Bear & Bailey (brothers)
English Cocker Spaniels
Began training with Click-2-Heel at 12 weeks
At A Glance
- Littermates
- Over-reliance on each other
- Different confidence levels
- Resource guarding
- Focus on gundog training – retrieve, sit and stay
- Bear reactive towards Bailey
Training Objective
To ensure the brothers developed separate identities and personalities and were raised as individuals without overreliance on each other. Build confidence and introduce management techniques to lower arousal levels and avoid escalation. Establish good foundation behaviours with a focus on future Gundog work.
Solutions
Click-2-Heel recommended that Bear and Bailey attend separate classes on different nights so training could be tailored towards their individual needs whilst ensuring they each developed a strong relationship with their owners. It also gave the puppy who stayed at home practice at being alone.
Both dogs completed Click-2-Heel’s puppy course and attended follow-on graduation classes for over a year, as well as some agility lessons. Bailey also attended Click-2-Heel’s bravery workshop to help further develop his confidence. His owners were encouraged to stop overcompensating for his timid nature and to allow him to work things out for himself.
At 7 months, Bear did several 121 sessions with Di Martin to address his lack of recall and resource guarding. He was put back on a long line on walks and his owners were given the tools to deal with the guarding, including swapping out items he picked up that could be dangerous, as well as adding food to his bowl at mealtimes.
Results
Bear and Bailey have grown into well adjusted, confident and happy adult dogs. Despite having different personalities, the brothers get on well but are not overly dependent on each other. They are excellent off lead with good recall.
Both have done well as gundogs.
“Click-2-Heel really took the time to understand the personality of each dog, and then helped us bring out the best in them. Even though they’re brothers, they’re like chalk and cheese and the training we received was adjusted to account for their different characters.
They are now a joy to own. Thanks to the early training, we have never had any chewing, reactivity to other dogs or people or excessive barking. I would say the only thing Click-2-Heel didn’t teach them was not to follow me to the toilet.”
SHELAGH ASHLEY