[DSudd]

Last night Apollo was being a little too hyper so after several attempts at re-direction I put him in his crate to give Rocky a break. (Apollo just would not stop "attacking" Rocky)

He has always been so good about going into his crate, but last night he barked for at least 20 minutes straight. I got him back out of his crate when he settled down and kept the boys separated.

So this morning we get up, and of course first stop is potty break. And he is being his little hyper love bug self, I feed him, and took him back outside. When it was time to go in, instead of coming (he normally comes when I call him) he ran the other way and just laid down. I tried several times to get him to come, and he would not budge, so I went into the house, got shoes, come back outside and he is gone. So I called for him, and he is now almost in the backyard trying to hide in the grass. So I call him as I am walking that way, and instead of coming to me, he runs again. I finally track him down in the backyard, pick him up and carrry him into the house. He seemed pretty much ok when I was getting ready for work, we did the standard two more outs, play tug, chew on a bone, attack Rocky, and I left him with DH to go to work. DH called me and said he put Apollo in his crate (normal morning time to go back into the crate) and he started barking up a storm. DH went outside to load his truck, talked to the neighbor, came back in to get ready to leave, and Apollo is still barking 30 minutes later.

Any ideas on what happened to my nicely progressing pup? It is like overnight he forgot all of the training we have been working on, and now we have some kind of rebellious kid that does the exact opposite of what he is supposed to.

 

[Powell]

He's being a BRAT

Powell

 

[doggiedad]

your dog might have been bored and wanted to something other than the routine. i would have played with him or walked him again or something. maybe he wanted to play with you or the Hubby. i know people follow that rule of playing with their dogs when they want to play, i don't. if my dog seems bored or misbehaving i'll try to do something with him. play ball, hide and seek or just go through some commands. sometimes i think they just need some petting.

 

[DSudd]

Powell that is kind of what I was thinking LOL

Doggie Dad - So you are saying reward him for misbehaving?

 

[JenM66]

Testing stage....good luck, Gracie's 2 1/2 and still goes through it sometimes!

Just be firm, kind but firm.

 

[Carney]

What “happened” is that your pup has discovered he doesn’t have to come to you the first time you call him. In fact, he learned you will call several times, allow him to run away and play elsewhere before you ever go get him. He’s figured out you don’t really mean for him to come right away. That’s what the running away/hiding/playing is all about. Never, ever, issue a command more than once. If you dog does not follow that command the first time, particularly the command “come” you go get the dog and bring him/her to you. Don’t scream, holler, hit, punish, etc. just get the dog, put the leash on and do a few on leash commands. GSD’s are smart – we all know this – they can figure out when we are serious and when we are not. What you describe sounds like not serious. You may need to consider using a long line (I often use just a clothesline) to permit your dog some freedom while still ensuring you can bring him back when you want him back. Three things I feel strongly about in training: don’t issue a command more than once; never call your dog when you are about to punish him for some offense; never call your young (puppy stage) dog without a treat in your hand. Oh and one more: always call with a pleasant tone. Finally, until you know your dog is recall perfect, never allow him off leash somewhere he can escape and be hurt – ie: an unfenced yard.

On the barking in a crate: all my dogs have done this at one point or another as puppies. My current puppy (15 weeks) can have the worst temper tantrums of any dog I’ve owned. She gets so worked up she actually starts throwing herself against the side of the crate! This is after she’s had a full day of fun/work; been fed; has toys and chewies in the crate and everything else is good. After trying other things that didn’t work, I now turn off the lights and TV and leave the room. It’s amazing how quickly she settles down once the audience is gone! Two nights of this and she has cut her tantrum down to less than 2 minutes.

BTW: I totally agree with the other posters who suggest that this is a normal stage in training. I think all dogs try to push the boundaries from time to time. It’s no big deal unless we make it into one.

 

[doggiedad]

no i wasn't saying treat him for misbehaving. i was thinking your dog wanted to do something else rather than be crated. if my dog did that (he never did, brags) i would have played with him in some sort of way. i'm not looking at like he's misbehaving, i'm looking at it like he's smart and he's trying to tell you something and that something might be, don't put me in the crate, play with me, pet me, throw the ball anything but the crate. he's going to wind up in the crate, bottom line. is this behavior something new, is there a pattern or did he do it that one time????

 

[middleofnowhere]

I'm with doggiedad on this one.

To get your pup to consistently come when called, you need to do something more interesting that end the fun when he comes. Think about it. These are not dumb critters that we have. Change your routine! After all, if you wanted a robot, you could have bought a robot.

 

[DSudd]

Doggie dad yes this was something new. DH and I always spend at least 2 hours with him in the morning before we go to work. We play, train, pet, etc. I was shocked that he carried on like that.

 

[onyx'girl]

How old is Apollo now? Puppies are hyped, especially working lines, need to do something at all times. I think you were spoiled

by such a well behaved puppy, now you are finding he really is what he is ~~ a puppy!!

 

[DSudd]

Yes Rocky was much easier. He is 10 weeks old as of friday. He is definitely a little hyper furball.