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Original poster

Please tell me it gets easier

37 replies

Lovetosleep1 · 22/12/2023 12:12

My GSD is 9 months old and I cried this morning because she's such hard work. She was great until about 6 weeks ago and now seems to have forgotten all of the training we have done. She plays rough, demands attention, has constant zoomies, never stops, is a pain to walk. This mornings walk was awful, the wind made her wild, seagulls all over the field sent her mad, she just barked and lunged the whole time.
I do love her but also don't like her very much sometimes so feel really guilty about that.
Just looking for some reassurance that she will come out of this stage and calm down a bit.

OP posts:
Eyesopenwideawake · 22/12/2023 12:14

Ah, the terrible twos! Yes, it will get easier in a couple of months - hang on in there. Are you doing any training will her?

Original poster
Lovetosleep1 · 22/12/2023 12:29

@Eyesopenwideawake thank you that makes me feel better. She goes weekly to training classes and I follow it up at home. She has got much better on walks and doesn't usually pull but today it felt like she forgot everything and was completely feral. I think the wind may have something to do with it.
She just seems to get completely over excited by things and has the attention span of a goldfish. Other people say they can see that she is improving but it's such slow progress.

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Purplecatshopaholic · 22/12/2023 12:36

Some of them take longer to ‘get it ‘, lol. It will get easier - be patient, be consistent. The wind is driving one of mine mental too!

21ZIGGY · 22/12/2023 12:39

My gsd x was a pain until 10 months, was great for 3 months then regressed again😭
Bloody nightmare! But now 2years old and a good boy. Stick with the training. Sometimes i thought the classes etc were too stressful as he is lead reactive but glad i stuck with it as i dont know what he'd be like without it.
I also got a dog walker 2 days a week to give me a break and an hour to breathe esp on the tough days. It was and still is a lifeline

Resilience · 22/12/2023 12:43

Hang on in there. Lots of dogs go through this phase starting around this age. It's essentially the doggie version of teenage rebellion.

I've had lots of dogs over the years. The worst was not my Rottweiler but my golden retriever! Knocked me off my feet, pulled DH off his chair and bowled over one of the DC. He's the best dog ever now with fantastic recall and obedience.

It does get easier if you persist with it. You might feel it's not getting easier but it will.

SirChenjins · 22/12/2023 12:49

It does get easier, I promise! We're at 2.5 years now and he still has his off days when I could happily give him away (joking!) (no I'm not), but the good days are now outnumbering them thankfully. Keep going with the training and it will all come together. I hold onto this mantra I read somewhere when ChenDog is really pushing my buttons - "he's not being difficult, he's having a difficult time". Repeat as many times as you need while you stare daggers at them.

Original poster
Lovetosleep1 · 22/12/2023 12:53

Thank you it's genuinely reassuring that everyone goes through this stage.
I think I need to stop comparing her behaviour to other dogs at different stages. I thought I was pretty good at training but it turns out I just had an easy dog last time! I've also never owned a GSD before.
The bit that drives me mad is that she knows what she should be doing but thinks she knows best and just does what she wants anyway. It does help though to compare her to a toddler who's brain isn't fully formed.

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Deedippy · 22/12/2023 12:54

Not a gsd but a 12 month old cavapoo. Up until 6 weeks ago things were going really well and in the last 6 weeks he's turned into a total bell end. Recall has vanished and if he picks up a scent or sees another dog I no longer exist. Could have fillet steak in my pocket and he doesn't give a shit. Walks are basically he being dragged down the road and he's constantly jumping up again.. apparently he's a teenager and it will improve. Good luck

margotrose · 22/12/2023 13:25

The teenage years are hell - my beagle had me in tears multiple times!

It does get better, just keep going and it will sink in eventually. In the meantime, lots of deep breaths and don't forget the wine Grin

Original poster
Lovetosleep1 · 22/12/2023 15:45

All of your horror stories have helped me so much, I honestly feel much better about it all now.

@margotrose I feel your pain with a beagle, we had one growing up and he was the naughtiest.

@Deedippy that made me laugh. I keep on saying she's turned in to a massive twat overnight.

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AwkwardPaws27 · 22/12/2023 15:57

Typical teenage twattery. DDog (cocker spaniel) was at his most challenging from around 8-15 months, his recall vanished & he had a secondary fear period where he barked at everything slightly out of the ordinary (embarrassed me on several occasions due to seeing an umbrella). Slowly improved after that & far, far better by 2.
He's 3 now & an angel to walk, although still a thief at home!

margotrose · 22/12/2023 16:03

@Lovetosleep1 he'll be six in February and is much calmer now, though he did try and start a fight with a goose on Monday Hmm Grin

Original poster
Lovetosleep1 · 22/12/2023 20:40

@AwkwardPaws27 yes recall completely gone and barking and flinging herself at everything. I wouldn't mind so much if I didn't have to see other people, I feel so judged by the smug people with well behaved dogs 😂

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Original poster
Lovetosleep1 · 22/12/2023 20:45

@margotrose that's good that he's calmed down. Ours stole the Christmas turkey once and ate the whole thing, my mum was so angry she said she was getting her put to sleep which made us all cry it was complete chaos 😂. My mum forgave her and she lived another 10 years.

