I have a 6 month old boxer puppy and he seems to be acting very ansy lately, and always wanting to be outside wandering around. He is not obeying as he used to and I so I think he may be entering puberty. Is this about the age it starts and if so, what can I do to calm him down some? He has always minded well and stayed near me without a leash and now i am worried he may run off..any advice-- Thanks!
Answers:
I think it may be a tad early for him to be in adolescence, but he's getting there. Dog adolescence resembles human adolescence in many ways - rebellion, new hormones... I find it helpful to remember what I was like as a teenager when my adolescent puppy looks at me, as if to say, "No, I'm not gonna sit. I'm gonna chase that bird. You're mean."
If he isn't neutered, that may help him keep from wandering.
He may be starting to test you by obeying less. Remain firm, even though he may not like it. Keep him on a leash outside if you're afraid of him running - he has to earn the right to run without a leash by behaving well. If he runs away off-leash, just start over.
Good luck!!
Yes, 6 months (on average) is the beginning of puberty. You need to back up a little and work with him on his obedience training, otherwise he could (not saying he WILL, but could)get out of control and unmanageable. Back to basics on leash!
Well if he's not castrated you are probably right, he's waking up to adult instiincts. You could castrate him- which i highly reccommend unless you plan to responsibly breed him. If you don' t have a fenced yard, fence it, or use invisble fence- i have friends that say they work great, they keep your dog in, but not other things out, i hope the lady with that question reads others q's and a's - cause i just did a 2-fer! anyway, dogs are usually physically done growing at about a year or so depending on breed. Strong active breeds, like boxers are probably adults mentally, by 2.
i have 2 rottweilers and that's about the time you need to start hard obedience training. if he's a male he's going to be challenging for dominance soon so you need nip it in the butt before he gets aggressive and if he feels hes the (alpha) male then he gets really hard to train. if you have questions about training go to your local petsmart or something like that and they have books there for your specific breed and tips on how to best train them. training takes time and alot of patience, for mine anyway up to 2 years before there mature enough and fully trained.
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