Ok, so why does my 4.5 month puppy behave better for others than she does for me?? She follows others, even stranger’s , commands beautifully, but has recently started to ignore mine!! When I take her out to potty she is soooo stubborn about going back in and will refuse to budge. My girl who takes her out while I’m at work has absolutely no problems!! Puppy follows her every command the first time!! At a friend’s house the other day, she was an absolute dream angel puppy and everyone was blown away by how well behaved she was...but she comes home and she turns bratty. What gives??? Are puppies really like children...they behave better for other people than they do for their parents?? Is it me??? Does she not respect me?It’s starting to bother me..
There could be so many reasons. It could be novelty - some puppies are just fascinated by new people. They like to collect new friends and find them interesting. It could be the reverse, she might be a little intimidated by other people and so becomes more clingy whereas with you she feels safer and more confident to explore and do her own thing. For the most part though, difference in how puppies respond to people is to do with how the puppy is reinforced by them. So it's worth looking at how your reinforcements are different from those provided by other people. At four months, most puppies have not had their cues proofed against distractions and won't understand that 'come' for example means the same outdoors as it does indoors. If you have a problem getting her to follow you, a harness and houseline will help you avoid getting into the situation where you use cues like 'come' and she ignores them or doesn't respond in the right way. The important thing is not to build up a history of you saying one thing, and the puppy doing another. What are you working on with her training at the moment? Is there anything you'd like help with?
