The Terrible Teens

[Bracken]

This isn't really a puppy problem, more of an experience sharing :D

My little puppy Ziggy has just turned 4 months and, as predicted by our puppy school trainer, has started to hit the 'terrible teens'! If people have any stories or strategies that they used for their pup's teenage antics I would love to hear about them, as I feel that I'm going to need to gird my loins and be prepared for a few months of challenging times!

So far, Ziggy's signs of growing up include;

Starting to move further away from us when in the garden, and not always hanging around for pats if we've been with her for a while.

Discovering her ability to bark

And she's tried to test whether she has to follow instructions during training or not! That was actually very cute :D I was finishing her training session with some 'leave it' practice where I scatter the last of her kibble on the ground and she can only eat when I say 'OK' and then must stop and sometimes perform tricks (sit of paw or something quick and simple) when I say 'leave it'. Anyway, she decided to try just continuing eating... so I said 'leave it' once more and she still kept going with the kibble. So I picked her up and moved her a few feet away for some time out and she growled at me!! I know that sounds kind of bad, but it was a really funny puppy grow, think Simba in the lion king . So I kept a straight face, and even managed a slightly serious look as she got her time out and short monologue on proper puppy etiquette! I also held her by the top of the collar and scruff of the neck during this, As I wanted to really let her know that growing was not on (Does that sound ok to everyone? I normally only use clicker/positive training, but I felt that the behaviour was particularly worrying). It all seemed to work, because when I let her back to the food, she was responding to the 'leave it' command perfectly again.

She's tried it once more since then, and I gave her the same treatment which again seemed to sort out the problem.

So, what have your pup's teenage transitions been like?

[Stitch]

If your solution is working then its OK!!

Are you practicing the 'nothing is life is free' method when she is around??

Are you ensuring that she sees you as 'pack leader'?

This all helps to prevent food aggression.

[Bracken]

Yay! I felt a bit mean for 'alpha rolling' her!

I'm not too sure If I'm doing nothing in life is free or not. She usually only gets food for working, and I try to remember to have her sit before pats/entering the house but a lot of the time she just get's the hugs for free (although she then has to put up with being squished and kissed and having her personal space well and truly invaded, So I'm not sure if she always sees this entierly as a treat! )

I'm not too sure how to get her to see me as the leader, I've mostly just been using 'leave it' to get her to understand that, because I figured that if a dog understands it needs to give up it's food when you say then it probably knows your the boss. Is there anything else that would help incase she tries testing the boundaries again?

[Stitch]

Being a pack leader is setting boundaries, not controlling by corrections.

This doesn't make you unloving towards your dog but it teaches the dog to get what they want by being polite and patient rather than pushy or demanding.

Pack leader controls all the toys, going first in and out and where he/she sleeps.

Your control of resources will build a strong bond and is the foundation to teaching good behaviour and learning new exercises & tricks.

NILIF is the attitude you should take when training and interacting with your dog consistently.

This reinforces you as the pack leader. The main idea of this program is to teach the dog that he/she must work for what he wants.

At dinner time, the leader always eats first. It is a good idea for the dog to watch you eat and have to wait until you are finished before you give the dog its food.

Place the food down and make the dog wait until you say he/she can eat.

This idea can be applied to many situations when training the dog - the important part is to be consistant.