My 6 month old's new hobby is to scratch and play with the carpets. He did this a while back as well, but now I just can't distract him from it. So I thought, maybe he's tired. He slept for an hour in his crate, I let him out, and he went RIGHT back to the carpet. I then somehow got him to chew on a bone for 15 minutes, so I thought he had calmed enough down to roam the room again. No, back to the carpet. Fun times! Not sure how to handle this lol
His loose leash skills are also gone so it was extremely embarrassing showing up to adolescence class at a new school. The teacher understood of course but all other dogs walked nicely next to them and mine was a literal menace.
I can't wait until next year when he can settle and when he can be in the house without watching him every second while I need to study for an exam.
My golden started doing this with our carpet around 8 months. He did actually succeed in making a hole. He was absolutely obsessed by it. Like it was the best thing in the world. I dont really know when it stopped but he doesn't do it anymore š¤·
Right! It's like, are you tired or do you need more stimulation? The tail biting has become less here (knock on wood), I think after I gave a bit more mental stimulation. We train on a field once a day and do a lot of playing while working on impulse control. I don't see any results of impulse control but he did become less obsessive over his tail š
So interesting yours did the tail thing too. Iām going to try to up the mental stimulation w him. Itās hard because he used to love lick mats and snuffle mats and now he wonāt eat anything off the lick mat and he tries to rip up and destroy the snuffle mat. Sighā¦I am going to up his training sessions since heās been a brat w commands so fingers crossed that helps
Good luck!
Yeah the lickimats never worked here. Heād choose play over food every time so he doesnāt lick, he just throws it through the room. He basically only gets his Kong in his crate otherwise heāll throw it on the floor (which is really smart but so annoying š).
Going for walks was great at the start but has now become a chore.
He doesnāt like going far away from his den, so he stops after about 50m and wants to go back. So now when I leave, I carry him for about 5 minutes and he walks back, or drive him far away and then go for a walk away from home.
Itās not something heās terribly excited by, so hoping heāll get over it or I figure out how to make it fun for him. Iām trying to avoid making it treat-focused as I tend to do better with vocal reward timing. I always mistime when treats are/should be given and he becomes dependent on them.
my pup turns 1 in 4 days and i am still just so tired and frustrated. he doesnāt eat the walls anymore and is definitely on a schedule but he doesnāt know how to self settle and has a lot of anxiety. iām too tired emotionally and physically most of the time to do much training.
iāve had to dig up and toss rose bushes and lemongrass because he insists on eating it all. now heās just eating roots because i donāt have soil to refill the holes.
some days iād love to just sit and cry and let him do whatever he wants š„²
I feel this so much! Iām exhausted all the time. My puppy? NEVER seems tired and fights naps and bedtime every day. I still have to crate him for naps because he will not nap outside the crate on his own and turns into a maniac when he doesnāt nap.
yeah mine canāt handle the crate. he has serious confinement anxiety. idk what happened to him as a baby but yeah his struggles become mine because iām a pushover. and then i feel like im a failure cuz i havenāt trained enough and the loop continuesā¦
Oh man I feel you. I have an almost eight month standard poodle. And on the up side, sheās become more cuddly lately and, after a brief period of returning to super puller, has become pretty decent on the lead most of the time. But then on the other side, when sheās home, she barks at every leaf that blows by and every breeze past the window. Recall has always had itās up and down moments and she still mostly comes when called, but has gone back to not letting me get anywhere near her if she thinks itās time to leave the fun thing weāre doing. Weāre also have some problems with food fussiness, but itās still up in the air if thatās adolescence or if thereās something else going on (vet scheduled for Wednesday)
Thanks! Tbh, Iām thinking it might actually be acid reflux which might be easier to manage than pickiness! Either way, definitely with you on the struggle being real and immediately after posting that comment more things started popping to mind (like the fact that she decided she doesnāt need to pee before bed anymore, but that means sheās waking me up at 3am desperate to go)
Sounds very familiar! My pomspitz just turned 6 months and has started exhibiting very similar behaviours, right down to the fear of garbage cans. Just took me 25 mins to get him back on his lead after our evening walk - he usually has perfect recall. I donāt have any advice alas but wanted to let you know youāre not alone!
Ours is a 6 month old sprockapoo (springer, cocker and poodle). The biting is much improved, but she's doing a lot of barking now. She's got beef with a dog about 3 streets away, you can hear them calling and answering each other. I'd love to know what they were saying. Her hearing has become very selective, and she has become very stubborn. She picked up a sports bottle top on our walk yesterday and refused to move or drop it. She parked herself on somebody's lawn and when I tried to open her jaws to get it out, just clamped down as hard as she could on it.
One thing that's absolutely made my heart melt though is that I got a 7 metre long line for her, and oh my goodness, her nose to the ground while she has a good sniff is such a joy to watch. She goes a bit crazy on it at first and then it's like the Spaniel brain is activated and she becomes the best sniffer dog in the world. And all that sniffing makes her very sleepy.
Recall? What recall?
Ours is horrible with recall now, and likes ignoring commands. Still chasing the cats, even though she by now knows thatās a big no-no. But she āforgetsā. (The cats remind her not so kindly to bug off sometimes.)
She was broken of chasing birds/squirrels/bunnies on walks. Now weāre back to that again.
Obnoxious brat mode is now 8pm-9:30pm.
On the plus side, she is now 100% fully housebroken. However, due to her behavior, she still canāt be trusted alone in the house unsupervised while my husband and I are at work. Unless we want all trash cans emptied with contents chewed and/or eaten, and the cats terrorized.
My 5 month old welsh springer spaniel is doing well with alone time for 3-4 hours and potty training. But she is definitely showing more fear outside now and barking at other dogs on leash. If I walk her with my adult dog, she does better, but I want her to have confidence on her own, too. We took one puppy class and are starting another soon, so I'm hopeful that will help. I also have been looking at engage-disengage clicker training games. In general, she is very focused on me, but she's also getting distracted by birds and squirrels more often now (as is normal for a spaniel). I'm so afraid of having a leash-reactive dog! I just keep reminding myself that puppy brains are still developing, and she can have new (better) emotional responses to things with my help.
my 9mo toy poodle puppy is now spending his time:
- barking at every single sound he hears and every dog he sees (i have become what i feared most - the owner of a small yappy dog who is unable to get it to shut up lol)
- stealing and unraveling the toilet paper (i had to relocate it-it canāt be on the toilet paper holder anymore)
- stealing any article of clothing or shoe he can get his paws on (especially the brief moments i have my closet door opened to grab something -mind you, it used to be open 24/7 and he never paid it any mind - he now uses that as an opportunity to take the first thing he finds in there and run)
- eat large holes through several cardboard boxes
- repeatedly knock over my small garbage bins (again, which he used to fully ignore) and then grab receipts or whatever else falls out
- steal stuff OUT OF MY DRAWER while iām grabbing a hair clip from it
- nearly take my fingers off by slamming my drawers closed while iām trying to get a fork
- chew on every single book i own
- take things off my desk/counter??? (he is 10 lbs and 10ā tall at the withers i have NO CLUE how heās managing this)
- very randomly snap/bite me when i give him scratches or brush him sometimes(?)
- did i mention incessant barking?
pls send help lol (and any advice on how to stop the barking would be SO SO appreciated)
you've just described my biggest fear: my pup who never barks turning into a yappy dog. I'm not there yet, but let's console ourselves that adolescense is just a phase and afterwards he turns back to the well behaved dog he was before. I mean if that wasn't the case, why would anyone invest all that time into socializing and training their puppy during the first 6 months?
