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  1. #1
    Senior Dog beth101509's Avatar
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    Teenager "Quirkiness"?

    I was reading a different thread when someone mentioned 9 month old "quirkiness" which automatically made me think of Oliver the last couple of days. He has begun acting neurotic and was wondering what kinds of things can a person expect during the "teenage" phase?

    For example, Oliver has a toy "box" (it's more like a decorative oversized bag but you get the point) and all I usually say is "go get a toy" and he goes and gets a toy and we play with it. Well a couple of days ago, I did this and he went to his "box" put his head in it and then came back empty-handed and frantic. He did this a few more times. It was like we had never done this before.

    Or today, we went on our daily morning walk and this morning he acted like he had never been on a walk before. He was crazily sniffing at things and pulling and just would not calm down. He kept nudging into me and was panting like a madman and it was all of 45 degrees out this morning.

    Very odd. So, what things can a person expect for a dog going through the "teenage" phase and how do you know when it's over?
    “Don't allow your happiness to be interrupted by overly judgmental people. The problem is not you, because even if you do good all the time, they would still find a way to judge you wrongly.”
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  2. #2
    House Broken
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    Maybe I'm lucky, but between my own dog, and foster dogs, I've never had a problem with the "teenage phase." I think people say that it's from around 9-18 months? Maybe it's because I end up starting with dogs when they're already IN that phase that I just don't notice? No past to compare with, and whatever quirkiness they come to me with becomes the baseline to me? Anyway, if I truly ever have dealt with it, I guess I can say that I just train through it like it doesn't exist, because I really honestly don't ever notice.

    I am curious to see other replies though. I might be teenage phase blind. I have known people to say their dogs are going though this phase, but don't notice anything too crazy about their dogs either. Certainly nothing crazier than the puppyhood phases that I've caught glimpses of. That, to me, seems to be the quirkiest stage.

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    beth101509 (05-23-2015)

  4. #3
    Senior Dog MightyThor's Avatar
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    Thor's teenager-ness comes through in the form of sudden-onset deafness. Commands he had been 100% solid on would just be ignored, in a "you can't tell me what to do" teenager way. We just patiently train through it. He's 16 months old and it's getting better. And it is almost always with the more casual commands. He still responds strongly to a solid "COME" but the more casual "come here!" gets ignored. It's kind of funny - I'll use the "come here!" when I'm going inside or walking into a different part of the house. He'll give me that defiant "I'm not going to listen to you" look so I'll just walk away. And about 2 seconds later he'll come rushing back to my side, all "hey you weren't supposed to leave without me!" worried face.

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  6. #4
    Senior Dog Maxx&Emma's Avatar
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    Yes, they can appear to have selective hearing at that age, some worse than others. Maxx was not too bad but I have had others that were exasperating!
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  8. #5
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    Possibly. Just train through it and he'll come out the other end just fine. Just time and patience. I probably would not suddenly decide to start teaching him a new sport until he's past the phase. Remember that they cannot help it; it's the hormones.

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  10. #6
    Best Friend Retriever OHfemail's Avatar
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    Gabby was such an easy puppy - listened, learned and loved right from the get go. Then she hit 9 months...a couple of shoes mysteriously turned to rubber and leather pieces, and the toilet paper roll became her very favorite thing to unroll. It was like a switch turned on and she couldn't get into enough stuff that she'd had no interest in before. We just kept shaking our heads and wondering who this destructive girl was. It was 2 days of looking like our house had been tp'd on the inside before we figured out the 'quirkiness' was her age. We gently corrected her, shut the bathroom doors, and put the shoes away. Problem solved in a short time frame (although she still can't resist q-tips or earplugs in the trashcans - earwax fetish - ugh).

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