OH, THOSE CRAZY TEENAGERS!

If the problem is jumping up on people as they come in the door, use a baby gate nearby to keep the dog(s) away from the door people enter.

Stealing food etc. off counters or the dinner table? Push food back from the edges and/or use an ex-pen of baby gate to keep dogs out of the kitchen,

Before we can train what TO do, to replace the bad habits, we first have to prevent those habits by making tempting stuff inaccessible and/or using some kind of barrier or tether so it's no longer possible.

When you see your dog doing anything you'd like more of, like keeping their feet on the floor instead of jumping up, mark (click or YES!), praise and treat!

There must be moments when they're lying or sitting calmly instead of running

around? Mark, praise and treat. Standing near the table or counter instead of standing up to see what's on it? Mark, praise and treat.

Don't take all those moments of good behaviors for granted! Use whatever your dog wants in that moment: a toy, petting, or play can work better than food for some dogs.

This may sound crazy if you learned dog training decades ago, but listen: the main reason your dog keeps doing any behavior is because it pays off: to get something or avoid something.

So if you chase your dog to get something back, or react to jumping up by looking them in the eye, pushing them off, with a stern No Jump, and it keeps happening, you've actually been reinforcing that behavior with your attention. Just like some 2-legged teens, even negative attention can be a good thing for some dogs.

Instead, remove attention when you and other family members get jumped on. Say nothing, step back, turn away. No attention for at least 5 seconds. Be consistent, and within a few days you'll see a big difference. At the same time, make 4-on-thefloor pay off better! You don't have to demand it, just notice when it happens, mark, and reward with whatever your dog values.

Enrichment is meeting needs—as a dog, the breed, and as the individual. For example, if your dog, like most, loves to explore the world through his nose, you could take more sniffy walks, especially in new locations. And sniffing has a tiring and calming effect because it's so much mental work.

Other forms of enrichment include putting meals into food toys or snuffle mats (scavenging and foraging), playing calming music, diffusing essential oils nearby (sensory enrichment), or playing with tug toys or chase toys, like a flirt pole. A digging pit can be ideal for terriers. Offer cardboard boxes or junk mail to dogs who need to destroy things.

When we provide safe and appropriate outlets for those genetic (species & breed) behaviors, dogs don't turn to inappropriate outlets. Enrichment promotes mental, physical and behavioral health!

Make sure your dog is getting quality nutrition (for optimum health and better behavior generally) and healthy chews (another natural behavior and energy outlet), and enough rest and sleep during the day (for better behavior generally).

Physical exercise is sometimes limited by difficulty handling on leash. Check out my leash manners package here: https://www.dogsbehavingbetter.com/leashwalks

So much of what adolescents do is simply trying to meet their needs as dogs. So when we get better at helping them satisfy those needs, including all the benefits of positive training, we get more well-behaved dogs!

If behavior has changed suddenly for the worse, especially with signs of aggression, before treating it as a training problem, first rule out medical issues that may be causing pain, discomfort, or disease.