You may have a dog that is between 8 months and 18months old.

A young dog can be just as problematic as a teenager, the behaviour you are seeing is not a behaviour problem just you dog being a adolescent.  You may think you have an alpha dog, you don’t just a young dog testing you.

 You will know when the adolescence stage begins your dog may exhibit different types of behaviour listed below:
 
jumping-up, nipping at your hand/arm, barking, showing signs of aggression, pulling on lead, not coming back when called (recall), mounting people/cushions, not doing ask you ask (disobedient), not eating properly, other systems are:    

 
• Your dog has little self-control.
• They will rather play than do other things, like training.
• He would rather be with others the same age or with similar interests. Don’t forget dogs can only hold one thought at a time.  
• When out on a walk your recall is getting worst, and your dog comes back when he is ready not when you asked him to.
• He like things that move fast.   
• He gets easily bored when nothing is going on. So reading the paper is difficult, if not impossible at times. 
• Male dogs may start lifting their leg to mark territory and trying to mount other dogs, humans, and even furniture.
• He cannot control himself when something exciting is happening like the smell of a deer, rabbit. Or other dogs, children playing   in the park. Similar to children who sees an ice-cream van, swing & slides.  
• He may find it hard to concentrate. He will forget what you taught him 10 minutes after the exercise. Just like when you were a   kid you would sometimes forget to go straight home after school
• Your dog may suddenly become hesitant to approach something new or suddenly become anxious of something familiar.  This can come on suddenly, and seem senseless.
  The puberty stage of a dog’s development will go through several stages that can last up to around two years of age. Hormones will   affect your dog behaviour where you just don’t know what to do with him. Research has shown that dog’s at this stage of the   development are re-homed as they are too much to handle. Neutering and castrating your dog will not resolve the behaviour problem.   In my experience the dog’s behaviour worsens after castration, because the dog feels vulnerable, almost like a wounded animal.   Hormones will always play significant part in the physical and mental development of a puppy, best to wait until your puppy has   matured around about 24 months.  The thing to remember is the adolescent stage will not last forever.

What can you do! You dog need understanding, and you need to have patience. Dogs learn best when they are happy and relaxed. 

Please contact Pauline for more training. if you live in fife, angus, edinburgh, glasgow, Aberdeen.