Hi all, I know that there are no definite answers to this question but it would be great to get some idea of how things went for you. I'm wondering when lab pups usually start on that awkward 'adolescent' phase. I'm sure it must vary hugely from pup to pup! Ziggy is now 4 months and I suspect that he's becoming a terrible teenager already. Is this likely? It seems like he's getting a little more independent and a little more willful and his recall isn't quite as strong as it was when he was younger so we're doing lots of work on that. It also seems that he doesn't need quite so much sleep during the day. So even when we've been across the park for a run around, he's still full of beans when we get home where he used to collapse into his bed and sleep for a couple of hours! Also - again, i know there are no rules - but what are your experiences of how long this phase lasted for? Thanks so much for all of the advice. This is a fantastic forum!!
Hmmm ..well, like you say, there is no definite answer . Cassie is 16 months and all I can say is that these days I have several days when I think the "teenage" (call it what you will) days are behind us -- and then a day when it's clearly not! I think the thing is to keep training, little things throughout the day, and especially on walks doing things to keep him concentrating on you. Teaching hand touch is something I would have benefitted from doing earlier with her I'm sure. Hope this helps, I'm sure others with more experience will be along just now.
Holly started the teenage phase at about 6 months and didn't fully settle down until about 15 months. Like @selina27 we kept on with the training and tried to be consistent until she came through it.
Aramis' has just hit 7months, and I noticied the first change about a month ago... I don't have much advice bcos we've only ever had older dogs before, but what I will say that is helping us immensely when he is acting like a hell hound is brain games . We have a little board (looks like a kids game) where you hide food under different objects for him to work out how to get it, a ball that he has to move around to get his biscuits, and our newest game is hiding his favourite toy and him working out where it is, as well as just going over basic training with him. We have just ordered some more games for him from amazon too which I'm excited about, probably more so than him. The best advice I've read on here though is to remember it doesn't last
