When I was first introduced to what was then referred to as “positive dog training,” my son was about 5 years old. What I learned about this style of working with dogs—and especially puppies—jibed completely with how I wanted to raise my son. Principles like “catch them doing something right” (offer praise and reinforcement frequently for behaviors that are freely offered and are the things you’d like to see them doing), managing the environment to set them up for success, and communicating clearly about what behaviors you want (instead of forbidding/simply saying “No” to behaviors you don’t like) made perfect sense to me. I often say that positive dog training is responsible for my son turning out so well. At age 32, he’s successful, kind, responsible, a great dog owner, and soon to become a parent himself!
Recently, though, I have become more and more obsessed with how what is now called “force-free” dog training can help adolescent dogs in particular. I see so many parallels between the most effective ways to raise a teenager and how to get a dog through adolescence without ever feeling like you want to put them up for adoption.
I am not being flippant; adolescent dogs are at the greatest risk of being abandoned or surrendered to shelters and euthanized there. Walk through any animal shelter or flip through photos on rescue websites and you will quickly see that there are more homeless adolescent dogs than dogs of any other ages. Adolescents—generally, dogs between about 6 and 24 months—are surrendered to shelters more frequently than dogs of any other age, and they are often the most difficult to find homes for, especially after their behavior gets worse and worse as they grow increasingly frustrated and stressed in a shelter. Humans clearly have a difficult time dealing with dogs in this age bracket!
And it’s understandable! Adolescents are undergoing physical and chemical changes that give them a biological imperative to explore their worlds, become more independent, and to seek out food, social opportunities, and entertainment—but, restricted by the human environment and our schedules, these natural, normal impulses are often obstructed. Struggling with frustration and boredom causes many young dogs to behave in ways we don’t like, as our formerly perfect puppies develop new hobbies of chewing or otherwise destroying things in our homes, demand-barking, agitating other animals in the gamily, fence-running or fence-fighting, and more.
Just as some parents threaten (or follow through on threats) to send their misbehaving teenagers to military or boarding school, some dog owners become tempted to send their rambunctious, “uncontrollable” canine adolescents to a training “boot camp” or “board and train” facility. The conceit is that you send your obnoxious, naughty dog away and receive a polite, better-behaved dog back—but believe me when I say that this approach is fraught with peril. I can’t count how many news articles I’ve read about dogs who were injured, starved, neglected, and even killed by so-called trainers who “guaranteed” good results from their training program. But perhaps even more frequently, I’ve heard from trainers who told sad stories about dogs who came back from harsh training boot camps with a newfound fear and mistrust of humans, or a brand-new tendency to respond to their owners’ approach with defensive aggression.
To put it bluntly, trying to force a dog into compliance in any abbreviated time span, absent a loving, attentive, understanding owner, is a recipe for disaster.
Here’s what works well with adolescents of all species, to help them pass through and past the challenges of “teenagehood” and into a well-behaved, enjoyable adulthood:
- Lots of appropriate, fun exercise
- TONS of reinforcement for any desired behaviors
- TONS of affectionate interactions, delivered to the adolescent when he/she is receptive (and never forced on them when the recipient is avoidant)
- Play and games the individual enjoys
- Plenty of opportunities to engage in species-appropriate activities (for dogs, sniffing and chewing are chief among them)
- Daily social interactions that are neither too intense nor too restrained for the individual’s comfort
- Mentally taxing but rewarding activities (for dogs, things like “brain games” and sniffing activities), but also force-free training sessions (education!)
- Find an experienced, educated trainer who is committed to teaching and training with only force-free, fear-free techniques!
LOL. 35 years ago when I got my first personal all my own dog, Caesar, we went to dog training and I thought then that this was the best way to learn to teach discipline, be you a teacher or a parent. Go through dog training. It was exactly as you describe. Praise them when they get it right. But also catch them if they’re doing wrong and give them immediate feedback to the unacceptable behavior. Treats when they get it right, and a consequence when they get it wrong. (For instance when my dog jumps up on me I turn my back and they get no attention. When they sit nicely, they get pets and are allowed to lick my face.)
While people may laugh at couples who practice parenting by getting a dog before getting pregnant, there is a lot of wisdom in this method. It not only teaches you to be a better parent but also a better person.
When I adopted Diana pawPrints I started her in scentwork at about 4 months old. I also kept up with her training and she achieved her STAR Puppy aware from the AKC and passed her NACSW ORT when she was around one year old. both served to keep her active, engaged and attentive to what was being asked of her. She grew to be almost 90 lbs, the bigges dog I’ve ever owned, but she is an affectionate sweetheart.
Freyja was rescued off death row from the Hesperia animal shelter at one year and three months. I figured this out when I updated her microchip which had her birthday. That matched the vet’s estimate. She had been adopted and returned twice to the shelter due to destructive behavior, the second time within 24 hours. She was one of those adolescent dogs inexperienced owners couldn’t handle. She’s four now and has become such an affectionate dog. She still has her moments (last summer she stole a ripe cantaloupe off the vine, my only one.)
Dog training isn’t for the dogs. It’s to train the owners into being better and more effective dog parents. I’ve often thought that dog training should be required of anyone thinking of becoming a parent.