Are these the puppy blues?

[puginamug]

Our spaniel is 8 months old. He's an absolute joy and I love him to bits.

But my word he's hard work at the moment. Everything seems to have gone backwards.

He's recall has disappeared so he's back on the long line. He's counter surfing, back to biting our feet on the sofa, jumping up at people.

I'm sure this is all normal but I just feel so worn out with it all.

Tell me it will all get better.

Is he off his tits on carbs? Try meat only. Not just muscle meat though, gizzards and livers and hearts and stuff as well as chicken wings and HB eggs. Add in a bit of carrot and apple too.

It takes the edge right off them, allows them to concentrate and not be dicks.

I think they can have a bit of a “teenaged” regression where everything goes to shit and you’ve to get back to basics with training again. Sounds like it could be this?!

Definitely teenage behaviour. My spaniel also started this at 8 months. She's nearly 10 months now and pretty much back to her old self...occasionally she forgets herself when overexcited but in 95% of the time she's very good. It will pass.

I could have written your post word for word except my mixed breed is 9m and too small to counter surf 😅

However he is barking at the door relentlessly, pulling like a train when on lead and hassling the cat again.

I was trying to clean down the cupboard doors today and he was ridiculous! I actually had the thought that I wished we’d never got him (I don’t really mean this, we all love him but life was definitely easier without him in it!)

Oh and he’s started cocking his leg intone corner of the hallway 😡

Welcome to adolescence

They are little shits for a good few months but they do come good eventually, I promise!

I adopted my Spaniel when he was 8 months old, and he was an absolute nightmare until about 13 months. Chewing everything, biting, stealing, humping (mostly me), ignoring recall sometimes, just absolutely wild.

I knew him as a younger puppy and he couldn't have been any different! As a little puppy, he was really easy! Soft, sweet, floppy, quiet, gentle. He just suddenly got flooded with hormones and couldn't control himself.

He's nearly 18 months now and soooo much better. He's still a Spaniel - so still loopy as a box of frogs on speed. But the wild edginess is softer, more rounded-off.

Adolescent stage can be tough, especially in high-energy dogs. You'll get there!! Spaniels are SO fun! Give it a little more time.

Oh I forgot the stealing!

Socks, knickers, bras… how he finds these items I don’t know. Tea towels also a fave.

And the chewing 😲 Not hard furniture, interestingly, but soft furnishings… can’t have cushions or slippers, or rugs

It will come all good,be assured.just keep on with your training and accept,he is a teenager.the training and time you invested up to now was not in vain at all.I had this behaviour from one of my Collies a few years ago.I remember one time, I cried and thought,she will never listen to me.well,she turned out to be my very best girl.she was 1.5 years old when she abandoned her teenage behaviour for good

My WCS was awful 2-5 months of age. He was great for about a month then started to rebel.

His teenage phase lasted until about 1year old and the worst period was 8-9 months when he was a complete git especially with recall.

Have lots of . This phase will pass but my god they try your nerves. Bloody love him now and he makes me laugh when occasionally his cheekiness reappears but when it's constant it can get you down.

How can we possibly say without any photos?

Not sure you can take the word of any posters giving advice without photos!

Welcome to adolescence!
I wouldn't say puppy blues, more teenage terrors. He'll get there.

Our cocker is 14 months, he's currently humping his bed BUT he's been brilliant the rest of the day & his recall is only shaky if there's a squirrel - the rest of the time he's great, squirrels are still a potential temptation.

We're getting more and more "good dog" moments as the months pass, but it does take a while.

I found he's needed a lot of chews - adult teeth are still bedding in for a while & chewing is a calming behaviour. So is licking, so peanut butter in a king is another good settling activity.

It's hard.

But it will pass.

As pp said just keep on with training even if, at times, it seems pointless. Eventually he'll turn into an adult and you'll have a lovely well trained dog.

Things that almost reduced me to tears when my dog was 8 months old I can laugh about now.

Thank you everyone. That's reassuring.

And just to prove I'm not making him up just for the lols.