Читать книгу Doodle Dogs For Dummies - Miriam Fields-Babineau - Страница 26

Adolescent Doodles are 4 to 8 months old, and they’re a handful. Their energy levels are through the roof, and they need training to remain grounded and manageable. If you haven’t done the early work and you have an obnoxious teenager on your hands, sign up for a class right away! The longer you wait, the more reactive your Doodle may become.

You can still use a positive training method with an unruly adolescent, but a lot of redirection work will likely be necessary, too (see Chapter 10). Adolescent Doodles are more easily distracted than young puppies are. Everything that moves will grab their attention, and they’ll want to investigate what it is. Where Doodle puppies are still a bit insecure and tend to remain near their people, most adolescent Doodles are all about exploring beyond the security of their companions. You’ll also notice selective responses in this age group — your Doodle may have responded well to a Come cue when they were 3 months old, but not as readily at 6 months old.

A selective response is knowing what a cue means but not responding to it. If the dog is allowed to ignore a cue, they’ll soon not ever respond to it. You need to back up all commands (which means you need a way of ensuring your dog follows through with your request); otherwise, your voice and body language will become background noise that will be ignored.

Formal training work is suggested for these adolescent explorers. Training will help them maintain a calm state of mind and keep your frustration levels down as well. Remember: Clear communication is key to a healthy relationship.