English Cocker Puppy

[tigajess]

I have a 10 week old female English Cocker Pup which I think I have researched more the I should have , since the more I found the more I tried to sort out.

Anyway I wouldn't call it a problem but I had trouble up until about 2 days ago getting Pippa (the pup) to eat a meal, I had it worked out with the breeder what to feed her but since she only ate about 1/3 or less each meal I didn't end up with a plan on what to feed her, now that she's eatting much better at night I am unsure how much to actually give her and since she eats hardly anything in the morning what I should do?

I would decrease the evening meal but I don't think 3/4 cup of food is really that much anyway and don't want to decrease it to have her eat more in the morning...or am I thinking wrong?

I have her on the diet the breeder had her on, optimum dry food with mince meat and rice, but I find she won't always eat the dry food...my worry is that the food suggested is the adult variety, should I change it to the puppy variety? I can't even tell if it has smaller pieces.

Also my toilet training seems to have failed lately, she use to go to the newspaper when she was inside and if we were lucky we could take her outside when she sniffed around, but now she's very sneaky and just goes really quickly before we have time to take her out...and not on the paper, I've had dogs toilet trained before but not one that ever just went without sniffing or some sign first, what should I do?

So basically... how much should she be eatting morning and night, should I try the puppy variety and what sort of toilet training should I try, also how does creat training work? We have her in a pen at night with a blanket and a bit of newspaper just in case, we eventually want her to have just a bed in the house with no pen, how should I go about this?

Thanks for any help!

[Luke W]

I have a 10 week old female English Cocker Pup which I think I have researched more the I should have , since the more I found the more I tried to sort out.

Anyway I wouldn't call it a problem but I had trouble up until about 2 days ago getting Pippa (the pup) to eat a meal, I had it worked out with the breeder what to feed her but since she only ate about 1/3 or less each meal I didn't end up with a plan on what to feed her, now that she's eatting much better at night I am unsure how much to actually give her and since she eats hardly anything in the morning what I should do?

I would decrease the evening meal but I don't think 3/4 cup of food is really that much anyway and don't want to decrease it to have her eat more in the morning...or am I thinking wrong?

I have her on the diet the breeder had her on, optimum dry food with mince meat and rice, but I find she won't always eat the dry food...my worry is that the food suggested is the adult variety, should I change it to the puppy variety? I can't even tell if it has smaller pieces.

Also my toilet training seems to have failed lately, she use to go to the newspaper when she was inside and if we were lucky we could take her outside when she sniffed around, but now she's very sneaky and just goes really quickly before we have time to take her out...and not on the paper, I've had dogs toilet trained before but not one that ever just went without sniffing or some sign first, what should I do?

So basically... how much should she be eatting morning and night, should I try the puppy variety and what sort of toilet training should I try, also how does creat training work? We have her in a pen at night with a blanket and a bit of newspaper just in case, we eventually want her to have just a bed in the house with no pen, how should I go about this?

Thanks for any help!

I'm no expert...

I think 3/4 of a cup of food, morning and night is quite a lot for a 10 wk old, my 8mo old eats around 2 cups per day. Feed what the breeder says. I would gradually transition to a quality Puppy dry food, supplemented with some RAW food.

Toilet training...

It's about taking the dog outside lots of times! After eating, after drinking, after waking up, after playing...!!!! And not taking your eyes of it for a second! Have you scolded the dog for toileting inside? Maybe that's why it's sneaky.

Be patient - your dog won't be completely toilet trained for months yet!

Download and read this:

http://www.siriuspup.com/beforebook.html

Edited November 13, 2008 by Luke W

[Toohey]

Hi Tigajess, I also have a ten week cocker pup at the moment and can sympathise fully with the toilet training issues. It's up to you to be vigilant and take her outside every hour and WAIT till she goes, then praise her heaps. You must be consistent and you must realise it is HARD work, but if you put in the work now, it WILL pay off when she finally twigs what she is supposed to do.

She MUST be fed a puppy variety dry food and can I suggest you add some chopped chicken necks and wings and I doubt she will knock them back.

If you want a copy of my diet sheet, feel free to PM me

Edited November 13, 2008 by Toohey

[megan_]

and remember to praise her when she goes outside - high pitched voice, like she is a genius.

and I echo the "be patient" bit....it takes months to have a 100% reliable puppy wrt toilet training. Remember taht one she gets it, she may regress again. The key is patience and lots of positive reinforcement.

