My pup is a delinquent and I need advice !

[ChangedmynameagainforChristmas]

I have two pugs. One is five and the other is ten months. They are lovely together and are happy little dogs.
They play together and sleep together. We have two cats who they get along with. That's the good bit !
This new excessive behaviour from the younger one has been coming on for a while. She will not listen to me. If I'm not on the ball and I open the front door to go to the car or the bin she will run past me and run off.
In the house she play fights with the other dog to excess so I have to stop her in case it turns into a proper fight.
She has chewed Christmas decorations, Christmas presents, my grandchildren's toys. She now chases the cats. She runs around like a maniac and jumps on the dining room table.
When we go for a walk she has to be kept on a lead now at all times as she runs off and barks at people. She never did this before, it has all started in the last month. It is like she has turned into a different animal completely.

I have had dogs all my life and have never experienced disruption like it ! Can anyone shed a little light on the matter please as I am at a loss here.
For context she gets plenty of exercise, has lots of toys and chewing matter and is very loved.

sounds like your pup has just reached its tearaway teen years. Are you giving her enough mental stimulation?

Yes sounds bored. What mental stimulation is she getting… people seem to forget that small dogs are still dogs and still need plenty

Typical puppy! Our 7 month old dachshund is exactly the same. She's gradually learning not to hassle the older dog too much, as he warns her off! We also distract with toys, and she's really happy to zoom around after a ball for a while, which gets rid of the excess energy.

Yes I thought it might be the terrible teens. She is very bright and lively at all times and probably more intelligent than I give her credit for. I will try to stimulate her mentally a bit more. She will fetch a ball or stick back where the other dog does not. I just need to step up on it I think !

There are nice and easy ways - is she fed kibble? Giving her a meal in a ball which slowly releases us takes them ages and tires them out.
Stuffed kongs
Little bit of trick training etc

I appreciate she’s a young dog and can’t go out for ages but I also find a bit of variety in walks are really helpful.
Admitedly I’m very lucky where I am but we switch stuff up with woods, moorland, finding trig points etc, sniffy walks round the roads, canal paths, we’ve got a few wild swimming spots which are fun, driving to the beach sometimes… keeps it interesting rather than just the local park, being let off for 45 mins and coming home.

She's bang in the middle of adolescence - prime idiot territory I'm afraid

Some dogs need more mental and physical stimulation than others - chews and play are no substitute for some good old-fashioned brain work. It doesn't have to be expensive or complicated - a long, slow "dog led" sniffy walk on a lead, for example, or a few ten minute training sessions (on her own) each day - focusing on the basics at first, then you can increase the difficulty and teach her tricks.

How much exercise are you giving her everyday? I'd say young dogs need a good couple of hours. I know pugs are typically low energy but some are outliers and will need much more than others.

Practically speaking please do something about the fact that she runs into the road - we use the double door method for ours but you could get into the habit of putting her in a different room or using a babygate, maybe?

Good luck - it will get better!

Yep, adolescence has hit!

She will fetch a ball or stick back where the other dog does not. I just need to step up on it I think !

FWIW I find that (for my dog, who loves a game of fetch) it's physical exercise but not mental exercise - spend an hour playing fetch and he'll be physically exhausted and mentally still wired.

One way we adapt a game of fetch to provide some mental stimulation is to play a game of "find it". Start super simple - pop the dog out of the room, put the ball half visible, say "find it" as ddog spots it, and praise when they grab it. Once they're getting the idea say find it as soon as you open the door (before they spot it, then put it in a slightly more challenging position until you're properly hiding it under a blanket / behind the sofa etc. Mine has devised his own systematic method of finding the ball, starting by sniffing around the edges of the room and honing in from there. When he finds it, I throw the ball a few times and then we do the find it game again. If cocaine smelt like tennis balls I could rent him out to the airport, he's quite efficient at it.