[Corteo]

Just found this link... http://www.bmdinfo.org/bernerpedia/articles/Bernese_9_months_old-Teenagers_Solutions.php

Sobaka has finally calmed down. She knows all her obedience commands (sit,down, stay, heel, etc.) and does them 99% perfect, all the time. She went through all her puppy stages and now I have to put up with this? Is this stage bad if the dog knows their obedience commands? What can I do to combat this?

 

[hulkamaniac]

I'm not sure what you're asking. You're wondering if you should give up on a well-behaved dog because the dog could possibly regress? Is that correct?

 

[Corteo]

No, I would never give up on Sobaka! I'm just asking how bad it is. What have you done during this phase that has helped?

 

[Dog Tracks]

A teenager is a teenager; human or dog. They're so cute and obedient when they're young...and then they turn into totally different animals.

But unlike humans, it doesn't last too long with dogs. Just be consistent and use Nothing-in-life-is-Free.

 

[melgrj7]

You just go back to treating them like they are 8 week old puppies, meaning they get NO liberities at all. Not all dogs go threw a bad "teenage" stage, but if yours does, just go back to treating her like a baby until she earns her freedoms again.

 

[Curbside Prophet]

Run as fast as you can!

Seriously though, I would view your dog as always being in a transitional phase. In this way behavior is just behavior, and you treat it the same...reinforce the good, extinguish the bad.

 

[ioreks_mom]

we have been lucky that iorek did not seem to have a "teenager" stage yet, he is 14 months old, but my friend has iorek's brother and he has been in a teenage stage since about 12 months! he is being super "bad" lately! he also is not neutered yet, so that maybe have something to do with it. but it is so funny, with these guys, iorek and his brother, they can do something "bad" (i use "" because it really isn't bad ) and you can use a stern voice or whatever and they just look at you with that sammy smile and they have no idea they are "in trouble" and there is no way you can ever get mad at them!! i would assume that a bmd is pretty much exactly the same! haha! who can get mad with a fluffy, fuzzy dog?

i would just stick with all the rules and the stage should pass quickly. good luck!

 

[KBLover]

Oh this was oh so fun with Wally.

I just loved the looks on his face when he didn't get what he wanted when he wanted.

He was like "DA-WHAAAAT!" so often it was crazy. I still remember the first time I blocked him from going out the door when he felt like it. He was like "What the **** are you ******* doing? Move. I need to pee." And then when I wouldn't let him sniff for his spot until he sat first.

Oh and the battle of the leash. It was like breaking a horse instead of a dog. The first time he totally turned his back on me. I was like "DA-WHAAAAT" then. The dog turned his back totally on me.

It was on then.

The fun of standing against the wall for 5 minutes before he realized that, yes, he seriously had to sit before I opened the door. And wait until I call you out. Seriously? Yes, Wally, seriously.

And the fun "battles' with teaching him to lie down. That seemed to be his line in the sand. I was besieging Castle Wally with that one. That's when he found out that, yes, I can be INCREDIBLY stubborn if pushed to do so. You wanna pee? Lie down. No? Fine, hold it. Wanna eat? Lie down. No? Fine, no food until tomorrow.

I actually enjoyed it. Having a bit of a "banter" and "battle of wills" was fun. I felt like I was finally communicating with him - even if it was him saying "Make me!" and "You can't be serious?!" all the time