# The Teenage "years"



## JazzNScout

Layla will turn 7 months in a few days. 
Her recent antics (over the past month): 

Telling my husband to "shutup" (after he told her to get off our bed) by poking him in the face with her nose (under "stories")
Telling my husband to "shutup" by hitting him in the face/eye with her paw after she jumped on the couch and he told her to get off
Eating my husband's glasses
Pooping in my car AS WE WERE DRIVING to doggy day care
Wanting to spend MUCH more time out back with the other dogs and less around me 
Whereas she used to want to hang out on the lanai, close to the house, she goes waaaayyy out in the yard and hangs out where I can't even see her!
Doing a full-blown back talking sass-attack last night (I kept putting her "down," and she finally gave up and fell asleep)

Miss Teenager is starting intermediate obedience this weekend. much needed!


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## Franksmom

I understand what you're going through.
Frank will be 7 months the 27th of November, lately I've been comparing him to my 15 year old son, with a few of the terrible 2's thrown in.:wild:


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## onyx'girl

This is the age that you see pups getting re-homed or turned in to shelters. The "cute puppy stage" has worn off and the pup looks more adult so the puppy pass is now void. 
Ramping up the NILIF and obedience classes(or anything to keep pup busy) will help get thru the difficult teenage year! Good luck to all of you that are going thru this!!!


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## kona70

I totally understand what you are going through! I have a 9 month old male and a 7 month old female.......lots of fun!!!


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## Franksmom

Onyx'girl my husband and I were just talking about how this must be the age that rescues see alot, We would never give up on Frank just like we would never give up our 15 year old son, wish people who see the cute puppy could experience this age first before they make the decision to get one.


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## Wolfiesmom

Wolfie is going through this too. Sometimes it's frustrating, but most of the time, I have to go in the other room and laugh at the stuff he does.


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## dogfaeries

Boy, this is Sage in a nutshell! She will be 6 months old in a few days. She is known around here as the "Demon Dog". 

I've never had a dog that was such a blatant thief either. And who takes such joy in it! She's mastered the "grab and run". Nothing is safe! She'll snatch the tv remote off of the coffee table and then run for all she's worth, just as pleased as can be! 

She honestly makes me laugh. Having survived the worst puppy EVER (my red Dobe that I lost last year at age 14, who turned out to be the best dog ever), I'm getting a feeling of Deja vu, lol.


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## Rerun

Sounds like this puppy needs a lot more training and exercise. I'm glad to hear you are enrolled in classes because it sounds like they are needed.


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## VegasResident

My almost 6 month old is a stealer. He also likes to put his mouth on the fabric chairs and stare at me with a slight dare. then when we let him out to go, he would start digging a hold for fun.

Result? Reminder training. sometimes we forget to keep up the training that we give when they are smaller. NILF

Second...he had to be on a leash to go outside and he finally figured out digging hole meant leash. potty meant hotdog treat inside.

6-8 months? But*head stage

That is why most obedience classes start at 6 months. Get pup in there


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## Stosh

Stosh is a late bloomer- his butthead phase started at 10 mos. I called him, he looked at me and I swear he rolled his eyes and walked away! Now we're having 3 short training sessions a day.


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## vat

Amen!!!! Max is 11 months and sometimes referred to as the rotten teenager :wild:. He talks back allot more and we are going thru ANOTHER barking stage. He barks when the phone rings for goodness sakes!!!

I love him to pieces and know that this too shall pass 

Oh and he loves to steal socks, it really is hard to not laugh sometimes.


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## PaddyD

It's all part of growing up. Enjoy it as much as possible but don't let it get the best of you.


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## Whitedog404

I have to admit that I'm not much for the puppy stage. They're cute, but I don't get that much out of it. I feel the same way about kids. Babies don't make me gush, I prefer a precocious four year old or older. I have neither, thank god. So, when Dexter grabs either a cap or a pair of socks, then makes a mad dash to one of his beds (his big ears flying behind him) and then just plops down, drops the object as soon as you ask, well, I too, just have to laugh. He doesn't eat it, he seems to like the game: Grab it and run. The end. Happily, I've not observed any back talk from him. I'm curious to see how mischievous he is when he comes back from in-kennel training. It's going to be tempting to spoil him because he's been gone so long, but I'll try to resist.


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## KZoppa

Shasta hasnt entered this stage.... she was born with it already going. lol. She tries so hard to please me and then its like she forgets herself and butthead appears full force for DAYS before the relatively well behaved furball returns.


