adolecent brattiness or something else?

[imported_nea]

The last three days or so Webby has been acting different. He seems to only listen when it suits him, which he hasn't done before. He sometimes just flatout refuses to do what I ask him to, or stops before I tell him its ok to get up again, and is just a pain. Those are the more concrete things but there is something else too, and I'm not sure what. He just dosen't really seem like himself in a way. Its both disconcerting and discouraging. He is usually so good, and now thats gone! :( A few days ago I stopped using treats so much when I was rewarding him, and now I'm mostly praising verbally. Could that have anything to do with his behaviour? There have been some exciting things happen for him too. Is he stressed because of it? Or has he reached a point when he is going to test the limits and all that stuff? How should I treat him when he acts this way, should I try to ignore it and wait it out or should I try to do more intense training and try to get him to do it right? Unfortuanatly one of the things he seems to ignore the most now is the recall. :( If he doesn't shape up I won't feel comfortable letting him off leash and that would make him really sad! He loves zooming around...

[anne3149]

Would you post the age of your dog here. I'm sure some members will know but a lot of us haven't a clue. Also his breed.

[bk_blue]

Webster is a flat-coated retriever and he's 10 months old. (thank you Dogster for the exact age!) :)

[ferky1]

8-12 months was when my Miles 'came into his own' and started testing the boundaries of his own independence, so that's what it sounds like to me. You may start to notice that Webster relies on you less and starts to push his own boundaries by ignoring commands and trying to assert his own will. Essentially he is a teenager and from what I hear, raising a teenager is no fun!

Miles and I got through this phase by getting even more attention from me. I discouraged the bad behavior and episodes where he "forgot" (yeah right) a command and really encouraged the good with praise and treats. Essentially, we stepped back to when he was a younger puppy that was just learning the rules. You may need to re-assert yourself as alpha, remind him that obeying you is fun (treats and praise) and do not reward any of his actions that display an attempt at independence. This is terrible advice for raising a human child but I think that it really works with a dog.

You will get through this, but you need to be vigilant and pay even more attention to him now.

[Guest Anonymous]

Ditto what ferky1 said. :)

Though I think this is primarily due to being a teenager, I think the fact that you stopped using treats has impacted it as well. No need to treat every single time for behaviors he knows well, but do still use them variably. Slot machine theory. :)

Hang in there!

[Guest Anonymous]

my dogs are 16 and 17 months old.. and still doing the same thing your webster is doing. they don't listenand just walk away when i tell them to do something. it's just the age. everyone i know says it will pass when they hit 2... hang in there it gets better. i've been ealing with this since they were both 10 months old ;)

[Guest Anonymous]

I was having the same problem. My agility instructor helped me out with this. Everytime they did not listen they got re-asked one more time. If still not responding to command, they got put in a time out. This meaning their crate or to be tied up. Just for 10 minutes or so, then try again. After a while she learned if she did not listen, this was what was going to happen and she did not like it. Also make sure you give plenty of praise when they are acting properly and do not praise if not.

[courtnek]

[quote]Essentially he is a teenager and from what I hear, raising a teenager is no fun!
[/quote]

being the mother of a teenage boy, I can tell you with certainty it's NOT....
with Kyle, I use reverse psychology. I dont tell him to do something, I ask him. If he doesnt do it, the next time HE asks for something, I say "well, since you didnt...." That shores him up pretty quick.

it probably wont work with a dog. But disobedience can be stopped by simply ending the session, right then. No treats. no praise. nothing good. Then when HE wants something, food, treats, attention, again give the comand he ignored, and when he does it, reward him with what he wants.....hmmmm. maybe it is the same scenario.....

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Guest Anonymous]

The fact that you have cut back on using treats is probably the key here. The chances are that your dog was doing what most dogs do--looking out for number one. That means that if he thinks it is better for him to come when called than not, (i.e. if the reward is big enough), he'll do it, but when the treats stopped coming, so did he.

People often blame dog behavior on the fact that the dog is a "teenager," but the reality is that most dogs tend to get less clingy and more independent as they get older. Therefore he is unlikely to outgrow this behavior, particularly. This also means that maturing dogs may sometimes decide that treats are not as important as, say, chasing the neighbor's cat or a child on a bicycle. If you want a dog who will reliably obey in all situations (except for a dog who is food obsessed to the point where nothing else in the world matters to him), you'll have your best luck if you use variable motivators.

The good news is that FCRs tend to be very easy to motivate, since many things are important to them. (Food, play, praise, avoiding corrections). With less trainable breeds, (say, chows) this can be a lot bigger challenge. The easiest dogs to train are the dogs that are motivated most strongly by easy things to provide.

primrose

[imported_nea]

Thanks for all the advice! :)