5 month old coker and quatering

[Mydogismental]

Hello, new to the forums and I hope too learn alot .

The training of our cocker (Susan) is going well but we are a little concerned about her quatering/hunting ability. She does go in the correct pattern but is easily distracted by flies/butterflies and doesn't seem to hunt with the same gusto that other dogs do. Is this just how she is or is this due to her age? Is there anything we can do to make her hunt a little but harder?

[086*downey]

She is only a pup -- let her have fun and develop
If its in her it will come out with time & patience from you and experience for her.

Shes not being distracted by flies or butterflies they are new to her so she is showing an interest and investigating which I would view as being a positive characteristic in a hunting dog

Dont compare to other dogs they are all individual. I think you are expecting too much too soon...

[Cass]

At 5 months her quartering isn't going to be stellar. I wouldn't even worry about it at that age. Just take her out and let her have fun exploring and building confidence. Mine didn't really start "hunting" up until a month ago and he's 8 months old. Now he's turbo charged. At 5 months there is no ability there to be concerned about yet, she's still a puppy. Most hunting dogs aren't even in their prime until they're 2 or 3 years old.

[shropshirelad]

I would have thought 5 month was far too early to start worrying about 'quartering' and 'hunting hard' she is only a pup and you don't want to put too much pressure on her. I would probably make sure all the basics are in place first (The boring bits) but they are foundations to everything you want her to do in the future. Good luck and keep updating on her progress..

[Mydogismental]

For a 5 month old pup her basics are pretty much sorted using verbal and whistle commands. We started her early on these which I think was a wise move as basic obediance in any dog is a must. She does have trouble with the emergency stop but you try getting a pup to stop in full on run around like a mad thing mode but it will come.

I'll stop worrying about her hunting for the time being and just carry on with the "find the tennis ball" game.

[trekmoor]

I could easily be wrong but maybe you have already done a bit too much obedience training ? Too much obedience stuff at too early an age can inhibit the hunt drive of some pups. I.M.O. it is better to leave them "mental" for a good bit longer than 5 months.

Wullie

[086*downey]

Agree shes a young pup let her have a bit of freedom to have fun and explore and run around -- its a fine balance she will need steadiness but no too much too young that stifles her learning the other main part of her job

[pontbeck]

I could easily be wrong but maybe you have already done a bit too much obedience training ? Too much obedience stuff at too early an age can inhibit the hunt drive of some pups. I.M.O. it is better to leave them "mental" for a good bit longer than 5 months.

Wullie

I was thinking along the same lines

[Mydogismental]

I raised the same concern with out trainer and he is of the opinion that we are going at a nice pace and not putting too much pressure on her re: the obedience training. She is not a sticky dog by any means and loves nothing more than to run around the fields with the lab.

All this training I have discovered is fine balance and for us first timers its not an easy balance to find. Still its very enjoyable and quite rewarding though it can be very hugely frustrating. Lucklily the local pub only charges 1.80 per pint

[Cass]

You have to remember a cocker isn't a lab. I train with lab folks and fundamentally yes the training is much of the same but cockers don't progress at the same rate in my experience. I was like you initially with my dog and kind of "burnt him out". I left him alone for a month and he is a different dog completely. Its amazing how much a month does at that age. Now he's 8 months and I plan on starting to put him through his paces again. If you're getting frustrated with training, its because you're probably expecting too much.