Free to read
One problem at a time, answered
181 things adolescent dogs do between 6 and 24 months, and what to do about each of them tonight. Each article says where its claims came from, and none of them promises you an outcome.
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Your 8 month old dog has not forgotten everything they learned
Adolescent dogs get temporarily worse at answering the person who raised them, and the training underneath is still there.
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How long dog adolescence lasts, and what tends to change at 9, 14 and 18 months
Adolescence runs roughly 6 to 24 months, with the hardest stretch in the middle, and it does not end on a single date.
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Will your adolescent dog calm down, and what honestly changes between 12 and 24 months
Most of this is a stage, some is your dog's ordinary energy level, and telling those apart is the useful work.
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Your teenage dog listens to one person in the house and not the other, and the reason is ordinary
A dog who answers one person and not the other is reading a difference in how you each ask.
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Your dog ignores a cue they knew perfectly at 6 months, and the cue has gone cheap
One cue going quiet in adolescence is normal, and it comes back by paying it properly in the easiest place you have.
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Your confident dog is suddenly spooked by ordinary things, and owners call this a second fear period
A bold adolescent dog turning wary of bins and umbrellas is common in the second half of the first year. Distance is how you get through it.
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Some days you have no time at all, and the smallest version of the plan is still worth doing
On a day with no time, a scattered handful of food and 2 minutes of settle practice do more than skipping the day entirely.
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Neutering will not calm adolescent behaviour on its own, and timing is a question for your vet
Neutering is a veterinary decision, not a training method, and the work with your dog looks the same either way. Timing is a question for your vet.
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Your teenage dog's first season changed her behaviour, and most of these questions belong to your vet
A first season brings real behaviour change in an adolescent dog, and the questions about timing and health belong to your veterinarian rather than to us.
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How much exercise your adolescent dog actually needs, and where more makes things worse
More exercise can make an over-aroused adolescent dog worse. Sniffing and chewing settle a dog that running does not.
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Your teenage dog is not challenging you for status, and adolescence explains it better
The status framing is not supported, and it points owners toward confrontation. Development explains what you are seeing, and it gives you something to practise.
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No, we do not recommend a prong or shock collar, and this is what the evidence says
Halfgrown never recommends or sells these tools. The published evidence points the other way, and there is a better place to put tonight's effort.
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Your 18 month old dog got worse again, and a dip late in adolescence is not a relapse
Owners expect a straight line out of adolescence. Our reading is that plenty of dogs wobble again somewhere around 15 to 20 months old.
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Your 10 month old dog probably needs more uninterrupted sleep than the house is giving them
Broken rest shows up as mouthing, barking and a dog who cannot come down. Counting the interruptions is cheaper than counting the hours.
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Coming back after 3 weeks off starts with 1 skill and 5 minutes, not the whole Plan
A month off is a pause, not an erasure. Pick 1 skill, drop the criteria to where your dog wins, and run 5 minutes tonight.
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What tends to change at 12, 15 and 18 months, and how to use those numbers
Three rough checkpoints, what usually shifts at each, and why a second dip near 18 months old is common.
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How to choose a trainer or a class for your adolescent dog, and when you need a veterinarian instead
What a trainer does when your dog gets it wrong tells you more than any title on their website.
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Whether the training treats are making your dog fat, and how to train without adding food
Treats are food, so they come out of the daily ration rather than sitting on top of it. Most of a Session can be paid from the bowl.
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Your dog is 2 and it is not too late, though the history is the part that takes time
Nothing is ruined at 2 years old. A habit rehearsed for a year takes longer to replace than it took to build, and the plan is the same one.
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Your teenage dog growls or snaps when woken, and a startled dog is not a dangerous character
A dog woken suddenly can react before they are properly awake. The handling is to stop waking them by touch, protect the bed, and get a veterinary check.
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Your dog only listens when you are holding a treat, and that is a fading problem rather than a bribery problem
A dog who works for food at home and ignores an empty hand has learned to watch your hand. The answer is changing when the food arrives, not removing it.
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You finished puppy class and your dog got worse, and that gap is the most predictable thing in dog training
Puppy class ends at 5 months and the hard part starts at 8. The skills did not vanish, and the adolescent priorities are different from the class ones.
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You have just adopted a 1 year old dog, and the first 2 weeks are for settling in rather than training
Lower what you are asking for, shrink the house to one room, and build a routine before you build any skills.
