Expert: Delores Beck - 6/23/2011

Question
Hi Delores,
We have a 2+ year old Cocker Spaniel.  He has never had formal training.  We did not research our breeder. Our 5 year old fell in love with him through a window, cried for a week, so we went back to the store and bought him. (She has wanted a dog since she learned how to talk at 2) Tucker is an uneutered male.  We are against neutering him, but I believe he has behavior problems that may be directly related to him not being neutered. (I should state here that my husband will not have him neutered, so that is not an option.)  First, he is definitely on the hyper side, especially if my husband or I are home.  He follows us constantly, and if we are not engaged will obsessively vie for our attention.  If we pet him and stop, he will paw us for more. He will sit right in front of us, staring and panting for long periods of time until we recognize him. Never mind if we have food.  (Food is a big problem.  If anyone is eating Tucker has to have some.)  If my husband tries to get closer to me on the bed, or if I try to touch my husband's hair or arm he will jump in between us and physically seperate us.  He will also jump on us if we are snuggling with our children and try to usurp them, by sitting on them or on us.  He is also super stubborn and does not like being "pushed" to do something, ie: move over on the bed or get off the bed or getting into the bath tub.  He will growl and sort of hunker down. Sometimes I have to leave it at that - I will not force him most of the time, because that means becoming physical with him.  He is horrible when people come to visit or come to the door.  When our childrens friends come over, if he doesn't know them well, or I think the child will not be good letting Tucker get to know him/her I will lock Tucker in the basement or put him in the yard.  He doesn't like anyone touching him until he knows them VERY WELL.  So if a child or person tries to put their hand near him he growls loudly.  He has not bitten any one as of yet.  He is terrible on the leash -- we have bought oneof those metal no-pull collars that are supposed to be safer for his neck and he still pulls and leads.  He is very nasty to people when he is on a leash - he seems to be better when he has freedom, I guess he feels in more control.  My husband takes him on weekend runs through a park that hs a lot of dogs running free and there was only a problem once - with another dog that had a similar temperment.  I cross streets when I see other dog walkers, runners, strollers, or anyone at all.  He is really embarassing and of course I worry about him actually biting someone.  When I walk him and we near people I pull his leash in and step between him and them but he pulls on the leash to get around me.  He doesn't like being "protected".  He definitely has alpha issues - but I think he knows his place, he will growl at the girls occasionally but he always gets checked.  I'm concerned that he will get progressively worse, and I also don't want him to be this way.  It's a lot of work! Also, if we leave him for any amount of time, he gets sick - throws up, gets diarrhea. He also goes nuts barking and racing around throwing himself at the window. He gets himself worked up - even if we have someone stay with him.  If it's not us, he's not happy.  Can you help us help him?  I realize that we probably have not been doing right by him in the training area.  We love our Tucker, the children adore him, he is a loyal, protective and loving dog but he has all these obsessive compulsive neurotic issues.  We need help!
Thank you

Answer
First of all, do get him neutered.  It may well help his behavior and you'll be avoiding testicular cancer later in life.  Talk to your vet about this and take your husband!  It's totally irresponsible both socially & medically not to have him neutered and it's no big deal.

The first thing I'd like you to try with him is called "umbilical training".  When you're at home, put him on a short leash & attach it to you. (belt loop or get a waist leash)  Where you go - he goes.  NO CHATTING!
This is also good when people come in to the house.

You realize you've done no training and now have "issues".  So let's start - he's not allowed in your bedroom and specifically not allowed on your bed.  Never!  He's to sleep in his own bed or crate.

On walks - have treats ready - when you see another dog coming, block his view and ask him to sit holding the treat in plain view.  (The trick here is to get him to concentrate on you, not the other dog).  After the dog passes - give treat and "let's go".

Begin teaching him the "get off" command.  Make it fun - lots of praise & reward - the goal is to teach him the sofa is YOURS and when he knows the command cold I'll teach you how to get him to obey instantly.

Please stop using the metal prong collar.  Get a waist leash - it hooks onto the dog and goes around your waist.  Much harder for him to pull since it's at your centre of gravity.

Go out and buy a couple of plastic spray bottles at the supermarket.  When you have them, I'll tell you how to use them.

What commands does he know?