Stig taking the ****

Excuse the thread title but this is how it feels right now. I've had Stig from 8 week old and started with his obedience training early on, he did really well and at the beginning of last month I saw a massive improvement in him overall, he calmed down no end and had walks and commands sorted and his house training was going great, we had a couple of occasions where he jumped on the sofa and peed all over it but I soon put a stop to it and replaced said sofa. I was singing his praises 2 week ago but he's gone downhill and is really starting to upset me. He has a good raw diet and gets plenty of exercise (about 3hr a day) and is always around people at home and comes everywhere with us when we go out, he sleeps in the bedroom with us and has lots of toys and I often play games with him in the house.

2 week ago he starts getting horny (best way I can put it), he is constantly mounting the wifes labrador which results in her attacking him so they have been kept apart, he's humping everything he can get on to including peoples legs and is constantly trying to get to other dogs when we're out, he's also become a nightmare on the lead.

When he needed the toilet he'd whine at the back door and we'd let him out, he'd do his business then come back in again but last week he was whining to go out and would * his leg to do a little tinkle every half hour or so rather than one big one, this week he's just lost his toilet training altogether, last night he peed all over his bed, the night before we let him out and he decided he'd take a dump on the kitchen floor when he came back in and tonight he did both in the middle of the kitchen floor, he didn't make any signals that he wanted to go out and knew he'd done wrong as he ran to his bed when I entered the kitchen, the result is he is now locked in the kitchen whining and will stay there all night as I'm not prepared to risk him doing it on the new carpet or sofa and he certainly isn't getting chance to do it upstairs, the worst part is he will actually look at me then squat and continues to pee regardless of me shouting NO and chasing him to the back door. On walks he has chosen to ignore all his training, he doesn't sit at the kerbside when waiting to cross roads no matter how many times I tell him to sit (he used to sit without me telling him if we stopped), he doesn't come back on recall (again he used to come back and sit) and he is constantly trying to run off despite being on a training lead. The only changes I've noticed over this period is he has started cocking his leg and his thing is always poking out, and he's doing the tail chase thing that I always thought was normal for dogs and it is quite funny to watch, however I get the feeling it's not something he should be doing after reading another post.

As much as I'm against it I am going to allow one week to sort this behavior out and if I see little or no improvement, the balls are coming off. This is not something I want to do but I already give him all the time I can and he gets more than anybody else gets from me, anybody know if this is just a phase or do I need to give him more training of other sorts?

I'd give him much longer than one week. How old is Stig now? I'd definitely say it's a phase (unless something has changed recently or there's a female in heat?). I mean, Loki is 10 months old now, and he's made loads of progress since we've had him, and the past week or so he's done brilliantly, calmed down loads...but the few weeks before that he'd been an absolute nightmare. Sometimes he just doesn't listen to a word you say, and it's really annoying, but I do think it's a phase. If Stig's still young, he's probably just messing around, and you just have to give him a bit more time. If it is a phase, it could last longer than a week. Just have to keep up with the training.

Hi he's just coming up to 10 month, and a week is a little harsh I was just extremely angry when I made the post, the disobedience is one thing but the mess is very dissapointing. Our lab is spayed but there is a staffy bitch next door on heat and he's scratching at the gate to try and get to her (access to my back yard is through next doors), would this cause him to go this stupid? I understand him trying to get through the gate and constantly wanting out but would the neighbours dog on heat cause him to be a nightmare out on his walks and pee in his own bed? I had the impresion he's just pushing it like kids do but with you mentioning dogs on heat and the neighbours dog being so it would make sense

I'm not certain, myself, but I've seen a few posts on here from people who've got unneutered male and female dogs, and when the females in heat, the male (understandably) goes absolutely mad. Presumably their hormones get the better of them and, that coupled with him still being young and pushing his luck now and again, he's probably completely forgotten what he's meant to do. Maybe someone with more experience can put your mind at rest for sure, but if all this has happened all at around the same time, it definitely sounds like it's because of the female next door. Him being a youngster probably doesn't help either, but at least you know it's only temporary

it's a thought I've had but when we get to the last couple of days Tommy starts behaving again , stick with it you'll be fine

Their behaviour will change consistently through the months as frustrating as it is, and it will often feel like all of the hard work you've put in is a waste when they go back to behaviours that you thought you had changed! He's just growing up, testing boundaries and figuring out his place in the home

I would strongly disagree with early neutering to cure a behaviour problem that could be trained, especially when it's not even guaranteed the neutering will be effective and his hormones will still be mad for 6 months at least!

Patience in the key, persevere, keep your cool and remain consistent. Train correctly and it will just be a phase, loose your head and you'll be creating long term problems! Sounds like you've done really well so far! Keep your chin up! ... The joy of puppies and adolescents

Thanks for the support and it sounds like it may just be a phase then, I'll put up with it and try training him out of it and it's reassuring to hear it's normal, this morning was looking good as no mess when I came down, let him out and he came in and took a dump on the floor again, so he's back outside where he has some quiet time to think about what he's done

Sounds like a teenager !
Back to basics with training then.

Discourage the tail chasing - use a toy or his fav 'thing' to distract him.

A few times Tank has been a pain in the butt on walks - wont listen, pulling me all over the place.. then I find out that locally there are a few bitches on heat still being walked daily - this sends Tank into a sniff-a-thon and for this reason I dont let take off lead as once he picks up a scent - he may as well be deaf !

Dogs can smell bitches on heat from a LONG way - so this could be a factor for your lad too. ?

He is sniffing constantly he looks like a police sniffer dog when he's on his training lead, will he grow out of it or is it something he'll keep coming back to, my German Shepard never did anything like this and he wasn't neutered, he was 2 when I got him though which is why I'm wondering whether they grow out of it