Boing! The naughty button has been activated

[Mark Carlson]

My Doodle, “the Dude” just turned 9 months.  Almost immediately after her “birthday” something clicked inside her. I’ll call it the naughty button. It just popped up like a turkey timer and suddenly my well-behaved mild-mannered pup has turned
into a barking, manipulative, sneaky, noisy challenging pup.

She has found her voice and knows that barking outside at the fence, or terrorizing her elderly  little West Highland terrier brother or sister gets an immediate response from me. The response is a correction, but she doesn’t
seem to care. She just wants the attention. She’s playing me like a fiddle.  She gets a lot of play time and fetch and
affection after  work and during the day
she spends 8+ hours at doggy day care in non-stop play with other dogs.

Oh and now with daylight savings in effect; my wake up call from her crate downstairs (WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP!!) barks in at 5:30 to 6… instead of the tolerable 6:30 to 7.  

Anybody else experience the 9-month naughty button activation?

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

The "naughty button" AKA adolescence is something I am VERY familiar with. I have an 11 month old Dood who became a "bratty teenager" at about the same age. Here's something I read (and reread when I get frustrated) that may help. These aren't my words, but I find it a great summary of adolescence and the opportunities that are presented by this stage of our dogs' development. It helps me to realize that this is a difficult time for him too. He's just trying to "fit into the world", and he really needs me to show him how. I hope this is helpful....

The human family is far from helpless in handling the adolescent dog, and it’s a wonderful opportunity to establish a great, lifelong relationship with your canine family member. In some ways you just need to keep doing the same good job you’ve been doing to raise the younger pup.

The age at which your dog will begin and end adolescence will vary according to the breed, the bloodline, and the individual dog. That makes this stage feel a little bit like the dark side of the moon when you’re going through it with your beloved dog! You can’t be sure whether a behavior is a “phase” through which the dog can mature and be socialized and trained, or whether it’s going to be part of your dog’s adult temperament.

It helps if your dog has a responsible breeder who is available to counsel you through adolescence. Your dog’s temperament may still be open to shaping during this time, but that shaping can be for the worse without the right handling. Different breeds can need different handling during adolescence, and the bloodline makes a difference, too.

Male and female dogs tend to mature at different rates. Among the large breeds, males may take a year longer to behave in a fairly mature manner than females do. Adolescence doesn’t begin or end abruptly. It’s an uneven process that can take quite some time, or a dog may go through most of it within several months.

If you got your dog as a puppy and provided good training, you have an advantage when adolescence arrives but your work is not done. The adolescent dog needs training experiences that the puppy was not ready for. The adolescent dog has questions that didn’t occur to the puppy.

Best of all, the adolescent dog is ready to begin to bond with you in a whole new way, to form a real bond. Puppies “love everybody,” and if you have a puppy who hates everyone but you, beware! That puppy is not likely to have a good adult temperament.

Adolescent dogs are ready to make distinctions about the world and the people and other dogs in it. You become an important person in this dog’s life, a beloved partner, if you earn it. This is the time that good leadership with your dog, including good management, good handling and good training, begin to really show results. This is when your dog becomes your dog by the dog’s choice.

Stay in training classes with your adolescent dog until at least a year of age. Many dogs will need training classes longer. Attend training class with your dog each week and practice the class homework every day. Apply the training in all possible situations so that it becomes integrated into your life with your dog, keeping communication clear between the two of you. Working with a private trainer is a reasonable alternative to classes, provided you and your dog also work in controlled situations around other dogs as you would in a class.

Be patient with your dog. Don’t interpret your dog’s error during a training session as deliberate defiance. The dog needs to ask questions, and you will be wisest to answer those questions kindly as well as consistently. The dog won’t be any better trained because you get mad in the process.

As a matter of fact, training done in a playful tone is more effective than getting mad, because this is the most receptive state of mind for learning—and that goes for your brain as well as the dog’s! Have fun when training, and make it fun for the dog, too. Hold the line on the limits of behavior because the dog needs this from you. But don’t fault the dog for having questions. That’s the nature of an adolescent.

Opportunity Knocks

Most people don’t understand dog adolescence. Sadly, it’s a prime time for people to give up on their dogs. You can avoid this terrible loss by realizing what your dog experiences during this time, and being there to help your dog through it. Both of you can come out on the other side of adolescence with an incredible bond and knowledge that will bless the rest of your lives.

[Jessica & Lucie]

Wow that was really helpful! My Lucie is 17 months, so hopefully towards the end of the adolescence stage but that explanation is very informative. Is that from a book? Or is there more? I am always looking for things to help me "understand" doggie behavior (as if some things will ever make sense).

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Here's the website where this came from. There's lots of good information on this site...
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=1701&S=1...

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Haha!!!!! That picture says "I am trouble with a capital T". Totally normal. Keep honing in on training during this time and be patient. They grow out of it...but it can be a trying time. Hang in there!

[Camilla and Darwin]

Oh yeah, this sounds familiar. Don't worry, it doesn't last forever. Just be consistent!

[Mark Carlson]

Thanks everybody. Teen Doodles! What can ya do, right?