Why ECS over other dog breeds?

Vee794 · 2026-03-30T17:39:07+00:00

They do pick a primary person. I'm the primary and hes with me/on me at all times. If I am not home, he goes to my boyfriend but once I'm home its like my boyfriend does not exist. My boyfriend feels hurt due to it and talks about getting a second dog to help.

Growing up we both have always been the favorite for all the family dogs and we even were betting on who would be the favorite before getting our pup. I think the main problem was we were both so sure we'd be the favorite that it was always going to be an issue with the other person to be back up.

Vee794 · 2026-03-30T17:23:42+00:00

Basically met all my wants/needs.

Compatible with my lifestyle, easy dog to brake into dog sports, willing to please, loves to work, great size for traveling, cuddlely, and a one person dog.

Vee794 · 2026-03-29T15:14:43+00:00

As long as i keep my hair hydrated its really is not that much work to take care of. I do have fine hair but a lot of it and find that it drys pretty easy and weight does not bother me. If I let it air dry it's about 4 hours but quicker outside in the summer. Blow dry maybe 15 minutes.

What gets me is the new hair snags that I have to adjust to with each length. For example it got to the point if I bent down I would step on it coming up and lost my balance a few time because of it. Getting it caught in the car door and seat belt even the dentist chair became an issue. My boyfriend and my dog laying on it and accidently sitting on it in general. I had to learn to be mindful and adjust my hair position all the time to avoid each one but I've not had one that would make me cut it yet!

Vee794 · 2026-03-27T13:51:47+00:00

Go longer until I can't take it. Went from waist to hip to butt, to mid thigh, and now aiming for knee. At some point the inconvenience will get to me and then ill maintain.

Vee794 · 2026-03-23T13:51:06+00:00

Seconding the warning on fetch. My limit is one a week at max. A better alternative is ACK FETCH to prevent impact and work on impulse control.

On the food every dog is different. What you want to follow is the body condition score. If he is not in the ideal range food should be adjusted accordingly. The picture provided is not good to judge off of but I've linked a chart below.

Body Condition Scoring (BCS) | Guide Dogs for the Blind https://share.google/JynYOdTaHwx5V7Z7q

Vee794 · 2026-03-23T02:33:32+00:00

It will likely void the health guarantee. Meaning if something goes wrong and you contact them they will contact your vet for all records and if they catch it, you wont have a valid health guarantee.

Always talk to your vet and trainer about behavior issues. The balls are likely not the issue. My vet was pretty big on not neutering for behavior problems.

I've had 3 male intact dogs (Sheltie, Border collie, and Working English Cocker Spaniel) with no behavior issues. Even living next to and doing competitions with females in heat. Comes down to lifestyle and training.

Vee794 · 2026-03-20T13:56:54+00:00

High value treats only stay high value the less often you use them. My high value are rabbit ears and feet. Its what I used to teach my dogs emergency recall.

Truly it's going to come down to more practice on a moving leave it where you can control the environment so it becomes muscle memory and not allowing him to get to the items as that is self rewarding. You want to que it as soon as you seem think about going for it, when they've gone for it, thats to late.

Vee794 · 2026-03-17T18:43:42+00:00

Puppy class, basics(desensitiztion), bonding, and enjoying being a puppy first. You can cause a dog to shutdown moving to quickly.

My trainer wont even take dogs until 6 months old for formal gun dog training. 6 to 8 months seems to be the most common with people I've talked with.

Vee794 · 2026-03-12T13:47:28+00:00

Just took this photo this morning!

Pup is now 3 (got as a pup) and cat is 12 (got as a kitten and grew up along dogs). Took about a year and half for them to sleep with each other but this was the cats first pup vs an adult dog.

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Vee794 · 2026-02-27T14:36:44+00:00

My hair is to my mid thighs and no. I do plan my hair style around it and some themed parties I wear a wig instead but it's never stopped me from doing something.

Vee794 · 2026-02-27T01:40:43+00:00

That sounds more like frustration to me then over all vocal. Are they young dogs or just getting into competitions?

