Sarah1985

11 weeks is very young for a pup to be holding it all through the night. If you really want to get the message across that toileting in the house is a no no then unfortunately theres nothing else for it but to get up in the night and nip him out then pop him straight back to bed. Graduallly you can move the middle of the night toilet break back each night till hes able to hold it through the night. If you dont fancy the middle of the night trip to the garden you could try puppy pads or put newspaper down, but Im persoanlly not a fan as I think it discourages pups trying to him it through the night. If your getting up he'll try and hold it till you come down.

Could you use a square of fabirc or Tarpaulin? I imagine this would be cheaper. Dexters pretty good at distinguishing between the floor and a throw, even if the throw is on carpet. He can generalise the trick to a towel as well.

I have two cocker spaniels who Ive had from pups whilest working full time For me I took 2 weeks off work when I got them home at 8 weeks, I then did a further 2 weeks on half days (so they werent left too long whilest they werent allowed out). After that I left them for about 6 hours a day, with a toilet break half way through. They were both crated whilest I was out. As they were used to being left from the beginning they are happy with this arrangement. After work they get a long walk (once they were old enough) and plenty of evening activities and play time. I know other ppl will think it cruel to leave a puppy for that long but I started as I meant to go on and I now have two well adjusted adults. I have my doubts about how benifical it is to give a pup undivided attention to then try and leave it alone for long periods as an adult. Ultimately we do what we think is best for our dogs whilest at the same time as juggling life commitments. Cocker spaniels can be possessive if not dealt with properly as pups. They are natural retrievers so they do pick up anything in reach but if you reward them for bringing you the item rather than punishing them for picking it up (by snatching it away or shouting) then you should avoid these issues. I only live in Walkley so if you want to meet my cockers drop me a PM

You could join the Sheffield dog walking group. http://www.sdwg.co.uk/ First walk is free but then you have to become a member for future walks. I think its about £15 for the year with walks taking place once a month.

She wont wee and poo where she sleeps so by keeping her confided to a crate she will learn to hold it. Also dogs feel more secure in enclosed spaces. I wouldnt recomend leaving your back door open as its difficult for the dog to distiguish between inside and outside. Instead take her out after everytime she wakes up, after she eats and every hour. Wait with her in the garden till she goes and then give her masses of praise. Also keep an eye on her round the house between times. Most dogs sniff around and circle before going so you will start to be able to spot the signs and you can whip her out. Definately dont go down to her when she cries. Just ignore her. Now shes learnt that crying gets her attention you are going to have to sit through alot of crying to break the association but you will get there. Just stay tough. Failing this If you have a crate you could crate her in your room so that she can still see you but cant get to you. Once shes happy with this you can slowly move her crate out the room a few feet each day. She'll gradually get used to sleeping alone in her crate and then you can move her downstairs.

You could agrue that working dogs are just showing off their brains when they are testing a field trials. Flyball is just showing off your dogs speed and agility is showing off ..well their agility... I personally like to see active dogs taking part in any doggy hobby, whatever the owner decides is best for them. Its my understanding that showing involves alot of control on the dogs part, which will involve training, which will improve the dog/owners bond to each other as well as mentally challenging the dogs to do better. There are far to many dogs out there that are inactive pets who arent provided with sufficent mental stimulation other than a daily walk in a park. I personally dont show my dogs as it isnt something Im interested in but I think every dog owner should be encouraged to take up a doggy hobby to give our dogs a better quality of life - whatever the hobby.

When I brought my cockers I was incredibly anti docking. SO despite wanted a dog from working stock I looked for breeders that didnt dock. Ive since met a show cocker that had gotten caught in brambles on our local park (in an area which up until then Id considered safe)and ended up having months with it in it various types of bandage attempting to stop it from opening the wound. In the end it ended up docked. After seeing what they went through I do wonder if Id be so picky about having an undocked cocker next time especially if I was considering working it But that was just one dog with an injured tail. Theres a whole variety of walk related injuries your dog can encounter. I wonder to what extent the stories of tail related injurys are scare mongering on the part of the pro docking ppl. Are tail injuries really that common? its not unusal for my dogs to be charging about in the undergrowth. Its what they were bred to do and I believe they should be able to have an outlet for that natural instinct. I dont think you can 100% know whats out there to slow your dog down. Just the other day I triped on some barbed wire that was partly burried. It was off the path but was an area I thought I knew well (a popular walking spot) and often send my dogs out over. But then they could have just have easierly cut their legs on it as injur their tails I think for a pet owner docking really isnt necessary. The risk to my dogs in minimal and the injuries are the exception not the norm. But for working dogs the jury is still out with me as I dont know if the risks are as great as we are led to believe....

Ive tried Deer antlers recently and my two love them, they are still going strong after 2 weeks. http://www.bigdogworld.co.uk/product/Antler_Dog_Chew_-_extra_large_tst002 I brought them originally for teeth cleaning and they have worked brilliantly. They both came away with lovely clean teeth. Highly recomended.

Im sure the owner did what he thought was best. I cant imagine it ever happening but if I couldnt look after an elderly dog Id consider putting it to sleep over it spending the last of its days in a rescue. Would you want to live your last days in a frightening noisy and stressful place or die slightly earlier but surrounded by family and ppl that love you? I personally think Id rather put my dog down a day too early rather than a day too late and have it experience unnecessary pain.

A pup can go in your garden provided your garden is relatively free of wildlife (birds are ok I mean wildlife such as badgers and foxes) and hasnt had any parvo infected dogs come into it recently. I would guess that 90% of peoples gardens are ok. The fact she wants to go into the garden suggest to me your breeder has had her outside already and made good progress as getting her part way house trained. I wouldnt encourage her to go to the toilet inside, you'll just create house training problems later. First injection is 8 week with second injection at 10. They are allowed out between 11 and 12 weeks (depending on the jab your vet uses).

Have you spoken to Vikki about this? Because your dog is too old to do puppy good citizen he would have to start at Bronze anyway. And the gold and silver are taught in her graduate class so its all in one if you can get your dog up to standard in time. Its seems very unfair to be quoting prices on a public forum that, from what I know of people and dogs are well well above what it would actually cost to get to gold level

I love all gun dogs but my absolutely favorite is a Musterlander. I wimped out when I got my cockers as they are more pet suitable breed but I think next time Ill take the plunge with a small musterland with the intention of getting a large one later. Scotia Nova duck tolling retreiver's look lovely. Id never heard of them till today.

I know you wont be intending to get too close but her dog will most likely have a tag on his collar. If you get close again I would suggest taking a look.

Your more than welcome to join me on walks with my two cockers (1 year and 2 years). I usually walk on the Bole hills but I dont mind walking in any of the parks in S6. PM me if you want to meet up

Luke warm bath works best. Just keep in fairly cool and they;ll still melt without the aches. I was using olive oil in mines paws as this will reduce the snows ability to stick but there is so much snow today its not working as well as it normally does. Im told an equafleese (those with legs) and oil on their feet is the best solution for deep snow if you want to avoid trimming.