Adolescent dog embarrassing to take out in public

[jesuslover_dad_442]

My sweet 6 mo. old puppy (we think Malinois/Canaan mix) entered adolescence a few weeks ago and I’m literally embarrassed to take her in public. Until now she was literally a perfect puppy. She learned every command quickly and could do them with 70% accuracy outside the house despite all the distractions. Since she entered adolescence, she’s a nightmare to walk (she will literally park herself on the sidewalk if you try to go somewhere other than where she wants to go), she throws temper tantrums over every little thing (e.g. - I won’t let her play with a runner that passes by us), and has started to get defensive over some possessions. It’s like she’s forgotten all of our months of training. She snarled at me today when she found a stick on the street and she wanted to lay down and chew on the stick, whereas I wanted to continue our walk. Where did my sweet baby go?

P.S. - I started working with a trainer this week on the resource guarding. Hopefully it will improve.

 

[hope2019]

@jesuslover_dad_442 Training is a lifetime process, not just a puppy one, and malinois type breeds are incredibly high strung animals; they’re German shepherds on steroids and very much working dogs. It’s very normal for a malinois to have the urge to chase runners; it’s going to have a very high prey drive it’s whole life.

I would seriously consider enrolling Fido in some dog sports to give them enrichment and build your relationship together. These animals need lots of structure and thrive when they have it/know what to expect from you. Right now, this dog is becoming a “teenager” and starting to swing its dick around/assert itself more. You’re seeing more and more of their personality come out, and you have to show them the value of rolling with the punches over saying “fuck you I do what I want.” It’s so, so, so much easier to instill that if your dog (1) trusts you and (2) is too tired (both mentally AND physically) to be mischievous/an asshole. Because of the breed of dog you have, your dog is going to be more independent and incredibly intelligent, they will have a mind of their own, so this won’t be as straightforward as, say, a retriever.

Right now managing your environment during training sessions is essential, and I would start adding more structure to your walks until your dog understands they’re following your lead. Once they’re trained and understand the boundaries, then you can let them have more freedom. Example; when I was training my older shepherd out of his reactivity, I started walks during times where I knew there really wouldn’t be other animals out so I could make a super positive baseline where he learned what was expected. Then, I would start to bring him out around 11 AM when the SAHMs walk, then around 3 when the kids walked home from school, then at 5/6 when all the dogs got walked. We progressed at the animals pace and you understand it’s fluid; you can’t take a dog that barks out of overstimulation from seeing other dogs straight into a pet store and expect them to succeed immediately, and you get there will be better days than others and some times you’ll feel like it’s one step forward, two back. You’re just looking for a net positive trend.

Also, seriously, teach your animal “leave it” and “take it” cues in conjunction with training out the resource guarding. It helps a lot when the animal knows from you what it can and can’t have, and it’s saved my dogs’ lives in public. Also super convenient for controlling them when my toddler insists on helping with their dinner.

Make sure you have plenty of treats in hand for the early days. Everyone has their own tips for training resource guarding; depending on context, my favorite trick is feeding them by hand exclusively for a while to make your presence super duper positive. Not withholding food, just personally feeding them. It’s been very successful for the puppies I’ve raised.

It’s not easy. You’ve got this.

 

[jesuslover_dad_442]

@hope2019 Thanks for all the advice. What kind of dog sports are you talking about?

 

[bubblegum2021]

@jesuslover_dad_442 Scentwork is fun and relatively easy to start with if you’ve never done dog sports, and it also uses dogs’ natural abilities. My corgi loves it, and it completely mentally exhausts him (while having minimal effort from me!). Search for classes locally or online (Fenzi Dog Sports Academy has some great online classes).

Other dog sports: dock diving, barn hunt, fast CAT, obedience/rally, agility, disc dog

 

[bukovica1986]

@jesuslover_dad_442 I have 2 Belgian Malinois/Dutch Shepherd pups.
Look into Schutzhund training. It's great training for them and for you. I've done with both of mine. Also, find a trainer with experience with this breed!! Most important. This breed is not a lab in disguise.
They are the smartest dogs I've ever had, and I've had dogs my whole life.
Mine are now 3 and 2 years old, they still require tons of training. Try puzzle bowls, puzzle games.
Cheap tool, is a 12 muffin tin. Put treats in some of them tins, put a tennis ball in all the tins. They have to find the treats by smell. Also they love tug with the HUGE rope toys. Let them win sometimes with lots of praise. It helps build their confidence.
Train every single day!! They thrive on it!
Again! Find a trainer with experience with this breed.
https://activedogs.com/blog/schutzhund-training-guide-101-where-to-start-and-what-to-expect/

 

[swedish]

@jesuslover_dad_442 Everyone with a puppy goes thru this. I remember feeling embarrassed when mine did it but when I saw other puppies doing it to their owners, it was never any judgement, just “yep, been there”. If he picks up a stick or something, try to trade a treat for it. For the tantrums (mine would bite my ankles and play tug-of-war with the leash) I would step on the leash. These worked well, he’ll still pick up sticks but at least he’ll walk with them now I so don’t have to trade him a treat every time. He will still have his tantrums but stepping the leash ends it pretty quickly.

To me, it’s about showing them what happens when they do certain things. My puppy wants to throw a tantrum and bite the leash because he can’t go a certain way? Well then I’m going to step on the leash and let him calm down for a minute. Now he can’t go anywhere, to him that’s probably worse than going the route I want. Or if he stops and sits because he wants to go see another dog or take a different route, he’s learned that I will stand there and wait it out so there’s no point. Don’t give in!! They need to learn who runs the show.

 

[charlie3rivers]

@jesuslover_dad_442 I'm not trying to be rude at all, but did you know much about these breeds when you bought her? You seem surprised by her behaviour but for these dogs breeds, particularly the malinois, I would have fully expected this. They're a challenge and an incredible amount of work. They're very loyal and sweet, malinois are among my favourite dog breeds, but they're very intense, especially during adolescence.

 

[jesuslover_dad_442]

@charlie3rivers No, I didn’t. I grew up mostly with labs, golden retrievers, or mutts that we rescued. I adopted my current puppy at an adoption day, she was the puppy no one wanted. I knew I was going to adopt a rescue puppy, so I didn’t know what breeds to expect to do research on.

 

[tampasteve]

@jesuslover_dad_442 My 2 year old Doberman/ miniature pincher mix get obsessed with routines to the point where I have to break things up. We do same walk the same route everyday he expects it and tantrums with deviation. I purposely will change the routes, times of walks. We go to the park five days a week. Days off for neighborhood walks, I keep him on his toes. I never thought too much routine would be bad but he is a funny weirdo.
I almost always have training treats in my pocket, in my purse. Always great to snap the dog out of a tantrum with a command and reward!