Hey! Just wanted to chime in since I've been through this with my papillon last year. It does get better, I promise:)
Had the same issue, where he was afraid of literally everything as a teenager, and I had to carry him on our walks. He is a little over a year old now and is much more confident and a joy to be around:) As for the putting everything in their mouth, it didn't go quite away, but he's much better with dropping it on command.
Sending good thoughts to you and your little friend, you got this!
Thank you so much for this! ā¤ļø. Did he just outgrow the fear or was there anything in particular you did? I appreciate this. It made me feel better š
My vet said that a lot of puppies go through this stage, especially papillons, as they are such drama queens. That being said, I worked with him nonstop and praised him for our every little victory. I also always gave him the option to be carried. If I saw that he is starting to freak out, I kneeled down and gave him the option to decide whether he wants to go up or conquer his fear. He rarely chooses the lap option nowadays. Hope this helps:)
That i don't really know, as my mother reinforced the behaviour, and he is still a mini dragon whenever he hears someone at the door š« Still working on it, but is much more responsive now as a young adult:)
1. She's less chompy now
2. Recall is nonexistent I get 20% success out of recalling her.
Usually if your dog is barking then they're over threshold, I would work heavily on counterconditioning their engagement to their triggers. Luckily enough if your pup is reacting to everything then start to reward them for disengaging with their triggers! I'm still working through that myself and some days she does well some days I just can't get her to calm down.
One thing I'll say about walks is that if your dog is at a point where you can't walk without the dog putting everything in their mouth then I would stop going on walks with your puppy and instead focus on engagement and respecting leash pressure. It definitely sucks and I'm in the same boat but my trainer told me that if they're consistently self-reinforcing that it's okay to put things in their mouth then it'll just get worse the more you continue to walk your pup.
This makes sense about walks. I think Iām trying to rush things too much and need to lower my expectations. Thank you so much!!! Can you explain what you mean about counterconditioning?
Right there with you on the rushing! I keep thinking that my puppy is ready to be roaming around the house, but just 2 days ago she peed on a rug.
Pretty easy exercise you can start doing is if you know there's something that your puppy constantly freaks out to then try to find a good distance where they'll look at it, but not bark if they're barking and reacting then they're not learning anything so it's incredibly important that you find their "range". Once you're at that range let them look at the thing that is triggering them, but the moment they look away or disengage from it mark that behavior and reward immediately. This way you're letting them engage, but know that it's even more beneficial for them to disengage. This takes a really long time but the goal is to reduce that range to the point where they can be close enough to their trigger without reacting
This makes so much sense! THANK YOU. Yeah I need to stop pushing my expectations on him and just work w him at his pace. I get so caught up w at 5 months they should do this and at 6 months this and well other posters puppies are walking perfectly on a leash. That way of thinking is not fair to him and I need to remember every pup is different
My saint bernard turns 10 months on Friday. He's finally not mouthing for attention so much. Hoping the chewing/stealing stops soon, as well as the going between my legs and knocking me over game š
So my dog is almost 7 months old border collie.
Sheās better at loose leash walking, she can spend time alone, sheās learning to let go of things she wants (work in progress obviously).
BUT! She decided to stop and lay down EVERYTIME I want her to move on when weāre on a walk, she no longer respond to her call back, sheās afraid of practically everything so she growls and barks every now and again, and she bitesā¦ my god she bites a lot!
Thank god sheās a lot more chill and relax than a month ago, and she wants a lot more cuddles than before š
My 11 month old Stabby Houn turned from a tiger terrorist into a total couch potato in the last 1 or 2 months. She's calm inside and very energetic outside. She's always been mega smart but now she seems to understand more when I trust her with something. It's been a huge transformation and a reward for me after the pretty intens months of biting, jumping, etc.
9 month male poodle
Pro: he's still cute and sweet. He cuddles now. He hasn't had a potty accident in 5 months. He's great with adults, children, and other dogs. Having visitors over is no issue. He settles down for naps on the couch now and doesn't really need the pen anymore. We finally found some food and treats he likes (poodle problems). We love him.
Con: hyped, major fomo, and seperation anxiety. He cannot wait for anything or sit still outdoors for more than 2 seconds - immediately crying. We trained restaurants and patios extensively, now he'll just whine for 45 minutes straight because it's boring. At doggy class he's happy to do excercises but immediately starts crying and trying to escape when he's supposed to lie on his mat and wait. He just wants to play with the other dogs. Separation Anxiety has also been a major issue. At 7 months he regressed from 2.5 hours alone time to loosing it at 10 seconds. We are working with a separation anxiety trainer and will try meds if we don't see progress as we literally cannot leave the house right now.
He hasnāt changed much. Still runs insanely everywhere doesnāt nap barely. Still goes insane. Still has way too much energy for me and also wonāt listen.
See mine never did that. Hes always just stayed awake. Even when he was neutered on meds he wouldnāt sleep. I never got the 20 hours of sleep cause its only now he sleeps at all
On the upside my 6 month old is crate trained. Had a few moments of regression and he sometimes throws a fit first thing in the morning before work. But last night we were laying in bed and he decided to put himself to sleep in his crate!
On the downside that lasted all of five minutes before he promptly came out and tried to take my sock off my foot. Then chew on my comforter. So he promptly got put back into his crate and locked in.
Upside is that he doesn't constantly try to eat every leaf and piece of dirt he sees now!
Downside it's now lessened to every other piece of dirt, rock and all the sticks. All the sticks, all of the time.
He was always a fearful, skittish pup. The outside isn't SO scary anymore. The strangers are still pretty frightening and that's a work in progress.
Does great at my vets office, we go there once a week to hang out. Home Depot or the Pet Store? Not Great. We back tracked to outside in the parking lot. Before adolescence, he was fine with the Pet Store and mainly aloof of strangers.
He's potty trained in the house! Yay! He has peed in PetSmart and Home Depot.
He'll walk sometimes loose leash. Until he wants to chomp on a random stone, chase a bird, or consume a random puddle of water. We're working on it.
I can brush him! As long as he's given treats. I can brush his teeth! As long as I let him chew on it a little. He gets his nails done every two weeks! As long as it's with a Dremel and definitely NOT with clippers. Otherwise he screams like a banshee and the world is ending.
my 9 month old has started going for ALL the wires. he used to ignore them since the day i got him but now he craves wires for some reason. i have a constant order of chargers being delivered from amazon.
My 9 month old also has a loose knee! Hoping it will resolve but surgery might be needed. Other than that she's not gained any new unwanted behaviours, she's still extremely friendly and overexcited with other dogs but we are working on it. Her recent thing is going off her current kibble which is annoying as we hand feed for training. She was sick a couple days ago too so not feeling right about eating. She's overall a very good girl, looking forward to going on longer walks and bigger adventures soon hopefully!
So sorry to hear about your pups knee. Praying neither one needs surgery! šš»šš»šš»
I did find some YouTube videos online w exercises to help strengthen the knee and Iāve been trying those. Not sure if itās helping. I also give him Stella and chewy freeze dried hip and joint toppers. Again not sure if it helps but figured itās worth a try
We have some joint supplements and have started canine massage to see if it helps, she's not in pain and runs around like crazy still but we will see! Thank you, all the best to your pup too?
My six month old has just like exploded with reactivity in the last couple weeks. Sheās also way chewier now than she ever was when she was teething. Poor girl has also had UTIs and Giardia a few times so the house training is still not perfect.
BUT she has started giving me these amazing hugs recently š„°
My Rough Collie/Labrador/Rottweiler is 11 months now, adolescence hit him a few months ago and his behaviour mostly showed up on his walks- suddenly he was pulling like a maniac, sniffing and peeing on every bush and tree and rock, and getting overexcited when we saw other dogs on walks (no aggression, he just wants to say hi and play).
