Working Cocker Spaniel Hunting

When training a Cocker spaniel to hunt you should encourage your dog to get into and underneath the cover. This is often called 'throwing the cover over his back'. Ground that has cover such as dead bracken is often the best as it provides areas that allow the dog to get in. Many novice spaniel trainers allow their dogs to jump over the cover which is often called 'stagging'. This is an ineffective hunting technique which, if displayed in field trials or tests ( under a decent judge ) will impact your final result. If your dog is reluctant then you'll have to get in with him to show him how much fun it can be.