# Springer spaniel or should I say Tazmanian Devil!!



## Pink-poppy

Hi, I'm new to this site but thought I would give it a whirl and see what advice I could get!! 
We have a 6 mth old English Springer Spaniel called Harley or should I say a Tazmanian Devil. My Husband and Kids took 2 years to convince me to get a puppy and now I can see why lol!! 
We are having trouble walking him as he seems to think he would rather take us for a walk, we get dragged round the streets rather than take the leisurely walk we would like. We have had him on a slip lead, which we were advised to get but he will walk for half hour choking all the way. His eyes will be red raw and nearly popping out of his head but he will not stop pulling!! Has anyone got any ideas? Also when we first let him off the lead he was fine up at the local farm but now he just runs away, he gets on to the scent of something and nose goes down, tail wagging and he is gone!!
And, I know this is a long list of problems but the biting, has anyone else had a problem with biting? We can take his food away and his toys but if he gets something he is not supposed to have he gets very aggressive and will growl, then lunge and bite and it bloody hurts!! I have bruises and scratches all up my arms!! 
On the nicer side of things he is a lovely dog, sometimes lol!! We do have a crate and he sleeps in it all night no problem, when he is naughty he goes in there, when we can catch him and he will settle. He has never been a problem to toilet train and we have only had a couple of accidents in the early days!! 
Any advice would be much appreciated!!


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## Guest

Hi,
A Halti or something similar might be a good iea to stop the pulling or stop and change direction very quickly,as for been off lead and his recall not been good,he is a ESS an his hunting working instinct is coming through.
Have you thought about a long training line just until he is reliable off lead.
In all honesty he really shouldn't be off lead with unreliable recall,but he is probably doing what he was bred for.

With the biting you need to teach bite inhibition,there is a link on here somewhere,I'll have a look to see if I can find it.If he has something he is not supposed to have try and replace it with something of his,or take it an reward with praise an a treat.

*Going to look for the bite inhibition link*


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## Guest

Here you go a link to bite inhibition CanineConcepts Dog Training - Advice dog biting and dog bit inhibition


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## Pink-poppy

Thanks for your advice!! I have been reading up on halti leads and think we will give it a go, we are willing to try anything at the mo!! 
Also thanks for the link for advice on biting, will have a good read of that too!!


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## Guest

Pink-poppy said:


> Thanks for your advice!! I have been reading up on halti leads and think we will give it a go, we are willing to try anything at the mo!!
> Also thanks for the link for advice on biting, will have a good read of that too!!


Your welcome 
He looks lovely


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## Pink-poppy

Thx like I said he is a good dog sometimes lol!! I have just posted some more pictures on the gallery!!


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## catzndogz

Hi i've just reading your thread about Harley; i've 2 ESS's Meg walk's so well on the lead which i hold on 1 finger she never pulls. However Sam who's Megs dad still pull's on the lead & he's 10 years old. When off the lead he will run ahead but recall very good.
I've always had ESS's which i've taken to training classes when puppies. It's hard work but you will get there. They are such loving dogs good luck things will get better.
i've posted pics of sam & meg also a couple of lady who passed away last june with cancer at the age of 13.


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## Pink-poppy

Hi Thx for your reply!! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that things will get better, my Husband keeps telling me they will!! At this rate it will help me lose weight cos sometimes I'm almost jogging when I take him out lol!! 

I keep forgetting he is only a baby as he is quite big and very strong!! Will keep you posted on how we get on!!

Also we have major barking when I get the hoover out!! I always have to put him in his crate as he goes mental and tries to eat the hoover lol!! But seriously he barks from the minute he see's me get it out, to the minutes I put it away out of his sight!! Have you heard of this before?


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## catzndogz

hi yes 1 of my pups was like that. so i used get the hoover out & leave it out for a couple of mins then put it away then kept repeating doing this till he got used to it been out then switched on for afew seconds & bulit it up so this way he got a customized to the hoover it took a while. 
while out walking when he pulls have you tried changing direction do this each time he pulls it sometimes work.


