​Remember that cute little puppy you brought home a few months ago?  Where did he go?

The dog between 6 and 18 months of age is not quite an adult but no longer a young puppy.   Just because they are ‘full size’ doesn’t mean their brain is fully developed.  It may even seem all the work that you have put into his training has gone up in smoke.  No worry, tho, your sweet puppy is still in there, he is just growing up and going thru that ‘awkward phase’ that many trainers refer to as the Brat Zone, the adolescent.   Here are a few tips to get thru this time.

1. Don’t stop training.  Get out the treats, toys, games and train.  Keep the sessions short but fun.
2. Work for food.  Incorporate food puzzles, snuffle mats, kongs, find it games.  Mental exercises (brain games) will help your dog’s brain form the right connections and learn to make positive choices.  It lowers anxiety levels and lessens the chances for destructive behaviors developing.
3. Physical exercise is important and when incorporated with mental exercise you get more bang for your buck.  Take the dog for a walk in a new area, allow the dog to sniff and explore the area but also practice a few basics on the walk as well.   Focus less on heel and more on what your dog is getting out of the walk.
4. Socialize.  Many dogs that went thru puppy classes no longer have opportunities to socialize.  Arrange play dates with compatible dogs, attend classes just for the social, get involved in rally or Fit Dog clubs. 
5. Be prepared for ups and downs.  One day your dog may be spot on, the next day not so much.  This is normal.  And temporary.  Patience is the key. 
6. If you let the dog get away with something once he will expect it again. And again.  And again.  Example, if you let the dog jump on you now you will be setting up it up for the future.  Make sure you continue enforcing the rules you’ve already set in place. 

 
I promise this is temporary.   Talk to a trainer who is experienced and uses reward based training to help if you need to get a handle on wayward behaviors before they become a real problem. 
​©29k9  

​Operant Conditioning is learning thru consequence (both rewards and punishments).  We learn that if we do one thing, something else will follow.   Science has repeatedly shown us that long term, rewards are more successful.  Study after study shows us this.  A Review of Dog Training Methods:  Welfare, Learning ability, and Current Standards, authored by  IJ Makowska, M.Sc., Ph.D. for the BCSPCA,  she demonstrates thru multiple studies and research just how important making the right choices in training are to a dog’s welfare.
 
I am going to use a simple example, flipping on a light switch and being rewarded with the light.    If we want that light to turn on then every time we must flip that switch to make it happen.  This is what we are teaching a dog with positive reinforcement.    We do not have to use aversives  such as shock collars  (or electric, static, whatever you want to call it), prong collars or even high pitched whistles.
 
How would this work, say,  if I wanted you to turn on the light but you didn’t know that was what I wanted?  Imagine that I  put you in a room and wait for you to turn the light on.  Then, every time you did something, but that something wasn’t turning on the light, you were punished.  You stand up “zap”.  You sit down “zap”.  You ask what I want “zap”.  This is positive punishment.    At what point would you become reactive to everything because nothing is working or simply shut down and give up?  How did you learn to flip the switch?  You saw someone, probably a parent, do it and then did it yourself and were rewarded with the light turning on or off.   This is positive reinforcement.
 
How simple is this to do?  When a dog is jumping they don’t KNOW this is the wrong behavior.  They just know it will get your attention.   So we choose the behavior we want them to do and then remove our attention from the jump and teach them that sitting gets them your attention.  The dog darts out the door getting freedom and a game of chase.  Wait, that’s not what you WANT them to do?  Again, we determine the wanted behavior, not darting out the door.  So first, we prevent the dart with a baby gate and/or leash and teach them that waiting while the door opens gets a reward.  Then we teach them that going thru the door on cue gets a reward.  Now the dog is waiting at the door instead of darting.  We can even teach them to turn on that light switch by stacking behaviors. 
 
Yes, this will take some time, especially if your dog has spent time learning the wrong behaviors. In the end, tho, your dog will be happier and less likely to develop behavior issues.  Using science and reward based training methods; this is how we should be teaching our dogs.  Teach Rover that he must do certain things in order to get that reward.  If he doesn’t do the behaviors that are required then he won’t get the reward.  With dogs we cannot explain this to them but we can teach them  by demonstrating that every time they make the right choice something good happens.  When they make the wrong choice they get nothing.  No attention, no yummy treats, no games to play, no snuggle time. 
 
Initially, we work on small, simple behaviors such as focus and sit to get rewards.  Then we make things a little harder.  Sitting and waiting in one place.   Add in coming when called.    Learning to choose the cooperative behavior in order to participate in the rewards of yummy treats, snuggle time, games of tug of war, going for fun walks.