Dog puberty is a thing that troubles many an owner. A cute puppy suddenly becomes a leggy long-legged dog that seems to have been replaced. He doesn't listen, he's naughty, he runs away... But does it have to be like that? First of all, it must be said that puberty is a natural part of dog and human development. And it should be treated as such. As natural. In our culture, puberty is often seen as something bad and annoying. And it doesn't matter whether we're talking about children or dogs. They're "ill-mannered teenagers, they're being bludgeoned by hormones and they should just calm down!" How many times have you heard any of this, or even used it yourself? But if we think of puberty that way, it's going to be a real ordeal. And it's going to be a real ordeal for our dog. I remember two distinct moments from my own adolescence. The first came right at the beginning. I was riding the bus home from school and thinking about everything that had happened at school today, what someone had said, what they must have meant, what would happen when I got home... And then I thought, "That's it! Why are you still thinking about it? You're always thinking about everything lately! It was so cool when you didn't think about anything and just took things as they came." Well, yeah, I could tell myself that, but it was never the same. At a certain age, puberty comes, hormones kick in and everything is new, different, complicated... The second moment was a fight with my mom. She sent me with the trash can and I got mad that I was always the only one with it and my sister always found an excuse. I really fumed, yelled at her, and - well, I had what I guess we'll all call a "teenage meltdown." And you know what? I felt terrible! I didn't want to act like that. I didn't want to deal with that kind of crap, I didn't want to scream, I didn't want my blood pressure to go up, my stress hormones to come out. It was all very uncomfortable mentally and physically. On top of that, the climb took place in the hallway of a block of flats and I ended up having to run up one floor, sit on the stairs, cry and wait for my stress hormones to get back to some acceptable levels. I didn't want everyone to hear me, for those who came out to see me. But I couldn't do anything else in that moment. We don't usually think about how the person feels and why they act the way they do. We only see that it's bothersome to us. That he's "hitting puberty." Dogs are just like people. They can't choose whether or not they will have puberty, or how exactly it will take place. At a certain age, hormones start to kick in, their bodies start to react to them, everything is suddenly different and often very complex. So being dismissive and contemptuous of this change in him is not going to help anything. On the contrary, you're only widening the gap between you. I know it's hard with dogs at puberty. They go deaf, stop responding to commands and often behave completely unpredictably. But try not to get too upset. Instead, count on it. Secure your dog with a leash or long line. This will prevent a lot of trouble and inconvenience. And be patient. That doesn't mean waiting for it all to pass. Keep training, find new ways to motivate, get your dog used to distractions, but be patient. The dog is not playing tricks on you. He's just doing what he does. What comes naturally to him. Females often experience a huge calming down after the first or second play session. It's not so easy with dogs. But overall, the best behavioral changes come with adulthood. When the dog becomes comfortable with his body, his head and the world around him. And that's not something that comes in a few weeks or a few months. But depending on the breed, it's a matter of a few years. Until then, be patient and focus on how great your dog is. What a great partner you have in him. Even if it seems like you're the last thing in the world to him. And above all, be supportive. Show him the world and give him room to make mistakes. Be understanding. Don't rush to world-class performance. We've all had puberty, so let's give it to our dogs. Educate them, train them, without that, nothing will change even with adulthood. But be patient and anticipate the unpredictable. That's the best thing you can do with a dog's puberty.

Pulling on the leash can be caused by many things: the dog overreacts to its surroundings, whether out of joy, aggression or fear; the dog is not used to the environment and is too distracted; no one has taught it how to behave on the leash; and more. And one of the causes that many owners are not aware of is the choice of inappropriate equipment. Too short leashes tend to be a big problem. The dog needs to be familiar with the surroundings during the walk and informed about possible dangers, food sources and other important things. This is natural. We do the same when we go out and look around. But unlike humans, dogs don't orient themselves as much by sight. Their dominant sense is smell. That's why they need to smell things. They use their noses to find out who's passed in front of them and what they were like. Whether they should be wary of him or whether he's a harmless old man. They know who's been marking where and decide whether to cover their mark or not. And they also know if anything to eat ran by here, and if so, how long ago. Dogs can take in far more information with their noses than we can with our eyes. But they need space to do that. They need to be able to sniff the grass along the path, mark a tree, examine at least part of the trail left behind. And short leashes often don't allow them to do that. They don't need much. Very often, a slightly longer leash will eliminate much of the hassle of pulling. For a normal walk around town, a leash of 2-3 metres will be ideal. This will give the dog plenty of room to explore and you can easily shorten it if necessary. Such a leash is also ideal when working with reactive dogs, as it gives them a feeling of greater freedom and security. As if they can escape from an unpleasant situation at any time. But when choosing one, don't just look at the length, but also the width and material. You need to choose a leash that will hold the dog and fit well in your hand. Narrow leashes, on the other hand, often cut into the hand and make it impossible to hold it firmly. The second necessity is a harness or collar. For dogs that pull or lunge forward unexpectedly on the leash, I recommend using a well-fitting harness. This will protect the sensitive parts of their neck, which often suffer greatly in the pull. Unfortunately, problems with an overloaded cervical spine or a stressed thyroid gland usually only become apparent after a long period of time. At the point when the dog's health problems are unbearable and it is necessary to move immediately to expensive and demanding treatment. However, even a harness can help in unlearning pulling. Although it is easier for a dog to pull in a harness, if he is not used to it, he may not pull on it at first. This is due to the fact that he suddenly feels pulling and rubbing on unaccustomed parts of his body. It is similar to a small puppy getting used to a collar. He often stops, doesn't want to go any further, scratches himself. Similarly, many dogs do not pull on the harness. But this period is unlikely to last forever. Eventually the dog will get used to the harness and will pull on it as well. But if you are starting out with a harness, it can be a huge help. Then all you have to do is encourage the dog to walk calmly on the leash, reward it sufficiently and the dog will learn everything very quickly. Of course, a longer leash and harness won't always be the solution and many dogs will need consistent training. But very often I find that these two elements solve a large part of the problems associated with pulling on the leash.