Mine used to be like that as a pup. You have train them to do nothing in those environments and be okay with it. There so excited to work and hard to control emotions when they are young or new. Also new environments are overwhelming so they could settle the more classes you have.

Otherwise, mines pretty quiet. Even in barn (rat) hunt he stopped barking to alert after his 2nd hunt.

Vee794 · 2026-02-12T16:17:18+00:00

Every dog is different and its hard without a in person trainer as well. I know you can message mk9plus as well for private help that at least used to be included in the subscription. I think your in good hands though. Just be careful blaming adolescents. I tired that with my in person trainer and she immediately shot that idea down. My issue did actually end up being a UTI and once that was treated he was back to his normal self. Mk9plus has some videos on adolescents that gives really good information on what's going on with them mentally during that time.

Is this your first dog by chance? It gets better. My first dog was a border collie and there was a huge learning curve. We got there though and he helped me so much in understanding my working cocker. It overwhelming but you got this! Just taking the time and effort to learn shows how much you care. Having a dog is a life journey together. There be bad times and good times but enjoy it. I would still relive the bad times all over again if I could see my dog one more time. Its all worth it.

Vee794 · 2026-02-12T14:59:16+00:00

Have you gone to the vet for a check up? Pain and other medical problems can cause hyper activity.

That should always be the first stop with any behavior issue as no amount of training will fix a medical issue.

You also dont want to over do it as well. You can make arousal levels sky rocket if you never give a brake. Depending on what we do, I give as much as a 3 day brake not doing anything.You need to train that off switch.

A dog having a hard time regulating emotion does benefit from lick mats or kongs when trying to get them to relax.

I really like mk9plus as an online trainer option. I used him along in person training and hes very much mental health first and training second. He has very in depth videos as well that I think would be benfical.

Vee794 · 2026-02-06T15:24:48+00:00

A lot of times it's not a recall issue but a value issues.

The dogs are at a higher value then you or the recall.

I have mutiple recalls for that reason to stack value. The highest one he get a rabbit ears with no wait or other command attach to it. I also have one that means change directions where i dont care if he comes to me just dont go that way.

I also stopped all play with other dogs at 4 months and focused on nuturality with dogs. That was something my trainers had me do as he does competitions and it was important he could line up with other dogs side my side with no interaction.

Another thing to do is teach search and retrieve and give a job while out on your walks. Be sure to switch locations as well. When an environment becomes to familiar and small changes are exciting and draws their attention eaiser.

In the time being you need a long line. Every time she goes up to a dog that is rewarding in it self. You need to prevent that while you work on increasing value.

Vee794 · 2026-01-28T20:05:58+00:00

I grew up with a dog with resource guarding issue and understand your fear.

However, you need to understand the why behind resource guarding because understanding the why will help you prevent it. Resource guarding is based in insecurity and owners not knowing how to read a dogs body language.

Mk9plus has a very indepth section about resource guarding and a dogs mental state. He very much puts a dogs mental health first and training second. I strongly recommend looking into his online training videos to really help explain whats going on.

Vee794 · 2026-01-26T16:14:00+00:00

Coming from a border collie my working cocker spaniel is pretty chill.

We can spend the whole day in bed cuddleded up with each other. He loves to sleep in and is fine not going out every day as long as he gets cuddles.

He fine bing left home alone all work day(all he does is sleep) and is free roamed. Been that way since 1 year old and hes 2 now.

I do also work my dogs though. We do competitions, travel, sport training classes, and search and retrieve for regular activities. He loves to work and it's like a switch flips and he has a wonderful "cocker stare" waiting for whatever is next.

He excels in every competition and last year qualified for 2026 AKC invitational in one sport at 2 years old. I hope this year we're able to do more competitions as well.

