# Surviving the teenage phase



## Jasmyne (Dec 28, 2021)

Don’t forget dogs respond to energy first and foremost over words. Yes they recognize the words but the same word in a different pitch, tone, or level filled with anxiety or stress or extra loud etc doesn’t work. Also repeating yourself doesn’t do any good. If you know he heard you and doesn’t listen go get him, take it from him or what have you. There is no messing around and it isn’t a game. If you notice yourself getting anxious and repeating commands or yelling or whatever take a breath calm yourself get his attention with a clap or a whistle and use your regular voice at normal level or a level quieter. Chances are he will respond as he should.


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## SRW (Dec 21, 2018)

It is probably more a training issue than a phase and will get worse in time, not better. If your family will not maintain the training standards you want, your options are; don't allow them to interact with the dog or accept his poor behavior.

I suspect he also needs more physical and mental exercise. He carries things because he wants to retrieve, he runs away from you because it's fun and he knows you are going to take the shoe away. 
The solution is to teach the sit command (the foundation for everything else). When he truly knows it you can simply tell him to sit and then take the shoe from him. It will be much more fun and easy for both of you if you get some bumpers for him to retrieve.
All of the basic obedience things like sit, here, heel take repetition. Lots of short lessons, and don't let your family undo what you teach.


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## Oceanside (Mar 29, 2021)

This is the age where they will really push the limits (as you can see) and it’s essential to enforce your training or it’ll all go out the window for good. Don’t allow any opportunity for disobedience.

I’m also in the same boat regarding other family members and it’s quite challenging. I try to not let my dog alone with most of them unless she is totally exhausted from heavy exercise or I have her occupied with a meal or a chew. Otherwise they’re just undoing all of the work I put into training.

Basic obedience — do a few short sessions daily as you would with a young puppy to keep it going. Practice in different settings, different distractions, and introduce new commands for mental stimulation.

Recall — if it’s not reliable, don’t let him off leash. Just keep a long line on him so you can reel him in, or consider e collar conditioning. Once he learns he doesn’t need to come, you’re going to have big trouble fixing his recall. If you really need him to come, turn around and sprint the other way (don’t look back at him) and he’ll probably come quickly. Also, chasing him will ruin a recall. Never chase him. 

Drop it — training this isn’t my strong suit, but IMO it’s easier to always keep shoes etc. in a closet than try to train certain things when you have uncooperative family members chasing him around.

This is also the time where he will need the most exercise. A daily off leash session or two (maybe a long line since recall is not solid) is the best way — a couple miles of walking/hiking and incorporate some retrieving and training in there as well. 

I also incorporate natural chews (marrow bones, real rawhides) and westpaw/Kong feedings to keep her satisfied and occupied in between our off leash sessions and training sessions.


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## DogParentofOne (10 mo ago)

Thanks everyone! 
I just feel super stuck because Percy gets more than enough mental/physical exercise, as well as has always had extremely strong foundation commands and off leash work. As a few people have said, he’s at an age where he is pushing the limits, so that’s where Im struggling with it. I know some people are sayingit’s a training issue and isn’t a phase, but just from My research and talking to people who’ve trained dogs for a living, I’ve been told it’s a 1 yr old thing. Again I could be wrong, but I’m just super stumped onhow to help. I’ll probably just work with him even more than I already do and just power throughit


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## diane0905 (Aug 20, 2010)

I noticed a lot more maturation in Logan at around two and it’s been getting better and better since. He’s two and a half now. He does competition obedience class, agility and field training and loves it. That has helped a lot. We also take walks, swim and play fetch & other games. He has not run from me with items. He brings them to me and I say “give it” and praise him a lot for doing it. He seems real proud of himself. I’m sure it’s because I’ve trained him to retrieve dumbbells and ducks. Are you doing anything with him competition training wise? Logan is happier with a job/training because it engages his brain a lot.


