Hi, Monty is nearly a year now, and I have to say at times I find his boisterous teenage behaviour worse than the puppy biting to deal with - I have read a number of posts saying things improve from 8 - 10 months onwards but we are still dealing with: - biting at my slippers (only mine not OH's) until he pulls them off my feet - nibbling at earrings, watches, buttons etc, that catch his eye - pulling at sleeves and coats when excited - jumping up and grabbing his toys from our hands - occasionally nipping our hands / arms with his teeth - pulling and jumping at and on other dogs, nibbling their ears if possible till he completely annoys them and they growl at him. - still eating poo though he is told to 'leave it' a thousand times a day - chasing after anyone else who may be running / jogging (embarrassing moment in the park when he stole a jogger's water bottle and keys and raced off with them, tossing his head in the air like a pony. Jogger initially amused but then very much not when he realised Monty had his keys) - Pawing at bare skin and leaving scratch marks (wish I had never taught to shake paws) - Has chewed every flower pot, seed tray, garden tool, cane, peg, outdoor lighting (fortunately not hard wired), hose, sprinkler, etc in the garden he can get to, and continues to do so. - spends 20% of a walk pulling forward, 30% sniffing, 30% pulling back / sitting down, and just the remaining 20% walking nicely (though again will walk nicely for OH who tends to put him in the place he wants him. I do it through rewards and get nowhere. I reward every ten good steps he takes, moment he gets the treat he just turns around to sniff something and the good walk is lost) - Has his head inside the dishwasher any chance he gets - Still thinks cats might be for chasing (though so much better than a few months ago. ) I'm going to counteract this with some good points - - recall generally ok, and although will still chase after other dogs will stop / lie for at least 5 seconds which is often time enough to get lead back on. - can be made to sit / lie when playing, so easy to stop a game that's getting a bit rough - is an angel in his cage - will willingly go in and sleep through a long night and also when we go out without a peep - wonderful in the car on long journeys - does sleep a lot! Does all of this behaviour still sound normal for nearly a year? It's the fact he does not having a very gentle mouth that worries me a bit, I am hoping this will continue to improve over time and he just still doesn't have that awareness of himself.
Re: Teenage bad behaviour - when does it end? They can be so full of energy and such a handful. It is very tiring - I'm glad your dog is a good sleeper What you describe is absolutely normal, but that doesn't mean it's all ok or things you should have to live with. I would get serious about the nipping and mouthing. We got our dog when he was 9 months and he was a terror for grabbing clothing, hands, faces....quite firmly too. He had not learned it was not ok. So anytime he grabbed flesh, no matter how softly, we either got up and walked away or he was put in another room for a time out. We did this absolutely consistently and within a couple of weeks he had stopped (though will still nibble pants cords if excited...). I have not read the posts of the lucky people who say that their dogs calmed down at about 8 to 10 months. Usually that is when the fun really starts! You may find that the chewing of garden items reduces in the near to mid future though, as long as he is being kept busy enough with activities you arrange for him. All dogs are different but we found that Obi (our dog) seemed to grow up a bit at about 2 years old. Although he has just now brought me a shoe. But don't despair - training is the answer. What's his daily routine? What kind of exercise or training sessions does he get?
Re: Teenage bad behaviour - when does it end? I agree ( as usual ;D) with Rachael....all these things sound normal and within the normal time frame the trick to making sure they don't go forward though and become your normal,forever is to keep training consistently eg. They dont stop jumping up over night but if you turn your back EVERY time and don't give them any attention until all 4 paws are on the floor then one day they do.....if you don't you will probably have a 7 year old that still jumps up unless you are really lucky. I had a dog that was obsessed with stones and digging up the irrigation system pegs in our garden......I could stop this by finding him alternatives ....he was given ice cubes to satisfy the pleasure of the clacking round his teeth he seemed to derive from the stones and stuffed kongs as well as the odd nylabone ( supervised) saved me from a lot of chewing..... Dexter loved cat poo.....he probably still does but he only encounters it on lead walks and persevering with ' leave it'training gets us past now with a cursory sniff not the full on purposeful,lunge towards it....but that only came with time and practice. My Hubby once lived in a magical world where Labradors dont need to be trained anything .......they just 'grow up and grow out ' of these undesirable behaviours and habits.The poor love when the truth dawned! ;D Choose your battles and persevere and your dog WILL 'grow up' but wiill leave his undesirable habits and behaviours behind because you've taught him otherwise ...... Best wishes Angela
Re: Teenage bad behaviour - when does it end? Another one in agreement here. I found that the worst time with Molly was between about 8 and 13 months (so you are nearly through). She was jumped up and pawed at me, would grab my wrist with her teeth (though interestingly never even grazed me), was a nightmare on the lead and apparently forgot everything I had taught her. She was an embarrassment to walk. I walked her on different routes everyday so she didn't get a reputation. I longed for the winter for 2 reasons, I wouldn't get so scratched in a coat (it was summer and I was in shorts and a singlet) and it would get dark earlier so I could walk my mad dog under the cover of darkness. So I know exactly what you are going through. At 13 months she calmed down. A couple of days ago I saw a local who in the summer had suggested a muzzle. He said "it's not the same dog" and gave her a biscuit. Yes of course she got excited and tried to jump up, but, she is still only 15 months and I am still working on it. Take heart, be consistent (the watchword in dog training) and very soon you should see a great improvement
Re: Teenage bad behaviour - when does it end? Tatze is 20 months. She still has her moments but she's mostly a sensible dog who loves to play. Her serious looks don't give away her playful nature.
