Adolescence: the beginning of the end and the rest of their lives

Cherry Blossom

There seems to be a huge void in information out there in the period of a dogs life where they finally start to settle down into a happy medium. I imagine this is because a lot of people finally give a huge sigh of relief and just go with the flow, but is this the time that their true personality first starts to become more obvious? Should we be paying more attention to this? Is this a period where all the training you have put in finally reaps its rewards? If so surely this is the time to pull out all the stops to reinforce and fine-tune the dog's 'knowledge', habits and behaviour. It doesn't just mark the end of puppy-hood, it marks the point where the dogs natural instincts are becomming fully developed and I believe these should be stimulated and satisfied in an appropriate way rather than attempts to surpress them and even punish the dog for the existance of these instincts, after all man-kind has had more than a little influence on this, they have been tweeked over the generations of the various breeds and types since the first dog became a domestic animal.

I've been through the mill's with my puppy and the various issues that have cropped up as I'm sure most have been, for the first time yesterday since young puppyhood she woke from her nap and crawled onto my lap to continue it there which I was most surprised by! Her training and the time put in has made food agression and toy agression non-existant. She is great with other dogs, horses and kids of any age or temprament, she knows when her attentions are welcome and when they are not. She doen't bark incessantly at nothing and knows the meaning of Shhh. She has her basic commands down to a T and is now more agreeable to having her underside groomed (she is an extremly dominant female and it was a lot of work getting her to expose her belly, ever!) and no longer tries to kill her various brushes :rolleyes:. She is becomming increasing less hyper and has learned acceptable 'outdoor' behaviour is very different to acceptable 'indoor' behavior.

Some 'new' issues are appearing though, she is starting to become a little more vocal and has started demonstrating (very subtle) signs of 'human' agression around other dogs. By human agression, I don't mean agression towards humans, I mean signs that are not unlike jelousy toward any other dog her humans may wish to give attention to or vice versa. I accept that this is only because she knows us as her pack but definately something that is deserving of considering how best to deal with it.

This is the point in her development where I am going back to the 'breed' guides since she is starting to fill into the 'description' that has been pre-defined for her. The Westie 'proto-type certainly explains her slow progress in recall and ability to defy the stay/wait command, obviously a good time to step up the training in these areas!

"Westies are stubborn, willful dogs" = Just as well I am a stubborn willful person.

"They don't like other breeds of dog" = Tough! and Poppycock! - but in the excellent breed guide I have this is mearly mentioned as others contain this and the author goes on to say they have never had any problems but perhaps this is because she exposes her dogs more to other breeds and also has another breed herself. I must say my dog does seem to take a particular liking to other white dogs of any size though so there may be some small truth in it somewhere.

"Westies are fearless, strong hunters whom can take out badgers, foxes and otters" = Not on my watch misses!

"Naughty (and full of mischief) but nice" = Great stuff

"No small amount of self esteem, they think they are huge dogs" = This will have pros & cons when it comes to continuing her social skills with bigger dogs.

"An inquisitive nature, likes to be in the front-line and will take on any trouble they meet" = Huge recall issues

I often recommend potential owners of specific breeds go out and buy a decent book written on that breed, this is why! My dog appears to be completly true to the breed definition, if I had written this my self I would have put a lot more emphasis on all of these descriptions and used words a lot stonger and some that no publisher would print . If anyone one watched the Adventures of Tin-tin as a child my dog would make a brilliant 'Snowy' if they ever decide to make a movie out of it. :pac:

I'm not looking for answers in this thread its a hopefully light-hearted 'discuss your opinions and experiences of doggy adolescence' thread as we don't seem to have anything like it.

So go ahead and do it - Discuss and Share

<ETA> I should probably credit the book! - Best of Breed - West Highland White Terrier, edited by Geoff Corish

tk123

We were just talking about this! Our retriever is 18 months now and on lead excercise only at the moment so I've been wearing him out practicing tricks etc. All of a sudden he'll get the trick/what he's meant to do say the 4th or 5th time! I've done lots of training with him so know how to shape behaviour with the clicker etc but definitely what would have taken a few sessions a few months ago takes 5 or 10 mins now so I've started fine tuning his training! Is so easy to train him now which is true to the rumour that GR's are easy to train - tell that to our friend with the stubborn 6 year old thou lol!
He's also started to hold my stuff ransom for a treat again so he's not settled down just yet lol- i've had to set up the force field ie an umberalla lol a few times to block the radiator so he doesn't rob the socks! :pac: He knows his leave/drop/give command and will give his treasure back no probs but he sits with say my runner in his mouth, his tail wagging like mad and his eyes sparkling thinking it's the best game ever lol so he usually gets the treat anyways - in payment for a string of tricks

barbiegirl

Our little Sindy is 20 months old and you can see her really settling down into her own personality. She's half retriever, so very smart, constantly trying to talk to you :-) and half English Spaniel, so very, very sweet. She's cheeky but in a good way and very, very well behaved, though if a smell catches her attention she doesn't come back until she is ready and finished sniffing, but then she's straight back.

