘mouthing’, nibbling or biting of a person or his/her clothing. Whenever a puppy puts his teeth on you, you need to stop and teach it “NO.”
Play biting
When a puppy is playing, they can become excited and start to nip. In this case it is up to you to spot when this is about to happen. Change the activity from jolly play to gentle play or let the puppy rest in his bed. If a nip happens before you can stop/change the play, stop immediately, say a very firm “no” and turn away from the puppy. Totally ignore him/her. Do this any time it happens & he will soon learn what has caused you to turn away & ignore him (keep turning away from him if he tries to attract your attention, don't look at him & don't speak to him). It is preferable though to stop a nip even happening. Learn how much stamina your puppy has and to spot the signs of him becoming over excited, tired or bored. Change the activity or put him to bed for a sleep.
Playing rough
Don’t play rough. If you or someone else goads the puppy on it will respond in the only way it can – a nip that can soon turn into a bite and a problem dog. Don’t allow any rough play at all. Encourage chase the ball games instead or teaching obedience.
If a puppy gets over tired – particularly when young children won’t leave him alone, again it is likely to nip. That too can turn to biting. The puppy must be allowed to rest and have its own space where it can be alone.
The play-biting stage if handled correctly passes quickly. Most puppies have found their place by the time they are about 5 months or so old. Those who are still having problems are often not being given consistent messages from all those around them.
How the pup’s mother teaches Puppy Manners
Whilst pups are raised by their mothers, there comes a time when she starts to set limits. Demanding youngsters often want to nurse whenever they feel like it, but a good Mum starts to rebuff some of their efforts from the tender age of about 3 weeks. Nipping is also addressed, not just by Mum but by the pup’s littermates as well. Too hard, a nip might result in a physical admonishment from mother or the nipped littermate may cry out and stop playing. These natural checks and balances help to develop a puppy’s good manners and eventual understanding of their impact on others. When a puppy is interacting with you, you should apply the same approach if you are nipped i.e. an admonishing “No” should be said in a firm and stern voice (no need to shout, screech or scream at the puppy!) and you should then cease all interaction with the puppy i.e. ignore him.
Many people do not seem to realise that attention in any shape or form, positive or (supposedly) negative, may serve as a reward and may reinforce unwanted behaviour.
If a dog takes hold of your arm or your clothes and you start to yell and wave your arms around, or push the dog away, you may be perceived as a big squeaky toy that can be animated for amusement when things get boring! The only way to avoid scenarios like this is to set certain limits and to teach a puppy from the day he arrives home with you that ‘mouthing’ is unrewarding and leads to a loss of your attention and the end of play.
Jumping Up
The reason most dogs and puppies jump on people is that they are happy and excited to see them!
Jumping, leaping and bouncing are ways your dog shows affection and receives attention. The behaviour is usually learned while they are puppies. When they come bounding over to greet us, jumping and stretching up to our knees, again we bend down, pick them up and exchange hugs and kisses. All this time we are training and rewarding the puppy for jumping up. Eventually we decide we don't like this behaviour anymore. What used to be cute is now obnoxious and even dangerous if the dog is jumping up on children or the elderly or infirm. Jumping up can happen in all households, however like many aspects of dog ownership it is more common in homes where there are children.
The jumping problem continues... Our inconsistency perpetuates the problem. Some of the time, we tolerate the jumping and ignore it. Other times we reward the behaviour by exchanging enthusiastic greetings. However, when we're dressed up and the dog's paws are muddy, it's a different story!
Reprimanding the dog for jumping up usually does not work. Either the dog misunderstands the reprimand as praise or he gets even more excited and the jumping gets worse. If the reprimand is harsh enough, the dog may stop jumping at that moment but it doesn't solve the problem altogether; and it certainly is not a very nice thing to do. It's very similar to a person approaching you with a big smile, arm extended to exchange a hand-shake and you thumping the person in the nose! Even if your dog learns that jumping up on you is not a good idea, he will usually get away with jumping up on everyone else. All he will have learnt is “don’t jump up on Dad as Dad gets cross”, he won’t have learned not to greet people by jumping at them, just who it’s risky to greet by jumping up!
The End of the Jumping Problem... A better solution is providing your dog with an alternative method of greeting you and others. Teach your dog to sit-stay. He cannot sit-stay and jump up at the same time.
When he is sitting you, can then kneel down, slot your finger and thumb through his collar (to help keep him sitting), give him tickle under the chin and say hello.
Practice is essential. If your dog is excitedly jumping up when you return home from work and this only happens once a day, then he is only getting one practice session a day! If he is jumping up on your visitors and you only have visitors once a week, then he is only getting one practice session a week.
In order to perfect the proper greeting routine, your dog needs much more practice than that. You can speed up the training process by leaving through the back door and returning through the front door over and over again. When your friends come over, have them do the same. Each time, ask your dog to sit-stay before opening the door. At first, his excitement will make it difficult for him to concentrate but after you've repeated this process 10 times, he will calm down and be able to concentrate. Before asking your dog to sit-stay in this distracting and exciting situation, be sure he has a reliable sit-stay in normal, non-stressful situations.