6 Months old and has lost his mind all of the sudden!

[Anna Lara]

Willie is six months old and is a great little boy. In the past week he has started doing things that he has never done before like take off to the neighbors house when walking from the gate of the back yard to the door...twice! He has also started swiping papers and shredding them, along with a brand new debit card. He will go to the shoe closet and steal a shoe then take it to his bed as I sit right there watching the whole things.....and he is aware of that! We have done puppy class and he can sit, lay down and wait on the treat in front of his nose. He has gotten much better on his walks, not pulling as much. He has calmed down as he meets new dogs and people. I keep reminding myself that although he is dog size (45 lbs.), he is still a baby! Any advice would be so greatly appreciated!

[Butch and Michele]

No advice other than what our trainer tells me when I get impatient with butch when he acts like a fool (just turned 1). He is still very much a puppy!

[Anna Lara]

Thanks! I keep telling myself this too!

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

Lol about losing his mind. He's still very much a puppy - a big puppy but it sounds like WIllie is on his way to becoming a good dog.  Now it's time to start teaching him what's his and what's yours with the "leave it" command.  It's similar to the "wait " command.  Put something like a treat on the floor and say leave it.  Then pick it up. Never give him back whatever you picked up,  Give him a different treat.  You can progress to paper, a shoe, etc.   Gradually he'll get the idea and you can use the command when you catch him in the act.  FInn started ripping up toilet paper about WIllie's age and then one day he magically stopped. If you're consistent, WIllie will too. It also helps to keep everything out of his reach but they are clever.

[Julie, Eloise & Beasley]

Sounds like Willie has hit the rebellious teenager phase!  Everything sounds normal and very puppy-like.  :)  Cheryl has given you excellent advice and described "leave it" perfectly - that command will help you.  "Drop it" is also good to make him drop something he shouldn't have in his mouth.  Eloise did the swiping and tearing up papers thing around the same age - she would shred receipts (maybe giving mom the message I was shopping too much? lol) and other papers if I left them lying out where she could get to them.  With consistent training when I'd catch her, like Cheryl said, one day she just magically stopped doing it. 

Beasley never bothered papers, but she went through a short phase where she would bring me a shoe.  She is a chronic toilet paper / kleenex/ paper towel eater, if given the chance.  She's 16 mos now, and to this day, she will occasionally sneak the dish towel out of the kitchen (or really, anything she deems worthy of stealing) - then tries to walk silently upstairs to her bed with it.  Easiest is to keep everything out of their reach, but Beasley will remind me when I haven't done that here! 

[Laura and Angus]

Exercise, exercise, EXERCISE! And daily "training" activities. Angus was the exact same way and still does these things when he gets anxious, overly excited, or doesn't get enough exercise. If you can have playdates with other pups or a day or two at daycare or runs leash-free in a fenced-in area those will be your saviors - at least they were for us!!