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## elisabeth_00117

onyx'girl said:


> *This is the age that you see pups getting re-homed or turned in to shelters.* The "cute puppy stage" has worn off and the pup looks more adult so the puppy pass is now void.
> Ramping up the NILIF and obedience classes(or anything to keep pup busy) will help get thru the difficult teenage year! Good luck to all of you that are going thru this!!!


Stark was almost fed the coyotes a few times during this stage... lol... does everyone remember my box spring?!

I can reassure you... it gets better!!!

Stark is 19 months old now and I can happily sigh in relief... seems like everyday is a step in the right direction to a balanced, confident, obedient dog.

I think the only thing that saved him is his good looks and big brown eyes! 

Take every day one day at a time and take a lot of deep breaths.. lol.


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## VChurch

Minna is doing all this same stuff. She turns 7 months old on the 26th! And she definitely has hit a butthead stage recently.

Her favorite new trick is to open bathroom doors and get into the trashcans. I even had to block off the upstairs because she can easily open that bathroom door. And of course it always surprises me when the bathroom gets left WIDE open by someone else in the house. But thankfully, her 'drop it' command is solid and she'll drop things and leave them.

Luckily I've been able to at least get her "Minna, Get down!" command very solid -- since I've had to use it about 90000000 times (or at least it feels like I've repeated it that many times).

She's so smart, but her mischievous side wins out most of the time. It's like she knows better than to do something and knows she shouldn't do it, but she just absolutely cannot resist.


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## KathleneRN

*Alittle late... but relevant*

Your talking about how alot of dogs this age get re-homed, my puppy is 7 months old according to the vet.. and it is a recent rescue... I can see how this is going to be challenging. He is acclimating to our home, becoming more comfortable, and he chewing on me and my daughters, he has started trying to get my cat, which until the last couple days wasn't a problem, he has suddenly become deaf when you call him, sometimes... previously he would 'stop' or respond to 'no' now that is gone out the window.. I thought about putting him in an obediance class but he is scared of other dogs... and I'm trying to keep him in a postive happy environment with minimal stress... hopefully we will be able to do this soon :crazy:

Even after only 2 weeks, I can see a really great dog... I really love him and not keeping him is not even an option, I can't imagine watching him grow from a puppy into this young dog, and then deciding to 'change your mind' but it was a blessing for me that someone dumped off, just a terrible mind set that people can have... BTW thanks for the info in this thread, I appreicate it alot.

Kat


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## AthenaClimbs

I feel like my 4.5 month girl got into the but-head stage now (or are they all like that at that age and it gets worse. YIKES!). Sometimes she barks back at me if I tell her off or even down. I want a perfect down and she barks as if "I did it, now where's my treat?" 
She also sees a remote, grabs it and makes a run for it. If we leave her alone in a room, she'll grab something and tear it to shreds. 
We're working on obedience and training everyday. It's a handful but she's totally worth it.


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## PaddyD

We called Abby "He11 Bitch" after the horse in Lonesome Dove.
She lived up to it but the patience and persistence were worth it.


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## Josie/Zeus

Koda turned 7 months on the 18th. He is so far doing good, apart from still being mouthy, he behaves most of the time. He finds ways to get attention, like lets say pounding on me- he has no clue how big and heavy he is.
At the same time, the cats keeps him busy.


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## LukasGSD

Jaxon has had his moments. But honestly, I remember Lukas being much more of a hellion. That dog tortured me when he was younger. He was the most mouthy puppy ever and tore a hole in several of my clothes and arms. Now you would have never known it.
I feel really lucky that Jaxon has never destroyed anything and has never mouthed at me just boneheadedness. His worst habbit is having NO reguard for personal boundaries at the most inapropriate times. Lmao


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## Goose

Goose will be 1.5 years in a few weeks...and I STILL feel like he's in this "teenage" stage. I got him at 8 months old and it's been a learning experience for me on training him, so I take some fault. He WAS the boss of his home when I got him and his previous owner let him do WHATEVER he wanted. So I am sure it was a adjustment for him to suddenly have rules. I love him, but he really does wear on me. I really hope he moves past this stage soon!!! 

Good luck to all that need it! (boy do I need it!)


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## martemchik

Yeah, we started Rooney in beginner class at 6 months old (he had puppy class before that) and up until 8 months of age or so he was awesome. Then came the butthead stage when he would know what I wanted but wouldn't do it anyways. The "come" story brings back memories. But it was all worth it in the end, he does everything I ask for now at 15 months old. Just gotta get through a few months of this!


