Adolescent dog behaviour

[Henrysmum]

Hello. My 7 month old kelpie male has become a teenager and I feel as though there is no affection there between us any more. I took him to 4 weeks of puppy school and 4 weeks of obedience training and he was paying attention to me. Now, he tries to be the boss and does a lot of biting. Not hard biting but biting nonetheless. I have tried everything to stop it…..from yelping, scolding, ignoring and walking away etc. etc..I’m an older woman and I worry that, if I don’t get control back now, I’ll never get it. He has just been desexed and things seem even worse since I’ve had to stop his walks and ball play for 2 weeks, as that was an important part of our bonding. Now, if we bring him inside the house, he goes wild and we have to put him back outside or crate him. Occasionally, he lies down on his bed and sleeps but not before a lot of rough play and a good deal of biting.  He is a beautiful dog and we really love him but we are very stressed about where we’re going wrong.  He will sit, stay, drop, come, but only for a treat and sometimes not even then.  Will he grow out of this behaviour?

[Amazetl]

Just a few suggestions that might help:

 

Go online and look up dog tricks, teach him them. There are so many things you can teach them, and online there are several steps on how to work through it so they learn something new - works out their brain like wild, great bonding exercises too. Mine were extremely proud of themselves when they learnt how to ‘speak’ when asked. Being a kelpie he should be able to learn advanced tricks. If you’re struggling to get his attention while training try a different incentive/treat/toy. 

 

Another suggestion is to only reward when he’s well behaved. So no shortcutting. No it’s too exhausting to wait for him to sit and be quiet before coming inside so I just let him in when he’s wild - that is teaching them that it’s good to be wild when coming inside. They don’t understand. Start as you mean to go. Tell them you can stand here waiting all day. Dogs are smart and pick up on every cue fast so they’ll get the message and you won’t really be standing there all day.

 

Do enrichment exercises - kongs, treat toys, puzzle toys, hide treats and ask him to find them, etc. 

 

You may already do a lot of these things but those are my top suggestions on calm behaviour and bonding. 

 

Also, be careful not to over stimulate them or over exercise them because it can actually make them more active and hyper. 

 

Reward for when he’s calm, quiet praise or a treat thrown in front of him when he’s lying down or being calm. You can also try tethering if you need to, either to something or to your belt but just don’t leave him unsupervised with a tether incase it gets caught on something. 

 

Also, make sure he’s having plenty of naps. They go crazy if they don’t get enough sleep. Some find it very hard to shut off when there’s so much stimulation around so him having a crate like he does is a good idea for quiet time. You can also try calming music - youtube has lots of sleep and anti anxiety/calm music specifically for dogs. Some have video of dogs and some are just a blank screen if that is too over stimulating. 

 

I’ve taught mine that when their music goes on, it’s quiet relax time. Some of the titles say ‘send your dog to sleep in just a few mins’ or something like that and it really does work. 

 

Of course make sure he’s getting enough physical exercise too but just don’t over do it. Mental stimulation is much stronger to tire them out. Think about enrolling in some advanced obedience classes too or agility. 

 

You can also try to work on anything he’s scared of as conquering fears works out their brains and brings them satisfaction and confidence. For example, scared of water, get them swimming, scared of a type of surface, get them to walk over it and see that it’s not so bad. Anything you can think of, it can become a game and bonding exercise for you both and will bring great trust - just don’t force. 

 

Lastly, when you are struggling or exhausted remind yourself that this shall pass, once he hits age two things are going to be a lot easier. 

 

All the best. 

[Deeds]

Google the K9 Pro site.

[Dogsfevr]

Hes a puppy still & becoming more confident & willing to push the boundries because thats how we all learn as a species .
If walking is your method of happy living its never going to work .You will just have a fitter dog .
He needs to be taught the life skills of the house Keeping in mind he is still 7 months .
He needs to learn self control,he needs to learn to chill ,he needs brain games that make him think .
Mouthing can be sign off over excitement,over stimultaion,anxiety .aka he is frustrated so cant tell you .

Naps are important so the crate can be wonderful for defining bed time & quiet time with a kong,snuffle mat ,chew .
When in the house you need to teach right from wrong & expect some failures .
He can still be walked whilst spayed he just cant go stupid & play make the most of this time to teach focus skills.
Sit out the front & reward calm behaviour .Short walks reinforcing focus skills .

Also consider your manner of giving instructions & reward sometimes needs to change as they age .You may sound like a broken record to the dog using the same boring voice tone,treats,vocal praise ,switch it up .
This is a smart breed BUT any dog will go through this phase of my humans what humans so this is when we need to change or ways ,what worked as puppy when there craving to learn can go out the window when the same style is used.
Some dogs at this age want commands & expectations to be very black n white not baby talk or my dog knows this im frustrated we never stop learning & that applies to puppies,to young adults to adult,to senior .

Try using que mats so the dog has to do a job for the reward ,teach spin ,walk backwards .Maybe look at the Talking dog buttons on amazon for dog ,i have them for a high activity puppy & he just loves them & outside the boring box of training 

,like doing things like fine the food under ice cream containers,butter containers,buckets or anything at home .Fill a box with treats
It does sound like you could benefit from some hands on help which is a good thing that you have recognized it & asked early most people dont & thinks get out of hand quickly .

I will also add my view on most puppy schools is they teach more of the bad behaviour than life skills behaviour & a 4 week obedience class would have been more talk than actual practical work.
I say bad behaviour as most just focus on playtime with other pups,talking about products & do very little on teaching self control & calm is a wonderful skill .Most who attend thos classes go so all about playtime & not the future .

Is this a true working bred Kelpie,showlines,BYB ??
What advice has your breeder offered?
 

Edited March 29, 2023 by Dogsfevr

[coneye]

I'll probably cop a lot of flack for this , But i would say have you got the right breed of dog for YOUR  temprement  some dogs breeds are just too much for some people , thats not saying there bad owners just really its horses for courses ,,  Myself i tend to like the bigger  dogs ,  rottys , shepards , have been my favorite   i tend to  do well with   dogs that need a firm hand ,   All the big dogs i have had my wife could not walk them  , and outside could'nt control them at first  so it became  my job where i had no problems , i have no trouble being firm with a dog and i insist it knows i'm the boss and behaves ,  a rotty we had  used to do what you say , mouthing , playing rough  and then  even tried showing his teeth ,    that was very quickly established its a NO NO   he turned out to be a great  dog ,  but it was myself who trained him , left to my wife    it would off done has he wants and been uncontrolable resulting in him going ,  but like i said its horses for course ,, Once trained he turned out like all the others  great dog , but my wife could NEVER have trained him

 

We now have a little dog  , he's a very quiet dog who just wants to lay next to you getting a pat , when he's awake that is  my wife is and always has been  very comfortable with him , the bigger dogs    always had to be shown there was a pecking order and there at the bottom . Not having a go at you  just i think some dogs and breeds need a firm hand  and not everyone has one.

 

You will get some good advice on here ,  but what you also need to take into account most on here are experienced dog people , and  more than capable of carrying out the advice they give you  ,   are you yourself capable of that   thats the issue   ,    do you know the difference between a dog  nipping and working itself up  into a bad situation ,pushing boundreies and showing no fear , or just simply mouthing , and communicating with you , like i said what breeds is horses for courses . Kelpie  are a working dog breed , some are suited to work , some  just not suited to city life . Good luck

Edited March 29, 2023 by coneye