Practical Behavioral Training Tips for Your Cordon-bleu Spaniel

First off, let’s get one thing straight: Cordon-bleus were bred as hunting spaniels back in the day, so they’ve got a super strong prey drive, tons of energy, and a bit of a "I know better than you" streak sometimes. Don’t take their sass personal, it’s just in their DNA! A lot of owners make the mistake of treating them like tiny lap dogs that don’t need much training, but that’s how you end up with a pup that barks at every squirrel that passes your window, steals socks off the laundry pile, and refuses to come when you call them at the dog park. Trust me, I’ve seen so many Cordon-bleu owners come to me stressed out cause their 10 pound fluff ball is runing the whole house.

The best age to start behavioral training for your Cordon-bleu is as young as 8 weeks old, okay? But even if you adopted an older Cordon-bleu, don’t worrry, they’re super smart and can pick up new habits at any age. The number one rule for this breed is positive reinforcement only. If you yell at them or punish them for messing up, they’ll just shut down and refuse to listen to you entirely. They’re way more motivated by treats, belly rubs, and their favorite toy than they are by scolding. I usually recommend keeping a little bag of tiny, high-value treats (like small bits of chicken or freeze dried liver) in your pocket at all times for the first few months of training, so you can reward good behavior the second it happens.

Let’s start with the most important command for Cordon-bleus first: recall, aka coming when you call. Like I said earlier, their prey drive is no joke, so if they spot a rabbit or a bird when you’re off leash, they’ll bolt after it without a second thought if they don’t have solid recall. Start practicing this inside your house first, when there’s no distractions. Call their name followed by "come", and as soon as they run over to you, give them a treat and a ton of praise. Once they get that down, move to your backyard, then to a quiet park, then to a busier dog park. Pro tip: never call them to you for something they don’t like, like giving them a bath or trimming their nails. If you do that, they’ll associate coming when called with bad stuff, and they’ll start ignoring you. If you need to do something they hate, go get them yourself instead of calling them over.

Another super common behavioral issue with Cordon-bleus is excessive barking. They’re natural watch dogs, so they’ll bark to let you know if someone’s at the door, but a lot of them take it too far, barking at every passing car, neighbor, or even leaf blowing across the yard. To fix this, first you gotta figure out what’s triggering the barking. If it’s people walking past your front window, try closing the blinds or moving their bed away from the window so they can’t see the triggers. When they do start barking for no good reason, wait for them to pause for even a split second, then say "quiet" and give them a treat. Don’t yell at them to stop barking, cause they’ll think you’re barking along with them, and that just makes them louder! I had a client last year whose Cordon-bleu would bark nonstop every time the mailman came, after 2 weeks of this training, he now just wags his tail and waits by the door for his treat when the mail truck pulls up.

Leash pulling is another problem a lot of Cordon-bleu owners deal with. These little guys have so much energy, they just want to run and sniff everything the second you step outside, so they’ll yank on the leash so hard your arm gets sore. The best way to fix this is the "stop and go" method. Every time they pull on the leash, stop walking entirely. Don’t yank them back, just stand still and don’t move until they loosen the leash. Once they stop pulling and look at you, say "good boy/girl" and start walking again. It might take a little while at first, your first few walks might take twice as long as usual, but they’ll catch on really quick. They want to go explore, so they’ll learn real fast that pulling means the fun stops. Also, skip the retractable leashes for training, they just encourage pulling and make it harder to control your pup if they try to bolt after something.

Socialization is a huge part of behavioral training for Cordon-bleus too. They’re usually friendly with people, but if they don’t meet lots of different people, dogs, and other animals when they’re young, they can get skittish or even aggressive around new things. Start introducing them to kids, older people, people with hats, people with glasses, other friendly dogs, even cats if you have them, as early as possible. Make every new interaction a positive one, give them treats when they greet new people nicely, don’t force them to interact if they seem scared. If they’re nervous around a new person, let them approach on their own time instead of pushing them to say hi. I’ve seen Cordon-bleus that weren’t socialized properly grow up to be scared of anyone wearing a hoodie, which is a total pain when you’re trying to take them for walks in the fall.

One thing a lot of people don’t warn you about Cordon-bleus is how prone they are to separation anxiety. They hate being left alone for long periods of time, so if you work 10 hour days away from home, you might come back to chewed up shoes, pee on the carpet, and a very stressed out pup. To prevent separation anxiety, start leaving them alone for short periods of time when they’re young, even if it’s just 10 minutes at first. Give them a special treat or a puzzle toy that they only get when you’re gone, so they associate you leaving with something good. Don’t make a big fuss when you leave or when you come back, keep it calm so they don’t think you leaving is a big deal. If your Cordon-bleu already has bad separation anxiety, you might wanna talk to your vet about it, sometimes they can recommend calming aids or a trainer that specializes in anxiety issues.

Let’s go over some common mistakes owners make when training their Cordon-bleu, so you don’t have to learn the hard way. First, don’t skip training sessions cause you think they’re too tired or too cute. Even 5 to 10 minute training sessions a day are enough, consistency is way more important than long, boring sessions. Second, don’t let them get away with bad behavior when they’re puppies just cause it’s cute. If you let them jump on you when they’re 2 pounds, they’re gonna think it’s okay to jump on you when they’re 15 pounds, and they’ll jump on every guest that comes to your house too. Third, don’t compare your Cordon-bleu’s training progress to other dogs. Some Cordon-bleus pick up commands in a day, some take a week or two, that’s totally normal. Just be patient with them, they’re trying their best!

At the end of the day, Cordon-bleus are such loving, fun little dogs, and training them is a great way to bond with your pup. You don’t need to be a professional dog trainer to teach them good behavior, all you need is a little patience, a lot of treats, and a sense of humor when they mess up. If you ever get stuck, don’t be afraid to reach out to a local positive reinforcement trainer that has experience with spaniel breeds, they can help you work through any specific issues you’re having. Before you know it, you’ll have a well-behaved Cordon-bleu that everyone in your neighborhood loves!