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Your 6 month old dog is losing teeth and chewing everything, and those are two different problems
Teething and adolescent chewing overlap for a few weeks and then part company. One is a question for your vet, the other is a job for the jaw.
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What owners mean by the second fear period, and what to do while your dog is in one
Somewhere in the second half of the first year many bold dogs turn wary for a few weeks. The label matters less than staying under the distance where your dog can cope.
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Small breed dogs have adolescence too, and it gets missed
The stage is the same, and the packaging is different. What changes is how much of it anybody bothers to notice.
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A doberman can be a good family dog, and here is the honest version of what that takes
The breed is sensitive and physical, and adolescence turns both of those up. Exercise that settles, reward-based handling and no aversive tools are what carry a family through it.
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You think you made a mistake getting this dog, and you are allowed to think it out loud
Plenty of owners hit a low point when the easy puppy turns into a teenager. Work out whether this is the stage or a real mismatch, then pick an honest option.
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Outdoors
Your 10 month old dog stopped coming when called, and that is adolescence
Recall often comes apart in the middle of adolescence, and it comes back through short practice at a distance your dog can manage.
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Your dog pulls on the leash again after being fine as a puppy, and that is apparent regression
Loose leash walking comes apart in adolescence because your dog is stronger, faster and more interested in the street than in you.
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Your teenage dog lunges at other dogs on the leash, and it is usually frustration
Most adolescent leash lunging is frustration at not being able to reach, and it improves at a distance your dog can still think at.
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Your dog was attacked and is now reactive, and this is one to take to a behaviour professional
A single attack can create real fear-based reactivity, and this is one of the cases where your dog needs a qualified professional rather than an article.
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Your dog comes when called in the yard but not at the park because the two places are not the same cue
A recall that works at home and fails at the park is a skill that has not been practised where the competition is.
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Your adolescent dog plants their feet and refuses to walk, and pulling them along makes tomorrow worse
A dog who freezes on the leash is telling you the walk is too much, too dull or physically uncomfortable. Each has a different answer.
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Your dog only pulls when another dog appears, which is a different problem from pulling
A dog who walks well until a dog appears is not pulling out of habit, and the work is distance rather than more leash practice.
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Your adolescent dog humps and mobs other dogs because the greeting has no brakes
Humping and full-speed greetings in an adolescent dog are usually arousal spilling over, and the answer is shorter greetings rather than fewer.
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Your teenage dog plays too rough at the park, and interrupting early is what brings it down
Adolescent play gets big, bouncy and one-sided, and it comes back down through early interruptions, a paid recall and shorter visits.
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Your teenage dog won't give the ball back, and chasing them is the reason
A dog who keeps the ball out of reach has learned that holding it starts a better game, and trading is what undoes that.
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Your teenage dog barks the whole car journey, and the destination is usually why
Car barking in an adolescent dog is nearly always excitement or unease with no way out, and you work on it parked first.
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Your dog comes back but circles just out of reach, which is a leash problem rather than a recall problem
A dog who arrives and then swerves has learned that hands end the walk, and the repair is touching the collar for nothing.
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Your adolescent dog eats everything on walks, and the answer is a trade, not a chase
Scavenging gets worse in adolescence because the reward is instant, and it comes down through a paid swap and a shorter leash on known hotspots.
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Your dog rolls in fox poo and dead things, and that is normal behaviour with a management answer
Rolling in something foul is ordinary dog behaviour, not defiance, and it comes down through known hotspots, a trained interrupt and a payment worth having.
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Your adolescent dog lunges at bikes and joggers, and distance is the whole answer
Fast movement past a dog is the hardest thing to ignore in adolescence. The work only happens at a distance where your dog can still eat.
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Your adolescent dog refuses to get in the car, and lifting them in makes tomorrow harder
A dog who plants their feet at the boot finds the car itself unpleasant, and the work starts with a car that goes nowhere.
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Your adolescent dog is getting over the garden fence, and the boundary comes before the training
A dog who leaves the garden is on a road, so the fence gets solved this weekend and the recall gets rebuilt after that.
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Your adolescent dog struggles at the vet, and most of that is practice you can do before the appointment
Handling, the waiting room and the exam table all improve with short rehearsal at home, and anything medical stays a question for your veterinarian.
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Your dog refuses to walk past one specific house or one specific dog, and that is a learned association, not stubbornness
A freeze that only happens at one address usually traces back to something that scared your dog there once. It responds to distance and a new route.
