How Do I Show My Cocker Spaniel
I Am The Alpha Male?

by Mike
(North Andover)

I just got a 3 year-old cocker spaniel and he is very friendly. Unfortunately he is not neutered and it seems his previous owners let him run the place.

Mind you he has only been here for 3 days now but it seems he thinks I'm his pet cause he won't listen to commands like "get down" or "no".

How can I go about teaching him how to recognize me as the alpha male?

Reply From Pauline (Web Owner)

Hi Mike, First of all I recommend you take a look at this article - Who's The Alpha Dog In Your Pack?

You'll find information in there that will go some way to helping you to re-establish your status as the pack leader.

In addition, your dog may not be responding to your commands because he doesn't understand them.

He may have been well trained previously but, if you're not aware of the specific command words that were used to train him, it's unlikely that he'll recognize your commands.

For example, if he's been trained to recognize that the word 'down' means 'get off' (the furniture), he's unlikely to lie down or stop jumping up at you when you use this command - he's more likely to be confused.

My recommendation would be to ask the previous owners (if that's possible) what command words were used in his training and learn them. Then begin reinforcing them with your dog and continue practicing them from time to time.

If that's not possible, and/or he's been allowed to rule the roost as you suggest, then I would recommend you retrain him - starting from scratch.

You'll find lots of helpful advice on basic obedience training and how to train a puppy that should help you get through this.

Read it carefully and then give it a go. It may take a little patience and understanding but I'm sure you'll both get where you want to be.

Good luck!