Terrible twos...

[Patricia]

Hello,

I have been reading previous posts on the terrible twos...I had been feeling really smug actually as Edward had a naughty phase at about 9 months, but got over it very quickly. I stupidly thought that was adolescence over with. He's 18 months old now. He is still being very good in the house and quite good on the lead (I make him sit down when we see another dog now because he an't control himself if e just walk past), but whereas two or three weeks ago I could trust him off leash to always come back, now if I let him off he runs for the hills as fast as he can. No response whatsoever when I call him. He's been ok at dog class but I'd better have a really really good treat if I even want him to look at me!
How long did your dogs take to go through the terrible twos? Should I expect him to get worse and worse for the next 6 months?

Patricia

 

[BlackLightning]

Uh oh! It might be necessary to go back to basics and treat him like a puppy so that he knows the behaviour is not ok. I've had to do this with Ayasha (22 months old) as she tends to think she's the boss. A strong recall is so important and I would be cautious to assume that this will just pass. He may just need a reminder of who's the boss.

 

[lacey9875]

Wait a minute....there's the teen years AND terrible twos??? :shocker:

 

[new_2_newf]

lol....yeah...Sulley is 14 months now and has good weeks and bad weeks. i keep some high value treats in my pocket for recall practice and I am a dictator when we are on a leash....he is much better one the leash lately, although, it was 15 min of 'practice' at the park last night before he could go play..we were practicing loose leash walking with distractions (that is by far the hardest place for him to do it). I don't let him off leash until we have some success with the off leash walking and some sits/downs/stays. Then he gets to play as his reward. I keep some high value treats in my pocket for recall practice at the park. That is a bit tricky, I have to move well away from the crowd to be able to reward him without causing an issue with the other dogs.

 

[victoria1140]

when you get it figured out let me know Beau is nearly 3 and still takes off at the sight of another dog. Doesn't matter on the treats , all the training I keep putting in he just goes. Comes back after the meet and greet so I have now trained Jessie to herd him off and bring him back instead.

 

[NessaM]

A quick question - is he still intact? Because if he's still got his boy bits, that totally explains the running for the hills.

 

[new_2_newf]

Thus far Sulley's desire to eat trumps his desire to sniff and lick, so he is doing ok. I do have to make sure I don't let him get too far away, or selective hearing kicks in and he doesn't respond to my commands at all until I go closer and get his attention.

 

[Patricia]

A quick question - is he still intact? Because if he's still got his boy bits, that totally explains the running for the hills.

Yes, he's still got his boy bits... I think he must be having an extra rush of testosterone because all the other dogs get really aggro with him straight away at the moment! He did pretty well on the lead this morning with other dogs around, so I'm hoping the dog classes are starting to have an effect.

Tricia

 

[NessaM]

Yes, he's still got his boy bits... I think he must be having an extra rush of testosterone because all the other dogs get really aggro with him straight away at the moment! He did pretty well on the lead this morning with other dogs around, so I'm hoping the dog classes are starting to have an effect.

Tricia

Yup. I think that's the culprit. If he were human he'd be painting his room a dark color and playing video games until 4 in the morning.

 

[4ondafloor]

I can soooo relate to the terrible two's!!

 

[padkins]

Now I'm getting scared. Indy is just 15-months-old and we will be getting the new puppy soon. I'll have a baby and one going through the terrible twos! :shocker: