The Terrible Teens

By Mary Jane Anderson

A puppy is a cute ball of fur. Puppies are fun to pick up, carry, and love. During this short period of their life, the puppy follows you around and is very cooperative with you. This is because the puppy has been taught by his mother to obey and the puppy is dependant on his mother and then his owner and his new home. The puppy at this time is very willing to follow your instructions while your are housebreaking the puppy and establishing the rules of the house behavior.

Problems will slowly become more and more evident as the puppy matures, especially if he has not been taught how to behave by his owner. The puppy will take over to become the leader.

At this time, puppies should be taught simple commands at an early age. Teaching commands for a puppy fro 7 to 16 weeks should be simple — sit, down, stay. The commands would be practiced daily. a puppy, the same as children, learn through repetition. The puppies mind is formed and running at these early weeks. He has, however, not experienced life since he is limited to his small environment in the home.

During this period, the puppy should be exposed to many variable experiences in his world and people. The puppy should meet children, adults, and the elderly. They should be exposed to traffic in the road, as well as parks and crowded malls. Soon enough, however, the puppy will be a rebellious teenager. The puppy begins to think for themselves. They test for independence and question authority. How you handle this critical period will decide the fate of your relationship with your dog in the years to come. If it does not get resolved between you and your puppy, you will lost the wonderful relationship of a faithful companion.

The answer to the problem of a troublesome dog is to get back to the basics. Too many times the owner begins to slack off and the dog will take advantage of the easy going owner. If the owner did not teach their puppy good manners in the beginning, the owner now must begin on a daily routine of practicing obedience. Enrolling in an obedience class would be very helpful to control a rebellious teenager, such as being out with the other dogs and learning control by the owner and the dog. Dogs who have been taught obedience must be reinforced to obey the owner’s command — no ifs, ands, or buts! If the owner is not consistent with the commands, the dog will learn that the commands do not have to be obeyed.

Finally, patience is a key in guiding a rebellious teenager on the path of cooperation to an adult dog. It takes time for the puppy to mature, but it is only a temporary problem which will pass if the owner will spend the extra time with their dog. Remember, this is the time that dogs are sent to animal shelters since the owners do not know how to handle the problem. Although, training, being consistent, and patience will produce a well-mannered dog for many years to come.