Hi!!!

hi, i have a 3 month old cocker spaniel who just doesnt want to learn any commands he wont even come to his own name and its really hard to get him to concentrate i know he is only a puppy but he has an attention span of like 3 seconds please help any tips will be great!

Have you tried nice smelly treats such as liver? When I first boiled liver for Bailiie's treats she came running into the kitchen and stood staring at the cooker as if to say "is that mine?"
To me it smelled awful but obviously to her it was yummy. I made it into a brownie type of thing then cut it up into tiny pieces to use for training. She loved it and still does. At the moment we are on liver bait fudge which she loves; it has bacon pieces in it too. Let me know if you'd like the recipe....

Have you shown him what the commands mean?
Have you taught him his name?

He doesn't understand English, so you need to show him what to do, or put the command to an action as he does it!

Have you conisdered going to classes to get help?

Have you tried clicker training? I found this to be the most effective way of getting my cockers attention though when outdoors I find she is completely obsorbed in whats else is going on around her rather then me.

I second using food to gain your puppies attention toys may not be the pups thing but food usually works.

Lots of trainers recomend sausage, chease as training aids.

hi aw that reciepie would be great thanks....

were are attending puppy classes but he is litterally the only one that does not listen.
yeah he knows his name but some days he listens and some days he just dont want to know.
i have not tried the clicker way yet does it work?
he does know commands like sit lay stay even rollover now but that it he wont come drop leave and i spend as much time with him trying to show him but just seem to hit brickwalls.

Is your puppy a working bred cocker? If you can hold his attention for 3 seconds then you are doing amazingly well because that is an eternity to a little spaniel pup.

If he can do sit, lay down, stay and roll over then he's doing well! He's only a baby remember and there are lots of exciting things going on that he needs to investigate Keep at it and he'll get there. Maybe try some of the suggestions made above. Clicker training, changing the reward to something with a higher value (ie something yummier) and so on.

You have to exchange it for something of higher value such as a favoured toy or a tastey treat and introduce the command for action.


It took mine a while to pick that one up she is still not very good with fetch.

Hi Naomi,
This recipe is very easy to make, so have fun

Ingredients
400g liver (chicken/lamb)
300ml cold water
400g flour
1/2tsp chopped garlic
4 bacon rashers, grilled and chopped
1 egg
65ml olive oil or vegetable oil

Method
1. Liquidise the liver and water in a processor and transfer to a large bowl.
2. Add the flour, garlic, bacon, egg and oil, and mix until it forms a smooth paste.
3. Pour the ingredients into a 18 x 28cm shallow baking tin.
4. Cook in a preheated oven, 180*C (gas mark 4) for 30-35 minutes.
5. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
6. Cut into 2 1/2cm cubes using a sharp knife (I did mine much smaller to use as training treats).
7. Place the liver bait cubes into a freezer bag and freeze until required (I just take a few out at a time and keep them in the fridge, otherwise they tend to go mouldy with it being fresh ingredients).

Hope he likes them once you've made them for him, I'm sure he will