[ruchika]

Pepper just turned 8 months old...and suddenly that dreaded teenage phase is kicking in. She was pretty good with her recall. I have been taking her to the dog park almost every morning. She plays with the same group of dogs everyday and loves it. She had been coming over to me whenever I called her....which included leaving the park ( always with treats though). Suddenly, the last 2 times she totally ignored me. She comes, takes the treat...and before I can get the leash on her....runs away again. I have very recently started putting on the prong on her for our walk to the park since she had been pulling too much. She only gets the prong for her walks. Do you think its because of that? ...or is she just asserting her independence? Oh yes, when we practice recall in our yard, she's perfect...comes every time. Its in the dog park, when her friends are around....she totally forgets. What should I do?

 

[Caitydid255]

Freyja has just entered this phase as well. She was doing great with recall and other commands but suddenly decided that she didn't feel like doing it anymore. Because she's acting like a spoiled puppy, I have begun to treat her like she was a small pup. She is on the leash when we go outside, and has to earn being released. In the house she's on a leash that is attached to my hip. She finally seems to be getting the message that unless you behave, you don't get to do anything fun. I also ramped up our training routine. We are spending time each day learning new tricks. It seems to keep her contented.

 

[MaggieRoseLee]

Sounds like the natural progression of puppies to me....

I don't think it's to do with the prong though.

Do you call her to you at the dog park, play with her collar (but not put the leash on) WHILE GIVING HER THE TREAT, and then let her go off to continue to play?

It's important that they don't start realizing that coming to us means the fun is over. Cause with a choice between fun, and boring going home, a SMART dog will learn to ignore us and keep having fun. But if we just mean we are a part of the fun (call our dog and they get a rousing game of tug..........then released to go play. or call our dog for a treat and then go back to play.............) then they will keep coming.