Home Doggy Adolescence?

[Independent Gal]

My parents recently got a Portugese Water Dog. He is about 10 months old now, and has suddenly become quite a lot more barky and rambunctious - and he was rambunctious to begin with. My mom and I were wondering: do dogs have an adolescence? Does anyone know? Does this settle back down after doggy puberty?

By the way, this is a great breed if you have the time and energy to cope with their need for stimulation and challenge. They are EXTREMELY smart...they were originally bred to jump into the sea and retrieve fishing nets... real live seadogs, you might say. They are also gentle and very brave, and have soft lovely hair and BLUE SKIN!

Really! It''s actually blue. Here''s a pic of one (not my parents'' dog but he looks just like theirs).

 

[Independent Gal]

Oops, forgot the picture.

 

[neatfreak]

Oh they sure do have a few periods of adolescent behavior and he''s in one of them right now! Don''t worry, he will calm down, but training is especially important right now because he''s probably challenging them to learn what he can get away with. This is the time to really work on the discipline.

 

[Blenheim]

Dylan really started to settle down around a year and four months or a year and six months. One of my childhood dogs didn''t really settle down until about three. I think it just depends, although they certainly have an adolescence period.

One of my friends when I was a kid had a couple of Portugese Water Dogs and I just loved them.

 

[surfgirl]

I know a woman who has three of those dogs and she says they''re quite a handful, though as you said, very very intelligent. She has them all in agility training and she competes them in agility events so it helps take a lot of the "piss and vinegar" out of them! But she takes them in her car with her all over the place because they can be left alone...I think as with any dog, particularly of that age, a strong training regimen is key. Barky dogs just get barkier, in my experience. So in the best interest of her neighbors, she might want to invest in some solid training now, to settle them down. Or put them in agility training, it seems to occupy the minds of my friend''s dogs...Pretty pups, BTW!

 

[bee*]

Yeah they definitely do. They do calm down once they hit a year to eighteen months old. Try and keep them as occupied as you can, and also neutering can help calm them down.

 

[Eva17]

the adolescence is from 8 month to three years old in dogs. really important time to keep training during this period.

 

[door knob solitaire]

I have had some great training successes. One thing I always focus on is stopping behaviour I find inappropriate as soon as possible. The barking thing needs to be a tool for you. Warning you of someone approaching...or danger...or alerting you...that being said Yakking just to yak I would correct no matter the age. (oh that being said...when I hear my barkers bark...I know it is a squirrel...car...or a human...they have different sounds...and tell me in the bark they use! People are amazed. Frankly, I am too!! Again a bark is a tool. An annoyance only if it is untrained.)

I did so by using a noise maker to catch the attention...and then I use the word no. Many new age trainers say not to use no...but I feel if you use the English language there is going to be some time when you will use NO and if they don''t know it...they may suffer damage or injury. Also you may not always be there to use your special code word correction. Make it easy and use NO. My dogs approached twisted rusted barbed wire...they know the word NO...and the word stop...and injury was avoided. If I were clicking or clanking like a duck...as some suggest, the outcome may not be as positive.

Ok a few pennies in a washed empty soda can with tape over the lid can be used. Shake and say no. Again. Again. Again. When you get a positive reaction you begin treating. They will be so thrilled they are pleasing you that soon before you get the can ...they are quiet and at attention.

Just my two pennies...actually three sound better.

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[firebirdgold]

This is what I''ve always called the knee-capping phase, but you''re right, it''s totally doggy adolescence! It seems to last from now until sometime between 18 months and two years of age.

They do settle back down. However, after doggy adolescence they start getting more, er, macho. If a dog has a tendancy towards territorial behavior, this is when it''ll really start to kick in. Also it''s when they develop social interaction issues with other dogs.

I call it the knee-capping phase because it seems like when playing with other dogs, adolescent dogs tend to charge or bowl into people''s knees.

Tell your parents to make sure they keep their knees bent and a sharp eye out during puppy play dates!

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Our dog, FlipFlop, totally went through the terrible (and I mean TERRIBLE) twos and the adolescent periods. She is now three and has totally calmed down. She has a little doggie friend at home with her now, so that helped, but she has just really let go of a lot of the domineering/hyper ways she once had. Of course, that''s part of her temperment, and they still show themselves from time to time, but all in all, she''s calmed down 1000 and 10 pecent since she was a year or so old.

Now if you tell her to "sit," she''ll actually do it for as long as three minutes, where as before it''d be like one second of sitting, one second of wiggling, thirty seconds of jumping up at you for attention, then another five seconds of sitting.

 

[Independent Gal]

Thanks everyone! I passed the info along to my mom. Fluffbucket (my nickname for The Pup) is already pretty good at sitting, staying, etc., but they think you guys are right that now is the time to enroll him in obedience school for further training. Also I guess this breed of dog really LIKE learning new things, having new challenges, and getting praise for mastering them.

Is it generally agreed that neutering helps? Are there any arguments against doing it (I mean, for the dog''s health or whatever).

I miss the pup already! now I won''t see him until the wedding in March.

 

[AmberGretchen]

PWDs are definitely a handful, but I''ve heard they can be delightful because they are so smart and fun to be around.

I definitely second (third?) the suggestion for additional obedience classes and then moving on to something like agility. They do enjoy learning new things - it gives them the mental and physical stimulation they need and it will also help your parents bond with the dog and improve overall obedience and behavior. Other classes/training to consider would be rally, dock-diving (especially with a PWD), and advanced obedience.

Neutering is really a no-lose proposition. It will calm the dog down, and it is actually good for their health in that it reduces or eliminates the risk of certain hormonally-influenced cancers. It will also make the dog much less likely to develop marking behaviors or to become aggressively territorial. Neutering reduces aggression in dogs significantly - almost all dog attacks on people are perpetrated by un-neutered male dogs, or unaltered female dogs. Neutering will also reduce the tendency of the dog to wander off - un-neutered male dogs are slaves to their hormones and basically live in a constant state of frustration.

On a more global level, neutering your dog guarantees that he will never contribute to pet overpopulation - over 7 million pets are euthanized in US shelters alone every year, including many many purebreds.

Really, there is no downside to neutering - its a straightforward low-cost procedure with minimal risks and makes a dog much easier to live with. I work with a lot of dogs as a volunteer at my local SPCA, and I would never choose to live with an un-neutered male dog - too high a risk for behavioral issues.

The only dogs that shouldn''t be neutered are dogs that will be shown in conformation divisions in dog shows, where the animals are required to be intact. Unless your parents are planning to show their PWD in the conformation ring, I would highly encourage that they get him neutered - they and he will both be much happier.