Puppy Series #4: Prescription for Your Pre-Adult Dog
In previous articles we guided you through the puppy selection process and then shared some secrets to successful puppy raising. In our last article, we provided help in taming the teenage dog. This article will focus on the next stage of your dog’s life – pre-adulthood.
By this stage, at 18-24 months, your puppy will look nearly full grown. Habits – good or bad – become practiced and ingrained, and the resources your puppy controls are starting to cement for life. Your active youngster becomes bored easily, and still needs plenty of physical exercise – but also mental stimulation as well, along with more practice perfecting all of his obedience skills.
So, what goes wrong in this stage? Sadly, owners have often already tired of regular training (this usually happens during the previous teenage stage) and now give the dog very little direction and supervision. Left to his own devices, the pre-adult dog will often do one of two things: either become overly reactive, or frustratingly independent.
1. The Overly Reactive Pre-Adult – These are the dogs who bark and lunge at other people and other dogs on leash. They may look confident and mean…but reactivity is usually fear-based. Most dogs like these are actually filled with anxiety. They walk out in front of their ambivalent owners and display aggression when they become anxious, so that whatever is causing their anxiety (unfamiliar people, dogs, etc.) will go away. Owners respond by tightening up on the leash, further alarming the dog, and doing a lot of ‘shushing’ and petting, which the dog interprets as ’Well done! Good!’ Because rewarded behavior is likely to be repeated, the pattern develops quickly and now the super puppy you once had is viewed by many as the neighborhood menace.
2. The Independent Pre-Adult – These are the dogs who, in the absence of any meaningful time spent engaged with their owners, completely disconnect and spend their time seeking interaction somewhere else. These dogs often bolt out front doors. When they get out to explore the world, they don’t ‘Come’ when called… why should they? Home is boring. Once home, they try to make it interesting, by chewing up shoes, jumping up on counters, and digging in the yard. This type of dog will take what he wants, go where he wants, and do what he wants because there is no one there willing to direct his energy towards productive outlets. Often, the only attention these dogs get is negative attention – which, for them, is better than none at all.
What, then, to do with your Pre-Adult?
1. Generalize Your Dog’s Training – Practice longer durations of commands, in new and novel places, at greater distances, and around more complex distractions. For example, be sure to practice off-leash work gradually; don’t walk on-leash one day, then expect perfect off-leash control the next. Provide interim steps, such as walking on leash, then letting your pet drag the leash for several minutes while you use only voice commands. When your pet is successful with that, then work on a 30-foot long line. When this is consistently successful, then try for short off-leash walks. Small, successful steps are the key to ensuring that your dog’s training is solid and will hold up to new circumstances.
2. Exercise with Mental Stimulation – You may notice it is much harder to get your puppy tired out, now that he or she is nearly full grown. If your dog is in better shape than you, and you can’t easily tire him out…then switch to something that includes more mental work. For example, instead of feeding out of a bowl, try a Buster Cube. If your dog likes to fetch a tennis ball, try throwing a Frisbee instead – trying to figure out where a Frisbee will fly is much more cerebrally challenging than planning to catch a straight-in-flight tennis ball. Or, try a Dock Dogs event – not only will you add swimming as exercise, but your pet will also have to “stay” and plan for a proper takeoff into the water – both highly intellectual activities.
Remember, your pre-adult puppy may in many ways seem like a full-grown adult dog. However, he still very much needs your guidance and steady leadership to ensure that he will continue to develop into a well-trained and well-mannered canine companion! Slow and steady progress will help your dog to master skills and to gain confidence. And, don’t under estimate the benefits of exercise that include mental stimulation.