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Your dog pulls hard toward other dogs specifically, and greeting on leash is the reward that keeps it going
A dog who saves every ounce of pulling for other dogs is usually pulling toward a greeting, and the answer starts with removing that reward.
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Your dog listens at home and ignores you outside, and that is a generalisation problem, not defiance
A cue learned in the kitchen is not automatically learned everywhere. Generalisation gets rebuilt one place at a time.
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Your adolescent dog refuses to come in from the garden because coming in ends the fun and going back out never does
Coming inside reliably ends something good, so it has to start paying. Calling into a call you will lose only teaches your dog to wait you out.
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Your dog will not take treats outside because they are too aroused or too worried to eat
A dog who eats happily at home and refuses food at the park is usually over threshold. Move further out, go quieter, and pay better.
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Your teenage dog chases squirrels because chasing pays instantly and your recall arrives second
Chasing rewards itself, so it beats a cue you have not practised at that intensity. A long line, a paid check-in and a legal outlet are the way through.
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A long car journey with a 1 year old dog goes on the practice you do in the fortnight before
Short practice drives, a secured spot that smells like home, and a break every 2 to 3 hours. Most of the work happens before you set off.
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Your teenage dog chased sheep, and this is the one problem where management comes before training
Chasing livestock is not a problem you train while hoping the recall holds. The long line goes on first, because every chase makes the next one likelier.
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An off-lead dog is running at your on-lead dog, and distance is most of the answer
Your dog is on lead because their recall is not ready yet. Here is what to do while a loose dog closes the gap, and what to practise for next time.
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A week in boarding will cost you a dip rather than your training, and the questions you ask matter more than the kennel
Expect a scruffy fortnight afterwards and plan for it. Choose the facility on what they do when a dog will not comply, and restart your Plan at the beginning rather than mid-week.
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The equipment that helps a dog who pulls, and the equipment we will not recommend
A well-fitted front-clip harness, or a head collar introduced gradually with food, buys you control while the training happens.
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Your dog drags you over to greet people because arriving at them is the reward
Every successful drag gets paid by the person at the end of it, so greetings work better when you grant them on a loose leash.
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Whether to keep taking your adolescent dog to the dog park, answered honestly
For a lot of adolescent dogs a busy off-lead park is the hardest place to practise anything, and some dogs genuinely do fine there.
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Settling in a cafe is a trained behaviour, and it starts a long way from the cafe
Relaxation is built in short repeatable sets below threshold, starting on a mat at home and ending at an outdoor table.
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Walking your adolescent dog and the pram at once, and why that walk needs a smaller job
The school run is transport, not training. Lower what that walk is for, and teach loose lead on separate dog-only walks.
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Your adolescent dog takes one look at the rain and turns back at the door, and the walk can still happen
Some dogs hate the feel of it, some find the street goes quiet and strange, and some have learnt that rain means a soaked walk straight home. Each one needs a different fix.
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Your dog sniffs every lamppost and the walk takes an hour, and some of that is the point
Sniffing is legitimate work for an adolescent dog, so the answer is agreed zones and a cue, not a ban.
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Your teenage dog eats grass on every walk, and the useful questions are which grass and how often
We will not hand you a confident reason for grass eating, because we do not have a source we trust for one. What you can work with is where your dog does it, how often, and whether anything else has changed.
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Your adolescent dog is getting out at the fence line, and that is a threshold problem rather than a digging problem
A dog working the boundary is trying to reach something on the other side, not to make a hole. The line gets closed first, and the training happens on your side of it.
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Your dog stops hearing you the moment another dog appears, and distance decides whether your voice can compete
Another dog is the most interesting thing on the walk, and your name and your treats are competing with it. There is a distance where listening is possible again, and finding it is the method.
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Your dog will not let you clip the lead back on, because the lead now means the walk is over
The clip-on has become the last event of the fun, so it gets avoided. The repair is clipping on and off all the way through the walk.
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Your teenage dog bites the lead on every walk, because the lead is the nearest thing to grab
Lead grabbing is excitement or frustration landing on the only object in reach. Give the mouth a legal target and lower the arousal that started it.
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Your dog comes home from the walk higher than they left, and the walk is usually why
Sprinting, ball and 20 minutes of dog-to-dog play practise going up. A sniffing walk and a landing routine at home practise coming down.
