Don’t worry you are not alone.
We get a puppy and do all the right things and the puppy is doing well. We then tend to take it for granted and all of a sudden we have this out of control teenager who runs away, has forgotten how to sit, digs up the back yard, pulls on the lead like a steam train, picks fights with other dogs, has selective hearing and does not come back when called.
You are in good company but you might want to do something about it. You probably have stopped socialising too early. You should keep going with taking your dog to new environments and exposing them in a positive way to new stimuli daily until they are one year old and at least weekly until they are three years old.
Introduce 50 treats a day. This is not my idea but Kathy Sdao’s: ‘Plenty in Life is Free’ have a look at http://www.clickertraining.com/node/3476
Make a list of 10 things you would like to see more of. In the morning count out 50 treats and every time they do something you like give them a treat and tell them that they are a good dog. This has two advantages. We are focusing on the good things they do and because they get rewarded for it, they will do it more often.
Take up a dog sport. There is so much you can do with your dog. Agility and Rally O are the easiest sports accessible in most areas. Check the link www.caninefunsports.com.au
With your recalls try this ‘See you later baby’……
Loose leash walking is not really difficult but takes a little bit of patience. Check the link……….
If you want to take your dog to the coffee shop, that too will take a bit of training. A lot of dogs enjoy it others find it rather tedious. First time you go, order take away, you might have to leave earlier than anticipated. If your dog is not guarding his food, take something to chew for them and make it a pleasant, short and sweet experience. Make sure you go to the coffee shop when your dog is tired!
If your dog is social and enjoys canine company and you do, too, try a good dog park. A good dog park provides some activities like a beach, agility equipment, trees, creek etc and most important is large.
Enrol your dog into a teenage class that provides training for these situations with positive reinforcement methods.
You could also try a good dog day care for example www.caninekindergarten.com.au.
Written By: Barbara Hodel
On: May 19, 2016
Views: 535 Views