#shutupandtrain 6 hides, 7 minutes paired
I wanted to wear him out before wedding weekend so these are fairly challenging!
Please come get me!! Round and round we go!
How cute is this?
Tell me a secret trick ❤️
TEENAGERS ARE HARDER THAN PUPPIES!
Dan’s perfect puppy is officially such a teenager! Up until now Jackaby set a good example and really didn’t allow much BS in the house so Brodie has been the easiest puppy ever. These days we all wonder when “this too shall pass”. It’s a good thing he’s a hilarious and we love him. He has really big feelings about everything and they all come out his mouth. In the video, he knows I’m getting socks on which means a walk soon. Used to be he just noticed the very end -grabbing my coat - and got barky.
Teenagers always seem to upset people more because they feel like they’ve should be done with the puppy phase. Their bodies are full grown but their BRAINS are not!
I can say without a doubt, 90% of my in-home behavior training calls come when teenage tyrants start acting out. Instead of getting angry, remind yourself that this is normal!
Increase enrichment, find games to play that exhaust the mind, get regular exercise and keep training. Back to basics as needed!
She used to come but now ignores you? Don’t yell louder, get a long-line and go back to the basics of recall training.
Destroying things in the house, go back to puppy proofing and give MORE opportunities to shred appropriate things (cardboard, etc.).
Barking? Take a video- jokes! Lol. I actually normally just talk to him and if it’s completely inappropriate to bark, I do pattern games BEFORE he starts barking (I know the times he will have big feelings so I can be proactive). At home, it’s actually easiest to throw him in the car or crate while I get ready because he just wants to get going and I don’t want him to practice rushing me! One way he rushes me is with not so cute tiny nibbles on the thigh or butt so I’m definitely not interested in him becoming an expert in that.
Find ways to connect with your teenager and don’t let this difficult phase ruin your long term relationship.
They aren’t doing it on purpose.
They didn’t
When I say “I don’t allow _______ in my house,” it doesn’t mean I spend hours figuring out how to punish them when they do it.
It means I:
* decide what I’d rather they do and teach it
* set them up for success by being very picky about the environments I put them in and not allow them to practice bad behavior
* interrupt the behavior quickly when it does occur with as little drama as possible
Example:
I don’t want my dog to chase horses.
I do want my dog to ignore horses, stay with me and recall if they are far from me. So he wears a long line while I do chores and is rewarded every time he ignores them and is kept from having any chance at chasing.
If my dog starts showing too much interest then I am too close and I move him away until they can ignore them. If he does get a chance to chase, I interrupt by whatever means possible and re-examine the choices I made that got us in that position.
Have my dogs gotten yelled at or spankings? Yes. Do I think it helped? No. It made me feel like I was doing something but it didn’t change their behavior except to make them trust me a little less. I can be very firm and get a better response but what REALLY works is when I PLAN to practice their good behavior and stop focusing on how I will stop bad behavior.
Often people ask “what do I do when…” and the real answer comes before the “when”. It comes in being proactive and not reactive.
Sometimes it’s worth the raging wind and snow!
Freedom makes happy dogs, recall makes freedom possible! Jetty is undergoing operation retrain recall because I let this behavior slide (he’s so easy in every other way) and now I don’t trust him to come when called. My bad! But that doesn’t mean he’s doomed, just that I have to put in the work.
All weather walkers!
Don’t love the long walks with your dog during crappy weather? Reach out to someone who does! Message me to gift your dog or a friend’s dog a free nature walk!
**Stillwater County, only 😁
How do you and your dog(s) have fun?
