Help...My Puppy Has Changed

[Ali & Dexter]

My dog used to always lay next to us on the couch and be  very loving. He used to fall asleep when I did   on the couch and lay on top of me when he was a puppy. Now he is 7 months old and he doesn't want to be near us. He growls at us when we try to pick him up and put him on the couch, and he will run away any time we try to go near him. It is like all of a sudden he hates us.. All he wants to do is lay all alone on the other side of the room.

He also does not listen to us anymore. We did puppy training with him and he is SO smart, he learned everything. Now out of no where when we tell him to come, he doesn't come. When we tell him to leave it, he doesn't leave it... He unlearned all his training. 

Is this normal? Any advice??

[Ali & Dexter]

Yeah. We did our first training at Petco, and I was not a fan of the trainer we had. I am going to do some research and go to an actual dog training place for us to go to. 

[Adrianne Matzkin]

"He growls at us when we try to pick him up and put him on the couch, and he will run away any time we try to go near him... All he wants to do is lay all alone on the other side of the room"

- Is it possible that Banjo is possibly hurting when you attempt to pick him up?  Could he have been injured and you didn't know it? That is the first thing I thought of since this is such a new behavior and is so out of character for him. When any of my dogs don't feel well or are in pain, they want to be alone. 

The selective hearing is all training. Ms. Perfect Samantha has suffered from this condition for the past few months. We are working on it but it is a daily frustration. 

[Ali & Dexter]

The growling thing happened today for the first time. We just started him at doggy day care and he has been really tired when he gets home, so I think maybe he just does not want to be messed with. 

The running away from us is not new, that has been going on for a while now. He runs away from everyone, he really only comes up to us when we walk in the door to say hi, or when we are walking with him and someone comes up and pets him. It is really just on his own time, which is not very often.

The selective hearing is very frustrating, and def. need to work on that asap with Dex. 

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

This is the same thing I thought of when I read the post. Is it possible Dexter was injured in daycare or is just getting a lot more exercise than normal and is sore?  Maybe you have two issues. One is the issue of not wanting to be touched and the other is the regression in his obedience?

Tara became a little hellion about that age and seemed to forget every single command that she so easily learned as a small puppy!  It was frustrating because I KNEW she knew what I wanted from her and she just refused to do it. So on this point I agree with the others that going back to training and reinforcing what he already knows is the way to go. I also agree that training classes are for US and the doodles get trained BY us at home! :)

Dogs who don't feel well can often be misunderstood as being aggressive or disobedient so I would encourage you to rule out any physical causes with his behavior changes and then get back into training.

[Ali & Dexter]

Hi everyone! Thanks so much for all of the advice. I am glad to hear that this could just be a stage, and I really hope that it is. 

I also just spoke with my fiancee and we both agree that we are going to enroll him in some more training, I think he really does need it. 

[Adina P]

Just remember you are enrolling YOURSELF in training.  He's just there to help you practice in class ;-)

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

Ali, I just realized that you are in Chicago.  There are a BUNCH of training places located downtown that might be an option for you. I took Cubbie to DoGoneFun http://www.dogonefunchicago.com/training-group-classes for Judit's Beyond Basic's class where Cubbie earned his CGC.  She does use treats, too but I really enjoyed that class.  I was going to sign Ollie up for a class there, but I think the activity in the city might be too much for him right now.  

[Kendra K. Rhoton]

Its the terrible 2's :)  When Remington went through this phase I thought I would loose my mind. It will pass :)

[Ginny Nightingale]

First I think you are totally on the right path--especially with the part about not going to Petco-REAL trainers do not work at Petco and when they are no longer puppies, you need to get serious. 

But I also agree about the injury--if someone else hadn't brought it up already, I was going to--it sounds like maybe he got hurt? But if this is paired with running away from you---well, that sounds like he has a lot of anxiety issues---you need positive reinforcement training--he is not connecting with you as the trusted pack leader but will once you establish the relationship.

Hope it works out for you as soon as possible!

[Bonnie and Kona]

He growls at us when we try to pick him up and put him on the couch, and he will run away any time we try to go near him.

This is the part that worries me. While he definitely is in adolescence and needs a higher level training program, I hope that you will not allow him to growl at you. This can escalate and become a serious situation if not handled correctly. I would explain to the new trainer what you have experienced.