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## Pink-poppy

The thing is he is 6 mths old, do you think this will still work? I hoover every day sometimes twice a day, cos of the cat and dog hair, it's driving me mad!!


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## louisa cox

Hi I have a springer spaniel called "Sullie" he is 10 Months old and is massive knocking on 20Kilos. I am funnily enough encountering the same problems. But I have come to conclusion he wants to be a gun dog so I am now training him to the whistle. My sullile likes to jump up and hold onto you!!! which I know is not ideal but he is telling you he wants to play (i think) but also it's getting on my nerves. My partner has difficulty controlling sullie when not with me, and is now adamant he will not walk him. Sullie is excellent when it comes to sniffing birds and rabbits and in our village he is in his element. Iam today buying a trainnig lead as once he has had a run he walks to heel I am doing this for my husband. Sullie also barks at my hoover but once he has barked four or five times he looses interest and finds something else. again because he is so big you forget is only ten months old and I feel that is the problem with big ESS. On Command (indoors) he is excellent but when outdoors he is all over the place and does not focus.Hence the whistle.. 
the only thing I have to put forward is what is a ESS favourite treat!! I have tried chocolate (dog ones) Ham all sorts and he is just not interested. This would help when training outside....


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## haeveymolly

Pink-poppy said:


> Hi Thx for your reply!! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that things will get better, my Husband keeps telling me they will!! At this rate it will help me lose weight cos sometimes I'm almost jogging when I take him out lol!!
> 
> I keep forgetting he is only a baby as he is quite big and very strong!! Will keep you posted on how we get on!!
> 
> Also we have major barking when I get the hoover out!! I always have to put him in his crate as he goes mental and tries to eat the hoover lol!! But seriously he barks from the minute he see's me get it out, to the minutes I put it away out of his sight!! Have you heard of this before?


Hi, can i first say well done on your choice of dog, SPRINGER!!!! wow they are in my opinion the best dogs ever i love em i have had 3 i have 2 now and for all their personalities are very different but have all had the pulling thing it is very much a "springer thing" very hard to master i have tried everything mine are brill in every other way recall superb even my youngest now 15 months she had excellent recall by 4 months the key in my opinion is off lead from the start. The pulling i have never mastered 100%

Your problem with getting him giving thing up make sure whatever he has you have something to exchange he needs to see that there is an advantage to giving you whatever he has so always have something of higher value, be it chicken,sausage, cheese is a good one and only feed this at these times never any other time.

The hoover my youngest still jumps for it but not nearly as much, all i can say is ignore it dont pay any attention she lunges for it and wants to drag it around its very annoying, but any attention to him doing it like NO!. LEAVE IT! or whatever you say is attention and any attention to a springer good or bad is "attention! and they will love it so do try and act as if he is doing nothing act as if he isnt even there and believe me he will learn its not really that much fun.

Always keep in mind that springers are very, very clever, but do mature slower than most breeds they are still very much in a lot of ways puppies when the rest or most of the doggie population are grown up so be patient, enjoy him you have some lovely fun years to come.


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## Luci_Spaniel

I have a 3year old springer. I need help with letting her off the lead.
I can do it around the house and everywhere and in an inclosed park. She goes mad for a ball but as soon as we are at the woods she looses intreast?
Is this normal she is my first dog ever.
Thanks


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## Rhiannan

With re-call you need to make sure you are more interesting then what is out and about on the walk. With Bailey my 8 month Dalmatian we use treats and squeaky toys.

Just started using a dog whistle which is great, first get them used to the sound of the whisle meaning "come and get a treat", so blow it in a different room in the house, when she comes a nice treat. do this over and over until you are sure she knows what it means.
Then take it outside, as said before it might be best to use a long training line incase they do run off to start with.

Bailey is now excellent on re-call, which I never thought I'd be saying lol! 

If your treats don't make you interesting enough and they don't come to you, up the anty and get some really yummy treats like chicken skin or cheese. Once they know you have that in your pockets they should come back! 

For the pulling, well I have the same problem. she pulls like a train, it's my fault as I haven't put enough effort in to that yet. We always walk her off lead in the fields round the house so she is not on the lead all that much. I've bought a halti but not used it yet. 

