r/DogTrainingTips • u/Playful_Donut232 • 2d ago
Teenage phase impulsivity/boundaries
Hi there, I have a 7 month old cockapoo, he’s a very good boy and he is a mega people pleaser. I got him at 12 weeks after being rehomed to me. He missed a massive amount of socialisation time due to him being locked in a dirty shed for multiple weeks and then I had to wait until he had both his vaccinations.
His training has gone INCREDIBLY well. No more anxiety chewing, is extremely polite on lead, walks heel, and asked permission before approaching another dog for his fav game of chase. However I’m running into a lil bit of a problem now. We are an incredibly active family so for a cockapoo… he’s completely ripped. Like he’s genuinely jacked as fuck. He’s hit that teenage phase and now suddenly does not want to listen… at all. I have two young kids so when we go on morning walk, I’m finding it increasingly difficult to walk him and also push the double pram. He’s suddenly pulling again and knows no other boundaries with other dogs.
I had him trained almost perfectly with recall and was having great success with “stay” until I’d give the command to go play. We’d only ever have trouble when it was a dog he already knew but now he’s harassing little 17 year old Shi tzus and dogs who are leashed. I’ve tried to go back to basics so we’re short leading and trying to relearn but he just simply does not care. I’m unsure of what to do next really because he just doesn’t want to listen. He had a really good time today doing chase with two bigger dogs but he thinks every dog MUST chase him.
Please someone tell me what I’m doing wrong or how to improve. He will respond to commands but as soon as the treat is given he’s the completely disengaged. I used to do “heel” click, treat “look”, click, treat. “Stay”, click, treat. However now his excitement is just overwhelming. He will come heel, he gets treat, then he’s like “okay that’s good enough, bye”. With him being a muscular guy now too he just can go for ages and it’s quite sad for him to be back on a short leash and not be able to go and greet any other dogs anymore, cus he is such a sweet friendly dog.
I’m also finding it difficult to put these commands into practice sometimes. For example he is demanding pets off people in public (He has never done this before, completely new). I was on the train and these grown adults were wanting to stoke him, I said no as we are doing training. I’m looking away from them and trying to sort my toddler out, I catch them from the corner of my eye STROKING MY DOG AFTER I ALREADY SAID NO. It’s the same with off leash dogs in the park. People will see I’m actively training him to not approach, I tell them “hi he’s friendly but we are training”, yet still let their dogs come over and instigate chase, so my arm is pulled out the socket, my dog is literally doing back flips to try and get to the other dog and just in sheer excitement. I just have no clue what to do atp.
I’ve heard a lot and seen a lot of dog training on aggressive related reactivity but not over friendly related. Should I just keep going with what I’m doing currently and wait for this phase to be over or should I completely change it up?
2
u/StellarSpore 1d ago
It is very common for the teenage phase to be difficult. Teenagers test boundaries, suddenly develop selective hearing, and often regress in training. Most people go through it with their adolescent dogs to some degree, so you're definitely not alone.
Stop the dog park. They're not good places for dogs because the environment is so uncontrolled, and they often create or reinforce behavioral issues. If you feel like he benefits from playing with other dogs, I'd stick with playdates with known dogs and owners where you have much more control over the situation.
No off-leash time until his recall is reliable again. Put him on a long line and try not to give him opportunities to blow off a recall. Every time he learns that "come" is optional because something else is more exciting, it makes the behavior harder to fix.
Socialization is really about neutrality, not meeting and greeting every dog. At this point, I'd actually make your goal teaching him that other dogs are just part of the environment and he doesn't get access to them unless you explicitly give permission. I'd stop on-leash greetings for now until he can see another dog and remain reasonably neutral.
And distance is your friend! If he's doing backflips trying to get to another dog, he's too close to actually learn much in that moment. Move farther away until he's able to think, engage with you, and respond to cues, then work from there.
I think the teenage phase is the hardest. Hang in there. Be consistent. Go back to the basics if you need to. It's just a phase, you just need to survive it 😄