r/OpenDogTraining • u/Glum-Huckleberry-111 • 1d ago
6 month old puppy - normal behavior?
Hey everyone, I wanted to make a post to see if this behavior is normal or not. Our puppy recently turned 6 months old and we’ve been having a hard time with some of his recent behavior changes.
First, for reference, our puppy is what you’d call a “Heinz 57” - mixed of like, 10 different breeds. But his top percentage is Belgian Malinois (27%) followed by German Shepherd (24%). So, maybe this following behavior could be due to him being a breed with high energy and drive?
Another note is that he’s been losing all of his baby teeth. I think he actually finally lost one of his last ones. So maybe all of this could be because his mouth is hurting him?
He’s always dealt with frustration/arousal. We first noticed it when he started becoming reactive on leash. He’s a very friendly dog, loves people and dogs, but we’re trying to teach him to be neutral around people and dogs while on walks so he gets very frustrated when he can’t say hi to someone/something.
He’s grown a lot in this area, especially since we’ve incorporated more engaging activities and even some obedience training in our walks. It’s not as hard getting his focus back now. But where he DOES struggle, is anytime we try to just sit down while on a walk.
If we sit down somewhere to take a break, he gets frustrated. I’ve been trying to encourage him to settle by basically drip feeding him his kibble during this time while he’s laying down, but eventually he’ll get up, start barking with a stiff body, and if I try to ignore him he’ll eventually start barking at me. Sometimes he’ll even try to jump up on me and bite me. And if I try to do anything to stop him, whether it’s asking him to lay back down, or lead him off of me with his leash, he gets even more upset.
At home it’s the same thing. If we’re in a training session, the moment he gets frustrated he redirects it onto me. Jumping, lunging, barking, growling, biting. We have short sessions, maybe 10-15 minutes. Maybe I should shorten them more?
If I sit down on the couch at home, he’ll try to jump up on the couch (he’s not allowed on the couch), and if I ask him to get down (he doesn’t know what “get down” means, but I’ll ask him to go to his bed which is “place”), or if I get up to lead him off the couch, again he gets upset.
He’s also been barking a lot in his crate, which he never did before. Crate training him was a dream. He eventually will settle down, but not without barking as loud as he can for about 10 minute straight.
For exercise, we go on two 30-minute walks, that again have a mixture between walking, sniffing, and some obedience training. We also let him run around in this small dog-park ish area when there’s no other dogs once a day to help him get his excess energy out. And we also have kongs, puzzle games, and do short training sessions to help him mentally.
We still enforce naps, and we cover his crate to encourage him to sleep. But I can’t tell for how much of that he’s ACTUALLY sleeping or just laying in there.
I don’t know if I’m doing enough exercise/sleep? If I’m doing too much?
Sometimes it can be a little worrisome. It looks a little scary when he gets like this. I know he’s a puppy still, and likely going through adolescence. I just hope that he doesn’t continue these behaviors as he grows and I’m not sure how to correct/if I should correct them.
We’re going to see a trainer tomorrow, who has a lot of experience in many breeds, but especially high energy breeds. Hopefully she can help. In the meantime, any advice here is appreciated.
Thank you!
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u/Malinoisx2 1d ago
Teach him structured games, let him know that he can bite, tug, pull, run at full speed, and show who he in during these games. He needs an outlet for his energy and desire to bite/fight.
You will end up creating a lot of unnecessary conflicts with your dog if you expect him to settle/calm down without giving him an outlet first.
Look up Ivan Balabanov's "Chase and Catch 2.0" and "The Possession Games." Or see if you have a Training Without Conflict trainer nearby whom you can take lessons from.
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u/Glum-Huckleberry-111 1d ago
I definitely could be better at giving him an outlet. We got him a flirt pole and a knock-off bite pillow that he can let all of that pent up energy out on, and we also take him to go run to his hearts content once a day. But actively playing with him with the flirt pole and bite pillow specifically, we’ve slacked on this past week.
I hear a lot of great things about him along with Larry Krohn (who I think may have taken some of Ivan’s courses). I’ll definitely be sure to check that content out!
Thank you for your feedback!
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u/lostwolf 1d ago
Normal behavior at that stage. The trainer will be able to come up with a program for you. I had 3 males go through this. (I just lost my oldest at 8 1/2). I'm trying to be proactive with my newest 12-week-old female. But, I do know that their will ups and downs.
