# What exactly is poodle adolescence?



## Theo'sMom (Mar 23, 2011)

Theo is almost 11 months old and he seems to be more confident than ever lately. His recall was very good until recently. Now if he sees a dog or a person he will run to them, even if we say 'no,' tell him 'come' with treats, run the other way etc... This happened when we were playing ball with other dogs at a huge field at a school near our house. Some kids began sledding at the other end of the field and he ran to play with them despite our saying 'come' and offering treats. After this he lost off leash priviledges and we are having him on a 30' lead and practicing 'come' daily.

He also decided a few times after a walk to plant his tush on the ground instead of coming inside. If I give him a tug he comes in, he's just stating his preference, in a more demanding way than usual. (It's kind of endearing actually the way he is trying to say 'ha, ha, you can't move me.')

My questions: Could this be poodle adolescence? Is there really such a thing? What are your experiences of this? How old was your dog when s/he went through this, if your dog has gone through such a phase?


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Yep - sounds like adolescence to me! I have always thought it is a combination of things - we know human brains rewire themselves during the adolescent years, so it makes sense that dog brains do something similar at a similar stage of development. Add in hormones raging, and a general growth in confidence due to experience, and it is a bit of a perfect storm! At this age the older dogs would be going out of their way to teach good manners, and discourage any getting out of line, and rude puppy behaviour is definitely no longer tolerated!

I've found the best way through is to recognise that training etc is likely to regress, and to go back to basics, with lots of good treats. Most dogs seem to forget that they ever understood the word Come, some forget that they are house trained, others start bagging the best chair and wanting to be left alone in it! Think teenager, be calm, kind and consistent, and carry plenty of treats - and a long line is probably a good idea to keep him safe. It doesn't last forever - it just comes as a bit of a shock when your well trained, well behaved dog starts being a brat!


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

*Theo'sMom*: Ah, do I ever remember that phase! At about 9 months, Chagall suddenly "forgot" his willingness to obey some of the commands he full well knew, _especially_ "Come!" I often joke you never see a bumpersticker that says,"I love my teenager," even though we all manage to! :wink: During that time, since he'd taken to ignoring it, I renamed the "Come!" command "Here!" We practised "Here!" (using a long line) several times a day and that worked anew for us. I can now call him back to me using either command.

I agree with *fjm*; the trick is to maintain your own calm dignity during this brief period when your pood blows off their own and morphs into an imp with slightly incorrigible tendencies. At the time Chagall was "showing me his stuff," I went back to basic training with him, and also curtailed how much I spoke to him (which, a trainer told me, I did way too much!). I also enforced rest periods, which helped him reach a point of inner calmness and renewed eagerness to work within my rules. 

I will say there were days when I think I frustrated him, and times when he did likewise for me. But his happy nature always won me over, and I had faith, knowing a number of poods from his breeder, that he and I would both survive the teen stage. Gosh, you sort of forget the day to day grind of puppyhood and adolescence once those stages have passed, your post really brought me down memory lane! Rest assured you will prevail as others have. By the time he was 15 months old, Chagall was the most obedient, likeable companion I could have hoped for. Good luck!:clover:


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## Theo'sMom (Mar 23, 2011)

Thanks for your responses. (fjm, I hope he doesn't "forget" the housetraining! :act-up: ) It does help to know that this really does happen and it's normal for the dog to get more willful and confident.
Chagall's mom, I like the idea of using another word, in addition to 'come' so that it has some novelty for him since he does like doing new things, especially when he is successful at them. 
We have agreed that he has lost all off leash priviledges except when he's in a fenced in area, until he has recall again. Safety first!


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## PoodlePowerBC (Feb 25, 2011)

Around 10 or 11 months was also when I thought maybe Russell was going deaf, cause he was exactly like DH, in that he didn't seem to hear me anymore . He wore the training collar (vibration page) nearly ALL the time for about 2 months. He's 14 months now, nearly perfect recall, and I haven't charged or used the collar since mid November. I think this is impressive in that probably 90% of our walks are off leash.
So, yes ... Theo is a teenager, and if you had good recall prior to this, you will get it back.
Patience


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## JE-UK (Mar 10, 2010)

Yes, you will get your dog back one day! Mine had a terrible adolescence, as if we'd never done any training. I'd ask him to do something, and he'd look at me with an evil light dancing in his eyes, saying "make me!" clear as day. 

As fjm said, keep your cool and work on things at which the dog can succeed, then manage the rest. Sounds like you are already there, with the long line plans.


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