WOW where did that come from !!!!!
Doreen Potter 
Adolescent Dogs, What you can do to help.
WOW WHERE DID THAT COME FROM
Your adorable puppy has turned into the pup from hell overnight. Well it seems like that
When actually it is a normal development stage for your pup.
ADOLESCENCE
Roughly 6 months to 1 yr. This also includes sexual maturity, first season and fertility in young males. Some people are lucky, they don’t notice any change in the way their pup behaves, others I am sorry to say get it with both barrels.
So what happened to that puppy that came every time you called? That never wanted to venture far from your side? That had mastered all the cued behaviours like sit, down stay?
ADOLESCENCE
The sad thing is that most dogs in shelters are taken there due to their behaviour during this stage.
So what can we do to help our dogs (and us) get through this stage?
Your rebellious teen now finds the environment more exciting than you, that your treat rewards don’t cut it anymore.
It's back to basics really.
Think about how you taught your young pup the first time around. You would use more food reinforcement, more recall to a favourite toy. You may even have to go back to luring a sit or a down because your pup has suddenly become really leggy, and has no idea what to do with this change in his physical shape.
I love the Premack Principle or Grandma law.(eat your veg, then you can have a pudding
)Fantastic for building your recall back up as well as other benefits.
With your dog on a lead, Throw out your dog's fav toy, (don’t allow your dog to lunge at the toy, keep the lead short, or hold the harness).
No leave it commands either.
Walk behind your dog and ask them to come, then for their reward they get to go get the toy (you can use food too).
Come to me and you can get your toy :)
For a dog that finds sniffing really rewarding, you can ask for a behaviour, e.g. a sit, then the dog gets to go sniff as the reward.
So how does this help your dog? Your dog soon learns to pay attention to you. There is no more battling with the thing your dog wants, no more frustrated dog or pet parent.
He learns that being attentive to you gets him what he wants. What he finds so rewarding. Even in distracting environments.
And actually like the human teen, the dog no longer fixates on what he wants to do, because he is allowed to do it. A bit of reverse psychology
The key to this is to know what your dog really wants then ask for what you want. It may take you 10 repetitions asking for a sit before they get to sniff, or two steps of loose lead walking, but once your dog gets this principle it is a game changer.
Categories: : Dog Behaviour, Dog Training