Post Spay and LESS Mature?!?!?@

[KZoppa]

I had Shasta spayed back in February 2012. She had her second birthday May 5 2012. Once she wasn't hurting anymore and got her energy back, she reverted back to some puppy behaviors. All I did was start tethering her to me again and upping the training reinforcement for a few weeks and she's back to normal. Pretty much, I treated her like she was a new puppy I'd brought home. She didn't appreciate being restricted. She was back to her normal self after a few weeks of reinforcement. Maybe thats all you need to do is remind her what the rules are and whats expected of her.

[marshies]

Originally Posted by KZoppa

I had Shasta spayed back in February 2012. She had her second birthday May 5 2012. Once she wasn't hurting anymore and got her energy back, she reverted back to some puppy behaviors. All I did was start tethering her to me again and upping the training reinforcement for a few weeks and she's back to normal. Pretty much, I treated her like she was a new puppy I'd brought home. She didn't appreciate being restricted. She was back to her normal self after a few weeks of reinforcement. Maybe thats all you need to do is remind her what the rules are and whats expected of her.

Thank you! It's great to hear someone else with the same experience. I've taken the same approach as you and she understood right away as well. Did you notice a difference in energy levels pre and post soay？

[KZoppa]

Originally Posted by marshies

Thank you! It's great to hear someone else with the same experience. I've taken the same approach as you and she understood right away as well. Did you notice a difference in energy levels pre and post soay？

before she was spayed, she was pretty laid back and for a shepherd... LAZY. She was content with a short romp around the field and then she was ready to go back home and hang out for the day. Really only had to take her out once a week, if at all, to burn off some energy. She's a house dog and perfect for it. After her spay, she was pretty lethargic the first week but as soon as she was feeling better it was like suddenly she was just all over the place. Keeping her calm was difficult. I think it took a good 3 to 4 months before she seemed to FULLY return to normal for her. Reinforcing EVERYTHING she'd learned was sometimes a pain in the butt because she'd throw the occassional "puppy" fit. She still gets into trouble every now and then but its rare enough that all I have to do is tell her she was a "BAD DOG!" and no problems for a while. I have more energy than my dog does lol. She had a couple periods during reinforcement training that she "forgot" what sit and down were. At that point, I'd take her outside and make her run around and give random commands until she was more focused.

Best of luck. I think your pup will go back to normal with some reinforcement training and reminders of whats expected of her. She'll pick up on the positive and adjust accordingly once that switch gets flipped back. Good luck! Message me if you need anything else!

ETA: the first couple weeks were the hardest but it slowly got easier. I was thankful when I realized she wasn't in naughty puppy mode anymore. My husband was the one who actually pointed out that she was normal again.

[marshies]

Happy to say, two months later, she is doing well. I think she just needed more time to settle those hormones.

We are still on an increased exercise load, as I take her jogging with me for about 4km every other day.

Moral of story: have patience, use consistent training, give dog some time.

Thanks for all that posted.