What's In The Air

[Blue_Ice]

Hi All

I hope someone out there has some ideas for me.

My Mal, Tuk, is now 6months old, and a big solid dog weighing in at 30kg and super strong.

He was being really good but just in the last couple of days he has become a pain in the arse again. He barks, he whines, he carries on. He stopped digging holes but now he is just so strong that one stomp of his foot on the ground seems to dig a hole. It's like my own personal front end loader. Its not as bad as it used to be tho.

Anyway we go on huge walks (well for me its huge) about an hour. This a.m we walked to the beach and he played in the water. By the time he was home he was stuffed and fast asleep, but is now carrying on again. Most of the time he comes home and still full of beans enough to scratch at the back door or bark some more. I dont want to walk him too far esp in the heat.

I asked the vet if there maybe anything affecting his behaviour, and she said if there is a female dog around on heat that he may still be getting the scent in the air even tho he had his boy bits cut out only a little while a go. Has anyone heard of anything like that before? I always thought it was a certain time of year (yes i know shows how much i know about breeding dogs lol)

Our walks generally are 4km, sometimes 2 times a day making it up to 8km. Am i over walking him? or can he walk further than that now he is 6mths? We don't run, cos thats not a)good for him yet and b)never good for me lol.

Any ideas? he has plenty of toys and some old shoes he discovered.

Is his constent little barks and at the backdoor like seperation anxiety at this age?

As i work full time and not just normal hours i've not had a chance to get him to dog school just yet but we start this sunday so i hope that teaches him to calm down a bit too.

My other question is he no longer has puppy teeth but he still likes to hold on to people and always jumps up "nipping" if i say no he knows what it means and stops but just goes back right to it.

Sorry it is a long msg but i just hope im not the only one in this boat.

Thanks

Kris

[W Sibs]

Hi Kris,

Could it be he is hitting his rebellious stage?

6 months is hitting their adolescant stage. Crazy teenagers!!

And, yes, a male dog behaviour will change around a female dog in heat. They can smell it from a long distance and if Tuk is not desex, he will try to get to her.

[CareyJ]

It definately could be the rebellious stage...or the full moon. Leila has been a total handful since Tuesday - totally out of control, wont settle at night, more crazy than usual. We had to bundle her into her crate at 11pm still wired on tuesday night and she is usually flat out asleep in the lounge room by 10.

I talked to a few people at obedience on Wednesday and they were saying the same thing, even chilled out 12 year old dogs were going a bit crazy!

I'm just getting over the puppy stage and had enough trouble dealing with it - sure you'll get much better suggestions on all the other things from other people.

oops..bad spelling

Edited March 5, 2010 by CareyJ

[Blue_Ice]

Thanks for ur replies :D

I would say since tuesday its been the worst so i am glad it is not just Tuk...

Maybe they all know something we dont. But what will be interesting is later in March when we have the second full moon (a blue moon) for the month if they behave just the same. I'll keep a keen eye on him :D at the moment he is being as good as gold.

[Bjelkier]

Even desexed dogs can react to a bitch in season, my Lab is all over my little girl at the moment, not that she cares, tart.

He is an absolute ass when the girls are in season.

It very well could be his age, young male mal will start pushing the boundries, they are a very strong willed breed.

What kind of training do you do at home?

He dosn't have to go to dog school to be trained, 10 mins in the backyard each day is much better then the occasional weekend.

[Blue_Ice]

When i got him i was always of the opinions or thoughts, that i dont want a robot dog. What i mean is i dont want one that learns to beg, or plays dead lol. But we do the basics like sit, lay down, come and stay. He doesnt get the stay part yet but we're working on it. When we are out walking he is a treat, sits when i want esp at the road side. He is never off lead when out and about, and when other dogs come up to him i make him sit only as i dont know what he will do to them if they jack him up. Most of the time they are smaller dogs who want to play but his play and their play is so different lol. SO like that he is really good, its just been the past few days.

I have been told many times that mals and spitz type dogs are hard to train, but i think he is pretty smart he knows all the sled dog commands already which suprised me.

I guess it could just be an age thing, any idea when this rebel stage wheres off? I know that there is a female dog behind us and she too has been bit unusually loud the last few days so whether it is her on heat or if it is just crazy week for dogs i dont know haha.

[Bjelkier]

When i got him i was always of the opinions or thoughts, that i dont want a robot dog. What i mean is i dont want one that learns to beg, or plays dead lol. But we do the basics like sit, lay down, come and stay. He doesnt get the stay part yet but we're working on it. When we are out walking he is a treat, sits when i want esp at the road side. He is never off lead when out and about, and when other dogs come up to him i make him sit only as i dont know what he will do to them if they jack him up. Most of the time they are smaller dogs who want to play but his play and their play is so different lol. SO like that he is really good, its just been the past few days.

I have been told many times that mals and spitz type dogs are hard to train, but i think he is pretty smart he knows all the sled dog commands already which suprised me.

I guess it could just be an age thing, any idea when this rebel stage wheres off? I know that there is a female dog behind us and she too has been bit unusually loud the last few days so whether it is her on heat or if it is just crazy week for dogs i dont know haha.

Although everyone says how hard these Spitz breeds are to train they always seem to forget to mention how very, very clever they are.

Their intelligence is what makes them hard to train in the first place.

Any breed of dog that has been encouraged to think for itself for thousands of years is going to be a challenge. As far as they are concerned humans are equals, not masters.

I have no idea when he will grow out of this phase, could be a few years, a few weeks, could be never.

Edited March 5, 2010 by Wolfsong

[SmoothieGirl]

By your login name am I correct in guessing your Mal is a Malamute, not a Malinois?

Also, you say he's scratching at the backdoor. Is he allowed inside or is he an outside dog? If he is an outside dog perhaps its his way of telling you that he wants to spend more time with you. An hour a day of exercise is good exercise, but in the grand scheme of a 24hr day, its not a lot of time to spend with his person.

I'd say either Malamute or Malinois at six months has hit the perfect age to hit boundaries.

Btw, learning obedience doesn't create robot dogs, it simply assists in generating useful boundaries within which you and your dog can develop a great bond and helps him to be a good community participant. Even dogs with extensive obed training aren't 'on' all the time, only when they are asked to work. A little bit of club obedience may help you figure out how he'll behave with other dogs. IMO all dogs should attend some group obedience classes, particularly dogs of breeds that have tendency to be quite dominant. Not saying that's your problem, but it may help a little.

Edited March 5, 2010 by SmoothieGirl

[Red Fox]

I think he's just hit the feral stage It WILL pass ...eventually.

In the meantime give him plenty to do. Lots of training to tire him out mentally, games eg hidden Kongs and biscuits balls to find and empty when you're out. Step up your leadership if need be and make sure you are consistant. NILIF is a good place to start.

Good luck