# Help!!!!!!!!!!!



## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Adolescence strikes! Keep calm, keep on training, manage any behaviour that cannot quickly be trained away, and ride it out. All that effort you put into training him and socialising him as a puppy will pay off, but he will push all the boundaries first!


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## Carley's Mom (Oct 30, 2011)

I think you now have a teenager... hopefully it does not last.


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## waltersmom (Sep 8, 2012)

Thanks so much Kellyskath for that question and another thank you fjm for your answer. I was getting ready to ask for the same help. Allthough Walter is just 6 months now I am seeing some changes, he has started this new thing of standing up on my legs and scratching in a very demanding way to go out or play or what ever he wants from me, even if I am sitting down he will scratch at my arms which is not great since at my age my skin has thined and I wind up with scratch marks and sometimes bleeding. I have been trying the down command and rewarding him and sometimes it helps and sometimes I just have to move and ignore him. Could he be going into adolescence already. By the way I got my "Train your dog like a Pro" book and am in the process of watching the DVD and reading the book. I really like it and hope to be able to learn it correctly. I will keep you up on how it goes.


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## Kellykath (Mar 28, 2012)

*thanks*

I was hoping that this was an adolescent stage thing. I can't imagine if everything I did to train him so well was all out the door! I guess I will just have to be consistant and keep patiently training. I hope it turn around sometime soon. About how long does this stage last?

thanks to everyone that responded!


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## tortoise (Feb 5, 2012)

Kellykath said:


> My precious well behaved little 9 month old miniature poodle has gone insane. He used to follow commands and behave. Recently he has started getting shoes, socks, trashcans, food off of tables, etc. He has also started digging many holes in our backyard and getting muddy at every chance. What have I done wrong?! How do I get this under control? Thanks so much for any help you can give!
> 
> Kelly


He sounds bored! How much exercise and training is he getting?


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## Arcticfox (Dec 12, 2011)

waltersmom said:


> Thanks so much Kellyskath for that question and another thank you fjm for your answer. I was getting ready to ask for the same help. Allthough Walter is just 6 months now I am seeing some changes, he has started this new thing of standing up on my legs and scratching in a very demanding way to go out or play or what ever he wants from me, even if I am sitting down he will scratch at my arms which is not great since at my age my skin has thined and I wind up with scratch marks and sometimes bleeding. *I have been trying the down command and rewarding him and sometimes it helps and sometimes I just have to move and ignore him.* Could he be going into adolescence already. By the way I got my "Train your dog like a Pro" book and am in the process of watching the DVD and reading the book. I really like it and hope to be able to learn it correctly. I will keep you up on how it goes.


Have you tried having a separate command for get off me/furniture and lay on the ground? I use "down" only for lie down on the floor" and "off" for all four paws touching the ground. If you're using the same command for both, it might be a bit confusing for the dog. (Of course, the words themselves don't matter, as long as you have different ones and enforce them consistently).


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## sarahmurphy (Mar 22, 2012)

I had an aha moment today about people food and training, since we let new people give the dog treats for no reason, and we've been really social this week - Spike has figured out that he will get treats/people food with or without listening, eventually, so we have removed the food without work factor, and the people food with kibble to make it interesting..... 

He did steal at least one meatball this afternoon, (really, and hid out under the dining room table with it!) but he did not get a chance to get to his little fried hot dog nibs without letting me brush him out, clean his ears, and doing a few puppy push ups... 

I think the rally judge summed it up pretty well when she, smiling, asked again how old and whether mine was intact - at 10 mos and yes, she just laughed a bit and said something to the effect of , well, you've definitely got what you've got - a young, intact, male...

sarah


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

The teenage phase is frustrating. You think you've survived the puppy problems and then you have a bigger dog who is testing you at every turn. Thankfully it doesn't last too long. Being consistent does help a lot.

As to food for no work Sarah, even when people ask if they can pet Lily I always make them have her do something to earn it. I tell them they should have her sit or down before they pet her. If they are going to give her something to eat she has to do a couple of things before the treat is given.


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## waltersmom (Sep 8, 2012)

Articfox and Lily,Thanks for the great advise, do not why it didn't dawn on me to use a seperate command to get walter to stop jumping and scratching. And lily you are so right about being consistent. It's as if walter is just waiting for me to forget ONE time to correct him. Dealing with this awsome breed is making me recall raising my kids and driving a school bus. If you ever once let them get away with something look out, you have to start all over again to remind them you are serious!!


