Oh, Those Teens!
© Darlene
Arden
You’ve got the puppy of your dreams. She comes, sits, lies down, walks on a leash reasonably well. Then, suddenly, it’s as if Martians had landed, taken your little angel and replaced her with an evil twin. Suddenly, she’s rebellious. She doesn’t do any of the things she did before. She seems to have forgotten how to sit, stay, come, lie down and walk nicely on a leash. She reminds you of a human adolescent. That’s with good reason. Welcome to your dog’s “teenage” period.
This adolescent stage of your puppy’s life usually starts at about four-and-a-half to five months of age. Your puppy is still young but no longer a real “puppy.” She has passed the stage where she follows you around the way she would have followed her canine parent. At this stage where she’s gaining confidence in you, her home and herself, she’s starting to branch out and test everything the way a human child would. She’s now a teenager and has all of the traits you’d associate with one. And your reaction follows suit just the way it might with a human teen: you’re starting to wonder what you’re doing wrong. The answer: probably nothing if you’re doing what you did before. Your puppy is growing up and you’ll have to make some minor adjustments to get through this period of her life with your sanity intact, emerging on the other side of her adolescence with the lovely canine companion of your dreams.
What do you do with your new Princess of Darkness? Take a deep breath and begin to teach her alternate behaviors. She wants to jump up to be petted? Have her sit before you or anyone else pats her. Use mealtimes as training times. Have her either sit or settle (lie down in a specific spot) before you place her food dish on the floor. Then say, “Okay!” in a happy voice.
This is a good time to get involved in a fun dog sport. Canine musical freestyle is ideal since it’s not highly competitive. Save agility, flyball or Frisbee for later as the competitive and very active sports will encourage barking and then you’ll have another problem to deal with, just adding to your training issues. Take your little imp with you. Don’t flood her with experiences but let her see that there is life in the outside world. Keep her busy at home with some of the new puzzle toys that are available for dogs There are plush ones as well as those that dispense treats. Keeping her mind and body busy will help. You can also stuff a hollow toy with a biscuit or line the inside with doggie toothpaste or peanut butter to keep her occupied.
The good news is that the teens don’t last nearly as long in dogs as they do in humans. You’ll soon have your little angel back in the fold.