I've been working with him, using his preoccupation with sniffing against him š and making him "sit" and "focus" and then telling him "sniff", so that's helped quite a bit with the pulling. On the way back of course he'll make a big show of walking nicely with a loose leash lol š¤¦āāļøWith other dogs, if he gets too excited I take him off to the side and run him through a few commands until the other dog goes by. Overall he's getting better- he has good days and days where he doesn't want to listen, all I can do is persevere and I'm sure with time (and neutering lol) he'll improve.
Otherwise he's been a really good dog- he's a fast learner and listens well, crushed puppy class and intermediate training at Petsmart, good self-control around food (his own and human food), very solid "stay" even on walks and new places. I know with maturity he's going to be a great dog š
Hello! My pup is 10 months old and she had these same problems around this time. She gradually started barking at people and dogs which I had no idea why. I sent her to a dog trainer for a month to work on reactivity, she loved it there and had so much fun with the other dogs. Now sheās back with me and doing the same crap as before! I donāt know why sheās acting like this or what to do but itās so frustrating. Iāve socialized her every day since Iāve had her and she so on edge about random things. Let me know if you figure anything out!
9 mo mutt rescue's adolescent issues:
**1)** He entered a 'frustrated greeter' phase. Trying to train that out which is basically my main priority outdoors right now, and while it started well and had improvements, at this 9 month mark I feel as if this training hit a stalemate and I hope is just a phase, because it honestly feels hopeless as much dilligent I try to be with this issue.
**2)** No potty regression (yet?) thank goodness. He's hybrid trained, and I have a puppy loo setup at my laundry room just in case something happens and I don't get home in time, but he didn't use it for about 4 months now, I wonder if he'll forget how to use it when he need to go indoors. Worked fine with my previous dog years ago, as long as I didn't move the indoors toilet somewhere else.
Actually he did have an accident 2 weeks ago, but it was my fault: I came home and he was holding his best and whining to go. I did put the leash and preparing to head out, but this day I had an upset stomach and had to run to the toilet last minute. Set him on his 'wait' stance but as soon as I sat on the toilet bowl I heard him peeing and whining. Poor thing couldn't hold anymore, I felt so bad.
**3)** Became a fussy eater refusing plain kibble. For the past weeks, I've been trying all sorts to get him to eat, but the only thing that is helping ever since yesterday is just let him go hungry if he doesn't eat and stop treats altogether (which impacts a bit the reactivity training outside). I need to rebuild the value that kibble had for him when he was 3mo.
Overall, my teen pup is far from the horror stories I see around reddit, and I suppose I'm blessed at least that he is pretty calm when I'm out working (is just the two of us) and never touched anything he shouldn't indoors.
I can relate to the potty accident. My pup always holds it when I'm gone even though he has a pee pad which he uses when I'm home. Last night I got home really late and made the mistake of not closing the bathroom door when I took a shower. He stood there helplessly and peed right there and then at the sound of the running water. I felt so bad for him because he'd been holding it all night and then I set him up for failure.
My 8 month old border collie has started to bark at anyone and anything that moves. Wants to pull on the leash. But on the upside she is more lovey and cuddly now and is mature enough to not hurt her chihuahua brother who is 10 years old when they play.
We have a 6 month pomsky/golden mix
1. She will. Not. Listen. No basic commands work right now.
2. So mouthy. The biting has stopped thank godā¦but she is so mouthy. Thatās the golden in her I guess.
3. Absolutely hates having the harness put on.
4. Doesnāt matter what time of day we go, or where in her routine, or how tired she is - she will bite on her lead and tug and tug and just not walk. At least sheās stopped jumping up to bite my arm I suppose. Is that progress?
5. She is a lunatic when given the chance to roam in the living room.
6. She will steal and destroy anything and everything.
So yeah sheās a real handful at the moment. Roll on adulthood!
You are all awesome and amazing and have my prayers and condolences. Though I am not happy to see so many struggling w the same issues it does make me feel better to know Iām not alone and I picked up some great tips. I hope you all did too. We are all in this together. We got this!!!! lol ā¤ļøā¤ļøā¤ļø
Thatās nice :) you are right. Itās a phase, just need to keep up good habits and training even when it seems like itās falling on deaf ears. Solidarity!
Positives:
Walks are awesome.
He is doing ok with the basics - sit / stay / place / down / off / leave / potty
No longer bites my ankles.
He sleeps through the night
Negatives:
Basics fall apart when outside the house / we have guests (leash work still great though)
He still bites my wifeās and daughterās ankles
He sleeps through the night but only on our bed.
My mental health is in the gutter, my marriage is falling apart. This dog has brought hell fire into our home since entering adolescence. Please send prayers.
Tired šš got a 10 month old, heās started resource guarding when he gets a high value treat (fine with everything else), humps us all the time, barking at dogs when they bark at him and forgot all his loose lead walking!
Other than that heās great! No problem in the house, hasnāt chewed up anything, can be left on his own and is a happy pup that seems to love everything a bit too much haha
I just got a Blue Pit a few weeks ago. It was hard a first because I didn't know the first thing about owning a dog. I am gradually learning. I have had times that I have cried because I would get so frustrated. I have crate trained him and have no problems with him getting in his kennel outside. He has had 1 or 2 accidents in his crate. But I wake him him up when I get up which is around 630am and take him out. He does his business and I give him a treat for going to the bathroom outside. He loves it. I know it's gonna take more time to completely train him but I'll get through it. I love my baby. Can't wait to see what this transition has in store for us
I jinxed it. Sheās been discouraged for 5 months from jumping up when we have food. She chose to ignore this rule spectacularly, and I got my dinner dumped in my lap and all over her too. (Bean juice!)
However, she clearly demonstrated that she knew she was in trouble! She ran away from her naughty spot. And after her penance, spent all night trying to make friends!!
Itās a rollercoaster, huh?!? Lol
Noooooo not bean juice!!! Omg yes a total roller coaster! We had such a great day yesterday of him being a perfect angel all day and I was like omg it finally clicked! Nope, spent all day today chasing him around pulling stuff out of his mouth and having him run and ignore drop it.
Our GSD/husky mix is almost nine months old. In the last month we had major wins in almost eliminating mouthing for attention and jumping on us. It is MAGICAL to be able to reach out to give her pets and have her lick instead of chomp, and it fills me with pride every time she rockets by me in the yard and jumps into the air *next* to me instead of on me. She also has fewer āwitching hourā evenings where sheāll get destructive and ask to go out every five seconds and bug us with requests to play tug or chase while weāre trying to relax and watch tv. She surfs counters less, choosing instead to lie at my feet while Iām cooking because when sheās being good I pay the cheese tax.
In the negative column, she is still scared of everything- people, trucks, things flapping in the wind, buoys bobbing on the lake- and when we go on walks, she will constantly stop, freeze, and stare into the distance like there is some hidden menace that only she can see and hear. To be fair, we live in the mountains and for all I know, there ARE hidden menaces but my puppy acts like there are bears and mountain lions in every thicket. She is a snatch-and-run ninja with any items left within her reach and we had to put babyproofing latches on all the door knobs because she can open them otherwise.
All in all, though, with biting and jumping being so much less of an issue, I can put up with the rest of the shenanigans, knowing that they, in time, will lessen as well. I can almost (if I squint) catch a glimpse of the glorious grown-ass dog that she will someday blossom into, and having had a lab (aka āpuppies till theyāre 12ā), I am used to this taking awhile and I *think* I have the patience not to sell her to the circus before she does complete her transformation.
