Ask a dog trainer: will my dog grow out of these bad behaviors?

Your puppy just ate your shoes, bit your ankles or had an accident on the rug. Your adolescent dog won’t respond when you call him, barks at everything in sight, or won’t stop jumping up. Whatever it is, chances are someone close to you has said, “He’ll grow out of it.” But is this really true?

The short answer is no.

Dogs don’t grow out of behaviors like they grow out of collars. A puppy that bites and is never taught to do anything else will keep biting as an adult. Your teenage dog that is not taught to keep responding to those cues you taught him when he was a puppy, even though the world is so exciting now, will continue to ignore your until the day he passes.

What about chewing due to teething?

One of the most common mistakes owners make is thinking their puppy will outgrow chewing as soon as they get all their adult teeth. For this reason, many owners let the behavior slide and just “deal with the destruction” until the teeth come in.

Then they are shocked and dismayed when their dog is a die-hard chewer of anything he can fit into his mouth.

Chewing is satisfying not just because of teething but because it relieves boredom, tastes good (to a dog), satisfies a hunt/kill instinct, feels good on the teeth and gums, etc. If you let your puppy chew anything he wants, your adult dog will act the same way.

Not only will she not grow out of it, but it can get worse.

What your puppy does should never be ignored or taken lightly. Not only will your puppy not grow out it, but a lot of bad behaviors just get worse. Here are few behaviors that teenage and adult dogs often end up in the shelter for.

And, these are all things that almost all puppies do:

• That cute fluffy puppy is jumping up on you to get attention. By the time he is an adult, you have an 80-pound dog that’s knocking you over.
• Puppy “mouthiness” and biting – even in play – can lead to an adult dog that bites when he doesn’t like the way you are handling him or because he thinks it’s okay to play with humans with his teeth.
• Your fearful puppy barks at things. Instead of “growing out of his fear” or “getting over it,” your adult dog now fear bites and reacts to any sound he hears or thing he sees.
• Your puppy ate your shoes when he was little. Now he destroys your couch.

These are just a few examples. And all of these are reasons dogs are turned into shelters each day. Any behavior your puppy is displaying that you do not care for, should be removed through the use of positive reinforcement training as quickly as possible. This will keep you happy and your dog in your home.

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