# Is this adolesence



## Teresa (Jul 6, 2011)

Hi All,

I am after some advice, our Buzz has been brilliant with his training, very responsive.....Unitll now that is (he is 5 months) he has got really bad with his recall when out on walks, if he sees another dog that is it he is gone and will not come back.
My husband came in this morning after their early morning walk fuming as he had had to trudge across a field and a half to get him back. Previously he would bolt to other dogs but would recall especially if you kept walking, now he does not care if you are out of sight.
Craig took him out mountain biking at the weekend, Buzz loved it and was very good and did not pay any attention to other dogs as he was so focused.
Is this just a stage and what can we do (currently are back to lead walking him) we have to be able to control him out on walks off lead?
Would having the snip help, he is due in for it next month?

Any advice appreciated


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## S.Claire (Sep 1, 2011)

Hi Teresa

Nacho is 6 months and he has just started doing this too. Not out on walks (yet) but we have a rather large garden and field backing onto it and he keeps going off when he is supposed to be doing his business and not listening to me when i call him back. I end up trudging through the darkness with a torch in my dressing gown late a night!! I have literally just bought a flexi lead and will have to keep him on this until he re-learns that he must come back when called and will tempt with treats. I was extremely mad with him yesterday evening at midnight trying to lure him back in!! I've even bought him a bell that goes on his collar so at least i can hear him in the darkness - he's become a cat!

Good luck.


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## colpa110 (Jul 5, 2011)

Hi Teresa

I feel your pain - Betty is just Six Months old and is doing this too. We were in our local park this weekend which has large fields but also a childrens play area
which is not (unusally )fenced off. Normally I keep well away as Betty just LOVES to play with kids. However this weekend despite being th usual distance away Betty made a beeline straight for the kids area.. no amount of calling/whistling or running in the opposite direction could get her back. It was a LONG run over to the play ground for me where I found Betty was running around like a maniac from one kid to another - most of them were about 6- 7 years old and very squealy... Betty has a tendancy to be very bouncy and some of the kids were a bit frightened
I made the neccesary apologies to the parents but I could sense them thinking
'can't he keep his dog under control'...
I'm struggling to even get her to do basic commands like sit and down and I have invested so much to and effort in to training
Gwen Bailey writes about this in the 'Perfect Puppy' and says in is quite normal for the training to go out of the window at this age and not to despair it's effort not wasted and will return once the phase passes and just to keep at it..
Claire ( Jedicrazy) suggests using a long training line whilst recall is not good but think she only had to use it for a couple of weeks with Obi. I may give this a try!!


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## Laney (Aug 7, 2011)

Hi Teresa and all,
Rocky started this at about 5 and a half months, after pretty good recall up until then. Now if he sees another dog...he is gone. It is so sad as now most of his walks are on lead. When we take him to the big park at the weekend, we let him off but we have to keep putting him back on all the time, its such a pain.
If we see a dog we know he can play with we take him over there ON the lead and then let him off in order to try to show him 1) who's boss, and 2) that we WILL let him play and he doesn't have to run off to do it. Its hard. I hope he improves as he's spoiling his walks for himself so much.
He is having the snip in January x


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## Teresa (Jul 6, 2011)

Thank you all, its great to know we are not alone and it seems its a definate phase at this age. Laney we are the same with the lead walking and its such a shame as he loves to run but as Colin has said what with kids and other dogs who are not pleased to have a bouncy puppy all over them its crucial to be able to control....My Husband is just like you Colin feeling very dissapointed with Buzz as he invested soo much time on training him, I have told him to try not to take it personally, he isnt doing it to annoy him. We are going to try taking a ball and doing retrieve work to keep him occupied, I think his ususal park walk just doesnt stimulate him and see if that helps and otherwise ride out the phase but keep going with training...


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## S.Claire (Sep 1, 2011)

Ahhhhhhh. Since my last post to you Teresa Nacho has run out of my office (never done that before) escaped out the door and across a busy car park before realising he'd even gone!!!!! I think i'm about to have a heart attack. Found him 200 metres away greeting strangers at a plant centre without a bloody care in the world that I wasn't there!! 

Wits end!! At this rate he'll never be off his lead again! Feel like crying, he could so easily have been hit by a car.