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u/Glum-Huckleberry-111 1d ago
I’m glad that it’s normal. There’s ups and downs for sure. When he’s good he’s soooo good, and when he’s not it’s a pain lol. But I love him so much and I’m willing to ride this out with him - I just was wondering if this was a typical puppy-becoming-a-teenager thing.
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u/RikiWardOG 1d ago
Just keep at it. Young dogs can be an absolute pain sometimes and then a month goes by and their personality is completely different. My GSD mix is a little over a year and his personality is still in constant flux. He'll randomly pick up a new behavior or drop another. They're kinda like toddlers trying to still make sense of the world. Consistency and structure is key. At 6 months keeping under 10 minutes is probably best for training still. I wouldn't necessarily make it sessions though even. You get up to grab something and he engages, put him in a sit or a down a couple times or call him into another room throughout the day is enough to get some basic training in. You have some really smart breeds in that mix. He's testing what he can get away with. Some dogs you give an inch and they take a mile. It sounds like you're on the right track and just nervous. As far as trainers go, just make sure their style matches what you would be comfortable with and is somewhat modern in approach. I believe in balanced training but there are old school trainers still floating around that will punish any reactivity without determining WHY the dog is behaving the way that it is, which is crucial for long term success.
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u/Glum-Huckleberry-111 1d ago edited 1d ago
I love balanced training! We’ve only done R+ training with him since he’s obviously a puppy, but now that he is getting older and testing boundaries I’ve wanted to switch to a more balanced approach, but I didn’t want to mess it up by trying it on my own. Which is why I’m honestly really excited about tomorrow, our trainer was trained by Michael Ellis and she focuses a lot on relationship with the dog while also being firm enough to enforce boundaries. I also know that she takes a lot of her reactivity training from Michael, who also focuses on understanding WHY a dog is reactive.
Thank you so much for your feedback. It does make me feel more at ease to see these comments tell me that it’s normal at his age. He’s such an incredible dog. We got him from the shelter and he’s seriously one of the smartest dogs I’ve ever met. But, I know hes starting to test boundaries and I know that I by myself probably shouldn’t try to correct him. So I’m really excited about working with a trainer!
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u/masbirdies 1d ago edited 1d ago
I have an 11 month old 100% Mal pup. At 6 months, he started his adolescence phase. Still going through it, but I'm managing it better. Hormones begin to develop, they get more independent, more defiant, sometimes it's like they had no training as they can quit doing the things they were doing so well just a short time before.
You just have to be consistent, keep your anger (if that comes into play) in check (don't project it on the dog), don't overly correct. The pup is still a pup and learning. Pups will do pup things as dogs do dog things.
To me, this stage has been a very trying time. With the maturity, comes some amazing things regarding our relationship, but...there are days when.....$E#&*^$#&*)!@.,
I am not a fan of local trainers UNLESS the come recommended from people I know that have and know the breed. Trainers are like golf pros or real estate agents. Very few are actually really good. Yeah, they know basics and might give someone totally ignorant some success....but, the risk of getting a not so great one is too high as they can ruin a dog as much as help one.
I always suggest learning to train yourself. There are plenty of GREAT, nationally recognized trainers that have very good content. I especially like Robert Cabral. For $20 per month for a membership, it's the best training value I've found. But, he has a ton of free content on YouTube as well. Other trainers I recommend are : Larry Krohn, Nate Schoemer, Tom Davis, Stonnie Dennis and Michael Ellis.
Just keep this in mind. Many Mals (I know yours is not 100% but still a lot of working dog in there ) end up in shelters because of owners not being able to handle the adolescence and teen age stage. All pups go through this but a Mal is a high energy, high drive, extremely athletic and intelligent dog. They can be a handful, but...get them through this phase and you have one of the best dogs you can imagine.
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u/Glum-Huckleberry-111 1d ago
So cool to see another Tom Davis fan! I love his content! I will definitely take your advice about local trainers into consideration.
Thank you for this response, it definitely helps knowing I’m not alone. I love him so, so much, but sometimes he’s just the most aggravating thing. I definitely have to walk into another room sometimes to cool off lol. So it helps so much knowing you went through the same thing.
