OK what's going on? 14 mos old and copped a 'tude?

[Jax's Mom]

It seems that the very second after Jax turned 14 months old, he stopped listening to anything I say.
We were making such beautiful progress up until now, I was even starting to trust him off leash in semi-public places, and just like that, won't listen to anything... not even when I have hotdogs, won't respond to his ecollar, sometimes when I have his 'kong on a rope' he'll listen maybe 25% of the time where a week ago he responded 99% of the time without any reinforcement and getting better every day.

[DJEtzel]

Any new changes in your home, schedule, or routine?

[Jax's Mom]

...Now that you mention it...
...At this risk of sounding like a nutcase, he did make one new friend, a golden retriever puppy whose parents are first time dog owners, so needless to say the puppy is a little behind in his training
He's 7-8 months old... they've learned our schedule and have now attached themselves to us because Jax is (was) such a "good influence"....
Could this be regression or is he just showing off?

[jkscandi50]

Maybe he wants to be a baby again (and the retriever puppy is his partner in puppy behavior) LOL...

[liv]

Kokoda went turned into a complete brat when she hit 16 months - and for a month I thought I was going to lose my mind!! Then she turned 17 months and suddenly she was better than she had been before.

[DJEtzel]

It *could* be that all the playing with the new puppy has him excited and since he's not required to work during that, he's not listening. Maybe he just wants to play and that's it. Maaaybe... Not too sure about that one.

I would make him work to play though, as a first step. Before you let him off the leash (as with the puppy) you should be making him sit, down, you know, do something to earn that. If he doesn't, he goes back inside for a few minutes or to wait in his crate in the car. That type of thing. And I'd up the training at home a bit, as you would during an adolescent stage in case that's all this is.

Keep an eye out for any medical issues that could be causing a change in behavior, too, of course.

[Coastie01]

Not responding to his e-collar? Turn it up and tighten it I bet he will respond.

[Heidibu]

Ouch Coastie...that may be necessary just yet, he just has "I gotta play" on the brain. It sounds like he's being a typical adolescent taking tests to see just how far he can get. I agree...make the play a reward after he works for it first. And, up the training to reinforce what is expected.

[Jax's Mom]

I tried turning it up but the little brainiac figured out that it has a safety which cuts it out after 7-10 seconds of stim (anyone know a way to by-pass that? LOL jk) so he'll tolerate it as long as it takes then he's "free".
He has a halti, prong, choker, harness, ecollar and a flat collar. I'm almost at the point where I feel I have to put them all on at once just for good measure!

...I was just thinking on our last walk that he had a prong that was malfunctioning and popping open at the most inopportune times so I replaced it yesterday... Could this have reinforced some bad behaviors almost like an agitation harness?

I'm more concerned about what is causing this sudden blatant disregard for my authori-tay

[suze]

What is the prong part of?