Doggy teen years perhaps - I am going slowly crazy.....

[Sandy]

Toby has recovered completely from his neutering, and is now driving me nuts. He is just shy of seven months old. He's big (50 pounds) so when he's naughty, it makes life difficult. He just pesters, and pesters, and pesters. Jumps at me, darts around, spills food and water (seems to be on purpose), etc. He gets PLENTY of walks, and does not like to play ball. I don't think it's pent up energy, but he is driving me batty. Will this pass? We are heading back to obedience school in two weeks, and I'm hoping the timing is exactly on for fixing this insane behaviour. Grrrr. (that was me, not Toby....)

[Sandy]

He plays fetch in the house only for a limited time and only with soft, squeaky balls. Other than that he is not interested. He know how to play, he just won't play.

[Stella]

Between seven and nine months Hartley was a nightmare! He would purposley tip over his water bowl (we fixed that by buying a ceramic one too heavy to move!), pull like crazy on the leash, bark if he wasn't getting his own way, and most embarassingly throw temper tantrums in public! I'm not kidding, if we didn't go in the direction he wanted to on a walk he would throw himself down on the floor and thrash around..... I was worried someone would report me to the SPCA!! He also began leash biting and even worse biting me. Returning to obediance classes with him really helped as I was able to re-inforce my position as 'the boss'!! Just keep being consistent, stick to the rules, and try not to let him wind you up!! Also, teenage dogs do need more exercise - sorry! If he won't play fetch, will he play soccer? Anything to make him run around a bit and tire himself out! In the house, you can resort to attaching him to you with the leash so that you can keep and eye on him, or crate him for a while until he calms down. It will be worth it in the end, I had to fight some pretty big battles with Hartley, but he came out the other side a much better dog for it. Good luck!

[Sandy]

I have crated him several times today, and he always knows what he's done. I can tell. :) Glad to hear, at least, that it's not just me and my dog. And I will admit, he got me wound up tonight. I think because I've spent the last week and a half basically tethered to him so I could make sure he healed properly I just need a break. Hello husband and sons - anybody want to help Mom here???? Obedience classes here we come. 13 days and counting.

[Stella]

They are funny aren't they? We got to the point with Hartley that he would actually take himself to his crate after doing something wrong. In a way that made it more infuriating, as we knew that he knew he had done wrong!! At his worst point, in our desperation to try and tire him out, Hartley was getting three walks a day of on average an hour each, and we both work full-time! Dave began taking him running (on softer surfaces) and that helped a lot too. Unfortunately, I can't run to save my life and so I play fetch with him instead!!

[Debbie and Thomas]

Hi again, we have discussed this before and are going through this together. Our GD is 5 1/2 months old and is also a rascal.They are nut's sometimes, aren't they? Tonight though-he is an angel. You see today we were at obedience class and there were at least 10 dogs there today. Lots of play time was issued by the trainer. Then we went visiting to his doggy cousins house where he played again. Then we left him in the car-and we went to a restaurant for lunch. Then grocery shopping-then home and gave him his kibble for dinner which he devoured. After that he crashed on the hall floor. Then (I got this advice today at obedience classes) about 2 hours after dinner I made him a "KONG" stuffed with cooked brown rice mixed with some free range ground chicken (boiled) yechh! I stuffed this mixture into his Kong and packed it right in then topped it off with a dollop of peanutbutter. He worked at this for over an hour, and has crashed again. I was supposed to freeze the KONG with the mixture in it, but didn't have time. I think this helped, but he was also not bored today. He had a lot of activity. He also goes on a "group dog run" three days a week for 1 1/2 hours. We pay a dog walker to take him to this even though we walk him all the time. Us walking him is just not the same as being with this "pack" of dogs, running and frolicking in the woods at the conservation area. He LOVES this and so do we. It stimulates him and tires him out and he gets a chance to socialize with other dogs. He is certainly not the "calmest dog" yet but he is getting there-and then there is the adolescent stage which can cause a lot of stubborness I hear. Also, your Toby was just neutered, so maybe he has some pent up energy to unleash! All I know is that when our dog is bored-he is a demon looking for trouble.

[Sandy]

Boredom probably has a lot to do with it - it's miserable here today in Southern Ontario, as you well know. We have walked him for a total of an hour (two separate times) in the rain though. I usually do a Kong in the evening with peanut butter, smashed up kibble, and a bit of banana and pack it in. I will go do that now and buy myself some sanity.

[Debbie and Thomas]

Trust me-some nights I go to bed and wonder if this guy will ever become the lovely calm companion I wanted. I still think think they will be, and then too soon they will be considered seniors. They grow up so fast! Yes-it was raining and horrible today here-our yard looks like a swamp of dog poo that has been buried under the snow for months. Today was not a good day to try to pick this up or for dog walking-too messy outside. I'm such a wimp-can't wait for nice dry HOT weather.

[Sandy]

Unfortunately we don't have a really good dog park near here. If we did, it would be great. What I would love would be to find a supervised, indoor dog exercise facility.

[Stella]

Yeah, the worst thing about the dog park in this weather is that the dog comes home caked in a mixture of mud and poop from all the people who don't pick up after their dogs! We don't allow Hartley upstairs, so have to wash him in a kiddy pool in the basement using many many jugs of water! It would be great if there was an indoor place somewhere, particularly for those -25 days!! Although, the times we do take him it is always worth it because he sleeps for hours afterwards!

[Sandy]

I was actually just online looking for somewhere in this area that was for an indoor dog exercise facility. Want to start a business? :)

[Stella]

.......maybe!!!

I'm sure there would be plenty of willling customers, especially if it was also air conditioned for the summer. Let me know if you do find somewhere though.

[Debbie and Thomas]

What a great idea!! There are all kinds of places for young children,"indoor playgrounds". I have looked at a few doggy daycare places, but they were pretty awful. Most of them are just a room with some toys and a lot of dogs sleeping or barking/whining. Our guys can sleep at home-we need something like your suggestion, especially here in Ontario where it is too cold in the winter to spend 2 hours at the dog park.