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## DogParentofOne (10 mo ago)

Yes he’s being trained for therapy dog work! I’ve considered doing some basic retriever training with him, although I don’t hunt nor do I plan to compete in it


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## cwag (Apr 25, 2017)

I remember when Rukie went through this stage and I was giving myself mental pep talks about needing to be more strong willed than he was. We signed up for a pre agility class called working as partners. It was fun and very helpful for getting us back on track. There was also some great advice I got in this thread when Rukie list his recall








Rukie lost his recall


We have a small fenced area and around 1.5 acres of open field to play in. Until two weeks ago Rukie had about 95% instant recall and the other 5% he would always come just not instantly. Chasing frisbee and running free on the hill is his main source of exercise. Two weeks ago he got the...




www.goldenretrieverforum.com




I am happy to say he responded well to the retraining. I had let him get away with ignoring me when he was in the fenced yard and I called him. We restarted with a new word, I waited until I was pretty sure he would come in the beginning, and everyone was on board that we don't ignore or wait for a response plus rewarding when he did come right away. He's been great ever since.


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## pawsnpaca (Nov 11, 2014)

DogParentofOne said:


> I’m worried he’ll losing all the training he has because he currently is ignoring 40% of his commands… primarily just drop it, heel, come, and stay.


All this is really typical at this age. He’s testing his boundaries and trying to decide what commands he actually has to obey. Unfortunately, the best way to get through this is to be absolutely consistent with how commands are used and what his consequences are for ignoring them… which sounds like one of your challenges if the rest of your family isn’t on board with “the plan.”

Your specific issues:

*Drop it: *look up Susan Garrett’s It’s Yer Choice Game. It’s fun to play with your dog and will help reinforce the concept of not taking things that don’t belong to him
*Heel*: If it’s not a big deal to you, I wouldn’t waste a lot of time or frustration on a formal heel right now. Concentrate on insisting on/reinforcing loose leash walking and maybe some sort of “get close” command for when you need him to stay close to you. You can always revisit the formal heel when his hormones give him his brain back.
*Stay*: Easy to revisit this one by insisting he stay until he’s given permission to move during everyday life events… before he can eat his meals, go out the door, jump out of the car, etc.
*Come*: No off leash privileges right now. He should stay on a leash or a long line so you can reinforce the come if he chooses to ignore you. If he plays keep away in the house you can leave a short lead on him in the house too (only under supervision).

I always encourage people to go back to formal training classes at this age. Manners, formal obedience, rally, CGC or advanced CGC, tricks, agility foundations, nosework… anything fun and interesting that also gets him back to working with you and reinforces you as “leader.” If you hope to have him be a therapy dog in the future, working on earning the CGC titles would provide an excellent foundation.


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## SRW (Dec 21, 2018)

DogParentofOne said:


> recently he’s been spending far more time with family members because they don’t respect any of my boundaries and let him do whatever he wants


This is probably the main issue.

Defiantly unfair to the dog and needs to be dealt with.


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## Zerpersande (9 mo ago)

SRW said:


> If your family will not maintain the training standards you want, your options are; don't allow them to interact with the dog or accept his poor behavior.


This is rather disheartening for me to hear. My wife decided that she is going to follow the advice of a young trainer that works at out vet and pursue what I consider to be pretty close to a Purely Positive approach. So from 10 weeks Clooney has constantly been pulling on her clothes, won’t release things he has in his mouth, counter surfs and an almost constant strong mouthing/nipping of her legs and arms. Scratches and bruises all over her arms. She tries to get him to release by offering something else but often has nothing to offer. Biting and jumping is addressed by ignoring bc ‘he wants attention and if you don’t give it to him he’ll stop.’ Admittedly it isn’t quite as frequent and intense these days but he doesn’t do it to me. Nor does he counter surf if I am standing there, which he will do with the wife.

