# 1 year old dog - behavior just took a turn for the worst!



## jBlaze3000 (Jul 16, 2010)

Hello, first time poster here. I have a 1 year old lab/springer mix and I am hoping to get some advise on a recent change in behavior. Here is the story:

This past winter (Minnesota) we had our dog inside mostly all winter except for a couple of weekly walks on the leash. Needless to say, she was a bit of a terror in the house. 

Come spring, we bought a "Chuck-it" ball thrower and it was a godsend. She loves it and after half a dozen throws she doesn't even need to be on the leash when we walk through our local park. Her behavior was awesome and she even got good enough to where we would leave her out of the kennel when we left the house. In the past month she has been on a couple of camping trips with us and has been off of the leash almost the entire time (not bad for a 1 year old puppy IMO). 

The problem is now whenever we go somewhere without her, even if only for a hour or less, she terrorizes the house (chews up shoes/ remotes/ anything she can get a hold of and goes to the bathroom on our carpets). To me, I feel like she's doing it out of anger because we're not taking her with us. 

Just in the past week she's started whining to go outside constantly and sometimes she'll go in the house only minutes after she's let in. I began to think that maybe she has some sort of infection but it only seems to happen on days we don't walk her. She was fully potty trained (6 months without an accident) until her recent change in behavior.

Any ideas of why this is happening and how to correct it? I feel like we are good dog owners but somedays we just don't have time to walk her with our busy schedules.


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## Chevy16 (Sep 16, 2009)

I understand what your going through, i have a 1 year old boxer and he is great. i hardly need him on a leash when were at places(unless its a law around or he has to be on one). i started letting him out of his cage when he was maybe 10mths.. he was doing great.. around a month ago. he started chewing everything in site when he was left at home, even if i thought there was nothing around he could chew he found something.. I believe they get to stages where they test you, i would start right back from square 1. back to crate training. thats what we did. and he is still in his cage to this day. we only let him out when we just run down the road quickly ... eventually if will be out of his cage, but for now hes in his cage. 

chevy also started peeing random places.. like on his blanket once on the couch. they do go through stages.. and he goes outside alot when where home..so its not like where not letting him out.. we are.

i say you have to go back to square 1 training


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## jBlaze3000 (Jul 16, 2010)

It sounds like your going through the same thing we are (for me, the random place she peed was the pillow on my bed). I swear they act just like teenagers testing their boundaries. I even wondered if the change in behavior was from Lyme disease or something (since we had been out in the woods a lot) but it sounds like this may be a common thing with dogs this age. We brought the kennel back out of the rafters this morning! Thanks for the reply!


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## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

Your dogs went from young children to teen-agers that's all.


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## katielou (Apr 29, 2010)

How much are you walking her?
A couple of walks a week are not enough for a lab! It needs to be an hour a day at the least!

Crate train the dog so that she can be kept safe while you are gone.


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## LaLady (Jul 14, 2010)

From 6-18 months (sometimes until 2 1/2 years or 3 years) dogs are adolesents. If they are not trustworthy in the house, crate them. It is not a punishment. It makes them feel secure and safe. It also prevents them from chewing on things that could hurt them. Dogs do not have human emotions and do not do things out of spite. Don't crate for more than 4 hours at a time. Leave a stuffed kong or chew toy in the crate with talk radio on softly. Sleep with a blanket and then leave it in the crate for a familiar smell. Dogs are pack animals and do not like to be left alone. They get bored and that is why they chew. They are also teething for part of this adolecent stage. Hope that helps.


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## jBlaze3000 (Jul 16, 2010)

Well, I walk her about 5 days a week which consists of going to the park and throwing the "chuck-it" ball until she's dead tired. My wife and kids are home during the day and take her for walks on the leash almost every day too (they're scared to let her off the leash). I assume when you guys talk about "crating" the dog you mean put them in a kennel but what does "crate training" a dog consist of? We used to kennel her during the day when we weren't home, then we had her confined to just the kitchen, then we let her have free roam in the house. She did great for a long time and would pretty much just sleep all day. Now we can't even go in the yard without her whining, barking, and making weird noises that would make you think she's on the verge of death.

I understand that dogs don't have human emotions but when she peed on my pillow after not having an accident for 6 months, I would have sworn it was out of spite. Thanks again!


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## Cracker (May 25, 2009)

Not spite, stress. Changes in schedules, changes in how often the humans are or are not around, stress of neurological age related changes etc. The dog you get at THREE years of age is the dog you'll have..up until then there are a lot of things that can go wrong or go well depending on continued training and patience.

Yes, young dogs go through a second chewing stage around adolescence, so it is common to have a dog that SEEMS housesafe/housetrained and then suddenly seems to revert. It's back to supervision and confinement at that point, making sure the young dog has lots of appropriate chew outlets. The yelling when you go out in the yard could certainly be minor separation stress, he's used to having someone around at all times..it is important to make you guys going out rewarding to him (again supply him with an appropriate outlet, like a stuffed kong) and keep the jaunts short and frequent to build up his tolerance and his knowledge that you WILL be back. Keep greetings and leavings non events, no effusive goodbyes or hellos. Ignoring him just before you leave and when you come back for several minutes helps reduce his excitement.

You also may want to contemplate adding some more training to the regimen. A chuck it is great, but does little to occupy the MIND of the dog. Clicker training is a great way to build fun skills and the kids can participate. Mental exercise goes a long way to a relaxed dog.

Hope some of this information works for you.
Good luck.


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