Week 12: Just A Teenage Dirtbag, Baby!

We’re back! And not just back with another entry, but back from an awesome trip to the southern coast of England. Our first holiday in Sussex with Cody was filled with so many fun memories but also growth and progress. I have come back with a lot more confidence in Cody’s future having seen clearly how much of the fluctuation in his behaviour is being affected by adolescence. I am getting a little ahead of myself so I will try to take you back to Wednesday when we packed our bags and drove to Littlehampton for almost a four day beach getaway. Cody is not a bad traveller, after all he travelled with us across Europe at the age of mere sixteen weeks, but he has had some testing rides. My current theory, as we have ruled out ‘not tired enough’ is that Cody is quite light sensitive and just struggles to sleep in daylight. This theory is supported by the fact that he likes to sleep in the bathroom in the dark during the day at home. When we drove on Wednesday he was not in the road trip mindset and even while clipped into his seat he made sure to step on my bladder repeatedly as if he hoped I would produce wine at the end of the journey.

We arrived in Littlehampton and popped straight to the East Beach because we still had time before the check in and we were dying to eat our packaged toasties while Cody tried to put everything surrounding us in his mouth. He seemed to have great interest in spongy plants that washed out of the sea, prompting us to google potential side effects if he ingested any of it. After that we checked into our gorgeous accommodation at East Beach Guest House where Cody was welcomed as the most decorated diplomat.

I truly appreciate accommodation that can make a stay from home with your dog such a positive experience. Especially when they ensure that you know that your dog is not just being tolerated but is welcomed (of course as long as well-behaved). It took so much pressure off us instantly and we also felt that Cody was settling so well partially because the environment did not make him insecure or restricted. We had a gorgeous breakfast in bed every morning which was in part for us and in part as to not have to take Cody down to the common area in case he was testing the generosity of other guests. It actually turned out to be a cute little routine where we worked through our generous continental breakfast, sharing all the fruit and cheeky bit of yoghurt with Cody while he settled down after his morning walk with me. 
I got up every morning, as I do at crack of dawn and being all in one room, Cody pinged online as soon as the toilet flushed. Yeah, get that image out of your head. The tide was out every morning so I got to strut down the beach with Cody, allowing him occasional off lead time when appropriate or switching to long line when he was at high risk of darting off to another dog. He would - no matter the distance. If there's a tiny dot with four legs running next to a taller dot with two legs - Cody will dash to it. We’ve had a few successful recalls despite the old adolescence recall drain but, in all honesty, it’s still success only 2 out of 10 cases. We worked on engage-disengage with him a lot, to help him work through the excitement of seeing other dogs that he is not allowed to meet and the holiday allowed us to really focus on this part of the training without the additional environmental pressures. It is funny how ‘having nowhere to be’ can be a key to progressing your training. If you do not place any time constraint on yourself, you may be more able to navigate a training opportunity in the real world as opposed to just getting through it.

I think the most magical day was Friday when we walked from the east side to the West Beach. An amazing walk around a golf course through sandy dunes and a beach that had only few people and even fewer dogs on it. A goldmine environment, if you want to focus on building your own bond and increase your value with your dog. Cody felt so present and so alive with joy no matter whether he was chasing pebbles we tossed for him or digging for treasures in the sand. A particular highlight was when our dog picked up a dead dogfish and pranced around with it in his mouth as if taking credit for the catch. How did we get it out of his mouth, you ask?

Me and Tristan being excellent (one of us trained) actors, = pretended to enjoy something super special between us. It was a rock, we pretended to eat a rock. It was the tastiest rock ever! He bought it. He came all the way up to us and dropped the dead dogfish in hopes of getting a bit of that delicious rock we pretended to devour. We of course offered a different reward for the swap and praised Cody to heaven and back for dropping the poor dead fish. Still better than the time he picked up the dead rat. Remembering that makes my stomach turn, and I can take a lot. Walking around those beautiful beaches and paths, seeing how much more relaxed and less alert Cody was on the walks and how much quicker he settled down after, has really brought home the fact that the city is a lot for a dog.

Probably a lot more than we can understand as a human species because we can explain and rationalise the majority of the stimuli around us. Dogs cannot do that and that is why socialisation is so important and why supporting our adolescent dogs is equally as important because the ‘new’ hypersensitivity continues to stump new dog owners. There are still many people who take their young dog sitting down and not wanting to move as stubbornness and not a sign of being overwhelmed or potential indicator of underlying pain. Lots of people seem to be keener on forgiving puppies than adolescent dogs for unexpected shifts in behaviour. Adolescence can really make some people dislike and even give up their dog which is proven by the fact that dogs are being surrendered most frequently at this stage of their life. If you have an adolescent dog just remember you have a teenager. If they could slam their doors at you they probably would for not listening to their needs. We cannot always guess what they need but we can always strive for more understanding and kindness. Remember that if we’re frustrated with the dog, chances are, the dog himself is frustrated. The dog has not forgotten all the training you have done with him as a puppy. The programs are still uploaded but the computer has a bit of a ‘virus’ and the files take longer to open. If you like a tech analogy. Cody has been a textbook example of an adolescent dog. My next focus on this journey is not about training as such but about being more patient and watching and listening rather than thinking and overthinking. We’ll see how that goes.  Until next time!