Re: Teenage bad behaviour - when does it end? I think Willow will look very much like Tatze when she's grown. She looks so somber and dignified most of the time. Then the real puppy behaviour comes out and we remember she's still only a baby
Re: Teenage bad behaviour - when does it end? I thought it was just me who was having trouble getting Buster to walk nicely, he is almost too strong for me, he has had training i try every day to get him to walk nicely but he gets outside and he goes deaf, it could be worse as he is still restricted to 2 x 15 min walks a day due to his ED. My hubby has been working hard while he was off over Xmas, yesterday when i got in from work and walked him he was 85% really good, but then last nights walk he was a blooming nightmare, he's now 11 months and like Molly says i prefer walking him when it's dark so theres no one about watching me struggling with Buster.
Re: Teenage bad behaviour - when does it end? I can totally sympathize with you on the teenage behavior. My 8 month old lab Gabby does a lot of the same things. Jumps up and grabs my hands when I have anything in them, still runs around my living room at full speed (I am just waiting on something to break as her tail hits it!), gets overly excited while on a walk when anyone walks by. I am currently training daily on "leave it", "wait", "drop it" and she gets about 1 hour of walking a day (longer on weekends) and about 30 minutes of retrieving the ball. I will say she is a very sweet and affectionate dog and is very good with my 13 year old cocker spaniel, very respectful of her. She also does a very good sit/stay, sleeps in her crate very well and her pulling during walks has much improved (except when something catches her eye and then she about yanks my arm off!). I feel terrible sometimes for wishing the time away, but I can't wait until this stage is over. I guess I have a while yet, but I will just hang in there because I love her to pieces!!
Re: Teenage bad behaviour - when does it end? Ah Helen,you've had a lot on with the recuperation of a young lab from and ED op well done to you x .don't feel embarrassed about pulling ,remember you are out there trying and that's the main thing,there's plenty of other dog owners that aren't .Dexter was a nightmare,he still needs micro management ;D at times ,he reduced me to tears many times.....full on blubbing,snot n all ;D ;D ;D keep your patience and keep at it,it does get better x
Re: Teenage bad behaviour - when does it end? Thank you for all your lovely replies, so much sounds familiar... Yes the ice cubes are a regular thing except when he suddenly decides they are just a bit boring and they pool on the kitchen floor... Crossing the road or changing direction because some days I don't have the energy to deal with the pulling when he meets another dog, and yes Helen I worry that Monty is almost too strong for me at times and one day will catch me unawares and I will drop his lead. My most embarrassing moments are when we ask other owners if we can let Monty off lead for a play with their dog (very often Labs) and because of his 'exuberant' nature he has completely annoyed them in about thirty seconds, to the point where they are growling at him. Then the owners look so surprised and say, gosh, 'my dog doesn't normally react like that to other dogs' and we apologise and put Monty back the lead and skulk away feeling like he has completely misbehaved - though he hasn't really, he just needs to learn not all other dogs will let him nibble their ears! I can't imagine what restricted exercise would be like - though Monty does have moderate HD and some days he is definitely a bit stiff so we cut back a bit on those days - otherwise he gets 20- 30 minutes in the morning and 45 - 60 mins in the afternoon, a touch more on weekends if he's up for it. 5 - 10 minutes each day doing basic stay, leave it, spins, bows, etc, and another 5 - 10 minutes tog of war or 'find toys'. I do have a theory about the 'bad walks' - I walk him in the morning, and through the autumn / winter I do this as the last thing before he goes in the cage and I leave the house. Some days we are running a bit late and I wonder if he picks up on my urgency to walk a bit faster, get home a bit quicker and doesn't like it. In the summer we walked earlier, in less of a rush and went over the fields off lead which is generally easier on us both. Roll on those lighter, warmer mornings! I've dug out the clicker ( number 2, number one can click no more after being chewed, ditto expensive acme whistle) to try that on the walks, has anyone found this works to mark a good walk? I've read the theory on the main site but haven't put the full thing into practice yet. Beautiful pic of Tatze, so wise and noble - how can they look so dignified one minute and like a Tasmanian devil two seconds later?!
Re: Teenage bad behaviour - when does it end? I remember all this only too well. I worried about having the lead jerked out of my hand so slid a large and strong rubber band around the the loop to make it smaller and then put my wrist through the smaller loop. Then I hold the lead in the conventional manner. I t gives you just a bit more time to react if they do something stupid. When I was going through 'the vale of tears' that was Molly's adolescence I found that she was very much worse in evening. I think by that time you have a tired toddler mixed with a stroppy adolescent. Could anything be worse. I well remember wanting to avoid other dogs because Molly totally lost it. It was so embarrassing, but I felt that if we did that I would spend my life avoiding dogs so I just soldiered on. At 15 months she is still a ball of energy that wants to play with every dog she meets, but she has reached the point that we can walk past some dogs and with others I have to make her sit while they walk past.
Re: Teenage bad behaviour - when does it end? Us too!! I have the amazing boinging spaniel at the moment. I have resigned myself to walking up and down and round and round the same 50 yards stretch of road with my clicker and treats to establish a loose lead walk. I was advised by a kind neighbour (who doesn't have any dogs) to get a halter for him but thought as he's still a baby I might give that a miss for now :
Re: Teenage bad behaviour - when does it end? [quote author=bbrown link=topic=9395.msg135432#msg135432 date=1420630392] I have the amazing boinging spaniel at the moment. [/quote] Love the image of Obi boinging down the street.... ;D
Re: Teenage bad behaviour - when does it end? Homer is two and a half years old and recently for no obvious reason chewed a hole in my new wool trousers!
Hey, how did she ‘totally lose it' when other dogs went by? How close were they? I'm trying to figure out what normal might look like..
