[Corteo]

Sobaka has gotten a little more stubborn lately. She is like, I'll do it when I want, where I want, for how long I want. She is constantly testing the borders. She wasn't like this before... She is 9 months now, so what I want to ask is: is this the "teenage" stage that I was hearing about? What can I do to help her "behavior"? And if this is the "teenage" stage, how long does it last?

Thanks so much!
Corteo

 

[FourIsCompany]

It could be the teenage stage. Or it could be her personality is still developing or something else. As far as how long it lasts... well, I'm still waiting for Jaia to outgrow it and he'll be 3 next month.

What I have done that helps a lot is to make those borders REALLY clear, be super consistent and offer consequences for stepping over the line. Those consequences would depend on the specific behavior, of course, but they don't have to be painful or scary. In fact, with the new stuff I'm learning about how some competition obedience people train their dogs, I can see me making a "game" out of obedience a lot in our future.

 

[Corteo]

Ok, thanks.

 

[TooneyDogs]

What is she doing? If these are things the dog really likes, you can sometimes use that to your advantage.

 

[Corteo]

The big one would be the "Down" command.... like I said, she will do it when she wants, where she wants, for how long she wants. Another is the "place". She's like, "well, I'll do it if you make me." It came on fairly quickly, and is very frustrating.

 

[FourIsCompany]

Never give her a chance to "skirt" a command. Don't give the command unless you're in a position to enforce it. Only after it's proofed (she does it 100% of the time) should you give the command when you can't enforce it (off leash or far away). So, the consequence for skirting a command is that mom "makes" her obey, so she might as well do it anyway.

 

[TooneyDogs]

Hopefully, you are rewarding her while she's in the Down position...not jumping up or breaking the Down to get the treat. Same with the Place....treating while she's in Place....directly reinforcing those positions and making her wait....don't rapid fire the rewards to her.....make her hold the positions.

 

[Corteo]

Thanks for the tips! Will do what you guys have suggested.

BTW, what would you use as consequences?

 

[FourIsCompany]

Just enforcement of the command should be enough. Assuming that she KNOWS the command, if she doesn't lie down, don't repeat the command, don't walk away. Go to her and calmly and gently physically manipulate her until she's lying down. Then praise. Most importantly, think before you give the command... "Can I enforce this if she blows me off"?

This is what I have done and it's working well.

 

[Corteo]

She knows all her commands. She has know them for months...

 

[Curbside Prophet]

Whether the dog "knows" a command is subjective. There are guide dogs who run through a cue thousand, and thousand, and thousands of times before their handler will admit the dog "knows" the command. There are simply too many variables to always consider and could teenage hormones be one of them? Possibly. Nevertheless, the answer is remedial training...duration, distance, generalizing the behavior, adding distractions, and latency are all things you should work through to remedy this.

 

[dakotajo]

battle of wills?? I think she'll get over the phases. I posted a bit ago that Dakota was jumping on people AGAIN after I though we had that problem licked but it seemed to stop as fast as it started, but then we run into problems with other things again and then she will stop that only to come up with something else to defy me on. Lately she's been real stubborn (more than usual) and refuses to sit for long when we see people on our walks and if I talk to people too long she lays on her back and rolls around cause she's so bored. Some days she is sooo good and other days she could care less about any commands. I have read that you have to just keep up with the phases and guide them (be always consistant) and they will eventually grow out of this when their about 2 years and all your hard work will pay off.
I'm taking what I read to heart since I've never had such a challenging dog before

 

[TooneyDogs]

It's not a battle of wills. The learning curve is more like a roller coaster ride. They do 'forget' especially if the commands aren't practiced regularly. But, the refresher courses become much shorter and further inbetween.

 

[Corteo]

Whether the dog "knows" a command is subjective.

She knows the commands. When she is not in one of her "moods", she is 100% on everything, all the time.

 

[Curbside Prophet]

She knows the commands. When she is not in one of her "moods", she is 100% on everything, all the time.

All I'm saying is, there are different expectations on behavior between trainers - that's why it is subjective. Your dog may know sit 100% of the time when you say sit standing in front of him, but how well does he know sit if a stranger cued it standing on his head with a steak in his pocket? The difference is in one's criteria, and when a dog fails to meet your there is reason to question it, and thus, take a step back in training and reevaluate your criteria.