Bailey barked at the hoover too lol  still does a little but no where near as bad. 

If your pup is really wild, maybe needs more walks? Bailey can be a menace if she needs more walks. You could try a kong or a buster cube which will keep their mind focused and give you a break for ten mins :thumbup1:


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## louisa cox

My sullie (Springer Spaniel) Age 10 Months is like Tigger on speed. I walk him twice a day for max 2.30Hrs.. He is not interested in any treat whether it be meat,Chocolate.. We have now reverted to keeping him on a Long lead whilst walking as we have nailed re-call and he will come back and sit but he will not allow you to put the lead back on him he thinks it's funny to jump from side to side and then run off again . So rather than get upset and shout til we have no voice we are using the lead and finding an alternative treat to entice him... The only real issue we have with sullie is he stands on his back legs and constantly slaps you with his paws (bear in mind he weighs 19Kilo) last weigh in.. Does anyone have an idea why he would keep doing this or how to nip it in the butt.. I keep telling myself he still only little and I have a long way to go, just need perserverance. But any tips would be most appreciated.


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## leashedForLife

hey, louisa! :--) 

pups who jump-up are a real pain, but this is a hard-wired greeting behavior gone awry; it is not the dogs fault that we humans walk on 2 legs, and our faces + mouths are thus out of reach, LOL. if we were on all 4s it would not make the trouble it does! (and i would probably not be typing this... ;--) 

i would teach him an incompatible behavior - SIT to get any atth whatever. tether him to control his ability to jump-up and touch U, then approach him and ask for a SIT - once only. if he sits, U click or say Yes! very crisply - make it different from Ur usual speech - and reward him with a small but VERY-good treat. (skinless chicken-breast in a 1/8th to 1/4th inch cube, an equiv amount of mozz-cheese or tinned/pouch tuna, etc). then walk away or step back, or turn Ur back on him out of his reach - and repeat the process, ask for SIT, mark right answer, treat... lather, rinse, repeat! 

have a dozen or more tiny/super treats for each session; SHORT successful lessons are more memorable than are marathons, he will get it faster. the number of repetitions, NOT the length of time he is on his butt, are the deciding criterion to his really getting the idea - i jump-up, i get NOTHING. i SIT? i get EveryThing i Want or Need!  

teaching this means that EVERYbody has to refuse to give him attn until that butt is glued to the floor; if ONE person in the house thinks it does not matter, or is a cute behavior, or ignores it and gives him attn anyway, it will not change. this also incudes visitors; if anyone is coming by who says, oh i Love dogs - i don;t mind a bit!, etc, just put him up while they are there; there is absolutely no point in practicing behavior that U do not want. if they want to see the dog, they have to follow the house rules: No Paws On People!! this also means nobody LURES him into jumping-up - Not Fair! be consistent, or this will be a lifelong habit. 
STANDING on the lead so that he does not have enuf leash to get his front-end off the ground is a simple means of allowing him to be around visitors, but without the ability to leap on them. if U do not want to have him umbilicaled to U while visitors are there, then tether him short, and ask ppl to Only Give Attn when he SITS - either cued once, or freely offered by the dog. 


NILIF: Nothing In Life Is Free 
------------------------------------------------ 
NILIF can greatly shorten the time this learning takes: 
requiring a SIT for every single Want + Need, thru-out the day + night. Get the leash on? SIT. Get the door open to exit? SIT. Open to enter? SIT. the ball thrown? SIT. get into/out of the car? SIT. be petted? SIT. get the breakfast/dinner bowl onto the floor? SIT... Any, Every, All things - Sit, Sit, Sit... 
when he GETS the concept - and he will, dogs are smart (how fast he gets it depends upon how many repetitions U give him, over what time, to get the clue that SIT is now the Coin of the Realm), he will == Offer! == an UN-cued, freely-offered SIT. 
U pause at the door, he SITs without a cue - Miracle of miracles! ** Party! ** make it big and enthusiastic, What a brilliant dog! a JACK-POT (stream of small but good treats delivered in a stream, with lots of warm verbal praise poured over him) is a good marker for the watershed event. 

