13/11/2024
Misdirected drive.
I met this wonderful little cocker yesterday. A typical hard hunting and very driven young man, he had got himself in a bit of a fix with obsessive mousing. This is something that can happen with very driven but honest little dogs, when their energy and drive to hunt/work becomes misdirected. Unfortunately this can then be very rewarding for the dog, as obsession takes over and then all attempts to engage with them become very difficult once they’re in “the zone”. The same can be observed in some dogs who have obsessive chasing behaviours.
This is very different to the “freelance” cocker who’s just taking the proverbial.
The first thing we needed to achieve was unrestricted off lead hunting that was under control. I showed the owners how the obsessive mousing was as a result of restriction (unfortunately this behaviour was not helped by the longline), so we got rid of that quite quickly. We could see how the speed at which we walked had a huge impact on the amount of ground the dog took in, so we changed pace often, if we walked briskly he bombed about at a great distance, if we stood still he started mousing, so I showed them how to keep a pace with him so he stayed at a good distance of 10 metres and under.
We also practised making him sit and give eye contact before he could be released. He grasped this seriously quickly because he was keen to get off hunting again. We also put in a verbal correction when he ignored recall, so that his owners could be confident that they could easily get him back on the lead. Again he grasped this very quickly.
Now that he will be able to exercise freely off the lead, he won’t have any pent up energy leading to obsessive habits (although this may take time to resolve itself fully) This will mean that engagement (meaningful breed appropriate engagement and not obedience for the sake of it) will be far easier and not a battle against an obsessive mindset.
It’s worth noting that there is a vast difference between self rewarding and obsessive behaviours, and restricting a dog further once he displays those behaviours will compound the situation.
I have to admire the dedication of his owners, who made a long trip to come out to see me and were totally on board with helping this super and very honest little chap and worked extremely hard with me over the two hours they were here.
Once his exercise requirements are fulfilled, he will be able to move forward with meaningful hunting and retrieving, and make the best out of his super drive and determination to work.
Well done Bosley and Linda Freeman 💪🏻