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Your adolescent dog has started barking at strangers on walks, and distance is the first answer
New barking at unfamiliar people in adolescence is usually wariness rather than aggression, and it needs space before it needs training.
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Your dog will not poo on walks and holds it for the garden, and that is usually habit
Many dogs hold on until they are home, because home is the only place they have ever gone. It matters on long days out, so it is worth teaching on purpose.
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Your dog goes wild the moment the lead comes out, and the answer is in the 2 minutes before the door
Pre-walk spinning and barking is frustration at a delay rather than happiness you have to put up with. It is a different window from post-walk zoomies and evening restlessness.
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When to let your adolescent dog off lead, and why a long line is the honest answer for now
Adolescence is the worst time to hand out freedom your dog has not earned. A long line buys the same walk without the rehearsals you cannot undo.
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Your teenage dog drinks from every puddle, and the answer is a trained alternative plus a word with your veterinary practice
Puddle drinking is ordinary adolescent behaviour with a health question attached. Ask your practice about local water risks, then teach a paid alternative.
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Your teenage dog charges the fence at the neighbour's dog, and the fence line is where the habit gets practised
Two dogs rehearsing at a barrier get better at it every day. This is stopped by separating the rehearsal first, and trained second.
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How hot is too hot to walk your teenage dog, and why the pavement decides it
An adolescent dog will keep running in heat that is already too much for them. The walk is your decision, not theirs.
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Letting your teenage dog swim for the first time, and the water you should say no to
Most adolescent dogs can learn to enjoy water. The decision that matters is which water, and where they can get out.
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Your teenage dog is obsessed with fetch, and more fetch is not the answer
A dog who only asks for the ball has one way to feel good. The work is giving them several, and fetch is the one you ration.
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Your dog eats sand and drinks seawater at the beach, and both are worth managing
Most beach trips end fine. Sand and salt water are the two things worth planning around before you go.
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How far you can hike with your teenage dog, and why the next morning tells you
An adolescent dog will keep going long past the distance that suited them. You build it up gradually and read the following day.
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Your dog jumps into every pond and river, and the answer starts with the lead
A dog who launches into any water they see is not choosing safe water. You choose it for them, then pay them for checking in.
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Your older dog cannot keep up with your teenage dog, so stop asking them to share a walk
One walk cannot suit a 12 month old dog and a 12 year old one. Splitting them is less work than it sounds, and it gives both dogs the walk they need.
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Taking your teenage dog abroad, and whether adolescence is the right year to try it
A first foreign trip asks an adolescent dog for everything at once. If you are going, the paperwork starts months early and the routine stays as boring as possible.
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Your adolescent guardian breed has gone quiet and watchful around strangers, and that is not the same as reactivity
A German Shepherd or Rottweiler who greeted everyone at 6 months old and stares silently at 14 months old is maturing, not failing. Space and neutral practice, never a forced greeting.
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Your teenage beagle comes back until there is a smell, and that is what a scent hound's adolescence looks like
A hound on a scent is doing the job they were bred for, at the age when your cues carry least. The long line stays on while you make coming back worth more than the trail.
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Your teenage spaniel loses their mind over birds, and flushing is the job they were bred to do
Pigeons taking off is the most exciting thing in your spaniel's day. Manage the places and the hours, put the chase on a toy, and keep the long line on for now.
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Walking your teenage dog with a friend's dog is chaos, and two dogs is more than twice one dog
Group walks look easy and unravel in adolescence, because each dog raises the other. Start apart, hold your own lead, and end the walk early.
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Mantrailing with an adolescent dog, and why it suits this stage better than most classes
Your dog follows one person's trail on a harness and a line, gets it right nearly every time, and finishes settled. It is the organised version of the nose work you do at home.
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Your teenage pointer freezes and points at everything, and that is the front half of the job they were bred for
Locating something and going rigid is what a pointing breed does. Build a release, give the pointing a legal outlet, and learn the difference between a point and a frightened freeze.
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Walking two of your own teenage dogs together, and why you should stop doing it for a while
Two adolescent dogs on one walk raise each other past the point either can learn. Split the walks for a few weeks, then put them back together on purpose.
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Your husky was easy as a puppy and now ignores you at a year old, and that is adolescence
Arctic breeds are often described as independent, and adolescence lands on top of that. Management, a reinforcer worth the trip, and no aversives.