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Dontfuckingsaycheese · 22/12/2023 21:05

Out of our little gang of 4 the German Shepherd is by far the best behaved ❤️

margotrose · 22/12/2023 21:09

@Lovetosleep1 they're definitely an entertaining breed, that's for sure!

DH once left him in the room with a box of Bakewell tarts while he went to the toilet - he came back five minutes later to find the cardboard in shreds and a very guilty looking dog sitting under the dining table Grin

He had to go to the vet to be sick as he'd eaten all the tarts, the tin foil cases and all the plastic wrap inside Hmm the first thing he did when he came home afterwards is pinch DH's toast!

Original poster
Lovetosleep1 · 22/12/2023 21:30

@margotrose 😂🤣

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Original poster
Lovetosleep1 · 22/12/2023 21:32

@Dontfuckingsaycheese no we can only have naughty dogs on this thread to make me feel better.
He is beautiful though, was he well behaved at 9 months? Crossing my fingers he wasn't.

OP posts:
verylongday · 22/12/2023 21:43

I have a 9 month old westiepoo. She's absolutely awful at the moment. All her training has gone out of the window.
She ignores everything we say, bounces round the lounge, covered in mud from the big hole shes dug in the lawn.

We take her to weekly training and follow it up at home. She even ignores the trainer, lies down,closes her eyes and ignores him.

The wind has made her even worse. She's barking at every little noise and on walks she's all over the place.
Im just hanging on in there at the moment.

Dontfuckingsaycheese · 22/12/2023 21:47

Lovetosleep1 · 22/12/2023 21:32

@Dontfuckingsaycheese no we can only have naughty dogs on this thread to make me feel better.
He is beautiful though, was he well behaved at 9 months? Crossing my fingers he wasn't.

We’re a small walking gang of 4. There’s also a black tail in that pic that doesn’t belong to one of ours! She was a rescue so my friend only had her as an adult… but her behaviour is impeccable! I so had mine from only 18 months. Maybe that’s the secret! I didn’t feel confident enough to have a puppy as my first dog. Mine’s the cheeky chap in the red and black anorak. He’s also small so he can’t pull me over or do much flinging. He also gets mistaken for a puppy and gets forgiven! Little dogs get to get away with so much 🙄

SirChenjins · 22/12/2023 23:11

Lovetosleep1 · 22/12/2023 20:40

@AwkwardPaws27 yes recall completely gone and barking and flinging herself at everything. I wouldn't mind so much if I didn't have to see other people, I feel so judged by the smug people with well behaved dogs 😂

Oh god yes - the judgy smug dog owners make me want to scream as they walk past, nose in the air, with their equally judgy smug dog trotting beautifully alongside them on its loose lead while mine is turning circles on the end of his and barking like he’s possessed. So embarrassing.🙈

TheSecretaryBird · 22/12/2023 23:52

Our 9 month old WSD has definitely hit the teenage stage recently. Still needs loads of sleep like a puppy but is completely obnoxious and is a nightmare to settle as soon as he gets a tiny bit overtired.

Our 3 year old WSD was a nightmare until he hit 2 years old (despite much training) and now he’s a complete angel of dog. I took him to agility at 18 months and he peed on all the equipment 🙄 Now he’s a fantastic flyball dog (best dog in his whole team) and we do agility for fun (without peeing on the equipment 🤣)

They do get there but they all mature differently. Pup has walked as far as the village hall tonight and was a complete hooligan. But tomorrow’s another day and hopefully we might lunge less at cars or not bark manically at other dogs but if we do then we’ll just increase the distance and keep plodding along.

You’re definitely not alone, but keep at it everyday and suddenly you’ll see the progress when you least expect it

Copperoliverbear · 23/12/2023 00:31

Maybe get a dog Walker to burn off more energy, one whom has lots of experience and trained.

Motorina · 23/12/2023 10:23

Teenage dogs are arseholes.

It’s not you.

FortunaMajor · 23/12/2023 10:43

I'm on my third GSD. The plan with this one was to get another puppy when she turned 2. I was still so traumatised by this one's teen phase that it never happened. I was paying for classes twice a week until she was 18 months and felt like it was money down the drain. Now she's a complete angel. Hang in there it does get better, but GSDs have a very special kind of twattery in their teens. Her nickname is still nobhead though.

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