# Adolescence has kicked in. Please tell me this ends soon ;-)



## Frida010 (Apr 24, 2020)

Our lovely and easy-going pup Fred has just turned into a cheeky, stubborn, uncooperative adolescent who could now better be renamed to 'Brat'.

She barks and whines and lets out a long annoyed sigh before even moving into a sit. And she only sits for treats, or when I keep the door closed until she sits. I have just spent 30 minutes commanding her to 'go to her place', and every time I looked at my food and then looked up again I saw Fred's nose sniffing around at the table again. After about 30x I put her in her crate, to continue my dinner before it gets cold. She even refuses to bring me the ball when we play fetch, but drops it out of reach and grabs it when I reach for it. I taught her to sit and wait for me to pick the ball up, but her great manners are just gone. And she whines fo attention all the time unless crated. She even stamps her feet and lets out a frustrated sniff when she doesn't get attention. Her recall is still pretty solid with minor distractions. She always gets her daily exercise both physically and mentally, so she's just stubborn but not destructive. With other dogs she really seems to have grown more confidence and she has always been fierce when playing but never aggressive. She always avoids conflict and when conflicted she lays down showing her belly.

I can't wait for this adolescence to be over. So please tell me, how long do I have to deal with this spoiled little Brat before it turns back into my easy-going Fred? How long did this phase take for your V? And are there other phases in adolescence besides this bratty phase?


----------



## Frida010 (Apr 24, 2020)

Meet the little brat herself stamping her feet for not getting attention or food.


----------



## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

LOL, yes you guys are clearly hitting the 6 months adolescent phase. Honestly it could be wave and it could be just a month or 3, but yes , it will go away. Just keep being consistent, don`t give in, remain calm (i know that one is hard when we already thought we had a well behaved pup) and if you can try do more exercise and then training sessions with her. If you catch her on behaving well, HUGE praise, just as when you were potty training, and if she is a brat, just ignore her. Not all go thru with the same exact signs and duration, but most of them do. And yes, there may well be another phase at around 18-24 months which will require consistency at your end.

P.S. she is a pretty brat


----------



## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Sigh
You always know when the adolescent age hits, because they act like you've never taught them anything. Don't be surprised if her recall also goes out the window.


----------



## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

You have a few months.
Now is the time to begin raising the bar on expectations. It's going to be a little less easy going on her, and more, "Yes, you are going to do what you're told to do." Time to be more firm, and less yielding.
She's trying to figure out who is really in charge. Once she realizes that it is you, she'll start to settle down. Structure, consistency, and enforcement. 
Texas Red is correct, she is going to blow you off at the recall so be prepared for it to happen, and stop it as soon as you are able.
The stamping of the feet is really cute. Not so cute for you, but cute for the rest of us. 
Good luck, and be ready for the antics.


----------



## Frida010 (Apr 24, 2020)

Thanks! At irst I thought I had to be tougher. I once lost my temper and scolded, but then she peed on the floor. That dog is a mirror and school of life. 

So I’ll work on being consistent without getting angry. We do a lot of training. We just finished a beginner tracking course, and she loved it. Hunting will be next, but we just went into lockdown again 😞

I didn’t know about the second phase 😱 but the last 3-6 months flew by so I hope if it’s going to be a though time, it’ll fly by quickly.

She is pretty, if you don’t own a V you really see them as regal dogs. But then when you owe one and see how they sleep.. 🤪


----------



## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

"Tougher" doesn't mean to be harsh, or mean, or get physical. It's really for you. You need to be tougher in your expectations of her behaviors, and less tolerant. It's kind of been all cookies and cream up to this point, but now you just need to be more firm with yourself first, and then her. You need to be her leader.
In the example you gave about 30x correction attempts to stop her sniffing about and mooching, that needs to become 2-3 times max, and then just one time. 
Begin to tell her no, go to your spot. That's step 1. When that fails, enforce her on the second to go to her spot. When that fails, it's in the crate after a short leash session. No emotion, no discussion, no scolding,no belaboring the issue. On the leash, a few circuits around the living room, and then in the crate, end of story. Your emotion involvement here should be no more than that of loading the dishwasher. Have your meal, then let her out and play with her as if nothing happened at all.
You are not using the crate for punishment here. The crate is to put her in a place where the constant corrections do not have to continue. It's a reset. The leash work was the "punishment component", so to speak.
When you watch animals correct each other, it's very quick, it's very obvious, and they get over it quick. Sometimes there can be a physical violence to it, but even then the correction is complete in seconds. It's done, and over. They go right back to doing what they were doing just prior to the correction.


----------



## Frida010 (Apr 24, 2020)

gunnr said:


> "Tougher" doesn't mean to be harsh, or mean, or get physical. It's really for you. You need to be tougher in your expectations of her behaviors, and less tolerant. It's kind of been all cookies and cream up to this point, but now you just need to be more firm with yourself first, and then her. You need to be her leader.
> In the example you gave about 30x correction attempts to stop her sniffing about and mooching, that needs to become 2-3 times max, and then just one time.
> Begin to tell her no, go to your spot. That's step 1. When that fails, enforce her on the second to go to her spot. When that fails, it's in the crate after a short leash session. No emotion, no discussion, no scolding,no belaboring the issue. On the leash, a few circuits around the living room, and then in the crate, end of story. Your emotion involvement here should be no more than that of loading the dishwasher. Have your meal, then let her out and play with her as if nothing happened at all.
> You are not using the crate for punishment here. The crate is to put her in a place where the constant corrections do not have to continue. It's a reset. The leash work was the "punishment component", so to speak.
> When you watch animals correct each other, it's very quick, it's very obvious, and they get over it quick. Sometimes there can be a physical violence to it, but even then the correction is complete in seconds. It's done, and over. They go right back to doing what they were doing just prior to the correction.


Thanks Gunnr, I never thought of a short leash round in the house before taking her to the crate. There are many trainers that tell you to put her to her place +1 time from the time she is getting up, even if that means 50 times. So that's what I did, until I gave up. Your alternative sounds a lot better.


----------



## QueenTilly (Jul 7, 2020)

Very helpful thread! Tilly is going through the exact same at the moment and she’s 7.5 months at the moment. She had settled so well but some puppy behaviours are creeping back in and she’s just a bit all over the place and indeeeeed she doesn’t even want to sit for us anymore haha. We will keep being consisted and also hope it passes by quickly ☺


----------



## Frida010 (Apr 24, 2020)

texasred said:


> Don't be surprised if her recall also goes out the window.





gunnr said:


> Texas Red is correct, she is going to blow you off at the recall so be prepared for it to happen, and stop it as soon as you are able.


If she could give me the finger, then this is exactly what she does now. Runs up to the middle of the field and then turns around to look at me. When I command her to come she just gives me the finger and continues to look at me without moving. I feel like she is taunting me. 

I am thinking about bringing her back to long leash walks, to make sure she follows the command. I could also start with higher value treats on recall commands.


----------



## ana19 (Jun 26, 2020)

Frida010 said:


> I am thinking about bringing her back to long leash walks, to make sure she follows the command. I could also start with higher value treats on recall commands.


Yes! And reinforcing check-ins could also make her recall better.


----------



## ana19 (Jun 26, 2020)

Also I think this can help This area is password protected [401]


----------

