Teenage stage is really testing. Help me through it

[Thatsmycupoftea]

I know we have just got to be strong and stick with the training but ddog has been a handful this week. Everything she normally wouldn't do she has and has pushed boundaries.

Shes been at the vets today after running away from dh and hurting her leg in the process. Her recall is usually really good but she just ran and ran.

She has sneaked through the safety gate and been trying again.

Really hurt my arm pulling on the lead like a mad dog.

Been jumping up.

Eaten the kids dinner while i turned my back for 30 seconds.

She has just forgotten how to listen it seems.

Shes still lovely and sweet but really testing us.

Sorry to hear that. Hope she calms down again soon! What age does teenage stage kick in generally, do you think, and how long does it go on for?
Ours is a rescue so not sure how old she is but we think 6mo. She can be very testing but also lovely, still very much a puppy though we think. I can’t remember now for our last old dog, seem to have forgotten all the puppy stuff as well as it’s been a shock to go through again in many ways 😂

Urgh, nightmare flashbacks! Ours would bite our faces (not 'bite' bite, but in an overanxious boisterous way) at that age, then be so sorry she'd hurt us she bite us again, to apologise. Why anyone wants a puppy is beyond me!

Maybe go back to using really high value training treats - chicken always worked well with ours, those wafer thin slices you can cut into tiny squares. If you use ordinary dog treats for the usual stuff but high value for things like recall where you really need her to respond first time, that's probably best. And if you don't already have a crate get one now, and puppo has to go in there at your mealtimes, and to wind down. Not as a punishment, but as a safe space to decompress in and keep your food and belongings safe when your back is turned! Maybe introduce a stuffed kong or snuffle mat in there so she really associates it with good things. And keep the kids out! It's the dog's place to retreat to, not for them to go crawling in or disturbing the pup when she's in there. Respect has to work both ways.

You will come out the other side! lots of luck!

We are struggling a bit with our 10 month old. He's being so jumpy and bitey but excited bitey. Jumped on my head while I was doing zoom fitness class tonight although maybe that was concern at my groaning in pain at press ups?

My dog is 11 months. I'm not sure how long this teenage stage lasts. Probably different for every dog.

What a nightmare about the zoom class but it did make me laugh.

We do have a crate so il be using that some more.

I know she will get there and I have to keep reminding myself shes just a baby. Also we didn't get her as a tiny puppy so she's fairly new to us.

I have an interview today and a few important work zooms so I'm praying she is good during those.

Please, please keep her on a lead or longline for now if her recall is going.

It's lambing season and if she gets somewhere she shouldn't do you could both be in a lot of trouble. This time of year is also really bad for scents (think deer and foxes mating) so even though mine is three he's put on a lead around now as it's just not worth the risk!

I was also going to suggest a long lead, not an extending lead but a long training lead, it saved my sanity when my dog was going through her teenage months and wouldn't recall and she was on it for quite some time.

Once her recall starts to kick in again you can leave the lead trailing and be ready to grab it or stamp on it if she start running.

Keep up her training and recall will return but it's hard when you're going through it. I can even laugh now at some of the things my dog did when she was a teenager, wasn't funny at the time though.

Don't worry we have long line and have been using that. We only let her off when it is absolutely safe to do so but we won't be letting her off at all from now on and only using the line.

We have fields you can hire for recall or just to free run your dog alone you could practise recall. (& other stuff) You really need to make yourself the high value treat as such, it’s hard work though. My retriever pup is being a total twat just now & I’m trying not to be frustrated with him. However it’s hard!!. Liver paste by Arden grange is fab for recall as is super high value but I only use it for recall. Primula cheese too, v high value but I use it for things I really want from him and use lower value for other stuff.

Best thing I’ve been told is to manage his environment - so when I’m doing exercises - crate - ours is a crate with a pen so lots of space for him as his arousal levels are high if I’m jumping about. Crate games by Susan Garrett is excellent. Play with him in it, do games etc Feed in there, kong, snuffle mat, licky mat, scatter feed etc all enriching for when your pup needs some mental stimulation & stops them inhaling dinner. Boundary train also. But I think the most important training tip is to make yourself more interesting than the dog or cat or stick or person or whatever, work in progress here so you’re not alone and this teenage stage is fricking frustrating at times. One day we will all have lovely dogs, meanwhile the grey hairs are sprouting all over

Agree, you need to be more exciting than anything else in the vicinity.

I well remember the crazy leaping and high pitched calling in the park (me, not the dog) and the treating (dried chicken liver, in my dog's case) although, there's a limit on how much a dog can have of that, but it did work wonders.