My 13 month old lab's behaviors started to regress back to her puppyhood behaviors. For example, she stopped eating her own poop months ago, and just started back up this weekend. Also she is being extremely stubborn and fresh. Her behavior is becoming more rebellious. I'm hoping its a phase that other lab parents have gone through and could give me a bit of wisdom to help get us through this "teenage" dog phase.
It's pretty normal for owners to have a difficult time during adolescence for various reasons. However, it's important not to label the dog as 'stubborn and fresh' (not sure what fresh means there!) or 'rebellious'. Think about motivation: If you are saying the dog is stubborn, you are saying that the dog is not responding to you when given cues. Instead of just labelling the dog 'stubborn' and getting angry about that, think about how you can motivate the dog better. It is a bit hard to give advice in a general sense, it would be good to hear about specific situations...
