so I suspect my dog Gabe is entering this teenage phase I've heard so much about. He's approx. 18 mos. Can't be sure because we got him from a shelter. He's started being really vocal when he wants something, making sounds I've never heard come out of a dog, and barking. At us. Not cool. So we're being very careful to ignore him when he's doing that and not reinforce the behavior.
He's also peed on my curtains twice now. Peed on one of them last week and the other one last night. Right after he came inside for the night. I used Nature's Miracle on them so hopefully he won't decide that's a good place to go again.
He's also being very stubborn about performing commands that I know he knows. He's had a solid sit since about a week after we got him, now when I tell him to sit he just gives me a look. He'll do it eventually but I always have to wait him out.
He also tried to mount one my male friends the other night. He hasn't done that since he was fixed.
What is the best way to handle his behavior?
I don't want to accidentally make it worse by responding the wrong way.
Thanks!!
Teenager?
Moderators: emmabeth, BoardHost
He sounds bored, to be honest with you.. more than purely teenagerish (which dependant on breed is usually around the 9 to 12 months ish age when it would start)..
Does he spend a lot of time amusing himself outside?
You are right to query how to respond or not respond to these behaviours in order to avoid making them worse, BUT.. if he is bored and not recieving the attention he needs, you ignoring his attention seeking will just make him worse.
So be sure you are giving him enough to do.. how much exercise does he get daily.. how much training, what sort of training, what sort of games do you play with him?
Dont be so sure that he does know a command if he doesnt do it, one reason maybe that he doesnt know it in the particular environmental context you ask .. so say you trained him to sit in the living room, that doesnt automatically mean that sit means sit when you ask in the street.
The other answer could be that you have inadvertently taught him that 'sit' doesnt mean 'park your butt immediately' but it means 'wait until i say sit five times and stare at you before parking your butt'..
This can be the end result of falling into the trap of nagging with commands and not rewarding at the right time.
Say the command once. Reward if it is immediately done. THough as ever, its not that simple, you have to set them up to succeed and limit the opportunities for failure to achieve results. If you do the opposite.. ie, make it really hard and allow many opportunities for failure, then you end up frustrated and the dog ends up confused.
A good example would be:
Ask for sit in the living room, when you have a really nice stinky treat in your hand, this is the room you originally trained the sit in and hes keen to get the treat.
A bad example would be:
Ask for sit in the street in the middle of a noisy parade, when you have no treats and he is keen to get to a dog on the other side of the road, having never seen a parade before or been asked to sit in the street before.
Pretty obviously, he is far more likely to sit in the first situation than in the second! If you want a dog who sits in ANY situation you have to work your way up.. so in the living room, then in the living room with distractions, then in the street without distractions, then in the street with a few distractions and a much better treat... then with a few distractions and an ok treat, then with lots of distraction and a hungry dog and a fantastic treat... and so on.
Also dont fall into the trap of using his name as a command or as a 'nag'.. If you say Gabe... GABE! Gaaaaaabe.. in place of 'here', 'NO!' 'leave it..' or repeatedly use it when he is not likely to look at you, you teach him to ignore it. It ought to simply mean (as your own name does) 'Im addressing you'.. and nothing else.
Same goes for commands.. if you think hes not going to comply.. dont give it. And never give a command you are going to follow with something unpleasant - want him to bath him or clip his nails? Go get him rather than using his recall command!
Does he spend a lot of time amusing himself outside?
You are right to query how to respond or not respond to these behaviours in order to avoid making them worse, BUT.. if he is bored and not recieving the attention he needs, you ignoring his attention seeking will just make him worse.
So be sure you are giving him enough to do.. how much exercise does he get daily.. how much training, what sort of training, what sort of games do you play with him?
Dont be so sure that he does know a command if he doesnt do it, one reason maybe that he doesnt know it in the particular environmental context you ask .. so say you trained him to sit in the living room, that doesnt automatically mean that sit means sit when you ask in the street.
The other answer could be that you have inadvertently taught him that 'sit' doesnt mean 'park your butt immediately' but it means 'wait until i say sit five times and stare at you before parking your butt'..
This can be the end result of falling into the trap of nagging with commands and not rewarding at the right time.
Say the command once. Reward if it is immediately done. THough as ever, its not that simple, you have to set them up to succeed and limit the opportunities for failure to achieve results. If you do the opposite.. ie, make it really hard and allow many opportunities for failure, then you end up frustrated and the dog ends up confused.
A good example would be:
Ask for sit in the living room, when you have a really nice stinky treat in your hand, this is the room you originally trained the sit in and hes keen to get the treat.
A bad example would be:
Ask for sit in the street in the middle of a noisy parade, when you have no treats and he is keen to get to a dog on the other side of the road, having never seen a parade before or been asked to sit in the street before.
Pretty obviously, he is far more likely to sit in the first situation than in the second! If you want a dog who sits in ANY situation you have to work your way up.. so in the living room, then in the living room with distractions, then in the street without distractions, then in the street with a few distractions and a much better treat... then with a few distractions and an ok treat, then with lots of distraction and a hungry dog and a fantastic treat... and so on.
Also dont fall into the trap of using his name as a command or as a 'nag'.. If you say Gabe... GABE! Gaaaaaabe.. in place of 'here', 'NO!' 'leave it..' or repeatedly use it when he is not likely to look at you, you teach him to ignore it. It ought to simply mean (as your own name does) 'Im addressing you'.. and nothing else.
Same goes for commands.. if you think hes not going to comply.. dont give it. And never give a command you are going to follow with something unpleasant - want him to bath him or clip his nails? Go get him rather than using his recall command!
I suppose it's possible he's bored. Usually when he's pestering me it's with his favorite toy at my feet. He gets two walks a day, the first one about 30 minutes, the 2nd about an hour. He goes in the backyard but not for long periods if I'm not out there with him. He sleeps a lot but any time he's not sleeping if I'm home we're doing something together. We've been working on roll over and "touch" recently and he loves to play with his stuffed toys. I'm not working currently so I spend most of my day with him. I don't know what more he wants from me! lol As far as the sit goes, I have always asked him for a sit before he goes outside and before he eats. Never had a problem before now with him complying very quickly. Now he just stares at me. I'm trying very hard not to give him the command more than once so I don't train him that I'm going to say it five times. I just don't know what I'm doing wrong.
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Fundog
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When my dogs are bored and have had their outings, (Annie will stare at me and bark if her first attempts at communication don't work) I've discovered the thing they want most is a "popsicle." That is to say, a frozen stuffed kong or a frozen stuffed marrow bone. The frozen stuffed bone will keep them busy for an entire hour! It's great. For ideas on what to fill these kongs and bones with, skip over to the diet page-- there is a sticky thread at the top with some ideas for you.