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## DERiley

My Macee is 6 1/2 months old and has lost all memory to 'drop it' 'come' and 'sit' she was beginning to ignore 'leave it' but has recently gotten re-aquainted with it as I now practically scream it to back her off my 6 year old doxy who got irritated at her 'licks' across the face and snapped at her and Macee grabbed her by the neck and pulled her off the couch! two puncture holes in my doxy's neck gave me quite the scare! Now when Macee gets close to her or tries to stand over her I yell 'Leave It' and she backs off instantly! She knows she went too far and mommy got upset! Boundaries are VERY IMPORTANT at this age!


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## Angelina03

Rocco just turned 10 months. He is worse than a teenager. He knows all his commands really well. He doesn't always follow though. He too will go into the bathroom and take something out of the trash (we have to be very careful to keep the door closed). He too steals socks and other things he's not supposed to "eat" and makes me chase him all around the house for about 15-20 minutes!! He too wants to constantly bother the cats, and whines when I tell him "no". He too wants to jump on me and play with me (biting and pulling). How long does the teenage stage last?


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## Del's Mom

*9 months*

My youngest GSD Kobi, is almost 7 months old. He is also an expert thief. He has major separation issues and is now barking at everything and everyone. One of his favorite tricks is to take his paw and close the computer (which he is trying to do now). He is full of energy, we are constantly walking, hiking or training (something that I must admit I do not do enough of). I can't wait until he is a bit calmer but I love him.


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## gmcwife1

Since we already have a 13 yr old daughter I do not want a teenaged GSD too!!! Two teen girls in the same house at the same time  no thank you!!!

We are trying to keep Nita busy so she hopefully makes it through her teenage phase as quickly and easily as possible (for all of us)!


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## Nikitta

I feel your pain. Jas is still in her teenage years and Xerx is now going into this faze but we will overcome. ( Is that a song?) I don't and never will give up my pets. I don't care what they do. I will buy more or fix it. I will train harder. I don't give up my children.


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## KönigLeupold

I can't tell you all how thankful I am to read this... Leo is 10 months old and the last 2 months have been hard. My normally calm and sweet boy has become a hormonal, goofy, slightly aggressive terror at the park in certain situations and all of my hard earned commands seem to be "forgotten". Since dad is in a long travel spell, I am about ready to throw in the towel after a few weeks of being primary caretaker on top of my stressful job. But I agree with everyone else who says they will not give up on their pup. We we decided to get Leo, we make a decision that he was our boy until the end. Love these pups!


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## Angelina03

It's a very difficult stage... Don't give up, it'll pass quicker than you think. You may even find yourself missing it one day...maybe. I've missed all of Rocco's stages at times. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## lauren.theos

Count just turned 7 months and he really is a great dog. He gets ton of exercise each day and he's pretty mellow (besides his obsession for his tennis balls, of course!) My only concern is the fact that he barks at pretty much EVERYONE. Any stranger on the sidewalk, at tractor supply, the pet store, even when people first walk in the house. He does his fearful alerting bark and all of his hackles go up. (the bark is so low and loud that it would be scary to someone that doesn't know him) Only once a brave soul actually continues to walk up and pet him will he calm down. It's just frustrating because I have socialized him and have taken him everywhere from the moment I got him and he's never had this issue, not until just recently. He also has never had a negative experience to fuel this. It sucks because people that don't understand the breed look at him out of fear and it just adds to the negative stereotype when he is really such an amazing friendly dog. Is this a phase? is anyone else going through this? any training tips? Much appreciated!


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## C-17 Driver

I'm glad I found this this thread... Maggie just turned 8 1/2 months. She refused to come back to me. I had to get a friend to bring their dog over so that she would come to me. If I had my Glock on me, I probably would have shot her!


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## tim_s_adams

My pup must have been an early bloomer since she was only 5 months old the first time she looked right at me and refused to recall! She did this repeatedly, in different circumstances while out and about off leash, for about a month and a half. But since then she's decided to behave perfectly. Judging by these stories though, I can't help thinking I'm still in for another round at some point...she just turned 1 yr old >


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## Levi T

Back talking is horrible with my 8 1/2 month old.


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## Finneas1

So glad I found this too. My 11 month old has been driving me absolutely insane. Seems like he's completely lost his brain some days and I'm ready to rehome him (not really but I tell him that), and then he is great other days. Glad to hear it gets better!


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## Dragon67155

Xena...Xena Xena she is being a pain at times. One minute she's loving the next she's stealing the ball out of my pocket and laughing as she runs away lol. She is a hoot, and there are times I'm wondering if either of us will survive. My trainer thinks she's will grow into a great dog; he says he can see and he's trained a lot of dogs. At times I see it in her at other times I don't know what she is.


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