Angst of Adolescence

The angst of adolescence.  That cute puppy is now an adolescent (think teenager) and has her own opinions and wants what she wants when she wants it.  That marble in the brain is rattling around without a place to land How do we deal with adolescence without resorting to aversives which may cause dangerous fallout behaviors later? I'd like to say easy but it isn't.  It takes patience, lots of micro training, enrichment and management.

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Patience: Remember, this too shall pass.  Be patient, you will see the change happening as your dog matures, usually by the age of two.  Why 2?  Because this is typically when the frontal cortex of the brain is fully developed and the frontal cortex is where self control originates. 

Micro training: What is micro training?  It's small sessions that you can scatter through out the day so that it turns into real life training.  Asking for and reinforcing those sits, waits, leave its and settles so that they become habit.  Remember, reinforcement drives behavior.  You work for cash, your dog works for treats, toys and/or attention. Teaching Fido the calm dog with good behaviors gets the rewards. 

Enrichment: This is a biggie.  Dogs need to use their brains.  Mental exercise can tire out a dog just as well as a long walk does.  We include it in our day by scatter feeding breakfast, a kong (we have several different versions to keep it mixed up), tricks, putting a few treats in a box, paper towel tube, or a paper lunch bag or even a game of find it. 

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Management: As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  The better you prevent an unwanted behavior from happening the easier it is to teach your dog what you want them to do.  Prevent door darting by teaching wait at doorways. Prevent jumping on people by giving them a spot to hang out when your guests arrive. Gate off the kitchen to prevent your dog from counter surfing or getting into the trash.  Once these types of behaviors start it is so much harder to stop because they are self rewarding.  
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​We shall be grateful that adolescence in dogs is so much less than in humans.  Be patient, do lots of small training sessions, engage his brain with enrichment and prevent his opportunity to get into trouble.  Show them love and keep them safe. 
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