Well I seem to have hit a brick wall with Milly ATM. She is now 14months old and was doing very well. All of a sudden (almost straight after I put a deposit on a new pup ) she has started to ignore my usually strong cues and has started mouthing again. Not hard and only like playing and does stop if we say no biting or take our hands away. But why would she start something again that was before gone. Also where has the ignorance come from. I thought the adolescent phase was around 9 months and we had gone past it. What am I doing wrong. She doesn't bite down at all but does scratch with her teeth when you pull away especially to the kids. Her usually perfect recall is now questionable and she has started to bark at things a lot more. She also barked and raised her hackles and lunged at another dog last night at training. Granted the other dog did it to her and hers was reactionary but she is such a submissive dog that I would have thought she would have ran away or at least dropped like she normally does. It completely caught me by surprise. Maybe I am giving off wrong signals or something arrrgggg. A little worried now that I will be adding another pup to the mix. I really think she will love the pup and be fine that way it's more a worry that she will teach him these issues and backslide further if he joins her. What to do? What to do?
Re: Need some ideas please On another note. I am going to see the pups and their Mum and grandmother and an older half sister. Looking forward to that.
Re: Need some ideas please I wouldn't be too worried. They do seem to go through regressive phases at times... I don't think you'd be doing anything wrong Just go back to basics with the biting etc. If the other dog lunged at her first I'd not be too concerned about her response. Just steer clear of that dog and also on walks throw in plenty of mini recalls on lead so you have a good response to your 'attention on me!' cue. Her timing isn't fab, given that she is supposed to be the sensible big sister But you still have quite a few weeks till Milo arrives.
Re: Need some ideas please Tatze was 15 months when Gypsy arrived and it was just like having two babies for a while. The main thing I had to do was separate them often because of over-playing, when one or other was over doing it. They seemed to take it in turns! The best thing is that all the croco-pup behaviour is aimed at the older dog, not you. But it was great fun! Don't worry - all will be well and in twelve months time you will have two super pooches who get on great. The main thing is to relax and enjoy them both - the time flies by so fast.
Re: Need some ideas please Thanks everyone. That makes me feel much better. Was Tatse still in a crate when Gypsy came? I'm thinking maybe I need to have a second one set up for Milly and one for Milo. Milly hasn't been in a crate or pen for a few months now but I'm wondering if it might be handy. I will be setting the play pen up outside for Milos outdoor time as our yard is very big and a lot of trees that he will be wanting to chew branches off. Plus the cane toads at night. Puppies are beautiful by the way. I will sort my pick out tomorrow and post a couple. I have my favs already lol but we will see how the grow and what personalitys start to show.
Re: Need some ideas please [quote author=AnnetteB link=topic=9890.msg143530#msg143530 date=1423907648] Was Tatze still in a crate when Gypsy came? I'm thinking maybe I need to have a second one set up for Milly and one for Milo. Milly hasn't been in a crate or pen for a few months now but I'm wondering if it might be handy. I will be setting the play pen up outside for Milos outdoor time as our yard is very big and a lot of trees that he will be wanting to chew branches off. Plus the cane toads at night. [/quote] Tatze is still in a crate now (21 months) - she loves it and cries if I leave the door open. Gypsy hated her crate so she was in a puppy pen and then very soon de-crated entirely. I had a gate across the kitchen to separate them when they over played, so Tatze's crate has only ever been for her bed or when we go out.
Re: Need some ideas please Harley had her 'teenage' stage around 13 months old! It took about 4-5 weeks then all of a sudden she went back to the mainly obedient dog, apart from the barking which we are still working on