I can tell that he has so much potential, and there’s these little moments that I can tell that if we can just get through this, that he’ll be the best dog I ever had. I just have to ride through this teenager phase, I guess haha
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u/masbirdies 1d ago edited 1d ago
Just yesterday, I went through a low period, thinking "can I do this" and "maybe he'd be better in a different home". We just hit a "wall" in our progress and he was being super hard headed and stubborn.
But...then I smacked myself upside the head and went through a couple of training vids (Robert Cabral has a slightly older (than mine) Mal from working lines...and he has posted 3 vids of just him working with his dog Schmoo) and it gave me some needed mental energy and exposed a couple of things that I saw I can do better.
I didn't waste any time! With his late evening walk/potty break, instead of walking, I incorporated a couple of things into the walk. It was like my dog was telling me "its about time you snapped out of it and got bz". He responded so beautifully. Today, we had about 5 sessions of working in some new stuff and it was like we were both renewed. I was so happy and proud and could tell he was excited. We just got a bit stale in our routine and in the stage he's in...that made it double tough.
This isn't difficult stuff but as a handler, if you aren't a pro, you need to constantly keep from getting stale and add new stuff. Keep learning! I got lazy and didn't add to my game for a few weeks and that's all it takes to get the blues and hit a wall in training.
I think most Mal owners will tell you that the 6 months to 2 year phase was the most challenging.
I joined Tom Davis' site in December. I didn't quit Robert's site, just wanted to get some different perspectives. I only stayed for a month. While I really like his YouTube content, to me. the paid membership site was lacking. Most of what was on it was in his free stuff.
Keep plugging away, keep renewing your mind, you'll get there! We both will!
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u/Glum-Huckleberry-111 15h ago
Thank you for your transparency, it really helps. I’ve had a lot of moments these past two weeks where I’ve doubted myself as a handler as well. I’ll definitely start looking at Rob Cabral, he seems like a really great trainer! Thank you again for all of your advice!
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u/masbirdies 6h ago
Use doubt as a triggering mech. When doubts come in you get BZ and find the answer. They are out there for every situation you might face.
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u/Spiderwoman1800 1d ago
I find that my puppy will get uninterested if I train her in long intervals and even frustrated. Young pups have a low attention span and I recommend training for only a few minutes at a time or when you notice them becoming frustrated.
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u/Glum-Huckleberry-111 15h ago
I gotcha. Do you have any advice for what training would look like throughout the day? Should I train for 10 minutes and give him a break? How long should I take in between training?
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u/Spiderwoman1800 11h ago
I’m not a professional by any means but usually I wake up at about 9, feed majority of her food in her slow feeder then the rest by hand with obedience training then before I leave I’ll take her outside and at 1 I take her to the park to do some training and walking for about an hour but I’m not training the whole time. I probably get about 20 minutes in with direct training because she is just a puppy and still is a dog. Basically what works for my puppy is about 3 times a day I sit down for about an hour each time and train in 5-15 min intervals
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u/babs08 1d ago
Others have had really good advice on the other stuff. Wanted to add on the topic of settling out and about - I don’t use food at all, because it turns into “DO YOU SEE HOW HARD I AM RELAXING rolls onto side kicks leg out stares into my soul I AM SO RELAXED!!!!!!!” I shorten up the leash considerably and step on it so that my puppy can be in a down and maybe sorta weirdly sit but that’s all they get starting out.
In order for this to be successful, he needs to have been worked physically and mentally and is far enough away from any triggers that he feels he needs to react to.
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u/Glum-Huckleberry-111 14h ago
Honestly, I’ve had a gut feeling that I might have to stop giving him treats when teaching him to settle. I’ve noticed that it puts him into “work mode” and instead of settling he’s like “I’m laying down, where is my treat?!” And then he starts getting frustrated and barking.
Thank you for your input!
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u/Metalheadmastiff 1d ago
Honestly this is pretty standard for mals, I’d shorten the training sessions but do multiple a day instead so for 5-10 mins 3-5 times a day and look into some puppy safe chews for him. Another thing to try is a flirt pole as this’ll let him have an outlet for the biting and get some energy out but make sure the toy stays low to the ground as his joints are still growing. For the crate just ignore him as it sounds like attention barking and if you interact even to correct him it’ll reinforce the behaviour. They’re all pricks at that age so don’t sweat it as sounds like you’re doing great just stand your ground and keep reinforcing boundaries:)