So, does anyone else have, or have you ever had, a five and a half month old puppy who seems to be unlearning everything that he or she once knew?
I have one!
I have figured out that it's not that she has forgotten all of her commands... nope... that would be too simple. It's that she is now choosing not to obey them!
In the backyard when she's relatively bored, or enticed with treats, Zuzu is little Miss Perfect. But when we are out and about, even simple commands like sit are completely ignored. She'll just stand there. Sometimes she'll look at Jim and I and sometimes she'll look away, with this blank look like she's never heard the word before. If there are no other distractions and we pull out a treat, then magically the word sit is translated from Martian unto English, and she chooses to obey! That's so frustrating when a few weeks ago she was sitting on her own when we walked her and came to a halt, without even being asked.
Because of this, I did something that I haven’t done in a while: I went to my books. After reading some, I just decided that she’s more mature than most puppies her age. :)
Here’s what I read:
“Puppy Puberty ( 6 to 9 months)”
“Puppies at this stage go through a major transformation called growing up. You remember growing up, with all its hormones, rebellion, confusion, and curiosity. Ah, puberty. It’s never a pretty sight. On top of these typical growing pains is the awakening of breed-specific instincts that tell herders to herd, hunters to hunt, guarders to guard, and pullers to pull. This stage is utter canine chaos and all while they’re still cutting their baby teeth! So here you have this puppy/dog who’s full of hormones, hight spirits, and anxiety. It’s no wonder he may give you the puppy equivalent of a teenage eye roll when you give him a command.”
from Puppies for Dummies by Sarah Hodgson
So, that explains it! I now have a doggy teenager in my house. Too bad I can’t take away her cell phone. :P
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