Like humans, dogs go through adolescence, a teenage phase. You might notice your once responsive puppy start to ignore your cues; perhaps they aren’t coming back as often when you call them, or they’re jumping up more than they used to. In some cases, it can seem as though they’ve completely forgotten their training all together.
The good news is, this is totally normal, and something most dog owners experience. Rest assured that your adolescent dog hasn’t forgotten their training, nor are they intentionally trying to spite you. Instead, they are experiencing an influx of hormones; changes in brain and body that often result in increased independence, frustration, distractibility and a greater need to explore and interact with the world around them.
Whilst totally normal, the adolescent stage and the behaviour changes that come with it can be very frustrating. My 1-1 sessions are designed to help improve your dog’s focus and engagement. Instead of trying to simply suppress their new desires for independence, socialisation and exploration, my fun and modern methods encourage collaboration between dog and human, tapping into your dog’s internal motivation in order to improve behaviour. Sessions are personalised to meet the needs of you and your individual dog and may address any of the following:
- Focus, engagement and responsiveness
- Recall (coming when called)
- Walking nicely on the lead
- Impulse control
- Door dashing/manners around the door
- Polite greetings with humans and dogs in and out of the house
- Over-excitability and settling in the house
- Inappropriate play in a multi-dog household
- Excessive mouthing, chewing, barking or humping
- Increased fear or nervousness
- Foundational behaviours such as wait, leave it, drop etc
The above list is not exhaustive. If you are experiencing any issues with your adolescent dog, please do not hesitate to reach out. I offer a free, no obligation phone consultation to discuss your situation and so you can get an idea of how I can help.