I agreed to go to a puppy class with my wife conducted by the young trainer. The first battle was the constant pushing to train Clooney to use a pee mat. I drew the line there and he’s now exclusively going outside. Their argument? When natural disasters occur and people are in shelters he needs to know how to use a mat. My response? We live in an area for 30 years where earthquakes are extremely rare, the company that built our house had houses in Kobe that weathered the Kobe Earthquake with no damage, there are no rivers nearby that could flood and typhoons peter out because we are surrounded by mountains. I’ll take my chances. (Note: I did learn that saying 1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2 while your dog relieves himself can result in him doing so on command. Well, somewhat. So now to appease the wife I agree to say 1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2 bc she believes even though he will do ot he isn’t fully trained to do it. My efforts to point out that he is also relieving himself in the area I always took him for 2 months might have more to do with his current habit than 1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2 falls on death ears. As Mark Twain said, never try to teach a pig yo sing, it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

And as was said in another post, Clooney spends more time with her because, IMO, she sets no rules, boundaries or limitations. Whereas I grasp an object in his mouth, say ‘Out’ a single time, and look him dead in the eye with my arm extremely immobile until he releases. Which is wrong, because I apparently need to offer him something he likes better.

i apologize for the rant, but I did it not only to let off some steam, but to give a solid example of what happens when family members aren’t on the same page.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

DogParentofOne said:


> Percy turned one just a few weeks ago and oh my goodness he’s really hit the rebellious phase recently 😂
> 
> what are y’all’s tips for getting through it? I’m worried he’ll losing all the training he has because he currently is ignoring 40% of his commands… primarily just drop it, heel, come, and stay. Heel isn’t a big deal to me because I very rarely have him heel, unless we’re in a public place and he needs to be by my side, but the drop it is getting on my nerves. He’s always been so good about dropping things when I ask, but lately he’s been running away from me when he knows he can’t have something. Like today, he got a shoe (he never chews but has been stealing shoes recently to carry) and I went to get it back and instead of dropping it as usual, he sprinted around the yard with it as though it were a game and then when I took it, he shyed away from me as though I was going to hit him. I’ve NEVER hit my dog nor will I ever. The come command has been awful too. On leash and off leash. At the beach or at my house. No matter what he’s been ignoring it.
> 
> ...


I think it's probably important to know a little more information.... you don't have to give this information or even discuss either way, but you may need to consider it carefully in regards to foundations you are building with him.

Where does the dog sleep at night?
Who wakes him up in the morning, feeds him, potty's him, and trains him?
Where does he spend his day?
Is he confined to puppy proof rooms when not actively interacting with you or other family members, or does he have run of the whole house?
Are you training him daily (including training multiple times a day)?
Does he have appropriate toys and chews to play with?
Because he has run away, do you keep him on leash or long line when outside to prevent him from running right now?

W/R to commands - it is more than the age of the dog. In obedience training many of us have it drilled into our heads never repeat a command ever, because it trains the dogs they do not have to listen to the command the first time. If you are in doubt of him coming when called, do you still issue that command? So if he has taken off running on you and you have repeatedly told him to come, you have trained him that he does not need to come when called.

The reason why many adolescent dogs "forget" their training is because they are in between classes and structure lapses during that time. It is easier to keep a dog trained if attending classes, because it at least ensures you are training your dog once a week.

My guys are trained any time they eat (nothing in life is free) and before bedtime we drill things we are working on. If you carve out multiple times in a day to work on training with your dog - you will see results. 

Likewise, really put an effort to getting more structure in your dogs life - if that is necessary. Not saying he needs to be in a crate all day. But doors should be closed or baby gates put up to ensure he's only in rooms where you are and can reinforce manners. 

I'm reading between the lines and suspect you are young and are referring to parents and siblings who you live with? And yes, that makes it very difficult to set some structure. But if you put the time and really get more organization with the dog, it will come a long way. Instead of seeing the dog's manners or training slide, you will be taking pride in him learning things every week. 

Keep a training diary and check around with different clubs to find a mentor who can help you stay on track. Especially if this will be a working dog.


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