My 5 month old male has recently developed an "attitude" with me and I'm wondering if this is normal developmental stuff or something I should be worried about. He went through the puppy biting stuff which pretty much disappeared several weeks ago. He was a complete angel since then. Recently he has started to snap at me if I try to prevent him from doing something he wants like chase the cats, etc. He does not growl - just snaps as if he is going to bite me but stops short of actually biting me. Is this the beginning of the bratty teenager stage I've been reading about?
He's a baby just testing boundaries. And since he IS a baby, you need to be careful how you react.
I'd just put a leash/tab on him and calmly remove him from the cat(s) and/or crate him for a bit. What's really going on is he's not 'coming' when you call him off the cats.
So what you REALLY need to do is work on his general obedience (come) with distractions (cats). Easiest way and he's the perfect age, is to go to puppy/dog classes. Perfect way to gain the calm leadership skills you need to TEACH him to listen and learn in any place with anything going on.
Stop using your hands for that, and definitely don't follow him - you just support the chase if you do. Run in opposite direction every time he tries to chase a cat and try to hide from him, or distract him as much as you can if he is on a leash. Also, watch the number of times you correct him physically with your hands, minimize it to zero. The tendency to adjust your dog with your hands instead of insisting on a verbal command might have become habitual with you. I suggest you to start using a combination of a clicker and some tasty treats.
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