Arthur is a 9-10 month old male Springer cross English Cocker Spaniel. On the day we picked Arthur up from kennels he was like a little lost soul. He didn’t even respond to his name and wouldn’t play with any of the toys we offered him. He happily slept in his cage. Over the weeks he has been with us we have had the pleasure of getting to know the real Arthur! His recall is getting much better and he has even learnt some low level agility for fun with my 13 year old daughter, who he adores. He travels really well, is house trained and is a born comedian, making us laugh at every opportunity. He has learnt to love his toys and games.
He isn’t really food or treat driven. He had no idea how to behave on a lead to begin with and was very reactive to lots of situations and people. This has gradually got better over the weeks and he only reacts occasionally (barks mainly) now. We are so proud of how far he has come. In the house he is so loving and settled. Occasionally he starts silly games as most puppies do at this age. An example of this is grabbing something like a DVD and “showing it to us” and then running off as fast as possible wanting us to chase! Again this has much improved over the weeks and it’s just his way of getting the attention he craves.
Arthur would suit an active family with older children. He loves my teenage children. He was very unsure of my toddlers initially but has learnt to love them but think he would be more suited to older children due to his excited bouncy nature and occasional resource guarding. This is Arthur’s more difficult side. Something I’m sure, in a correct home and consistent training, can be overcome.
Although when out and about Arthur can be nervous of new situations, in the house he is very confident and sometimes “bossy”! He will try and push his boundaries with people and other dogs in the house. This is normally over things like the sofa, bed, toys etc and normally is a growl and raised lip at people. He has never gone as far as to bite. With other dogs in the house however, he will push it further and snap at them but again this is something that is getting better.
Arthur would thrive in an active home doing either agility, canicross or flyball and I’m sure will blossom into a lovely family dog with time and patience.I’m sure he would happily live with another, non reactive dog.