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Your teenage rottweiler is too strong to walk, and the answer is not a stronger collar
When a dog's strength outgrows your training, the walk becomes a safety question. Here is what to change, what to leave on the shelf, and when to bring in help.
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Walking an adolescent dog after the clocks change, when the walk moves into the dark
The same route looks different at night, and an adolescent dog notices. Visibility, a shorter lead where you cannot see, and familiar ground do most of the work.
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Your teenage dog copes on quiet streets and falls apart on busy ones, and the city can be built up in small pieces
Traffic, crowds and sudden noise arrive all at once on a busy street, and an adolescent dog can run out of room to cope. Quieter routes, more distance and shorter loops come first.
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Your teenage dog's first camping trip is a lot to take in, and it goes better when you manage it before you train it
A new place full of smells, thin tent walls, strangers a few metres away and no normal routine is a big ask of an adolescent dog. A lead, a familiar bed and a plan for the quiet hours do most of the work.
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In the house
Your teenage dog won't settle in the evening because settling is a skill they have not practised
Evening pacing in an adolescent dog is arousal with no route back down, and settle is trained in short sets rather than walked off.
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Your teenage dog steals food off the counter because it pays off often enough to be worth it
Counter surfing is kept alive by the occasional sandwich, so the counters get cleared while the waiting gets trained.
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Your teenage dog has started barking at everything, and this is not who your dog now is
Adolescent barking is usually about distance and arousal, and it comes down when you change what your dog sees and answer earlier.
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Your 12 month old dog has started chewing the furniture again
Adolescent chewing is usually an unmet need for something to do, and it is answered by giving the jaw a legal job every day.
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Your teenage dog grabbing your hands and the leash is usually excitement with nowhere to go
Adolescent mouthing arrives at the top of the excitement curve, so the work is lowering arousal and giving the mouth a legal target.
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Your adolescent dog gets the zoomies and cannot come down, and more exercise is not the answer
A dog doing laps of the sofa most evenings is short of a route down, and that route is practised rather than run off.
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Your teenage dog guarding a stolen sock is about the sock being valuable and your approach predicting loss
Guarding is normal behaviour with a serious edge, so the work is management and trade, and anything involving teeth goes to a professional.
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Your 8 month old dog having accidents in the house again needs a veterinary check before any training
House training that comes apart in adolescence is a medical question first, then a question about routine and supervision.
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One of your 2 dogs hit adolescence and the household changed, and that is the stage rather than the relationship
When the younger dog reaches adolescence, ordinary play gets louder and longer, and the fastest change you can make is to the amount of it.
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Your adolescent dog started digging up the yard, and the yard is where the problem is solved
Digging is a normal adolescent behaviour that pays off every single time, which is why telling your dog off has no effect on it.
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Your teenage dog barks at the window and the fence, and the view is doing most of the work
Barking at the window is rehearsed hundreds of times a week, and the first thing that helps is changing what your dog can see.
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Your adolescent dog jumps up at the counter while you cook, which is not the same as stealing
A dog who paws the worktop while you cook wants in on what you are doing, so give them a paid place to stand.
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How to stop your dog begging at the dinner table, starting with who is still paying them
Begging is a rehearsed habit that is paying out somewhere, and it comes apart when everybody stops paying and your dog has a trained place to be instead.
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Your adolescent dog has started marking indoors, and it is not spite
Small amounts of urine on vertical things is marking rather than a lapse in house training. It is managed with supervision and a vet check first.
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Your adolescent dog has started guarding the sofa, and here is the safe first move
Guarding a place or a person is your dog telling you something in advance. The first step is to stop testing it and get professional help.
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Why your teenage dog has started eating poop, and how to manage it without telling them off
Eating poop is common at this age and it responds to management rather than to punishment, but a genuinely sudden start is worth a conversation with your vet.
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Your 11 month old dog has started waking in the night again, after months of sleeping through
Night waking between 9 and 14 months has a physical cause more often than owners expect. Check that first, then look at the last 3 hours of the day.
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Your adolescent dog will not leave the cats alone, and the cats need a route out first
A dog who pesters the cats has found a game that pays every time. The cats get exits and gates before your dog gets training.
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Your adolescent dog guards the food bowl, and the answer is changing how you feed, not testing them
Guarding the bowl is ordinary resource guarding made more visible in adolescence. It responds to distance and a trade, not a hand in the bowl.
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Your teenage dog refuses stairs or jumping into the car boot, and a growing body is reason enough to check with your vet first
A dog who stops jumping is showing you one of the clearest behavioural signs of physical discomfort, so a veterinary check comes before any training.
