When puppy becomes an adolescent

[kayharley]

Elliott has been a really good puppy as far as puppy behavior goes despite housetraining issues but now that he's turining 5 months, I'm seeing a totally different side of him.

No matter how many times I discipline him not to get into my ficus tree, he seems to do it for spite. Newest thing is sneaking behind our fish aquarium and getting into the supplies. I've had it blocked off but now he's found a way to climb over the "fencing". Funny thing is he'll do it as I'm watching him...could care less if it's a "no-no".

As I type I'm watching him curl up in his bed and give me those huge brown eyes that make my heart melt....UGH

If this is a sample of adolescence, what's gonna happen when he becomes a teenager?

Boys will be boys??????

[bradl]

Heh, it's just beginning. I sometimes half-expect to find them smoking out behind the compost bin. Carol Lea Benjamin has a book on this very topic: Surviving Your Dog's Adolescence. I like her stuff because of the sense of humor. A sense of humor really helps sometimes.

[Eliz222]

I sometimes half-expect to find them smoking out behind the compost bin.

LOL! Sooooooooo true! Our trainer told us what to expect in their "teenage" years. She said it's common for the housebreaking to backslide and to expect all training to backslide a little. I didn't see a big difference in my two, but maybe I just didn't "catch" them doing something wrong! LOl!

[Milopup]

What age/at how many months does a pup start his teenage years?

[toomanypaws]

My 3 are all so totally different that it's hard for me to say whether or not they get bad or more defiant as they reach adolesence. Kiara (3) was brought up w/ 3 large dogs that may have made her so bossy on the 2 smaller ones. I can yell at her when she's chasing after Hannah as if she's ready to make the kill, and she'll ignore me. Abbey (1) still can't be trusted as she'll get into everything! Even at the log cabin we recently rented, she was always standing up w/ her front legs on the coffee table to see what she could steal and destroy. I find that if I show Abbey a rolled newspaper, she'll listen better. I don't hit her w/ it, she just doesn't like the sound of it when I smack it on the counter. Hannah (almost 8 mths) has been a dream. She does have a little wolf type howl when she wants something that I thought she'd outgrow, but it's so darn cute sounding. I find that I use different types of discipline w/ each one. I don't think there is one right answer w/ adolesence. Afterall, we're talking about cairns.

[bradl]

What age/at how many months does a pup start his teenage years?

From the book mentioned above:

Canine adolescence can start as early as five months of age in small breeds, and as late as ten months of age in larger breeds. ... In the male, adolescence usually starts with the descent of the testicles followed by scent marking. In other words, when your boy dog begins to lift his leg, he's a teen. ... In females, adolescence may be said to begin with the onset of estrus. ... For pet owners trying to understand canine adolescence, attitude is far more significant than age or physical development. (Emphasis added --bl) The aspect of adolescence that drives owners crazy is behavioral. Now that the little puppy who adored you and hung on every word is a teenager, his hormone-inspired confidence, greater strength and body size, and experience in the world are making him cocky and independent, an orginal thinker.

[Arf-arf]

So we have that to look forward too? Our house has never been so clean since Oliver arrived. He has dusted, in, under, around, over, and behind every place in the house. I think he's just about found every piece of (?) that was ever dropped on the floor. It's been 14+ years since our first Cairn(Tyler) and I can't remeber how much of this we went through... but it's a joy.

[wgafkjen]

Our Cairn, Koda, is almost 14 weeks and exhibits some of this behavior. In fact, we have decided that somehow in his Cairn brain the exclamation "No!" is translated, "Please go back and do that very thing again as quickly as you can and even more vigorously than you did last time!" If we remove whatever the "No" was about, he will then sometimes make his way around the room touching with his nose everything else that we have said "No" to at one time or another...smart guy! I must say that he seems to be getting the communication and abiding by it most of the time, but, of course, adolescence is just around the corner now.

I, too, had my first Cairn nearly 14 years ago and this experience is bringing back many memories, both delightful and challenging!

[bradl]

If we remove whatever the "No" was about, he will then sometimes make his way around the room touching with his nose everything else that we have said "No" to at one time or another...smart guy

Oh my .. that is a perfect illustration of Cairnishness.