Do dogs go through stages?

[coco-bean]

So i know some people say terrible twos come into play, but coco seems to be going through a phase, or at least i'd like to think it is a phase! she seems to be doing alot of stuff wrong lately! she already has her adult teeth so she isnt chewing because of teeth coming through but she just chews and chews on things that she never chewed on before and things she knows the isnt supposed to chew on!
Is this a phase? will it end...soon? Can i expect this with the other two as well?
She just doesnt chew, she isnt listening, isnt cooperative, and acting like she has no idea what we are saying to her! I say Sit...she looks at me like...uhhhh huh? or i say down...and she jumps up! but this is all stuff she knows, she knows basic comands and is very good at them, but she is just being stubborn and rebelious! help...my house is falling apart! (so to speak)

[agilityk9trainer]

I take it Coco is around nine/ten months old? Dogs do go through stages. Coco is in adolesense, and the things you've described are classic. Dogs hit adolesense at sexual maturity, which is around six months old, and it lasts until they are about18 months to three years old, depending on the breed. For a Lab, I would be looking at around two and a half years old.

You just have to work through it with patience and love. Don't get frustrated. During this time, your dog may forget simple commands. Just retrain those commands. They will catch on the second time much more quickly. This isn't rebellion. Dogs just simply do seem to suddently "forget" some basic commands. Retraining gets these behaviors back. Getting frustrated and angry just destroys the bond between your dog and yourself.

Take comfort in knowing that almost all dogs do this. I have to give this "talk" to almost all of my students at one time or another. In fact, I gave it last night!

Just be patient. Work through the problems. Realize that your dog isn't being rebellious. It's just gone in one ear and out the other!

I tell my students this analogy. Training dogs is like being a juggler. You have different behaviors on ping pong balls, and you're juggling them up in the air. One says sit, another down, another stay, etc. These are the bahviors you've trained and your dog knows very well. You're juggling all the balls, and you don't realize one has fallen down until you ask your dog to sit, and they look at you like they have no idea what you've just said. All you have to do is retrain sit, and put that ping pong ball back up in the air. You'll be juggling away, and poof, the "down" ball has fallen on the floor. You retrain that. Sometimes, you have several ping pong balls on the floor at the same time.

The good news is that over time, you'll find fewer and fewer balls are falling to the floor.

Even now, my five year old agility champion sheltie Aslan, drops a behavior now and again. I just noticed his directionals for agility getting weak. These are some of his strongest behaviors! Instead of getting upset, I started working on getting those ping pong balls back up in the air!

Good luck.

[coco-bean]

wow, i'd have to say you explain these things very well! thank you so much! and yea you are right, coco is real close to 9 months old! but again, thank you!

[agilityk9trainer]

wow, i'd have to say you explain these things very well! thank you so much! and yea you are right, coco is real close to 9 months old! but again, thank you!

You're welcome.