There is lots and lots of advice on how to live with dogs, how to train them, how to be a "good leader". Often contradictory. For me, the most important one is the only one. Don't fight. Don't fight with your dog, don't try to trick him and don't discuss too much. Try to think of someone in your life who has been a good leader for you. Someone who taught you, inspired you and who you felt comfortable, free and happy to work with. For someone it was a parent, for another a favourite teacher, a tutor, a leader in a club or at a children's camp... Think of him or her and tell me what he or she was like. I'd venture to guess he was calm. He wasn't a temper tantrum, he didn't swear for every stupid thing, in fact, he didn't swear at all. He could laugh and he was fun to be with, but when he said something, it was valid. Not because you were afraid of him. Not because he threatened you with punishment or punished disobedience. Just because he said it. You knew he didn't say things he didn't mean or that weren't important. He wasn't sending you to bed to get a break from you, but because you and he were tired and needed to sleep. He didn't give you assignments that were too hard so that he could then berate you for mistakes. But he gave you tasks that were so hard to show you that you could do much more than you thought. And he supported you in doing them. He led you to new activities, new skills. You were eager to learn from him and looked forward to each lesson. And he certainly never argued with you. He didn't try to trick you. He was direct and fair, and you always knew where you stood. Sometimes he was angry, too. But he didn't get angry for no reason, and he didn't stay angry for long. He was fair and he could admit his own mistake. And he didn't argue with you. He didn't try to provoke you or trick you. He didn't fight what you wanted, or what your nature was. Instead, he looked for compromises and ways you could both be happy. And that's exactly the kind of leader your dog deserves. I have to say, it really saddens me how many times people come to me trying to trick a dog into something and wondering if it's not working. How unfairly they treat him and think he won't notice. If you're reading these lines, you're probably not a person who wants to take out your frustrations on a dog. Who wouldn't take a dog as a partner and a friend. Yet very often we don't treat them that way. If a dog does something you don't like, what do you do? Do you punish it? I can't count the number of times people have asked me about the proper way to punish a dog. But only a really small number of people will ask how to actually teach the dog. Like it's all his fault. As if all the responsibility is on him and they have no choice but to punish him. Yet they themselves have not accepted the responsibility to teach the dog the right behavior. They didn't think about the fact that any mistake is primarily their fault, not their dog's fault. They overestimated him, they didn't assess the situation, they didn't teach the behaviour well enough. Or maybe they just didn't accept that we all make mistakes. Please don't fight with your dogs. Look for common ground.

They say that habit is an iron shirt. And it's as true for dogs as it is for people. They like their habits, their certainties and their regularity. It helps them feel safe and comfortable. And it would be a shame not to take advantage of that! A stereotype helps fearful dogs a lot. A regular routine, a familiar place to rest, walks to the same places. It is through this stereotype that we can help them feel calm and confident in everyday life. On the other hand, we can help over-sovereign dogs by breaking this stereotype. Taking them to new and unusual places, changing their daily routine or washing their bed frequently. Certain habits can help us control them. If your dog is used to walking you rather than you walking him when you come home from work, it will be really hard to change his behaviour at this point. On the other hand, if you manage to create the habit that your dog is already focused on you when you leave the house, that you give each other a lot of attention outside and cooperate, it will be easy to work with him even when you are not in the mood. I often see this at the training ground. In the beginning there is a dog who is not at all responsive to his owner, doesn't take treats, ignores toys. And we have to make a really big effort to get him used to paying us that attention, playing with us, or training for treats. But once the dog gets used to it, the job becomes awfully easy. We don't have to draw attention to the toy for a long time, just show it to the dog. The treats no longer have to be scented sausages, but just plain kibble and the dog is ready to cooperate with us in advance. I'm not saying that it's easy to create such a habit. But if you persevere, you'll get an awful lot back. Any good habit will make your job much easier in the future. And it doesn't matter if it's a habit of paying attention to you outside, of being used to playing with you outside, or just getting used to being told to stop before the road. It's a habit, and that's an iron shirt. If you build it up, it will be very difficult for the dog to break. And little rituals that prepare the dog for future events can help a lot. It can be the preparation of training aids. My dogs are very good at knowing when I'm preparing a tracking lead for a walk, and when I'm preparing a tracking lead for trail work. When we go for a walk and when we train. When I want them to look for a dropped object and when to work on the trail. Simply because I behave a little differently for each activity and always the same. So I prepare them in advance for what's to come. And they know. They prepare themselves internally and it makes it much easier to work with them. A lot of people will say that the dog has to obey and work the same way all the time. But even we don't perform the same. It's different answering an email on a weekday morning and doing the same thing on Sunday after lunch. While it's not challenging, our willingness to work, commitment, and drafting of the email will vary. And the same is true with the dogs. I'm not saying you can only ask your dog to stop on the side of the road in familiar places where he has a well established habit. But it will be easiest there. And if you really only train it in a few select places, the dog won't generalize it to every road, that's something to remember. Likewise, if your dog is regularly pulling frantically on the lead at the start of a walk, not paying the slightest attention to you, and sniffing every corner, you'd be better off starting by changing this whole behaviour and gradually replacing it with attention, rather than just concentrating on walking calmly on the lead. Šárka Ševčíková Ozzoteam.cz