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Your dog swallowed a sock or a toy, and the first step is a call to your veterinarian
A swallowed sock or toy can cause a blockage, and only your veterinarian can tell you if this one is an emergency.
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Your dog growled at you, and that growl is information worth keeping, not punishing
A growl is a warning, not defiance, and punishing it only removes the warning. Here is what to do in the moment and afterward.
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Your adolescent dog raiding the bin gets solved at the bin, before it gets solved with training
A bin your dog can reach and open will always be found. The first move is a bin they cannot work, and the second is something else to do.
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Your adolescent dog restless on the stairs at night usually needs a sleeping spot and a wind-down, not more exercise
Pacing the stairs at night is a settling problem first, and a discomfort question always worth ruling out before you assume it is behaviour.
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Your adolescent dog barks at you for attention because barking has worked before
Demand barking is maintained by whatever happens next. Pay the quiet, take the attention out of the bark, and meet the need underneath it.
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Your dog got harder after the move or the new baby, and the routine is the first thing to rebuild
A new house or a new baby takes away everything your dog could predict, and predictability is what you can hand back this week.
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Your younger dog is copying the adolescent one, and separate practice is where you start
Two dogs in one kitchen rehearse the same routines. Split the practice and manage the shared trigger before you try to train the pair together.
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Your teenage dog will not let you trim their nails, and the way back is short paid handling practice
Rule pain out first, then rebuild handling in 30 second sets your dog can sit through. Never hold a struggling dog down to finish.
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Your teenage dog bites your hands when play speeds up, because the game tipped over before you noticed
Mouthing in play is an arousal problem with a shape you can learn. The work is pausing before the tip, not after it.
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Your teenage dog is suddenly terrified of fireworks, and tonight is about management rather than training
Noise fear often appears for the first time in adolescence. On the night you manage it, and the training belongs to the quiet weeks after.
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Your dog used to let you put the harness on and now they duck away, so start by ruling out pain
A harness that used to go on and now does not is either sore, badly fitted, or something your dog has learned to dread. Check the first two today.
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Getting an adolescent dog through adolescence in a flat, with no garden and thin walls
A flat changes the logistics rather than the plan. Sniffing and chewing do more than distance walked, and the stairwell is a training location.
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Your teenage dog is pestering your old dog, and keeping them apart is your job rather than the old dog's
An elderly dog is entitled to a life free of being body-slammed. You arrange that with doors and gates, rather than leaving the old dog to enforce it.
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Your dog is guarding a doorway or the top of the stairs, and this one needs a professional rather than an article
A dog holding a threshold you have to walk through is a different problem from a dog on the furniture, because you cannot simply leave them to it. Stop the confrontations today and get a professional to see your dog.
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A neighbour has complained about your dog barking, and you have two jobs at once
Find out when the barking actually happens and why, and manage the human relationship at the same time. Both need doing, and only one of them involves your dog.
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Getting an adolescent dog through a bad winter week, when the walk is not happening
Sniffing, chewing and short training reps do indoors what a long walk does not, and a 10 minute walk still counts.
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Your teenage dog wakes at 5am and will not settle back, and the morning is doing most of the work
Early waking usually has a cue in front of it and a payoff behind it. Change what 5am predicts, once the physical reasons have been ruled out.
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Your teenage dog humps legs and cushions, and that is arousal spilling over rather than a status claim
Humping people and furniture is usually a dog who has gone up and has no route down. Interrupt early, give the arousal somewhere to go, and manage the door when guests arrive.
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Your teenage dog has gone off their food, and appetite is a health question before it is a fussiness question
A skipped meal happens in adolescence. Anything longer than that is a call to your veterinary practice rather than a new feeding routine.
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Your teenage dog follows you from room to room, and that is usually attachment rather than a problem
A shadow at your heels all day is common in adolescence. What matters is whether your dog can settle when you are out of sight, and whether they cope when you leave.
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Your teenage dog inhales dinner in seconds, and slowing the meal down is mostly a container problem
Fast eating is common in adolescence and usually harmless, but it goes with scavenging risk. Change how the food is delivered rather than standing over the bowl.
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Your teenage dog is suddenly scared of the vacuum, and a new noise sensitivity is common at this age
A dog who slept through the vacuum for a year can start hiding from it in adolescence. Distance, a safe room and short paired sessions are the way through.
