aBC4me Posted February 21, 2008 Report Share Posted February 21, 2008 I have heard quite a few people refer to a teenager/rebelious terrible stage and I am curious since Blaze is my first BC when this stage starts occuring. Or at least what is the average age? I really want to know if I got lucky or haven't hit it yet. and if I haven't hit it yet, what I should expect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shetlander Posted February 21, 2008 Report Share Posted February 21, 2008 I believe it often starts around 7 or 8 months. Personally (and I understand that this is not the normal attitude), I love this phase because there's so much you can start doing with them. They become more independent and do some testing, but with management and training, I've never had much problem. I just think adolescent dogs are fun. In fact, at 6 months Quinn went from being my worst puppy ever to the absolute best one I've had. I became crazy about him at that age. Now when Quinn was turning two he went through a sort of "becoming his mature self" phase as far as showing dominance towards my other dogs as well as some testing agwith me. That annoyed me more than his goofy teen phase, mainly because of the strife with my Lhasa. The most frustrating thing I ran into with Quinn at 12 -18 months was his Irish Setter mode. There were times when he'd go into brain overload and act almost entirely untrained. I spent one private agility lesson telling the instructor things like "he already knows how to weave," "he's had a great start line stay since he was a puppy," "no, really he has a fantastic contact performance" all while Quinn made me out to be a huge liar by not showing a shred of training. I had to learn to try not to overface him (which in the case of that agility lesson was simply being at a new facility) and keep my patience when he got like that. I was happy to see those bird brain moments pass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aBC4me Posted February 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2008 Well then it seems that I may be in the clearing given that he will be 2 in May. Well that's a good thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BustopherJones Posted February 21, 2008 Report Share Posted February 21, 2008 Annie started when she was about 7 to 8 months old. She is going on 4 years old now; I will let you know when it ends... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted February 21, 2008 Report Share Posted February 21, 2008 Depends on the individual dog, sex and whether it is intact or not. Generally females start earlier than males and are done sooner. The worst of it is when females are 6 to 18 months old. Males tend to start at 9 months and can go to several years old. Really, it's no different than teenage humans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fly2Dreamer Posted February 21, 2008 Report Share Posted February 21, 2008 Annie started when she was about 7 to 8 months old. She is going on 4 years old now; I will let you know when it ends... My oldest went through it for about a half an hour when he was about 4 months old. He chewed up a pen. Other than that he's been perfect since day one. My second started it (I call it the butthead stage, lol) when he was approximately 3 hours old, and he's still "got it". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aBC4me Posted February 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2008 Maybe I am lucky then. The only real issue that I have with Blaze is that he is very active and always wants to go, go , go. I do not have any real disciplinary issues with him. How much do you want to bet that I just totally Jinxed myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Beer Posted February 21, 2008 Report Share Posted February 21, 2008 Personally (and I understand that this is not the normal attitude), I love this phase because there's so much you can start doing with them. They become more independent and do some testing, but with management and training, I've never had much problem. I just think adolescent dogs are fun. I actually feel this way, too. While there were frustrating moments, I found Dean's adolescent stage to be a delight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maralynn Posted February 21, 2008 Report Share Posted February 21, 2008 Males tend to start at 9 months and can go to several years old. Really, it's no different than teenage humans So THAT is what is up with Kipp! I do get a kick out of his personality but man the "Irish Setter" (love it ) mode he still gets at times is annoying as all get out! Kipp is 3 now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aBC4me Posted February 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 Sorry but I have to play dumb here. What does "Irish Setter" (love it ) mode mean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maralynn Posted February 22, 2008 Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 Irish Setter mode is pretty much where see your dog going "duh, what am I supposed to do?" even though he's done it (perfectly) many times before. Setters are gorgeous dogs but have been bred just for looks for so long that some of them can almost get lost at the end of their leash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shetlander Posted February 22, 2008 Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 Irish Setter mode is pretty much where see your dog going "duh, what am I supposed to do?" even though he's done it (perfectly) many times before. Exactly. Perfect description! There were times where Quinn looked at me with an expression of "Quinn who?" as I attempted to gain his focus. Some of those experiences still haunt me in the early morning hours. There was our first night at agility class where I spent the entire time lunging at him to keep him from rocketing off to visit everyone, our first night in a barn at agility class a few months later where I desperately and futilely tried to keep him from inspecting every inch of dirt, poop and animal holes, and of course that private lesson where for $75 (plus gas and taking a day off from work) I had the privilege of seeing a year's worth of training drift away along with Quinn's brain. Those times stand out because unlike at home, I wasn't able to simply stop training and seek solace in alcohol. The bird brain moments weren't the norm but when they happened I was reduced to opened mouth astonishment. And sorry to Irish Setter lovers everywhere. I think they are beautiful dogs but don't really know the breed. Plus maybe the one's I've met weren't good examples or were having an off day or needed more exercise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aBC4me Posted February 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 okay I gotcha, thank you for the colorful description. I know exactly what you are speaking of now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruger's Dad Posted February 23, 2008 Report Share Posted February 23, 2008 The only thing that ever frustrated me was the puppy chewing. We still have torn up carpet around an air vent as well as a couple of chewed up window sills. Ruger never went through a duh stage. When I first got him he was really shy about certain things. So would a person. Heck, he had to learn to go up steps because he was living in a kennel up until I bought him. Even at Ruger's worst, he was so much better than any other dog I have ever been around. He has always been just super smart and easy to train. My greatest concern was with him having a rough mouth. He would eat me up when we played. I didn't fully trust him around small kids for about the first year. At that point we were playing a lot of frisbee. He learned quickly that small kids could throw a frisbee too. I still remember the one time he dropped the frisbee in front of our Springer. He actually thought she would throw it for him. Maybe that is a duh moment. An hour after posting this Ruger does the second thing that frustrates me. I lied when I said only earlier. He goes and rolls in poop. He is the only dog that I have ever been around that does this. At least in the summer I can hose him off first before he gets his bath. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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