lorebringer

The infamous "8 to 18" (months) is the most common age for a dog - particularly males - to end up in a pound, rescue or being abandoned. The sheer volume of dogs of this age that pass through these places is shocking. People get a puppy, it's lovely and playful and everything they wanted it to be. Then the puppy grows and suddenly the playful puppy is knocking over the kids and chewing anything that stands still too long, costing a fortune in food, vet bills etc. and barking at night (causing complaints from members of the household and neighbours), puppy starts to hump, jump and pee all over the place and nobody knows why and generally the lovely puppy that was brought home only a few months before is now causing serious problems for their owners. People cannot figure out why this is happening and decide enough is enough and they need to re home the dog so someone else is left to deal with it.

The same stories, the same answers to the questions and the same conversation happens every time one of these dogs is brought in...
"We can't deal with him anymore, he's too hyper and boisterous"
"We can't walk him, he pulls too much and I can't control him"
"I don't want to neuter him, it's not natural/fair/good for my image"
"He eats so much of X cheap brand, costs me a fortune"
"Bought for the kids but now they don't want him"
"He's in the back garden most of the day because he wrecks the house"
... and the list goes on and on and on.

So they come in in their hundreds, if not thousands - young, perfectly good pets that need some of work and attention but their previous owners didn't bother or have the time or whatever. I totally understand that sometimes a home is not suitable for a dog and after hours of hard work and heartache on the owners part the dog needs to be re homed but this is a minority. Many people convince themselves that they are in this category when really all they have done is tolerate the poor animal for as long as they have and done very little to improve the situation. They have picked a breed of dog that is totally unsuitable for their situation, they have not exercised it properly, not fed it the correct food, not neutered it (don't get me wrong, dogs don't need to be neutered but in a domestic environment, with these type of owners, it is often the best option), not mentally stimulated it and not given it enough attention and are then stumped as to why their previously lovely puppy is acting like a monster.

All dogs that are of this age can be a challenge, a nightmare even, but with time and (often an enormous amount of) effort they can become amazing dogs - well behaved, calm and everything someone wants in a pet. I know each dog is different and each situation is different but when someone isn't even willing to try with their dog it really makes my blood boil. I have no problem with ignorance or lack of education on a subject but why would someone who doesn't know much about dogs go out a buy a very high maintenance dog, that they will (should!) have for the rest of it's life with all that comes with it? Or even more infuriating - people who will not educate themselves on the subject and just pick and choose the information that they want, won't listen to advise from someone that is in the know and (the most annoying) get p!ssed off because they think they are being told what to do by people who are trying to help. "I live in a small house/apartment, am out of the house for 12 hours a day... I think I'll get a Husky!" - is this what goes through peoples heads? This statement is fine as long as you replace the word "Husky" with "hamster"! But if someone says to this person that it's a bad idea they are just telling them what to do and a know-it-all. It's the arrogance, not the ignorance, that causes all these problems.

So, (back on to subject) adolescence can be a million and one different things - fun, a challenge, hilarious, infuriating... - your little puppy suddenly becomes a big brute with all the love in the world to give and dealing with it can be a big adventure. We love them more and more everyday, a few months down the line we realise that the redecoration they have done to our home improves it's "homely and comforting" quality, we lose sleep when they are sick, we both dread and look forward to what will welcome us when we get home, we all get the split second of panic when we don't know where they are or think they have gone missing and the huge relief when they turn up in the place we just looked, we spend more on them than we do ourselves, we are proud of the smallest achievements, we fear the worst and protect them from everything, we put up with the embarrassment they cause us and most of all, when they are being good and come over looking for rubs, we wouldn't change it for the world!

"... the rest of their lives" - bring it on!

Cherry Blossom

lorebringer wrote: »

The infamous "8 to 18" (months) is the most common age for a dog - particularly males - to end up in a pound, rescue or being abandoned.

Brilliant post! I intended to come back to this when I'd figured out how best to word it but you've done it so much better than I could have

Although I literlly spent years considering getting my pup, did endless research and fully investigated many breeds I was still taken by surprise by a lot of things. I had not prepared myself for veterinary issues leading to hyperactivity and hormone imbalances which caused my pup to go into heat at 18 weeks of age. Best laid plans had to be adjusted, modified and completely re-written as I went along. I was not prepared for the toil of trying to find a food that would suit her, many other things! It was, still is and will continue to be an ongoing self-educating process.

barbiegirl

I never knew a dog could have allergies, react badly to steroid medication, be so fussy in what she eats or how often I'd have to hoover! But I also never realised how great an energy having a dog can bring to a house, how much she would keep me company when in the house alone, how much I'd worry about her, spoil her and love her. So much so that we're getting a 4 month old cross, from the rescue, on Friday to add to the family.
Getting a dog is a huge responsibility and sometimes, looking at the dogs in rescue, I think people should have to do a 6 week course before they are allowed to own one.