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Your teenage dog is suddenly frightened of the stairs, and a veterinary check comes before any training
A dog who ran up and down for months can stop dead at the bottom step. Rule out pain first, then rebuild the stairs one step at a time.
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Your dog has started refusing slippery floors and metal grates, and the surface is only half the question
A dog who slides once can decide a whole floor is untrustworthy. If the refusal arrived suddenly, a veterinary check comes before any confidence work.
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Your dog has started chasing shadows and reflections, and this is one to get help with early
Repetitive light and shadow chasing is not a game that burns energy off. It needs a veterinary appointment and a behaviour professional, not an article alone.
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Your dog steals socks and runs off with them, because being chased is the best game in the house
The sock is the invitation and your chase is the payment. Stop paying, trade instead, and put the laundry where it cannot start the game.
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Your teenage dog used to tolerate baths and now fights them, and the way back is a dry bathroom and 30 second sets
A dog who put up with baths as a puppy can start refusing them in adolescence. Rebuild it in pieces, and let a groomer handle the overdue wash.
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Your dog has started barking at animals on the TV, and the screen is a trigger you can actually control
Noticing screens is a new adolescent skill. Move the seating, drop the volume, and do not laugh, because an audience turns a habit into a routine.
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Your dog will not keep the cone on after surgery, and what it can be swapped for is your vet's call
Your job this fortnight is a rested dog and a wound that stays closed. Ask the practice what they will accept before you change anything.
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How to play with your teenage dog, and why play is a skill you are both learning
Play with rules is training in a better mood. Five minutes of tug you start and stop does more than another lap of the park.
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Your teenage dog will not take a pill, and hiding it better is only half the answer
Ask your vet what can be changed before you get inventive in the kitchen. Then practise the handling on days when there is nothing to give.
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Your teenage dog squirms and snaps when you brush them, and the brush has become something to get away from
Rule pain out first, then rebuild brushing in 20 second sets your dog can sit through, on the easy parts of the body only.
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When to move your teenage dog from puppy food to adult food, and why the answer comes from your veterinary practice
The timing depends on your dog's size, growth and body condition, so it is a question for your veterinary practice rather than a rule off a bag.
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Your teenage dog leaves food in the bowl, and the pattern of which meals get skipped is the useful part
Health comes first, then read the week: which meal, at what time, after what. The pattern usually names the cause.
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Your teenage dog seems bored of everything you used to do together, and that is usually arousal or the game, not boredom
A dog who has stopped joining in is often over-stimulated, under-rested, or being offered a game that no longer fits them. Each has a different answer.
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Nose work games that tire out a teenage dog, without winding them up first
Scent games work your dog at a walking pace in the kitchen, so they finish settled rather than revved. Three of them need nothing you do not already own.
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Your adolescent collie is herding the children, and the instinct needs a job rather than a ban
Circling, staring and nipping at running children is a herding dog's adolescence arriving. You manage it today and give it somewhere else to go this month.
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Your teenage terrier shakes and destroys every toy, and that is prey behaviour rather than aggression
Grabbing, shaking and gutting a toy is a terrier doing what terriers were bred to do. Channel it into games with rules, and watch for the one place it can tip over.
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Your doodle's coat is matting and she now hates the brush, and both of those arrived together on purpose
The adult coat comes in during adolescence and mats faster than the puppy one did. A matted coat hurts to brush, so the brushing has to get gentler and shorter, not longer.
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Your teenage Great Pyrenees barks all night and will not come in, and night barking is the job the breed was built around
Guardian breeds were selected to patrol and announce at night, and adolescence is when it switches on. You manage the night rather than train the barking out of the dog.
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Your teenage dog pushes between you and your other dog, because you are the good thing in the room
Fuss is a thing worth competing for, and your adolescent has decided to compete. Trade the shoving for a place to be, and stop making fuss a shared event.
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Working from home with an adolescent dog, without a bark on every call
A desk day gives your dog hours of you in the room and nothing to do about it. What helps is a shape for the day, not more willpower on the calls.
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Whether your teenage dog should sleep on your bed, decided on practical grounds
Either answer can work. What matters at this stage is whether your dog settles there, whether nights stay quiet, and whether every adult will keep the rule.
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Your teenage dog is always hungry, and the answer depends on whether it is appetite, boredom or habit
A growing dog can be genuinely hungry, a bored one can look it, and a scavenger has learnt that the kitchen pays. A sudden change in appetite is a veterinary matter.