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## Kellykath (Mar 28, 2012)

Thanks. I hope that I can remember to be consistent and firm so we get through this phase and back on the right track. I went to the place I originally took puppy classes to see if we could do some reminder classes. The quotes me $79 for 1/2 hr with the trainer!! Who do the think they are? I make $50 substitute teaching for 8 hrs. Tell me I can do the training in my own?!


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## waltersmom (Sep 8, 2012)

kellykath, you can do it yourself, there are all kinds of DVD;s and good traing books around, I just got one called "Train your dog like a pro" that I really like and best of all a DVD comes with it. I am getting ready to start walter this week. I have worked with him myself some but felt I needed a proffesional's advise and since I live in the Boonies and can not hire a trainer I feel this is the next best thing.Good luck and keep us posted.


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## Kellykath (Mar 28, 2012)

I certainly will keep you updated. I appreciate your help and feedback. Good luck to you as well. 

Kelly


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## Joelly (May 8, 2012)

Kelly, 

I feel your puppy is bored. Have you try some intelligent toy to stimulate his brain?

Charlie is 7 mos old and yes he pushes boundaries a lot esp when he is bored. He will even try to dig into our carpet and scratches the window as well. Lately, I've been training him on my own. Nothing fancy, just the "come" command, sit, stay, etc. The newest training is to get him only to eat the treats when I handed it to him. He learns so fast that I'm running out of tricks. I need to get books on training but this Friday we have a private class for Charlie so let's see what happen. The come command is so difficult. Plus, if I train him too long, he eventually got bored and didn't follow it, he will just roll over and thats like he's saying "Enough already, can we play now?!"


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## Joelly (May 8, 2012)

Kelly,

One of the toy Charlie likes is from Kong, shaped like a ball, clear orange color, and when it is tilted in the right directions, it will spill one treat. Charlie can do this for hours. I'm greatful he hasn't find any shortcut yet for this toy.


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## Kellykath (Mar 28, 2012)

That you sounds great! I'm going to look for it. Thanks!!!


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## dcyk (Nov 30, 2011)

lol, 1 year old and Mack's testing his boundaries everyday. Keep trying to do things which he's not supposed to, and he knows to stop when we remind him.

But he still wants to do it to see if we'll stop him


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Kelly, Yes you can train on your own. For another good source of training tips go to Ian Dunbar's website Dog Star Daily. You will find lots of helpful information there. He has a number of books (some of which you can download for free) and videos.

For a more affordable way to train with other people (in other words live help and feedback), see if there is an obedience club in your area. I belong to an obedience club for $50 per year for 2 of us. Members can drop in at any class that is at the level they want for $12 with no ongoing obligation. Most clubs of this type are not for profit, which is why they are inexpensive. Our class instructors all have had high level obedience titles on dogs. Even if you don't want to compete you can learn a lot this way. I believe that you can search on the AKC website to find clubs, or just use Google.

Be patient it will come together. Lily was train wreck waiting to happen when she was an adolescent. Now she is the sparkle in my eye.


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## msminnamouse (Nov 4, 2010)

It sounds like this would be a great time for an obedience class. I think all young dogs benefit from one. It would channel his energy, regain his focus, and give you direction when you might otherwise not know what to do or get frustrated.

There's really no reason to use corrections. You can accomplish anything, if you do it correctly, by trying to set a dog up for success as much as you can so you can reinforce what you want, and for the rest, remove reinforcement for what you don't want, and alter unwanted behaviors into what you do want. 

It's not a contest or anything but the top behavior professionals in this field don't advocate using corrections. They can backfire. They're just not necessary. Many dogs will up the ante and learn to become more physical than the human and it becomes a battle of wills. More sensitive, insecure dogs can become fearful and withdrawn. Or it might just work but corrections don't really teach anything. They don't tell your dog what's acceptable behavior. All they do is suppress behavior without treating the cause.

No, I'm not a top professional but I work with a lot of rescue dogs with severe behavior issues, many pulled from the threat of euthanasia for aggression and fear, and I don't use physical corrections. The point is, if you apply yourself it's possible and I've found, very rewarding, not to use corrections.


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