Is There a such thing as terrible Ones???

I so wish there were more dog activities around here. There is one kennel club and they are all volunteers. Their training is old school and not positive reinforcement. I lasted 3/6 classes with Maverick. He was way ABOVE the level of the class but was having barking tantrums!!!! and he was stressed to the max!!! The teachers were really frustrated with me. He was out of control and I could not control him. The only advice I got was to pick him up by the scruff of the neck. Not sure why he acted that way. He had been out of formal classes for a year and a half and really only saw other dogs at daycare/kennel. So with Ryder I went to Pet Smart. The instructor is great!!! She is qualified, not just by Pet Smart. She attended school for 6 months or a year and is certified. Really good instructor. The rooms are VERY small!!! and they only teach obedience; no agility, no rally, or free style. I am planning on suffering through a adult obedience at the Kennel club with Ryder so we can take agility there. I believe a different group of teachers.
I love to walk and the boys miss their every day one hour walk. Its not only freezing!!!!! but its dangerous to walk. I play ball with them in the basement every day and some short periods of tug or fetch a few times a day. I am REALLY going to make the effort to be more consistent with their training.
 
Welcome to puppy adolescence.

Chewing, peeing, barking, selective deafness, training appears to go out the window - all pretty common. His puppy brain is transforming into an adult brain and in between their brains and concentration turn to mush.

I agree with the others - a tired adolescent is best. The NILIF program will also help establish boundries and a routine for him (you can google it). I recommend not feeding him from a bowl anymore - give him kibble in a treat bottle/dispenser or make him search for his food. It will give him a physical and mental challenge, most dogs actually love 'scavenging' for their food and you can do it with more than one dog.

Also have a search on this forum for 'adolescence' and you will see lots of members have been through exactly the same thing and you will find lots of handy hints to help you through.
 
OntarioSheltie said:
In one word: Absolutely.

Its completely normal for them to go backwards when they reach the age of approx. 1 year old. Its that annoying teenage phase that you may have read some of us talking about. This is a time when they act up and seem to forget all of their training, including house training. They have ideas of their own and they seem determined not to listen to you anymore.

The thing to remember is that this is just a phase and it will pass. Until then, as frustrating as they are, the best thing you can do is remain calm and patient and continue with their training as if they're puppies again. Start crating more and be sure to follow a strict potty schedule. Praise lots and often and practice obedience training such as sit, lie down and stay.

Making sure they have lots of exercise and they're tired at the end of the day will help too.
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Amen! Perfect Layla ate a dining room chair. Beckon was such a fool that we didn't even try much training until last month. He's nearing two now, and he's growing a brain. :lol:

This, too, shall pass.
 
oh yeah- welcome to the teenage time :yes:
Cran was a little angel- we did Petsmart puppy class and another obedience class. Great recall- all that stuff that you said and a little before the one year mark- Mr Teenage Boy took over. His litter sister Dixie came to us in early Oct and their birthday was end of Nov. I wondered about them- she was excellent at obeying and he acted like he'd never learned anything. now approaching 15 months- Cran is slowly becoming angelic again :winkgrin:

We do belong to a dog club and he gets to play agility every week :smile2:
 
Thanks for all the feed back. This is new to me. Maverick NEVER went through this stage. Well he probably did but was out of it by 11 months.
It is suppose to warm up and getting out of the freezing point soon!!
 
*Caro said:
Welcome to puppy adolescence.

Chewing, peeing, barking, selective deafness, training appears to go out the window - all pretty common. His puppy brain is transforming into an adult brain and in between their brains and concentration turn to mush.

I agree with the others - a tired adolescent is best. The NILIF program will also help establish boundries and a routine for him (you can google it). I recommend not feeding him from a bowl anymore - give him kibble in a treat bottle/dispenser or make him search for his food. It will give him a physical and mental challenge, most dogs actually love 'scavenging' for their food and you can do it with more than one dog.

Also have a search on this forum for 'adolescence' and you will see lots of members have been through exactly the same thing and you will find lots of handy hints to help you through.
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Well said and NILIF is a great suggestion.

MavRyder said:
Maverick NEVER went through this stage
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I don't remember Milo, my parent's sheltie who is now nine, going through this either. Yet both of my girls did. Sadie in particular made me want to throttle her at times. :rolleyes2:

I don't know if boys are more manageable than girls (Milo and Toby certainly have different personalities and attitudes than the girls) or if it just depends on the dog.

Either way, be patient, it will pass eventually. :smile2:
 
Hmmm Bailey went through the terrible 8 months, 9 months, 10 months, 11, months, 1 year, 13 months....I think you get the idea :lol: She finally started to mellow out at a year and half.

Everyone all ready gave you great advice...NILF, going to back to the basics, not letting him get away with anything and just be patient!

Some dogs are over the "teenage phase" in few days, so it's not even noticeable. And some take a quite a bit longer (::cough:: Bailey ::cough::). The ones that take longer are sadly the ones that end up in sheltiers :(.

Don't worry, this phase will eventually pass. Good luck!
 
No worries there I could NEVER give up a dog to a shelter.
He is actually an angel compared to the Lhaso Apso I had for 17 years. Fortunately I know alot more about dogs now and have alot more time to put into them.
I was more worried or felt guilty for kenneling him so young. I think eventualy he will grow into a great dog. Atleast its given me the push I needed to be more consistent in my training.
Thanks for the input and putting my mind at ease.
 
As I promised my self. I am trying to work with both my dogs 15 minutes each four times a week. I train in the basement as there is a lot of room. I start with Ryder, even though he is the younger dog, and tether Maverick. Maverick sits quietly while I train Ryder. When its Mavericks turn, Ryder is OK for the basic obediance stuff but when we start to do freestyle he goes crazy. Its very distracting to both Maverick and myself so I put Ryder in his crate upstairs. I am not mad at him and he gets a cookie to go in the crate. He barks ofcourse the whole time. My question is I hope that I am not making him feel that the crate is a punishment. I would like him to be able to stay quiet tethered when training Maverick, so I always start off with him tethered and he gets to stay as long as he is reasonably quiet.
 
So far with Ellie we have had the terrible 3 months through two years. We are waiting to come out the other side. :biggrin2:
 
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