Your cute little bundle of puppy joy has grown and though still a young dog your puppy has reached adolescence. ‘Teenagehood’ in dogs may not technically exist but many dog owners would report this age and phase of a dog’s life can certainly be somewhat similar to coping with a wayward teen! In our latest blog Scientific Nutritional Products looks at the mechanisms for coping with and boosting the support we give to our adolescent dogs in our top tips guide.
Is your young dog simply tearing up your furniture, your garden, and depleting the contents of your wallet? The young dog love to explore the world and typically between 6-18 months our puppies begin to test boundaries. Adolescence is simply a stage in your puppy’s life and it will pass but dogs are learning all the time and if owners don’t teach them how they would like them to behave, chances are unwanted behaviours will last a lifetime!
Here are our top tips to avoid have a pesky pooch long term!
Scientific Nutritional Products' Five Top Tips for Coping with Adolescent Dogs
1.) Be consistent with your training. If your use commands and cues, make sure you are consistent and try to get everyone who handles your dog to follow your methods. This makes it much easier for your dog to understand what you want from them!
2.) Praise and encourage your dog when they get something right or behave well. This sets your dog up for success and ensures good behaviour equals a positive experience for our young canine friends.
3.) Young dogs use their mouth to explore the world. Save your books, handbags and shoes by taking responsibility for keeping your belongings out of reach of your dog and provide ample appropriate thing for your dog to chew. If your dog shows less interest in the toys they are meant to have, rather than items they aren’t invest in some food-releasing toys, this is bound to increase motivation to play and chew these items!
4.) Give your dog enough physical and mental exercise. They are less likely to be destructive at home if they have expended their energy in more suitable pursuits such as walks, toys and regular training sessions. Why not set up agility courses or join a group, or get together with other dog owners to do group walks?
5.) Remember, dogs are clever! This means they can bored so it is important to rotate toys around regularly. Ensure the same toys are not always available and simply rotate your stash! We know that dogs love a new toy and if they have not seen it for 5 days it is often as good as new and will keep your dog interested.
Young dogs may also benefit from additional supplements in their diet to achieve ideal health and wellbeing. Scientific Nutritional Products manufacture a very effective Glucosamine for Dogs Supplement called Canine Joint Right which contains optimum Glucosamine for Dogs, Chondroitin, MSM, Hyaluronic Acid and Omega 3 promoting joint health to improve mobility and comfort.
For more information or to receive one-to-one advice specific to your dog contact our nutritional specialists on FREEPHONE 0800 032 7774 or Tel: 01377 254900.
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