[Jed]

Agree with what Toohey said. Take heart on the toilet training. I have a 5 month old pup, and did all the right things, and she is now 100% clean inside. There IS light at the end of the tunnel!!

[becks]

With toilet training, it is so easy to think the puppy 'gets it' and you relax being so vigilent, then find out the puppy is making mistakes again, so keep going and she will get there. It may help to make a diary of when she goes/has an accident and when she eats, so you know when she is more likely to need to 'go'

[Cockerlover]

Hi Tigerjess,welcome to the wonderfull world of cockers re the tiolet traing as others have said ,it takes time & paitiance take your baby outside after eating, sleeping, playing, its a circle of eat, p, sleep, p ,play, p ,!!!!stay with yr baby till she performes, then make a really big deal o f it say the same thing like, do wee wee or whatever term u use ,do not scold if accidents happen inside ,simply say no & take baby outside to toilet spot ;she will eventualy get the message !!

now re the feeding,I wouldnt be to conserned re amount eaten, as she no longer has to compete with the rest of her litter ,but imo she should be on puppy kibble NOT adult .Are you mixing the other food with kibble ?my advise would be to do this, other wise she will refuse the kibble ,also make the transition from adult to puppy kibble gradual or she may have an upset tummy .if you ned any advise @ all please feel free to pm me ,good luck & hang in there you have choosen a wonderfull bred & have a loyal friend for life .

[chinadollbella]

I have a 10 week old female English Cocker Pup which I think I have researched more the I should have :D , since the more I found the more I tried to sort out.

Anyway I wouldn't call it a problem but I had trouble up until about 2 days ago getting Pippa (the pup) to eat a meal, I had it worked out with the breeder what to feed her but since she only ate about 1/3 or less each meal I didn't end up with a plan on what to feed her, now that she's eatting much better at night I am unsure how much to actually give her and since she eats hardly anything in the morning what I should do?

I would decrease the evening meal but I don't think 3/4 cup of food is really that much anyway and don't want to decrease it to have her eat more in the morning...or am I thinking wrong?

I have her on the diet the breeder had her on, optimum dry food with mince meat and rice, but I find she won't always eat the dry food...my worry is that the food suggested is the adult variety, should I change it to the puppy variety? I can't even tell if it has smaller pieces.

Also my toilet training seems to have failed lately, she use to go to the newspaper when she was inside and if we were lucky we could take her outside when she sniffed around, but now she's very sneaky and just goes really quickly before we have time to take her out...and not on the paper, I've had dogs toilet trained before but not one that ever just went without sniffing or some sign first, what should I do?

So basically... how much should she be eatting morning and night, should I try the puppy variety and what sort of toilet training should I try, also how does creat training work? We have her in a pen at night with a blanket and a bit of newspaper just in case, we eventually want her to have just a bed in the house with no pen, how should I go about this?

Thanks for any help!

Dear tigajess,

Please read in health section Bella renal dysplasis,This is what Bella did and it took until she was 5 months old,many local vets visits and a very sick girl for the specialist vet to tell us she had r.d.Our breeder gave us all the diets,I tried everything for dog and human with no long term solution She is now on the Hills diet for renal failure.which is the only food that is suitable for her.Please seek expert advise before it could be too late.At least if you see a specialist vet they can do an ultrasound,blood tests etc to eliminate Bellas disease because as most normal vets do not recognise the disease until the dog dies.We take Bella to SASH at north ryde in sydney they have a specilaist in renal failure.Bella is listed on aones.com,have alook at her breedline if your puppy is related do not hestitate.

[anthony mazzeri]

Good lord, that sounds very serious. Certainly worth tigajess getting her pup checked out now by the vet, if anything to at least put her mind at ease that Pippa's clear. I would have just assumed just puppy settling in to new diet and surroundings in the first two weeks.

Perhaps you could PM each other with your breeder's names to confirm if they are both from the same breeder. I read your other posts about Bella's breeder insisting on continuing breeding their lines that have this issue even after knowing about it. Maybe we all should know who they are.

[dogon]

Good lord, that sounds very serious. Certainly worth tigajess getting her pup checked out now by the vet, if anything to at least put her mind at ease that Pippa's clear. I would have just assumed just puppy settling in to new diet and surroundings in the first two weeks.

Perhaps you could PM each other with your breeder's names to confirm if they are both from the same breeder. I read your other posts about Bella's breeder insisting on continuing breeding their lines that have this issue even after knowing about it. Maybe we all should know who they are.

