The Kalidor Diary – the Teenage Terror!!!

Yup, that sweet, adorable, well mannered puppy you read about a few months ago is now smack dab in the middle of his “teenage terror!”  This is the precocious age between 6 and 12 months old and Kalidor is now 8 months old!  It’s the age when he is testing the rules and wonders if he really has to do what I tell him to do, and when he is exploring more of his world with the “grown up” confidence he has now developed!

Just what does that mean?  It means now he is practicing his protection, as any fine German Shepherd would, or any other breed can do as well!  He barks at anything that he thinks he should which is almost everything.  He barks when he wants something; particularly, when he does not want to be left in a crate in the car when I stop for gas, or go to agility practice.  He is quite sure that he now owns the car and that NO ONE should come near it, or the front door of the house!

He runs out the front door if it is not latched because he now knows how to open it.  Then he doesn’t come when he is called back into the house. When I come home after being gone for a few hours, he barks because he is now the mighty house protector. If I ask him to go in his crate, he willfully refuses.  

When he is called away from another dog for pestering them, he doesn’t come when he is called.  He drags things out of the laundry basket, particularly socks, all through the house.  He adores lint in the garbage from the dryer.

Sound familiar?  If I allow this to go on, it will continue throughout many years until he no longer thinks its fun. Or I can stop it now.

How? There are a few simple, but thoughtful things I can do.  First, in the car when he barks, I close the back door so he can’t see out. Or I could cover his crate with a towel.  I also make sure he has a long term chew treat, like an elk antler or Kong toy.  When he barks in the backyard at passersby, I bring him in and give him “time out” from outdoor play.  When he doesn’t want to go in the crate, I have to start rewarding going in more frequently again.  As a door opener, I have to be sure the doors are locked all the time. As for not coming, I am going to have to pick up the pace in practicing again, rewarding when he does come, and making sure he knows that he MUST come. I must be prepared to enforce that word when I say it.  Usually, that means I go get him and bring him back to where I was when I called him. He already knows “come” and has proven it over and over, but right now he is willfully NOT coming when he is called.

So, does training end after puppyhood or puppy classes?  Definitely NOT!  The last half of the first year is probably the hardest.  But, Kalidor has a very strong foundation.  He knows what the rules are, and he is simply wondering what happens if he doesn’t follow the rules!  It’s developmental in the doggie world. What I have to do is make following the rules more fun, preventing situations that he can fail, set him up for success and focus his energy on good stuff like learning new activities such as agility, obedience or scent games. 

Because he has a good foundation, this period of time is going to be much easier for us than it would be if he had no foundation of basic obedience and knowledge of what the rules are in my house.  These wonderful moments are simply, although sometime frustratingly, a part of puppies growing up!