once he has the concept SIT = the door to Every Dog Wish, he can use this to communicate with U, as a Pretty-Please? request. EX: U are in the pet-supply shop, he smells a wonderful odor from a box on a shelf, goes beside it, Looks at U (typically eye to eye contact), and SITS precisely without a cue... that is a Pretty-Please. U do not have to comply, U can say *Sorry, no - too many pigs-ears are bad, they are fat, fat, fat!...* , but having a gesture to talk TO U is a very good thing, IMO. 

going to the door and glancing at U, precise SIT? *May i go out, Please? * 
U can see how handy this is for the dog! ;--) and for U... 

i think 2-way communication is a huge improvement over I speak, U listen 
(me tarzan, U jane - ug! ;--)

he has been doing this for 90% of his lifetime, so do not expect immediate results - this is a heavily-rehearsed behavior. if he is off-leash and comes and jumps on U, turn Ur back - exaggerate it by folding Ur arms and looking up at the sky/ceiling. he is looking for ATTN, and by very-obviously cutting off all feedback (eye contact, verbal, touch...) U are telling him forget it, nothing if U jump-up. 

if he is ON-leash, use the leash itself to hold him off U - holding it out to the side - and walk briskly, so that he has no time to jump-up, but must instead Keep-Up. most humans think *walking the dog* means to stroll along at One Mile An Hour, LOL, while the dog alternates sniffing, pulling, lunging and lagging... get it together, walk briskly + with intention toward a specific visual goal, and stop to give the dog time for a sniff-break When + Where >> U << decide is apropos - not allowing the dog to drag U hither + yon to various dog odor-treasures, or mark all over creation. 
when he is 

re dog hazards: 
chocolate is bad for dogs, i would stop offering that altogether - the darker the chocolate the more dangerous it is, theobromine causes racing + irregular heart-beats in dogs (it can kill them - not enuf oxygen is transported, the heart just flutters ineffectively). just in case he has learned to Love the stuff, put ANY chocolate up in an inaccessible cabinet, and only get down what U will be using/eating immediately. i say this b/c a friend had given her dog Choc-drops (of ALL things, a choc-treat for DOGS!? dumb manufacturers!), and he developed a real fondness for them. she got a box in the mail, set it on the hall table, and went to work - her dog ripped into it, and consumed over a POUND of chocolate! he lived, but it was a near thing. 

happy B-Mod, and getting the humans to be consistent will be the hard part! 
ONE jump-up in a week that pays-out can keep the behavior alive - work on that. 

cheers, 
--- terry 

terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, IPDTA, TDF 

PS - i think U mean nip it in the Bud? (ie, before it blooms and goes to seed - 
thus eliminating the weed from the garden, LOL)


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## baz65

Hi,
We also have a springer spaniel puppy bitch JESSIE now 4 months old, which we have a problem with when she gets corrected she can go into a rage where her eyes seem to go red and she snarls and seems to try and bite this happens maybe once a day the rest of the time she acts like butter would not melt in her mouth, she also sleeps in a crate at night downstairs and shes fine also shes toilet trained, When we take her out for her walks she also pulls hard 70 % of the time . We had a word with a breeder and she advised us that she is trying to domineer us but its hard work and she keeps jumping up trying to bite my clothes.


Kind regards Linda


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## newfiesmum

Pink-poppy said:


> Thanks for your advice!! I have been reading up on halti leads and think we will give it a go, we are willing to try anything at the mo!!
> Also thanks for the link for advice on biting, will have a good read of that too!!


You might find that a front clip harness is a better idea. What happens when the dog pulls is that he just turns himself round to face you so gets nowhere. If you are going to get a headcollar, a dogmatic is a better idea as it does not cut in or ride up.

He should never be put in his crate for being naughty. His crate is his own special place, where he needs to want to go for some peace and quiet. If he goes in it for doing something you don't like, he is going to be confused.

Better to put him in another room with a babygate across.


