How to deal with your puppy's adolescent testing and rebellion?

I would recommend increasing physical and mental stimulation for Bear. Aim for working up to an hour of walking and 3-6 ten minute sessions of training/mind work during the day. By mind work, I mean finding hidden treats in the house, working on eating a frozen kong, or working on another food toy. You can actually feed him all his meals in a food toy if he's highly food motivated. Secondly, I would encourage you to think very specifically about what a well mannered dog means to you and work on actively encouraging those behaviors and ignoring/redirecting bad behaviors. If a he's not listening, he either doesn't understand what you want, can't (due to fear or physical pain), or isn't sufficiently motivated (ie you want him to "come" and then give him a piece of lettuce as a reward - he's going to be less likely to do it in the future, unless he's a dog who is super motivated by praise from you. But many dogs need the food motivation for a long time as well). I hope that helps! I know it's a difficult time.

The absolute best way to handle this is with a trainer to work with you and Bear. I would recommend a trainer that comes to your home to work with him. They will be able to really show you exactly what you can do to have Bear listen so you do not have to repeat yourself. Your veterinarian would be the best one to give you information on who is good in your area. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

You’ve reached the teenage stage. Plenty of exercise is needed to get him tired which will lessen this adolescent behavior. Neutering will help also but mostly it will improve as he gets to be an adult. I do recommend a group obedience class. That will help him learn to focus on you with other people and dogs around and will challenge his mind also. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Guido.

Congratulations on adding Teddy to your family! Puppies can be frustrating at times. The behavior described is consistent with a frustrated puppy. It is not unusual for a puppy that is frustrated to bark, growl or completely ignore things that you say. He is not trying to exert dominance he just may not really understand what you are asking. Your best bet for getting Teddy to follow your directions is to have a consistent training plan and use high-value rewards. When you tell him no, he doesn't really understand what you want him to do. You will likely have better luck telling him what you would like him to do. For example, if you want him to walk nicely on a leash it's better to teach him a look command rather than just yank on the leash to get him to go where you want. Using a look command will tell him what you want him to do which is keep his eyes on you rather than what's going on in the neighborhood. This is a great resource for starting a training program with your puppy: http://www.patriciamcconnell.com/store/The-Puppy-Primer.html

Sometimes dogs Conan's age start to test their boundaries with their owners. I recommend that you start work again with a trainer who uses positive reinforcement to help reinforce/ teach some basic commands. Conan may be running away because he associates you calling him with you trying to stop him from doing something else that he wants to do, in which case positive reinforcement training can help. See the links below for more information: https://avsab.org/resources/ clickertraining.com/node/309 drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/become-more-exciting-than-a-squirrel-teaching-a-reliable-come-when-called/ I also recommend speaking to your veterinarian about having Conan neutered, as this can help reduce unwanted behaviours associated with the instinct to mate (such as humping, urine marking, aggression and roaming away from home) and help prevent them from becoming habits.

Your best option is to work with a professional trainer. Some puppies are harder to manage than others and the trainer can provide not only guidance but also teach you techniques for how to get Bailey to act the way you want her too. These behaviors are not unusual for a puppy but training does need to begin ASAP and remain consistent. You must also make sure to meet all of Bailey’s exercise and mental stimulation needs or her behavior is not likely to improve. Reading about behavior and training will also be beneficial. Stick with trainers who utilize positive reinforcement techniques. There is a trainer named Victoria Stilwell who has written several books and I recommend to read them. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

What you are describing may be normal puppy behavior for Bear because some puppies respond very poorly to dominance type of behavioral training. However, I would be concerned with the behaviors that you are describing. I would recommend contacting your veterinarian or the foster organization for a recommendation on a trainer to work with to have someone else observe Bear's behavior to help you decide where to go from here. The longer this behavior continues, the more serious it will be become, so this needs to be dealt with immediately. In the meantime, I would not reprimand or challenge Bear since that seems to escalate the situation. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.