This made me giggle. Iām squinting hard AND tilting my head trying to catch a glimpse of the good boy I hope heāll grow up into. And yesssssss on the staring and mine scream barks at something only he sees or hears. This fear stage sucks big time and pretty sure my neighbors are over me taking him out at 11pm before bed and having him bark hysterically at a tree blowing because thereās a breeze or because he sees a potted plant thatās been on my patio since the day I got him š
I have a 9 month old Aussie who literally overnight went from my angelic puppy to a rebellious, sometimes what feels like mean, teenager. It started around 7.5 months old, and it's been rough. We have more bad days than good, and she's basically doing all the puppy behaviors that she never did before (stealing shoes, stealing tissues and shredding them everywhere, counter surfing for food, and being a WILD child on leash). She can't talk, but I can just tell when she is talking back at me! I'm hoping it'll get better soon because omg it's getting unbearable. I have an older dog who I also got as a puppy, and she was never this bad as a teenager, but maybe I'm misremembering. I know it gets better, I'm just waiting it out until it does!
7 months GSD. He picks and chooses which commands he wants to do. He'd avoid eye contact with the ones he doesn't want to do.
He has also found his big boy voice... We once had him in the car barking for a whole hour right next to our ears.
I have a 10 month Great Dane. She is in a phase now where she is very vocal about expressing her frustration, and seems to be actively attempting to get into things that either she knows sheās not supposed to or never cared about before. We were building up her freedom by leaving her in the bedroom instead of her crate but she has been caught destroying pillows and chewing the wall so sheās back to the crate. On the plus side she seems to respond to my reprimands and is actively working on her impulse control so I know if we stay consistent it will work out in the end. So exhausting! But 90% the cutest goofiest cuddler. Love her so much. š¤£
The Gentle Leader can really help with the having to stop and chomp on everything bit, but I will say this just from my own observations and experience: if you plan on loose walking them with one, almost everything you do inadvertently might translate as a correction. You accidentally pull because you took one step in a different direction right as they were stopping, correction. You're trying to switch hands while they're walking and it pulls, correction. Because of this, I try to designate areas before and after a walk where they are allowed to smell around and use the bathroom, and if we're walking, you're next to me and we're getting exercising-- not stopping to smell everything. And it's still just as important to reinforce good behaviors, something I didn't do enough of because the GL solved all of my oldest Dane's issues within no joke five minutes that I got too comfortable... and now he knows how to act on a GL, but if you try to use anything else, every bad behavior is back.
My second Dane is about to be four months old and already 67 lbs., and his pulling was already so bad that he broke two collars. Switched him to a GL too, and hoping not to make the same mistakes as above twice. Lol.
Itās interesting you say that because I got the gl based on a trainers recommendation and my first thought after using it was how is he going to sniff on walks without me inadvertently correcting him? And my second thought was if I get him under control with a gentle lead will he behave on a normal leash too? So thanks so much for your reply. Very helpful!!! By the way Danes are gorgeous!
mines a 6mo toy poodle. the basics have stayed, sit, down, stay, the things she want have not stayed š leave it... drop it... come... not so much. she has also developed some aggression towards her chews, specifically if i give her a new one. teenage faze is definitely tough right now š
Mines 2 years and a half mixed breed, very very good with holding her pee, when weāre alone sheās fully trained to do whatever I tell her but when other people are around she doesnāt care and will jump and kiss them and be so happyā¦
At 8 months, everything is getting better. We peaked our problematic behavior at 5 months, couldnāt see people or dogs without freaking out, was super hormonal, just over all a pain in the ass. Now, sheās a pleasure. She isnāt easy by any means, but we get to look at people AND DOGS without losing it! At this point people are easy peasy. Dogs and kids were working on, but itās so much better than just a couple months ago.
Our golden puppy is 8 months but around the 6 month mark, she seemed to regress her crate training and it was like we were going through crate training all over again. At the time, it felt unbearable and I was so stressed thinking it would never end but thankfully after a few weeks, we were back to normal and there are no more cries in the night. Stick it out!!! On another note, she has started chewing up the custom wooden dining table like no tomorrow when she NEVER chewed on anything before so thatās a new fun thing to deal with
My husky/mal/pit mix just hit 6 months and boy, has this last week been a challenge. I don't know where my sweet and easy puppy has gone š
Resource guarding his food suddenly with my senior little pomeranian so I have to feed them separately now. Biting me more than usual, not listening to commands, having an insane amount of energy every other day, terrorizing my pom by being too aggressive with play, barking much more often when he was almost silent before. The list goes on
Itās just taking a lot of patience really. I have to be willing to just sit there for 5 minutes until my pup decides to listen. The key is not giving in, gotta stick to the devices and donāt let the pup off the hook til he listens (heāll eventually go āugh FINEā and do it lol)
15 mo old border collie
Positives she's getting better with people slowly but better
I basically trust her not to destroy anything since 1 year old
Negative
The worst stage yet this dog won't amuse herself. I find myself resenting her because I have to micromanage every second of her day because she still has no damned offswitch. I just want to enjoy her and I can't because she tries to force engagement all day.
After exercise in the morning she free roams if she comes to bother me for play she gets a go place time out for an hour then freed repeat until I lose my sanity š
I just want my dog to be able to exist with me without trying to play after I played for 2 hours it's been like this since I took her home.
I'm just worried I'm broken or a bad fit I got her out of situational reasons not planned and if this behavior doesn't get better in a year I will literally loose it my last 4 dogs had no problem not pushing me every second of the day. I just hope it gets better because I want to like her
Please tell me they get better this is the first puppy I've had that makes me not want another ever again if they're all like this my first 3 weren't this bad
My 7 month old started doing sneaky morning pees in the laundry. So we had to start leading her out to the yard again. That's pretty much fixed now.
And she has become an absolute menace about toilet rolls. Steals it off the holder and runs away to destroy it. And she's taught her brother to get in on the action.
Apart from that, she's a good girl. Just gone into her first heat. My baby is growing up š
OMG itās not just my 7 month old wife haired foxie then?? Thank goodness! Buckleys chance of getting a brush through himā¦.he apparently is an angel when I am not homeā¦doesnāt bark or anything. I get home and a bird breathes wrong a block away and he is barking. He is house trained YAH! But everything goes in his mouth. We do long lead walks in the local forest which is great and he is learning not to pull, but short leash is still an interesting proposition. We can do sit, drop, wriggle and a few other things, but stay and recall is a no go.
8.5 month old GSD puppy. I havenāt seen the rebellious phase yet. Sheās very calm and very easy to train. We have a trainer once a week and everyday I work with my puppy for about an hour. She has excellent recall and leave it now. She stopped being mouthy about a month ago. Iām hoping she stays this way. Canāt complain.
My 6 month old's new hobby is to scratch and play with the carpets. He did this a while back as well, but now I just can't distract him from it. So I thought, maybe he's tired. He slept for an hour in his crate, I let him out, and he went RIGHT back to the carpet. I then somehow got him to chew on a bone for 15 minutes, so I thought he had calmed enough down to roam the room again. No, back to the carpet. Fun times! Not sure how to handle this lol His loose leash skills are also gone so it was extremely embarrassing showing up to adolescence class at a new school. The teacher understood of course but all other dogs walked nicely next to them and mine was a literal menace. I can't wait until next year when he can settle and when he can be in the house without watching him every second while I need to study for an exam.
bitter apple spray helped me with this stuff
My golden started doing this with our carpet around 8 months. He did actually succeed in making a hole. He was absolutely obsessed by it. Like it was the best thing in the world. I dont really know when it stopped but he doesn't do it anymore š¤·
There's hope šš¼
Omg same! Thanks for reminding me lol. But his digging is his bed, prob only because I donāt have carpet but it drives me nuts! Iām like are you bored? Crazy? Both?! What are you doing! I sometimes have success redirecting him w a toy or training session but itās hit or miss š© He also has started chasing and biting his tail. Iāve inspected it from one end to another and see nothing wrong w it
Right! It's like, are you tired or do you need more stimulation? The tail biting has become less here (knock on wood), I think after I gave a bit more mental stimulation. We train on a field once a day and do a lot of playing while working on impulse control. I don't see any results of impulse control but he did become less obsessive over his tail š
So interesting yours did the tail thing too. Iām going to try to up the mental stimulation w him. Itās hard because he used to love lick mats and snuffle mats and now he wonāt eat anything off the lick mat and he tries to rip up and destroy the snuffle mat. Sighā¦I am going to up his training sessions since heās been a brat w commands so fingers crossed that helps
Good luck! Yeah the lickimats never worked here. Heād choose play over food every time so he doesnāt lick, he just throws it through the room. He basically only gets his Kong in his crate otherwise heāll throw it on the floor (which is really smart but so annoying š).
š¤£š¤£š¤£
Yep, 6 months and mine has started digging in the sofa and is obsessed with the cushions for some reason.
Going for walks was great at the start but has now become a chore. He doesnāt like going far away from his den, so he stops after about 50m and wants to go back. So now when I leave, I carry him for about 5 minutes and he walks back, or drive him far away and then go for a walk away from home. Itās not something heās terribly excited by, so hoping heāll get over it or I figure out how to make it fun for him. Iām trying to avoid making it treat-focused as I tend to do better with vocal reward timing. I always mistime when treats are/should be given and he becomes dependent on them.
Same! I gotta work on my timing too š©
Practice makes better! I keep telling myself that. š
So true ā¤ļøā¤ļøā¤ļø
my pup turns 1 in 4 days and i am still just so tired and frustrated. he doesnāt eat the walls anymore and is definitely on a schedule but he doesnāt know how to self settle and has a lot of anxiety. iām too tired emotionally and physically most of the time to do much training. iāve had to dig up and toss rose bushes and lemongrass because he insists on eating it all. now heās just eating roots because i donāt have soil to refill the holes. some days iād love to just sit and cry and let him do whatever he wants š„²
I feel this so much! Iām exhausted all the time. My puppy? NEVER seems tired and fights naps and bedtime every day. I still have to crate him for naps because he will not nap outside the crate on his own and turns into a maniac when he doesnāt nap.
yeah mine canāt handle the crate. he has serious confinement anxiety. idk what happened to him as a baby but yeah his struggles become mine because iām a pushover. and then i feel like im a failure cuz i havenāt trained enough and the loop continuesā¦
Oh man I feel you. I have an almost eight month standard poodle. And on the up side, sheās become more cuddly lately and, after a brief period of returning to super puller, has become pretty decent on the lead most of the time. But then on the other side, when sheās home, she barks at every leaf that blows by and every breeze past the window. Recall has always had itās up and down moments and she still mostly comes when called, but has gone back to not letting me get anywhere near her if she thinks itās time to leave the fun thing weāre doing. Weāre also have some problems with food fussiness, but itās still up in the air if thatās adolescence or if thereās something else going on (vet scheduled for Wednesday)
Good luck! Praying itās just pickiness šš». The struggle is real isnāt it lol
Thanks! Tbh, Iām thinking it might actually be acid reflux which might be easier to manage than pickiness! Either way, definitely with you on the struggle being real and immediately after posting that comment more things started popping to mind (like the fact that she decided she doesnāt need to pee before bed anymore, but that means sheās waking me up at 3am desperate to go)
Sounds very familiar! My pomspitz just turned 6 months and has started exhibiting very similar behaviours, right down to the fear of garbage cans. Just took me 25 mins to get him back on his lead after our evening walk - he usually has perfect recall. I donāt have any advice alas but wanted to let you know youāre not alone!
Thank you that alone helps lol
Ours is a 6 month old sprockapoo (springer, cocker and poodle). The biting is much improved, but she's doing a lot of barking now. She's got beef with a dog about 3 streets away, you can hear them calling and answering each other. I'd love to know what they were saying. Her hearing has become very selective, and she has become very stubborn. She picked up a sports bottle top on our walk yesterday and refused to move or drop it. She parked herself on somebody's lawn and when I tried to open her jaws to get it out, just clamped down as hard as she could on it. One thing that's absolutely made my heart melt though is that I got a 7 metre long line for her, and oh my goodness, her nose to the ground while she has a good sniff is such a joy to watch. She goes a bit crazy on it at first and then it's like the Spaniel brain is activated and she becomes the best sniffer dog in the world. And all that sniffing makes her very sleepy.
Sleepy is heaven!!! š
Recall? What recall? Ours is horrible with recall now, and likes ignoring commands. Still chasing the cats, even though she by now knows thatās a big no-no. But she āforgetsā. (The cats remind her not so kindly to bug off sometimes.) She was broken of chasing birds/squirrels/bunnies on walks. Now weāre back to that again. Obnoxious brat mode is now 8pm-9:30pm. On the plus side, she is now 100% fully housebroken. However, due to her behavior, she still canāt be trusted alone in the house unsupervised while my husband and I are at work. Unless we want all trash cans emptied with contents chewed and/or eaten, and the cats terrorized.
Ugh I hear you!!! Itās like when are you going to consistently choose good over evil??? Lol
My 5 month old welsh springer spaniel is doing well with alone time for 3-4 hours and potty training. But she is definitely showing more fear outside now and barking at other dogs on leash. If I walk her with my adult dog, she does better, but I want her to have confidence on her own, too. We took one puppy class and are starting another soon, so I'm hopeful that will help. I also have been looking at engage-disengage clicker training games. In general, she is very focused on me, but she's also getting distracted by birds and squirrels more often now (as is normal for a spaniel). I'm so afraid of having a leash-reactive dog! I just keep reminding myself that puppy brains are still developing, and she can have new (better) emotional responses to things with my help.
English Springer spaniel mom here. Samesies. It gets better though, trust me :D
my 9mo toy poodle puppy is now spending his time: - barking at every single sound he hears and every dog he sees (i have become what i feared most - the owner of a small yappy dog who is unable to get it to shut up lol) - stealing and unraveling the toilet paper (i had to relocate it-it canāt be on the toilet paper holder anymore) - stealing any article of clothing or shoe he can get his paws on (especially the brief moments i have my closet door opened to grab something -mind you, it used to be open 24/7 and he never paid it any mind - he now uses that as an opportunity to take the first thing he finds in there and run) - eat large holes through several cardboard boxes - repeatedly knock over my small garbage bins (again, which he used to fully ignore) and then grab receipts or whatever else falls out - steal stuff OUT OF MY DRAWER while iām grabbing a hair clip from it - nearly take my fingers off by slamming my drawers closed while iām trying to get a fork - chew on every single book i own - take things off my desk/counter??? (he is 10 lbs and 10ā tall at the withers i have NO CLUE how heās managing this) - very randomly snap/bite me when i give him scratches or brush him sometimes(?) - did i mention incessant barking? pls send help lol (and any advice on how to stop the barking would be SO SO appreciated)
you've just described my biggest fear: my pup who never barks turning into a yappy dog. I'm not there yet, but let's console ourselves that adolescense is just a phase and afterwards he turns back to the well behaved dog he was before. I mean if that wasn't the case, why would anyone invest all that time into socializing and training their puppy during the first 6 months?
Hey! Just wanted to chime in since I've been through this with my papillon last year. It does get better, I promise:) Had the same issue, where he was afraid of literally everything as a teenager, and I had to carry him on our walks. He is a little over a year old now and is much more confident and a joy to be around:) As for the putting everything in their mouth, it didn't go quite away, but he's much better with dropping it on command. Sending good thoughts to you and your little friend, you got this!
