He’s jumping up on everyone. He doesn’t come when called. But I took him to obedience classes and puppy school!
Your 2 year old dog jumps up on you when you come home and conveniently goes deaf when you call him back to you.
What happened? He learned so quickly how to sit, down, come , even stay in puppy school. In fact, somewhere in your desk you have a certificate showing that he graduated, with honors!
So what happened between then and now? Life and Time.
Life – you got busy and he grew up - time flies. Next thing you know he went from a 15 pound ball of cute furry fun to a 55 lb ball of energy and destruction.
The good news is that you’re not alone. This is a very common scenario. The better news is that you can fix this.
But if he learned it once, why should you have to train him again?
Because if you don’t use it, you lose it.
If you took calculus or foreign language class back in high school and it’s been a few years, do you recall what you learned? Can you speak as well today? Can you work out those problem today? Likely the answer is no, you’re rusty. In fact, some may even say they don’t recall a single word of the language or a single equation. But you did pass the classes. Why don’t you recall the information? Because if you don’t use it, you lose it.
But wait, this dog is only a few months away from puppy class and you’re years away from your class. Ahhh, but your dog matures a lot faster than a human. He’s in his teenage months at 7 months old. By 2 he’s leaving his teens and entering adulthood. And that’s a rough estimate. So the comparison holds true. If he doesn’t use it, he loses it.
What can you do now?
Go back to the basics. What is he motivated by? What is his pay check? Do you reward him when you catch him “doing good”? When can you work in training in your daily life? If you start answering these questions, you’re on your way to training him and on your way to having that beautiful dog you know he is.
If you're still with a young pup, read "Accountability to Our Puppies". If you want to review the secret to dog training, read the post, "The Secret to Dog Training".
If you want help moving from unruliness to polite, feel free to contact Paw Pack!