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## colpa110 (Jul 5, 2011)

OMG - I'm glad he is OK - what a nightmare.
Deep breaths and a strong cup of tea (if nothing else stronger available)
required. It will be good to see how our dogs develop through these stages 
together...strength in numbers and all that!!


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## S.Claire (Sep 1, 2011)

colpa110 said:


> OMG - I'm glad he is OK - what a nightmare.
> Deep breaths and a strong cup of tea (if nothing else stronger available)
> required. It will be good to see how our dogs develop through these stages
> together...strength in numbers and all that!!


Thanks Colin. I think a vodka and tonic is on the cards as soon as the hand strikes 5pm!!! Yes thank god he is ok. I still feel so sick. I really don't know what i'd do if anything happened to him - i wouldn't forgive myself - especially as my family lost a dog to being hit by a car a few years ago - never want to go through that again!

Deep breaths! - Nacho is currently in the corner sulking again as i raised my voice rather loudly at him. I'm a scary monster to him right now - probably shouldn't have reacted like that but it was more of the relief that he was ok - then anger set in - the pigs ear has been confiscated.... poor pooch!


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## Teresa (Jul 6, 2011)

OMG Nacho you naughty boy.....these Cockapoo's they just know everyone cannot resist to fuss them and they are off to say 'look at me, look how cute I am' without a second thought.
I soo hope this phase is over soon, as you say its worrying when they are putting their safety at risk yet you dont want to squash their fun either..


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## Rufini (Sep 9, 2011)

I don't know if Vincent is just an early starter but he's started to be a right little terror D:
Had a call from my boyfriend at lunch time (who has a chest infection  ) that he had never been so upset and annoyed with Vincent as he was after his afternoon walk!
Apparently he would not stop pulling the lead, jumping up and trying to run off as fast as he could (we live in an area where non lead walking is not good...a bit dodgey really) and then everytime he saw a person he jumped up at them barking which he has never done! (he does jump up but never barked!!)

Poor boyfriend ended up picking Vincent up and carrying him home as he just couldn't take a step without him being naughty 
Continuing to train heel x_x


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## marzy (Aug 20, 2010)

susie
poor nacho must have given you a right fright!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
so so so glad hes aok and you ..... are now calm.....

i seriosly believe they hit the terrible teens before they are one....

back to basic training again and out with the liver i think!!!!!
marzy


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## pixie (Apr 16, 2011)

Oh dear! 5 mnths seems to be the start of something! My mums poo Buffy is being really naughty,she has been having sneaky poo's upstairs,chewing and destroying,gets into my mums handbag and can open a pack of treats and has developed a way of getting them out with banging the packet with her paw she has cheekiness oozzing from her! Pixie's recall is getting worst too,and cheese just isnt doing the trick anymore when we see people up ahead on walks! So hard getting them on the lead again when they are off....and jumping up at people is my pet hate and Pixie would win gold if there was a competition for it,tough times and i think we have to wait until 18mnths before it gets better(i have read this somewhere,is it true???) 

Glad Nacho is ok! What a nightmare for you,wish it was easy to train them road safety x


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## ali-s.j. (Jun 6, 2011)

Izzy's behaviour has deteriorated recently - I thought it was because she can see since I trimmed her face! Recall still ok, although she is wandering further in the woods than before (but keeps coming back to check on me  ). Our biggest problem is the jumping onto the table - she can now do it from a standing jump :jumping: and is so fast! Let's hope it's another quick passing phase  just don't want to wish her puppyhood away!


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## jackster (Sep 18, 2011)

Hi all,
Archie is now 5 months and 3 weeks and seems to be turning into a little devil. He ran off the other day in the woods and just ignored my call back. In the end i had to go get him by which time he was covered in mud and it took me 45 mins to get him clean. He looked so pleased with himself, i swear he smiles. Now he keeps jumping up at everyone. He seems to have changed over the past week, and now we have to keep him in the lead. He is so lovely but i think the hormones are setting in, he is like a stroppy teenager now!


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## mrsmac (May 10, 2011)

How long does this continue?? Maisie is 7 months and yesterday her recall was none existant! I even walked away from here in the park and hid round a corner watching here. She just looked around and then went back to sniffing the tree, not a hint of panic that I had gone! !!


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## MillieDog (Jun 1, 2011)

I would say its adolescence. A mixture of testing their boundaries and growing confidence.

Go back to basics. Take some very tasty treats out, cooked meat is a favourite. Even start to click and reward again if thats what you used to do. 