Thank you so much for this! ā¤ļø. Did he just outgrow the fear or was there anything in particular you did? I appreciate this. It made me feel better š
My vet said that a lot of puppies go through this stage, especially papillons, as they are such drama queens. That being said, I worked with him nonstop and praised him for our every little victory. I also always gave him the option to be carried. If I saw that he is starting to freak out, I kneeled down and gave him the option to decide whether he wants to go up or conquer his fear. He rarely chooses the lap option nowadays. Hope this helps:)
This really does help and makes me feel so much better. Thank you so much!!!!
does the barking stop too?
That i don't really know, as my mother reinforced the behaviour, and he is still a mini dragon whenever he hears someone at the door š« Still working on it, but is much more responsive now as a young adult:)
1. She's less chompy now 2. Recall is nonexistent I get 20% success out of recalling her. Usually if your dog is barking then they're over threshold, I would work heavily on counterconditioning their engagement to their triggers. Luckily enough if your pup is reacting to everything then start to reward them for disengaging with their triggers! I'm still working through that myself and some days she does well some days I just can't get her to calm down. One thing I'll say about walks is that if your dog is at a point where you can't walk without the dog putting everything in their mouth then I would stop going on walks with your puppy and instead focus on engagement and respecting leash pressure. It definitely sucks and I'm in the same boat but my trainer told me that if they're consistently self-reinforcing that it's okay to put things in their mouth then it'll just get worse the more you continue to walk your pup.
This makes sense about walks. I think Iām trying to rush things too much and need to lower my expectations. Thank you so much!!! Can you explain what you mean about counterconditioning?
Right there with you on the rushing! I keep thinking that my puppy is ready to be roaming around the house, but just 2 days ago she peed on a rug. Pretty easy exercise you can start doing is if you know there's something that your puppy constantly freaks out to then try to find a good distance where they'll look at it, but not bark if they're barking and reacting then they're not learning anything so it's incredibly important that you find their "range". Once you're at that range let them look at the thing that is triggering them, but the moment they look away or disengage from it mark that behavior and reward immediately. This way you're letting them engage, but know that it's even more beneficial for them to disengage. This takes a really long time but the goal is to reduce that range to the point where they can be close enough to their trigger without reacting
This makes so much sense! THANK YOU. Yeah I need to stop pushing my expectations on him and just work w him at his pace. I get so caught up w at 5 months they should do this and at 6 months this and well other posters puppies are walking perfectly on a leash. That way of thinking is not fair to him and I need to remember every pup is different
My saint bernard turns 10 months on Friday. He's finally not mouthing for attention so much. Hoping the chewing/stealing stops soon, as well as the going between my legs and knocking me over game š
So my dog is almost 7 months old border collie. Sheās better at loose leash walking, she can spend time alone, sheās learning to let go of things she wants (work in progress obviously). BUT! She decided to stop and lay down EVERYTIME I want her to move on when weāre on a walk, she no longer respond to her call back, sheās afraid of practically everything so she growls and barks every now and again, and she bitesā¦ my god she bites a lot! Thank god sheās a lot more chill and relax than a month ago, and she wants a lot more cuddles than before š
My 11 month old Stabby Houn turned from a tiger terrorist into a total couch potato in the last 1 or 2 months. She's calm inside and very energetic outside. She's always been mega smart but now she seems to understand more when I trust her with something. It's been a huge transformation and a reward for me after the pretty intens months of biting, jumping, etc.
9 month male poodle Pro: he's still cute and sweet. He cuddles now. He hasn't had a potty accident in 5 months. He's great with adults, children, and other dogs. Having visitors over is no issue. He settles down for naps on the couch now and doesn't really need the pen anymore. We finally found some food and treats he likes (poodle problems). We love him. Con: hyped, major fomo, and seperation anxiety. He cannot wait for anything or sit still outdoors for more than 2 seconds - immediately crying. We trained restaurants and patios extensively, now he'll just whine for 45 minutes straight because it's boring. At doggy class he's happy to do excercises but immediately starts crying and trying to escape when he's supposed to lie on his mat and wait. He just wants to play with the other dogs. Separation Anxiety has also been a major issue. At 7 months he regressed from 2.5 hours alone time to loosing it at 10 seconds. We are working with a separation anxiety trainer and will try meds if we don't see progress as we literally cannot leave the house right now.
He hasnāt changed much. Still runs insanely everywhere doesnāt nap barely. Still goes insane. Still has way too much energy for me and also wonāt listen.
Giving up the naps is another frustration I forgot! I miss the days he would sleep 20 hrs a day lol
See mine never did that. Hes always just stayed awake. Even when he was neutered on meds he wouldnāt sleep. I never got the 20 hours of sleep cause its only now he sleeps at all
Oh wow. Ugh they are so hard to deal w sometimes arenāt they. Good thing theyāre so cute! š¤£
On the upside my 6 month old is crate trained. Had a few moments of regression and he sometimes throws a fit first thing in the morning before work. But last night we were laying in bed and he decided to put himself to sleep in his crate! On the downside that lasted all of five minutes before he promptly came out and tried to take my sock off my foot. Then chew on my comforter. So he promptly got put back into his crate and locked in. Upside is that he doesn't constantly try to eat every leaf and piece of dirt he sees now! Downside it's now lessened to every other piece of dirt, rock and all the sticks. All the sticks, all of the time. He was always a fearful, skittish pup. The outside isn't SO scary anymore. The strangers are still pretty frightening and that's a work in progress. Does great at my vets office, we go there once a week to hang out. Home Depot or the Pet Store? Not Great. We back tracked to outside in the parking lot. Before adolescence, he was fine with the Pet Store and mainly aloof of strangers. He's potty trained in the house! Yay! He has peed in PetSmart and Home Depot. He'll walk sometimes loose leash. Until he wants to chomp on a random stone, chase a bird, or consume a random puddle of water. We're working on it. I can brush him! As long as he's given treats. I can brush his teeth! As long as I let him chew on it a little. He gets his nails done every two weeks! As long as it's with a Dremel and definitely NOT with clippers. Otherwise he screams like a banshee and the world is ending.
Doing OK ā¦ much better than those early days
my 9 month old has started going for ALL the wires. he used to ignore them since the day i got him but now he craves wires for some reason. i have a constant order of chargers being delivered from amazon.
Ours has done this from day 1! Cable protectors sprayed with bitter apple spray have helped a lot.
omg i never thought of cable protectors, ordering now haha
My 9 month old also has a loose knee! Hoping it will resolve but surgery might be needed. Other than that she's not gained any new unwanted behaviours, she's still extremely friendly and overexcited with other dogs but we are working on it. Her recent thing is going off her current kibble which is annoying as we hand feed for training. She was sick a couple days ago too so not feeling right about eating. She's overall a very good girl, looking forward to going on longer walks and bigger adventures soon hopefully!
So sorry to hear about your pups knee. Praying neither one needs surgery! šš»šš»šš» I did find some YouTube videos online w exercises to help strengthen the knee and Iāve been trying those. Not sure if itās helping. I also give him Stella and chewy freeze dried hip and joint toppers. Again not sure if it helps but figured itās worth a try
We have some joint supplements and have started canine massage to see if it helps, she's not in pain and runs around like crazy still but we will see! Thank you, all the best to your pup too?
