Boykin spaniel puppy lost desire to play?

[adamcurles]

My name is Adam and I'm new to the forum. I've got a Boykin spaniel puppy that is 5 months old, and she's seemed to have lost her playfulness. I've got her in the pen with my older dog, and they are very good companions and seem to play a lot together. When I take her out, she is happy to see me, but toys don't seem to excite her and I'm not sure why. A little while back she has seemed to lost interest in fetching as well, I have to near about push her to go fetch. She will fetch it back, but she doesn't strike out after it. My question is, does playing with the other dog take away from her playtime with me, where she should be fetching instead of sitting and acting lazy. I'm Considering taking her away from the other dog and trying to pinpoint it. Any tricks on how to increase her desire to want to play? I will admit I have low patience, and have made some mistakes in the training process that I probably shouldn't have. She listens well, simple commands and minding is almost down pat.

[Sharon]

Any big change in a dog, for no obvious reason warrants a trip to the vet first.

[DonF]

Get her to a vet! I lost a lab pup years ago that was that way. Parvo is possible.

[adamcurles]

I haven't missed a beat on the parvo boosters, and been told that I didn't need anymore shots until the yearly checkup. I have a hard time believing its a problem like this, being her last checkup was only a month ago and she was completely healthy.

[love2hunt]

+3 on getting the pup to your vet. There are lots of things that could be causing the lack of energy. Mine is currently getting treated for kidney function problems that were causing some of the symptoms you describe.

[Sharon]

"I will admit I have low patience" quote O.P.
Has something possibly happened that has turned pup off on working with you?

[adamcurles]

I did spank her a couple of times during a working session of fetching her bumper in the pond when she wouldn't go after it. I'm sure it was the wrong thing to do and this is the only thing I can think of that may be causing this. Could a traumatized event like this turn her off?

[4dabirds]

Sounds like the dog has energy to play with other dog just not the owner. Consider the teeth , maybe the dog is getting its adult teeth. If you are losing patience you may have turned the dog away from you. Dogs will avoid playing the game if it facilitates avoiding a correction. Read the book culture clash by jean Donaldson it will help you understand knine behavior and then you will see there is no reason to lose patience with the dog only yourself. I've seen it available online as a PDF for free.

[big_fish]

after a vet appointment I would think+1 on the teething at 5 months and sometimes they go through stages where they are trying you out. I had my last lab do the same thing at 5-6 months (teeth) then at about 8 months he was trying me out then again at around 16 month he did it again I just pushed on through with training and he was a great dog. Hope all works out for you and the pup.

[QuailHollow]

As long as you are certain she is not ill, I would be the first to say she is bonding with your other dog. You are OK, but she finds the constant companionship of the other dog so much more FUN. Starve her for attention and make sure that the best part of play time is with YOU.

[adamcurles]

Thanks for the help guys! I'm going to starve her from my Australian for a couple of days and see if that makes a difference, and go from there. Patience is the key thing, I know.

[adamcurles]

I've been reading on the book, "Water Dog" and it talks about a phase lots of retrievers go through at 17-18 weeks where they lose interest in retrieving. But it's just a phase and it can come in at 8 months as well. Mine is at 22 weeks, I'm thinking this could be it. Worked with her today with a scented dummy, she seemed to like it. Also retrieved several tennis balls as well.

[crackerd]

I did spank her a couple of times during a working session of fetching her bumper in the pond when she wouldn't go after it. I'm sure it was the wrong thing to do and this is the only thing I can think of that may be causing this. Could a traumatized event like this turn her off?

Just like the other new Boykin owner here, you should get professional help and get in with a retriever trainer and a retriever club. "Spank(ing a puppy) a couple of times" for failing to do what comes natural to any gundog and especially a Boykin - retrieving in the water - was not a prudent thing to do. (Following "Water Dog" is not a prudent thing to do, either, but you can recover from that.) Your dog, if you're lucky, will recover from you.

Never strike a dog in anger, never strike a dog, particularly a puppy, period. What you've done equates to a football coach seeing a young receiver miss a couple of passes then deciding to "help" him become a better pass catcher by breaking the receiver's fingers - understand that gundogs don't progress in their training by having progress beaten into them.

And for anybody out there with a Boykin, a spaniel, or any retrieving gundog, you do not expose a dog to the gun by just shooting that gun at a distance, then moving closer with each subsequent shot. That's a waste of time and brings you nothing but anxiety and possibly disaster, since there's the very distinct possibility of it all going wrong and your ending up with a gun-shy dog. There's a foolproof way of introducing a gundog to the gun and it's been foolproofed a few million times or so by retriever trainers. You - no, somebody other than you - shoots a gun at the same exact time that they throw a bird or bumper at a distance, so the dog which is at your side, marks the throw and also makes the association of a gunshot with something they have a great instinctive desire to do. Which is retrieving, provided you haven't "spanked" it out of them...

MG

[gundogguy]

I did spank her a couple of times during a working session of fetching her bumper in the pond when she wouldn't go after it. I'm sure it was the wrong thing to do and this is the only thing I can think of that may be causing this. Could a traumatized event like this turn her off?

Just like the other new Boykin owner here, you should get professional help and get in with a retriever trainer and a retriever club. "Spank(ing a puppy) a couple of times" for failing to do what comes natural to any gundog and especially a Boykin - retrieving in the water - was not a prudent thing to do. (Following "Water Dog" is not a prudent thing to do, either, but you can recover from that.) Your dog, if you're lucky, will recover from you.

Never strike a dog in anger, never strike a dog, particularly a puppy, period. What you've done equates to a football coach seeing a young receiver miss a couple of passes then deciding to "help" him become a better pass catcher by breaking the receiver's fingers - understand that gundogs don't progress in their training by having progress beaten into them.

And for anybody out there with a Boykin, a spaniel, or any retrieving gundog, you do not expose a dog to the gun by just shooting that gun at a distance, then moving closer with each subsequent shot. That's a waste of time and brings you nothing but anxiety and possibly disaster, since there's the very distinct possibility of it all going wrong and your ending up with a gun-shy dog. There's a foolproof way of introducing a gundog to the gun and it's been foolproofed a few million times or so by retriever trainers. You - no, somebody other than you - shoots a gun at the same exact time that they throw a bird or bumper at a distance, so the dog which is at your side, marks the throw and also makes the association of a gunshot with something they have a great instinctive desire to do. Which is retrieving, provided you haven't "spanked" it out of them...

MG

Excellent post MG
This Chris Akins clip will simplify the process of into to gun fire have used it for 30 yrs getting ready to use it again on a new pup.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nc8iO8iemLw

HS