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Guests and alone time
Your adolescent dog jumps on every guest because arriving is the most exciting moment of their day
Jumping fades fastest when 4 feet on the floor get paid and the greeting is rehearsed before a real guest is standing in your hallway.
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Your teenage dog was fine being left alone, and now they are not
Alone time is a skill that goes soft without practice, and it is rebuilt in departures short enough that your dog never starts to worry.
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Your dog is worse on the days you work, and the evening is where you will see it
A day with 9 hours of nothing in it produces a different dog at 6pm. What helps is changing the shape of the day.
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Your adolescent dog is mouthing your children, and it needs managing today
Mouthing children is usually overexcitement rather than aggression, and it still needs separation, structure and a rule that never bends.
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Your adolescent dog refuses the crate they used to like, and forcing it backfires
A crate that stopped working can usually be rebuilt in short paid visits with the door open, and never by shutting a worried dog in.
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Your dog barks at the doorbell, because the doorbell reliably predicts something exciting
The doorbell means something is about to happen, and barking is the response to that meaning. A station and practice sound change what it predicts.
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Your adolescent dog is good all week and terrible at the weekend, and the routine changed, not your dog
The weekend brings a different routine, more people and longer, more novel walks, and that is why the same dog looks different by Saturday.
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Your adolescent dog goes mad at the delivery driver because the driver always leaves, and that is the reward
Barking at the van pays off every single time, because the driver always goes. Distance and a job to do instead work better than shouting over it.
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Visiting children are not your teenage dog's training exercise, so plan the visit around separation
Another family's child has not agreed to be practised on. Plan the arrival, give your dog somewhere else to be, and never leave the two together unsupervised.
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Whether daycare is right for your adolescent dog, and what to ask before you book
Daycare solves a real problem and can create another one, and the difference is mostly rest and what staff do when things go wrong.
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Your teenage dog will not leave the visiting dog alone, and the answer is rest, not more play
An adolescent with a visitor to pester has no off switch, so you supply one with separation, short sessions and a walk instead.
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Your teenage dog bolts out the front door, and this one gets managed for safety before it gets trained
A door-dashing adolescent dog is a traffic problem first and a training problem second. Barriers and a leash buy you the weeks the training needs.
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Your teenage dog leaves a puddle when they get excited, and that is not a housetraining failure
A small puddle at a greeting is usually excitement or appeasement, not a toileting problem. Calm arrivals and a veterinary check are the two moves.
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Your adolescent dog jumps on children, and a child is not the person who should have to handle it
Children are the right height, speed and volume to invite jumping. Management comes first, and a standing greeting is what you build behind it.
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You can start crate training at 14 months old, and starting late changes the pace rather than the plan
A dog who has never seen a crate has no history with it, good or bad. That is an advantage, as long as the door stays open for longer than feels necessary.
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Your dog is wired for hours after guests leave, and that is the bill arriving after the visit
Arousal does not stop when the front door closes. Bring the visit down while it is happening, then run a decompression hour afterwards.
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Your dog barks to be let back in the moment the door closes, and the door is what pays for it
A garden with nobody in it is either dull or worrying. Solo garden time gets built in seconds, not left to sort itself out.
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Your teenage dog puts themselves between you and other people, and this one needs a professional
A dog who blocks, stares or barks at people approaching you is telling you something in advance. Stop the rehearsals today and get your dog seen.
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Your dog is too much for a visiting toddler, and the answer is a closed door rather than an introduction
Your own children are practised at your dog and a visiting toddler is not. Plan the visit around separation, and give your dog somewhere else to be for most of it.
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How long you can leave your adolescent dog alone, and why the honest answer is not a number
The limit is what your dog can currently manage without worrying, which is something you find out with a camera rather than from a guideline.
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Your teenage dog and Halloween trick-or-treaters, and tonight needs a plan more than a lesson
A doorbell that rings all evening, masked strangers and an open front door is a lot to ask of your dog at once. Decide the setup before dusk, and skip the training.
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Your teenage dog and the Christmas decorations, and December needs a plan more than a lesson
A tree, tinsel, food under wrapping paper and a busy house put a month of temptation at nose height. Set up the room before you train anything.
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Find out where your dog actually is
The Assessment takes about 3 minutes. Your dog’s name, their age in months, and a checklist in your own words. No email address, no payment.
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