Yes, I totally agree. With a new cocker pup purchase on the horizon for me I would be very interested.

Edited November 17, 2008 by dogon

[Jed]

Maybe Tigajess should pm chinadollbella for the breeders name?

but, I've had pups with the same eating issues at the same age, and there was nothing wrong with them, so don't panic, Tigajess!! The incidence of RD and FN in cockers is not all that high.

Definitely feed dry puppy food, not adult. I would also skip the rice, which is only a filler, and not doing her a great deal of good. On the other hand, depending on how long you have had her, don't change the diet too much at this stage. You can add one thing at a time - chicken necks (raw) will probably be really well accepted.

I have a 6 month old pup who is a really picky eater. and has been since she arrived (and was at the breeders too). Sometimes at 10 - 12 weeks, she would merely sniff breakfast and lunch, but gobble dinner and supper down - sometimes she eats breakfast, but not dinner. If I add any foodies to her dinner, she gives me the accusatory stare - she knows I am trying to poison her. My experience is that if you offer food, it is very difficult for them to starve to death, so don't worry too much. And I allow pups to eat as much as they want. My rationale is that nature knows better than I do. If the pup was a complete guts who never took it's nose out of the food bowl, I'd amend that, but I've never had one do that.

As for the house training - pups do that. They have very little control at that age, and my experience is that pups = messes!! When they need to go, they need to go NOW - not in 40 seconds.

Be patient, persevere, and before you know it, she will get it.

Now, we need some photos!!

[Crest_Fallen]

I have a 15 week old puppy (Chinese Crested) who was very finicky with his food too despite me feeding exactly what his breeder said she had. But when I got out a raw chicken neck to feed my cats, he went wild so I gave him one. It is no doubt his favourite meal. He is still not a big eater in the morning unless chicken necks are on offer but I don't stress, he tells me when he is hungry. I gradually changed him over to a more BARF diet which he seems to like.

I have also noticed with house training, that my puppy was going great at first but now he can go outside because I see the signs he needs to go, but after 20 minutes he comes back inside and then wees on the floor. Very frustrating but just part of the process.

I realised I need to go back to being more vigilent about house training and follow him out and offer food rewards for weeing outside. He is a smart dog, he will soon catch on.

[tigajess]

Thanks to all the replies! THings have improved a great deal with the eatting, the toilet training well...that's another story

Toohey the diet sheet is fantastic! I have added to many things into the diet and it's working a treat. The toilet training is actually better the last couple of days after a week of peeing and pooping everywhere even after going outside :rolleyes: The waiting 20mins for her to go can be REALLY LONG...but I'm looking forward to the light at the end of the tunnel! I swear sometimes I know she needs to go but she just wants to find the right blade of grass!

We scraped the pen that she slept in with no door and having to lift her out I decided in the long ran it was a bad idea and she now uses her soft crate... is there anything I should know about crate training? So far so good, she loves it.

Bitting... I know puppies who are teething like to bite, we correct the behavior and she doesn't bite so much and mouths more often then actually bite now, we give her toys when she really wants to mouth or bite something BUT it really worries me that this behaviour will be a habit when she's older, is there any technique I should use with a cocker pup and biting? I am pretty stressed about it since she mouths everything, even when giving her a pat she tries to bite all the time, I can't afford and don't want a pup that grows up to be a snappy dog, as I plan to eventually have children and I'm sure it won't be long before I have nieces and nephews around the place. Any ideas? am I worried about normal puppy behaviour? and how do I tell the difference between habit or just teething that she will grow out of?

Thanks everyone ;)

Edited November 21, 2008 by tigajess

[claireybell]

TigaJess She's beautiful. My Jesie went through the biting/mouthing phase and I thought i would go mental. Sometimes i used to pretend to cry when she was biting and mouthing too much and it worked a treat. She thought she'd hurt me so she stopped and gave me kisses. I then told her how good she was. We kept up with the correcting and now she will mouth once when she is really really excited and then she licks my hand. Unfortunately though our other puppy is now going through the biting stage and again I think I'm going mental with it. The pretend cry doesn't work with her so I have to correct her.

Patience and persistance. I think sometimes it takes a saint to deal with a teething puppy! At least your not as stupid as me and got a 10 week old beagle when your cocker was only 8 months old! Yes I am totally bonkers!

Good luck with her and I'd love to see HEAPS more pictures