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## Rolosmum

I have two springers, both walk pretty well to heel, but one of them had amazing recall up unto 6 months and then it has more or less disappeared. He will come in if he thinks you are leaving the park and follow you to the back gate of the house, but the rest of the time will not return for any form of treat/toy or game!

He has been off lead since 12 weeks old and so three months of verbal and whistle recall from any distraction/distance disappeared overnight!!! and i literally mean thursday recalled friday wouldnt!, so no idea what stopped it, he still recalls in the house to verbal and whistle and from the garden to the house, but outside the garden not a chance currently, whether he is on a long line or not, you just end up dragging him in!


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## I love springers

Firstly welcome to the pet forum site...I have 2 springer spaniels Missey is 20 mths and wrags 13 mths...Can i say your springer sounds normal...I would try a halti when going for a walk they make a hell of a difference..For recall I would practice in your garden pick a word and use it to recall and when he comes back to you give him a treat or make a fuss...never get cross with your dog no matter how long it takes [i stood in the middle of a field in the rain for nearly 2 hrs while missey took no notice but when she did come back i made fuss] when your dog understands what you want and is happy to come back when you call him you can try it out on a walk but on a long lead [ i used a horse lunge line] preferably attached to a harness rather than a collar [ the last thing you want is for your dog to go running off and to get whip lash when he reaches the end of the lead].There are lots more things to see and smell when out so you need to make sure your dog is safe...I would start with half the length of lead and practice the recall the same word you used in your garden.Call him back and when he comes give him a treat or make a fuss and then let him go again so that he can come to you without thinking playtime is over..Carry on till he has the full lead..when you feel happy with him and he comes back you can try letting him off..maybe somewhere enclosed first and if you have taken your time and not rushed he should come back...I agree with others who have said to leave your hoover out and then put it away........sorry this is so long but hope it helps.

I think they all go through the "I CAN'T HEAR YOU ...I'VE GONE DEAF stage but they do get their hearing back at some point....:thumbup: I was told this from 2 dog trainers and it doesn't only apply to springers..


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## Statler

heres a little tip, they are not going thro a deaf phase, they are crying out to do what they are bred for, try dicreetly dropping a tennis ball down your trouser leg when your dog isnt looking and then encourage to find it and give it back, lots on praise when its done, after a while the dog wont need to hunt for itself goes its hunting for u


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## smudgebiscuit

The only thing that has worked with our ESS Molly is the Dogmatic,we've tried the Halti,half check collar & a Canny but none of them worked. I can walk molly by myself with the Dogmatic ( couldn't before 'cos my arm used to go numb from the pulling after 10mins!!) As for biting, Molly only does it when we are playing & she gets mad when we don't give her the toy-but it's a playful half bite-not enough to hurt but we just firmly say 'no' and she stops straight away. By the way your springer is gorgeous


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## buffy74

Springers eh!!! It sounds like your dog is obssessing re: vacum cleaner. You need to correct his behaviour as soon as he starts focussing on the vacuum. A ah or tsst noise said loudly and assertively helps, don't use the dogs name, also claim the vacuum, and never move backwards just think its your vacuum and not the dogs. you can jab the dog in the neck with the tips of your fingers to move the dog away. keep this up until the dog surrenders, even if the noise is too much. keep it up everytime. I would suggest removing any toys from the dog too, whether that is at home, on a walk or anywhere. The dog needs to return to being a dog, Dogs use their noses when they're balanced and their eyes when their obssessing, so you have to break that unbalanced state of mind continually and as soon as it happens. I got a new 6 year old springer 3 days ago that obssessess so took away all his toys walked the legs off him and established myself as the pack leader, basically i do everything first and he can only do things when he's calm and submissive. keep going as it really works. my two year old is already leading him and feeding him......it took 3 days to rebalance a springer that had been obssessing for 6 years. believe me, dogs are fantastic at moving on. you'll do it, no worries...


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## buffy74

why don't you attatch your dog that pulls on the lead to the one that doesn't, let the dog do the work.... hey you never know!!!!!!!


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## Rolosmum

This is another really old thread.


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