Add a ball into the equation, that keeps them interested in you. 

And my favourite, if they are away playing with another dog, call them back and run off slowly in the opposite direction. They love to play chase and you become fun.

It will pass, but keep working on Recall. Reward a good strong Recall - and set them up to succeed. Praise a slow Recall, but don't punish.

Millie went through a poor Recall stage for a couple of weeks. At 8 months it became apparent that Millie was a lot more obedient and listened to most commands. I think adult hood stepped in.


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## colpa110 (Jul 5, 2011)

Thanks Julie for giving us all hope!!


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## Laney (Aug 7, 2011)

still waiting............


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## S.Claire (Sep 1, 2011)

marzy said:


> susie
> poor nacho must have given you a right fright!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> so so so glad hes aok and you ..... are now calm.....
> 
> ...


Thanks Marzy!  xxx


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## Denali (May 23, 2011)

Yup, Lucca is the same - has selective hearing when playing with other dogs. I do use a whistle which can get his attention; 2 sharp blows often does the trick, but certainly not always. He is booked in for the snip tomorrow  so will see if this makes a difference


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## MillieDog (Jun 1, 2011)

We were always taught in Obedience Class you don't nag any commands. So if you're Recalling, you call their name to attract their attention and give the command. If they don't come, wait a little and try again. If they still don't come, do something different,  ie clapping, waving, strange noises, running in circles or slowly away, lying down. If that fails, sometimes you just have to go and collect them 

What you don't want to do is get into nagging. It simply trains the dog to come when they're ready  Funnily enough, I was in the park yesterday and a lady was doing exactly this, she had a dog whistle and simply kept blowing it and calling his name, over and over and over again. All to no avail.


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## Fifi (Aug 11, 2011)

I wanted to ask if Gaia's recent change in behaviour is also adolesence, she is close to 5 months now. Her recall for the most is still OK, although I have to vary where she is put back on the lead. But at home it's changed, she has started to bark when someone comes to the door but it's no longer a mad rush for who gets there first, she's happy for me to go. She also is resting more, I'm not complaining I just want to know she's not ill


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## Soo (Dec 16, 2011)

One thing I noticed in the dog club with the pups was that if they were putting energy into a growth spurt there seemed to be nothing left for their brain and their behaviour was much worse. Once the growth spurt settled off their behaviour settled again too.

Try a long line on them, ONLY USE THIS IN AREAS WHERE THERE ARE NOT THINGS FOR IT TO GET CAUGHT ON (ie a flat field type area) as if a dog is running and the rope catches it could do serious damage to its neck. You can make one that you are not annoyed about getting dragged through dirt and mud buy putting an old clip onto a bit of washing line rope, make it really long to start with and you can chop bits off as your dog improves (Id use rope rather than the plasticy stuff) Let them run around just dragging it and then every now and then put a foot on it and call the dog. Massive fuss, treats, game of tuggy whatever floats your dogs boat if it returns and send it straight away again. If it doesnt come back by itself use the rope to bring it back and keep it with you a couple of minutes as a consequence of not coming back itself. No yelling or other punishment just the prevention of running around. That way you never call your dog unless you are in a position to ensure it complies. None of you have mentioned punishing your dog for not coming back which is good as punishment has no place in recalls and will prob just make your dog less likely to come back at all.

When they are babies the pups will stay close to us for security but as they get more confident in themselves they will start taking off without thought of us. By using a long line and not calling the dog unless your have it you are ensurring the dog doesnt just get used to hearing its name and recall prompt and ignoring it. It learns it is something it has to listen to and that it will have to return one way or the other and the quicker you get back and get rewarded the quicker you can get back to play!

Ive got this all to look forward to as Mitzy isn't finished her vacs yet.......

Oh and adolecence usually is anywhere from around 6 months to 1 and a half. I saw it more as the dogs teenage years where they painted their bedrooms black and listened to strange music. They usually have a period of really sticking two finger up at you. Its a case of toughing it our and making sure you can always be kept under control for that period. The good thing is it only lasts for a few months before they become calmer more obedient adults, unlike kids LOL

The bad thing is that some owners who see what looks like an adult dog with some pretty bad behaviour think this is what the adult dog is going to be like and rehome. its not though and if they could just put up with it a little longer it would pass.

Puppies are cute but I far prefer the adult version of them!


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