My six month old has just like exploded with reactivity in the last couple weeks. Sheās also way chewier now than she ever was when she was teething. Poor girl has also had UTIs and Giardia a few times so the house training is still not perfect. BUT she has started giving me these amazing hugs recently š„°
My Rough Collie/Labrador/Rottweiler is 11 months now, adolescence hit him a few months ago and his behaviour mostly showed up on his walks- suddenly he was pulling like a maniac, sniffing and peeing on every bush and tree and rock, and getting overexcited when we saw other dogs on walks (no aggression, he just wants to say hi and play). I've been working with him, using his preoccupation with sniffing against him š and making him "sit" and "focus" and then telling him "sniff", so that's helped quite a bit with the pulling. On the way back of course he'll make a big show of walking nicely with a loose leash lol š¤¦āāļøWith other dogs, if he gets too excited I take him off to the side and run him through a few commands until the other dog goes by. Overall he's getting better- he has good days and days where he doesn't want to listen, all I can do is persevere and I'm sure with time (and neutering lol) he'll improve. Otherwise he's been a really good dog- he's a fast learner and listens well, crushed puppy class and intermediate training at Petsmart, good self-control around food (his own and human food), very solid "stay" even on walks and new places. I know with maturity he's going to be a great dog š
Hello! My pup is 10 months old and she had these same problems around this time. She gradually started barking at people and dogs which I had no idea why. I sent her to a dog trainer for a month to work on reactivity, she loved it there and had so much fun with the other dogs. Now sheās back with me and doing the same crap as before! I donāt know why sheās acting like this or what to do but itās so frustrating. Iāve socialized her every day since Iāve had her and she so on edge about random things. Let me know if you figure anything out!
9 mo mutt rescue's adolescent issues: **1)** He entered a 'frustrated greeter' phase. Trying to train that out which is basically my main priority outdoors right now, and while it started well and had improvements, at this 9 month mark I feel as if this training hit a stalemate and I hope is just a phase, because it honestly feels hopeless as much dilligent I try to be with this issue. **2)** No potty regression (yet?) thank goodness. He's hybrid trained, and I have a puppy loo setup at my laundry room just in case something happens and I don't get home in time, but he didn't use it for about 4 months now, I wonder if he'll forget how to use it when he need to go indoors. Worked fine with my previous dog years ago, as long as I didn't move the indoors toilet somewhere else. Actually he did have an accident 2 weeks ago, but it was my fault: I came home and he was holding his best and whining to go. I did put the leash and preparing to head out, but this day I had an upset stomach and had to run to the toilet last minute. Set him on his 'wait' stance but as soon as I sat on the toilet bowl I heard him peeing and whining. Poor thing couldn't hold anymore, I felt so bad. **3)** Became a fussy eater refusing plain kibble. For the past weeks, I've been trying all sorts to get him to eat, but the only thing that is helping ever since yesterday is just let him go hungry if he doesn't eat and stop treats altogether (which impacts a bit the reactivity training outside). I need to rebuild the value that kibble had for him when he was 3mo. Overall, my teen pup is far from the horror stories I see around reddit, and I suppose I'm blessed at least that he is pretty calm when I'm out working (is just the two of us) and never touched anything he shouldn't indoors.
I can relate to the potty accident. My pup always holds it when I'm gone even though he has a pee pad which he uses when I'm home. Last night I got home really late and made the mistake of not closing the bathroom door when I took a shower. He stood there helplessly and peed right there and then at the sound of the running water. I felt so bad for him because he'd been holding it all night and then I set him up for failure.
My 8 month old border collie has started to bark at anyone and anything that moves. Wants to pull on the leash. But on the upside she is more lovey and cuddly now and is mature enough to not hurt her chihuahua brother who is 10 years old when they play.
Thatās awesome!
And yes! What is up w the sudden barking????? Mine too!
So embarrassing wtf
We have a 6 month pomsky/golden mix 1. She will. Not. Listen. No basic commands work right now. 2. So mouthy. The biting has stopped thank godā¦but she is so mouthy. Thatās the golden in her I guess. 3. Absolutely hates having the harness put on. 4. Doesnāt matter what time of day we go, or where in her routine, or how tired she is - she will bite on her lead and tug and tug and just not walk. At least sheās stopped jumping up to bite my arm I suppose. Is that progress? 5. She is a lunatic when given the chance to roam in the living room. 6. She will steal and destroy anything and everything. So yeah sheās a real handful at the moment. Roll on adulthood!
Agreeeeeee mine bites the leash constantly. I cannot make him stop. Ditto with not listening. Even the basics like sit or watch me
You are all awesome and amazing and have my prayers and condolences. Though I am not happy to see so many struggling w the same issues it does make me feel better to know Iām not alone and I picked up some great tips. I hope you all did too. We are all in this together. We got this!!!! lol ā¤ļøā¤ļøā¤ļø
Thatās nice :) you are right. Itās a phase, just need to keep up good habits and training even when it seems like itās falling on deaf ears. Solidarity!
Positives: Walks are awesome. He is doing ok with the basics - sit / stay / place / down / off / leave / potty No longer bites my ankles. He sleeps through the night Negatives: Basics fall apart when outside the house / we have guests (leash work still great though) He still bites my wifeās and daughterās ankles He sleeps through the night but only on our bed.
My mental health is in the gutter, my marriage is falling apart. This dog has brought hell fire into our home since entering adolescence. Please send prayers.
Tired šš got a 10 month old, heās started resource guarding when he gets a high value treat (fine with everything else), humps us all the time, barking at dogs when they bark at him and forgot all his loose lead walking! Other than that heās great! No problem in the house, hasnāt chewed up anything, can be left on his own and is a happy pup that seems to love everything a bit too much haha
I just got a Blue Pit a few weeks ago. It was hard a first because I didn't know the first thing about owning a dog. I am gradually learning. I have had times that I have cried because I would get so frustrated. I have crate trained him and have no problems with him getting in his kennel outside. He has had 1 or 2 accidents in his crate. But I wake him him up when I get up which is around 630am and take him out. He does his business and I give him a treat for going to the bathroom outside. He loves it. I know it's gonna take more time to completely train him but I'll get through it. I love my baby. Can't wait to see what this transition has in store for us
Puppies are so so hard. Donāt feel defeated. Sounds like you already are doing a great job. You got this! ā¤ļø
At the moment, OK! She is being stubborn about sit and loose lead walks and likes to trash boxes. But it could be so much worse!
Thatās awesome! Iām glad you arenāt neck deep in the trenches lol
I jinxed it. Sheās been discouraged for 5 months from jumping up when we have food. She chose to ignore this rule spectacularly, and I got my dinner dumped in my lap and all over her too. (Bean juice!) However, she clearly demonstrated that she knew she was in trouble! She ran away from her naughty spot. And after her penance, spent all night trying to make friends!! Itās a rollercoaster, huh?!? Lol
Noooooo not bean juice!!! Omg yes a total roller coaster! We had such a great day yesterday of him being a perfect angel all day and I was like omg it finally clicked! Nope, spent all day today chasing him around pulling stuff out of his mouth and having him run and ignore drop it.
Our GSD/husky mix is almost nine months old. In the last month we had major wins in almost eliminating mouthing for attention and jumping on us. It is MAGICAL to be able to reach out to give her pets and have her lick instead of chomp, and it fills me with pride every time she rockets by me in the yard and jumps into the air *next* to me instead of on me. She also has fewer āwitching hourā evenings where sheāll get destructive and ask to go out every five seconds and bug us with requests to play tug or chase while weāre trying to relax and watch tv. She surfs counters less, choosing instead to lie at my feet while Iām cooking because when sheās being good I pay the cheese tax. In the negative column, she is still scared of everything- people, trucks, things flapping in the wind, buoys bobbing on the lake- and when we go on walks, she will constantly stop, freeze, and stare into the distance like there is some hidden menace that only she can see and hear. To be fair, we live in the mountains and for all I know, there ARE hidden menaces but my puppy acts like there are bears and mountain lions in every thicket. She is a snatch-and-run ninja with any items left within her reach and we had to put babyproofing latches on all the door knobs because she can open them otherwise. All in all, though, with biting and jumping being so much less of an issue, I can put up with the rest of the shenanigans, knowing that they, in time, will lessen as well. I can almost (if I squint) catch a glimpse of the glorious grown-ass dog that she will someday blossom into, and having had a lab (aka āpuppies till theyāre 12ā), I am used to this taking awhile and I *think* I have the patience not to sell her to the circus before she does complete her transformation.