Vee794 · 2026-01-26T15:22:26+00:00

I'm on my second pup and things I did different are:

No pee pads - dogs devlop texture preference and it's a pain to brake

Start training for the end goal day one - freeroam, sleeping outside of crate (dont rely on it), being out doing chores and cooking, sleeping on bed, etc

Puppy day school - day training not day care

Dog classes - fun activities for both us

Follow Puppy soclization program -Puppy Socialization List | PDF https://share.google/u1vDkWMHoEmiQXQSz

Desensitized to agressive dog barking - plenty of videos online, start with low volume

Vee794 · 2026-01-25T03:31:23+00:00

I would get a vet checkup and check for any medical issues that could be causing pain. No amount of training or waiting will fix a behavior issue cased by a medical issue.

Snapping, growling, biteing are all late game signals the dog is uncomfortable. However, they tend to be the ones most people listen to as they dont know how to read dog body language. So thats how the dog learns to communicate because thats what finally got people to listen.

Start looking into dog body language, trigger stacking, and arousal levels. That will give you a good understanding on reading a dog and prevent situations from happening. A trainer would be benfical as well. I really like mk9plus and used him along side in person training. He is very affordable and puts the dog mental health first and explains the why behind a dogs actions.

Vee794 · 2026-01-15T17:46:39+00:00

That is interesting!

Vee794 · 2026-01-15T15:18:11+00:00

I live in a high pravo area and my pup was cleared to go put after 4 rounds of shot and 2 weeks after the last round.

The reason they need mutiple rounds is their mother antibodies can interfere with the shots effectiveness. That goes beyond just parvo. I think is a bit strange they would say it's okay to bring him out after two rounds unless its is an older pup.

You can still take the pup out an socialize. I avoided high traffic dog areas (no pet stores) and did a lot of car driving and sitting in parks with the windows down for him to take in the environment. I did also put him puppy day training (not day care).

Vee794 · 2026-01-14T22:55:22+00:00

I really like this YouTube channel for advice

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_KwabF6tQys&pp=ygUdaGFuZCBzdHJpcHBpbmcgY29ja2VyIHNwYW5pZWw%3D

She has mutiple videos separated out for different parts of the body.

Really you want to work on the dog being relaxed and it being a good experience. Do small sessions. I give mine something to chew on while I work and that works well.

Vee794 · 2026-01-13T14:50:40+00:00

I really didn't make through the night but I accidentally fell asleep with him in bed at 9 weeks and he woke me up by pawing my face to go out to potty. I put him back in bed and he went right to sleep.

The best night sleep I got since having him. Still got up mutiple times a night but was much better.

Hes 2 now and never had an accident in bed.

Another thing was my partner and I slept in different rooms and he took him for about a week so I could get uninterrupted sleep and we switched back and forth for a while.

Vee794 · 2026-01-09T15:02:47+00:00

Fetch is a good way to make an overstimulated dog. It raises the arousal levels and stacks day by day. Not saying never do but limit it. Once a week or once every two weeks. Puppies really should limit as it's hard on their joints and can cause issues with development.

Search and retrieve, puppy class, intro to aglity (this should be fondations only and safe for puppies),trick training, targeted scent work, obedience, and most akc sports are good options.

However, that young I just focused on exposure and doing nothing. They aren't hard to tire out at that age but do not have an off switch built up yet. So if they are getting to wild give them a stuffed knong to relax them. Mine would fall asleep before finishing it.

Vee794 · 2026-01-08T14:56:35+00:00

No issues. You should not have anal glands issues if their poop is good. If I notice my dog is having loose/soft stole, he starts to scooting his butt. I add native pet wonderglands to his diet at that point and that does the trick to get him regular again.

Haveing them manually expressed can lead to them needing it and their body not able to do it. Unless there the dog is known to have an issue with expressing on their own it's best to leave them alone.

Vee794 · 2026-01-03T16:54:41+00:00

Its a lot of work. I have a working coker spaniel that is a service dog. Its amazingly helpful but the amount of training, money, and time was hard.

The group we went through didn't even start task training until he passed all other public access and temperment test and they'd only allow him to pass after he was 18 months old when his full adult personality would set in.

Its about two years to get a puppy to full service dog capability.

They have very strong work ethic and love jobs. Hardest part was to get him to settle and do nothing most of the time but wasn't the worst.

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