Course Details
Our dogs transition through several phases across their lifetime; from a behavior perspective, adolescence is perhaps the phase with the most potential to cause disruption in a household and can really test our skills as a trainer.
The transition through adolescence is accompanied by physical changes, endocrinological changes, and neurological changes. These changes often cause many of our dog’s observable behaviors to change also.
For most dogs, adolescence brings with it significant changes to motivation, preferences, energy levels, ability to focus, emotion regulation, impulse control, and decision-making skills. To successfully navigate training sessions and home life during our dog’s adolescent phase, we may need to adjust aspects of our dog’s training and management.
Many of the overt and challenging behaviors exhibited during adolescence are driven by frustration; increased evidence of frustration is common at this time due to our dog struggling with conflicting motivations, and/or due to them being blocked from engaging in the (inappropriate / unsafe) activities they would choose to undertake. The intensity of the emotions and urges experienced at this time, together with the adolescent dog’s reduced ability for impulse control, frequently leads to “undesirable” and challenging behaviors that the human needs to manage or modify. The exact behaviors exhibited will depend on the individual dog’s coping style as well as other factors influenced by genetics and prior learning. Some of the behaviors are only evident in training scenarios, whereas others are evident in day-to-day life. Common examples include:
* Reverting to performing behaviors that had previously ceased during early training (e.g. jumping up on people, pulling/lunging when on leash, mouthing / nipping / grabbing, etc.)
* Excessive barking and/or whining.
* Destructive behaviors (e.g. digging, ripping up objects, etc.)
* Unable to maintain a stay or other durational behavior for as long as they previously could, particularly when “distractions” are added.
* Unable to focus or remain attentive for more than brief periods unless the task is intrinsically motivating.
* Reduced interest in their human, combined with increased interest in the environment.
* Lower levels of perseverance when “challenged” during training (i.e. rapidly disconnecting from training at the first moment of confusion / frustration / uncertainty – resulting in either zoomies, running off to visit people/dogs/items, wandering off sniffing, leaving and lying down, leaving and hiding, the development of avoidance behaviors, etc.).
* An apparent deterioration of previously “known” behaviors (e.g. not able to follow “known” cues, not able to perform a fast or reliable recall, etc.)
* In some dogs we may also start to see aggressive responses occurring that were not previously present. These may be directed at other dogs or humans.
In many cases the behaviors are “normal”, even though they may differ from the behaviors the same dog exhibited in the puppy and juvenile phase.
Adolescence can be an extremely challenging time for both the dog and their human/s. Sadly in the pet dog sector adolescence is the primary developmental phase where re-homing and relinquishment occurs. In the dog training sector, it is the phase where handler’s skills and emotions can get pushed to the limit. Having our dog emerge into adulthood as a confident, capable, relaxed, and well-rounded individual requires us to be strategic in our training and management during the adolescent phase.
In this session we will discuss the reasons why it may be beneficial to adjust our training strategies during our dog’s adolescent phase, and exactly how we can go about making those adjustments. We will also discuss the pros and cons of “increased management” during adolescence.
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$19.95 - This pre-recorded presentation including lecture and Q&A will show in your Webinar Library after purchase.
About the Presenter:
Sharon has been a professional animal trainer for over 30 years. She has been both a presenter and trainer in a range of animal shows, and currently operates a dog training and behavior consulting business based in Newcastle, Australia.
Intent on really understanding animals better Sharon completed a Bachelor of Applied Science (Equine), a Graduate Diploma (Captive Vertebrate Management – wildlife and exotics) and a Master of Animal Science.
Sharon is a fully certified behavior consultant with the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC) for both dogs (CDBC) and horses (CHBC) and is a certified professional dog trainer - CPDT-KA.
Sharon guest lectures to post-graduate veterinarians and behaviorists at several universities and organizations on the topics of animal behavior, training, species-specific cognition, welfare, and psychological trauma in animals.
Sharon’s work as a behavior consultant covers a diverse range of behavioral “issues” in the pet dog and sport dog communities, but her primary focus nowadays is working with dogs displaying significant aggression (dog-to-human and dog-to-dog), and also working with a mix of species in cases where the animal is performing behaviors associated with fear or anxiety.
Sharon is an FDSA faculty member, routinely presenting in the school of behavior. Many of Sharon’s classes, webinars, and workshops focus on working with dogs that perceive and process information in a slightly different way to a “typical” dog and hence may require a slightly different approach in order to be successful.
In every case, Sharon’s primary aim is to help the humans to understand the underlying cause for their dog’s behavior, and to use both management and training to achieve a better outcome for both the dog and their human family.
Sharon currently competes in several dog sports with her three standard poodles Jericho, Vincent, and Kane.
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