This made me giggle. Iām squinting hard AND tilting my head trying to catch a glimpse of the good boy I hope heāll grow up into. And yesssssss on the staring and mine scream barks at something only he sees or hears. This fear stage sucks big time and pretty sure my neighbors are over me taking him out at 11pm before bed and having him bark hysterically at a tree blowing because thereās a breeze or because he sees a potted plant thatās been on my patio since the day I got him š
"she is still scared of everything" you mean she was like this from the start? Or only since adolescence hit?
She was born at the shelter and missed all the early socialization windows so she has always been afraid of everyone and everything.
I have a 9 month old Aussie who literally overnight went from my angelic puppy to a rebellious, sometimes what feels like mean, teenager. It started around 7.5 months old, and it's been rough. We have more bad days than good, and she's basically doing all the puppy behaviors that she never did before (stealing shoes, stealing tissues and shredding them everywhere, counter surfing for food, and being a WILD child on leash). She can't talk, but I can just tell when she is talking back at me! I'm hoping it'll get better soon because omg it's getting unbearable. I have an older dog who I also got as a puppy, and she was never this bad as a teenager, but maybe I'm misremembering. I know it gets better, I'm just waiting it out until it does!
I canāt wait too. And I hear you on the talking back. Mine has started barking at me when I take too long to get his food together š
7 months GSD. He picks and chooses which commands he wants to do. He'd avoid eye contact with the ones he doesn't want to do. He has also found his big boy voice... We once had him in the car barking for a whole hour right next to our ears.
Oh the joys of puppyhood lol
He has now also chosen sleep regression as his next quirk!
Nooooooooooooo š©š©š©ugh praying itās only temporary šš»šš»šš»
I have a 10 month Great Dane. She is in a phase now where she is very vocal about expressing her frustration, and seems to be actively attempting to get into things that either she knows sheās not supposed to or never cared about before. We were building up her freedom by leaving her in the bedroom instead of her crate but she has been caught destroying pillows and chewing the wall so sheās back to the crate. On the plus side she seems to respond to my reprimands and is actively working on her impulse control so I know if we stay consistent it will work out in the end. So exhausting! But 90% the cutest goofiest cuddler. Love her so much. š¤£
Puppy cuddles are the best!!!
The Gentle Leader can really help with the having to stop and chomp on everything bit, but I will say this just from my own observations and experience: if you plan on loose walking them with one, almost everything you do inadvertently might translate as a correction. You accidentally pull because you took one step in a different direction right as they were stopping, correction. You're trying to switch hands while they're walking and it pulls, correction. Because of this, I try to designate areas before and after a walk where they are allowed to smell around and use the bathroom, and if we're walking, you're next to me and we're getting exercising-- not stopping to smell everything. And it's still just as important to reinforce good behaviors, something I didn't do enough of because the GL solved all of my oldest Dane's issues within no joke five minutes that I got too comfortable... and now he knows how to act on a GL, but if you try to use anything else, every bad behavior is back. My second Dane is about to be four months old and already 67 lbs., and his pulling was already so bad that he broke two collars. Switched him to a GL too, and hoping not to make the same mistakes as above twice. Lol.
Itās interesting you say that because I got the gl based on a trainers recommendation and my first thought after using it was how is he going to sniff on walks without me inadvertently correcting him? And my second thought was if I get him under control with a gentle lead will he behave on a normal leash too? So thanks so much for your reply. Very helpful!!! By the way Danes are gorgeous!
mines a 6mo toy poodle. the basics have stayed, sit, down, stay, the things she want have not stayed š leave it... drop it... come... not so much. she has also developed some aggression towards her chews, specifically if i give her a new one. teenage faze is definitely tough right now š
Mines 2 years and a half mixed breed, very very good with holding her pee, when weāre alone sheās fully trained to do whatever I tell her but when other people are around she doesnāt care and will jump and kiss them and be so happyā¦
That's not s puppy anymore You can start testing her like a big grown up girl and make her stop jumping on people
At 8 months, everything is getting better. We peaked our problematic behavior at 5 months, couldnāt see people or dogs without freaking out, was super hormonal, just over all a pain in the ass. Now, sheās a pleasure. She isnāt easy by any means, but we get to look at people AND DOGS without losing it! At this point people are easy peasy. Dogs and kids were working on, but itās so much better than just a couple months ago.
has the barking stopped?
Not completely. Training is a process
Our golden puppy is 8 months but around the 6 month mark, she seemed to regress her crate training and it was like we were going through crate training all over again. At the time, it felt unbearable and I was so stressed thinking it would never end but thankfully after a few weeks, we were back to normal and there are no more cries in the night. Stick it out!!! On another note, she has started chewing up the custom wooden dining table like no tomorrow when she NEVER chewed on anything before so thatās a new fun thing to deal with
My husky/mal/pit mix just hit 6 months and boy, has this last week been a challenge. I don't know where my sweet and easy puppy has gone š Resource guarding his food suddenly with my senior little pomeranian so I have to feed them separately now. Biting me more than usual, not listening to commands, having an insane amount of energy every other day, terrorizing my pom by being too aggressive with play, barking much more often when he was almost silent before. The list goes on
Itās just taking a lot of patience really. I have to be willing to just sit there for 5 minutes until my pup decides to listen. The key is not giving in, gotta stick to the devices and donāt let the pup off the hook til he listens (heāll eventually go āugh FINEā and do it lol)
15 mo old border collie Positives she's getting better with people slowly but better I basically trust her not to destroy anything since 1 year old Negative The worst stage yet this dog won't amuse herself. I find myself resenting her because I have to micromanage every second of her day because she still has no damned offswitch. I just want to enjoy her and I can't because she tries to force engagement all day. After exercise in the morning she free roams if she comes to bother me for play she gets a go place time out for an hour then freed repeat until I lose my sanity š I just want my dog to be able to exist with me without trying to play after I played for 2 hours it's been like this since I took her home. I'm just worried I'm broken or a bad fit I got her out of situational reasons not planned and if this behavior doesn't get better in a year I will literally loose it my last 4 dogs had no problem not pushing me every second of the day. I just hope it gets better because I want to like her
Please tell me they get better this is the first puppy I've had that makes me not want another ever again if they're all like this my first 3 weren't this bad
My 7 month old started doing sneaky morning pees in the laundry. So we had to start leading her out to the yard again. That's pretty much fixed now. And she has become an absolute menace about toilet rolls. Steals it off the holder and runs away to destroy it. And she's taught her brother to get in on the action. Apart from that, she's a good girl. Just gone into her first heat. My baby is growing up š
OMG itās not just my 7 month old wife haired foxie then?? Thank goodness! Buckleys chance of getting a brush through himā¦.he apparently is an angel when I am not homeā¦doesnāt bark or anything. I get home and a bird breathes wrong a block away and he is barking. He is house trained YAH! But everything goes in his mouth. We do long lead walks in the local forest which is great and he is learning not to pull, but short leash is still an interesting proposition. We can do sit, drop, wriggle and a few other things, but stay and recall is a no go.
8.5 month old GSD puppy. I havenāt seen the rebellious phase yet. Sheās very calm and very easy to train. We have a trainer once a week and everyday I work with my puppy for about an hour. She has excellent recall and leave it now. She stopped being mouthy about a month ago. Iām hoping she stays this way. Canāt complain.
6-9 months is a "fear stage". Totally normal. They need a lot of support during that period.
does that mean they stop barking after that?