Do dogs have a terrible 2 stage?

[warrenj]

do dogs go through terrible two's like a kid? Picked up a dog from a guy and we got talking about hounds and he said he's a firm believer of dogs going through terrible two's as a kid does. The conservation started from me telling him i had a pup that did really good her 1st yr but not so good 2nd yr. Dog starts a bait and trails good yet, just barks on the rig for nothing vs when she would only bark on a strike. use to bay hard now she wont. Never heard of terrible two's in a dog, but the guy gave me hope cause i want this dog to do what she did the 1st yr, just wondering if any of you guys heard or witnessed this in a dog.

[catdogs]

Absolutely seen it. Had a Duncan dog go through the terrible 2's and talked with Ken about it and he sure believes that it happens to some dogs. He was telling me about some houndsman in UT a long time ago that would go around buying dogs in this stage for cheap and keeping them a year or so and workig them through it and making some real nice dogs.

[JIM HARRIS]

NO DOUBT ABOUT IT. DOGS GO THROUGH STAGES JUST LIKE PEOPLE. IT IS HOW THEY SUGAR OFF THAT COUNTS. SOME COME OUT OF IT AND SOME DO NOT. AS A MATTER OF FACT I AM 65 YEARS OLD AND MY GIRL FRIEND THINKS I AM GOING THROUGH THE TERRIBLE TWOS NOW.` 30 YEARS AGO MY EX WIFE TOLD ME I WAS POSSED BY THE DEVIL. SHE DID NOT LIKE MY HUNTING EITHER.

KEEP THE FAITH AND KEEP WORKING WITH THE DOG IT COULD TURN OUT TO BE A WORLD BEATER.

[Teto]

For sure they do. Seen it in enough pups no matter what the breed. I've seen it in my BMC"s but in their case it usually runs anywhere from 7 months old to 3 years. Depending on the dog.

[nitetime]

I think pups ack goofy until they hit there 2-3 b-day then settle down.

[KattTraxx]

Well, for all I know about dogs I guess I'll weigh in here too. Most of you on here know a lot more than I do. I have however, noticed a certain degree of emotional and physical immaturity until about age 2 to 3 depending on the dog. There are peaks and valleys in behavior and abilities it seems. I know a few guys that will not buy a dog under the age of 2 or 3 because they want to be reasonably sure of what they are getting into long term.. My advice, don"t give up for awhile and good luck..

KattSkatt

[catdogs]

I dont think he means dogs that don't mature til after 2. More like dogs that look real good from 6ish months to a year and a half then look not so good for a while around about the 2 year age...at least that is what I mean.

[twist]

I dont believe there is a stage they go through if they have it they have it. If a dog losses it for a year something is going on. Yes dogs do have thier off days but this happens at all ages. Andy

[al baldwin]

Not a biggame hunter but sure have noticed at about two & over is when some dogs that have been good to stay in pack on bobcat, start to thinking they wont to be coyote dogs. My friends have notice this also. Al Baldwin

[Warner5]

Good young dogs with potential eventually reach the point where they want to lead, becoming more independent. For me this is the most tence time for training. Young dogs make a mistake then get corrected for it. To many corrections in a short time frame and a young dog will get unsure of what their doing and act, for lack of a better word(stupid). I think what you guy's are talking about above are just confidence issues brought on by over correction or the dogs reaction to not understanding why it's being corrected. Hope this made sence. John.

[bay'emup]

I never believed in the terrible 2 stage until about 8 years ago. I bought a plott pup from good bloodlines and by 8 months she was running bears with my old dogs. She started tracks well, drove the tracks hard, had a good dose of grit that i liked on nasty bay-ups, and treed hard. then about 2 years old she went crazy. Started leaving the older dogs for no reason, her treeing consisted of sitting at the tree panting, and she started running off game occasionally. I was at a loss. I was losing sleep at night trying to figure out what was wrong with my little brindle rockstar. A friend of mine (that was a longtime houndsman) told me to get her fixed and then treat her like glass for a few months. I didn't have any better ideas so i did as I was told. About six monthe later she was back to her old self. I very rarely had to discipline that dog again. I don't know wether it was hormones or a leadership complex or what, but my friends advice worked. Hopefully this helps.

[Redwood Coonhounds]

I think most any good dog that has any "leader" qualities will go through a stage where they "know more than anyone" and do things on there own, trial-by-error style.

[StrawberryMt]

It has been my experience that the ones that suffer "The terrible two syndrome" are 99 out of a hundred,the ones that were started to early. I personally call it the "burnt out" stage. And you will also see that the ones that go thru it are more often than not the "young super pups". I think they have tried so hard and have been pushed at a immature age that they just finally say, I am sick of this. Some come out of it and some don't. I have seen it in my blood line a bunch,so whenever someone gets a pup from me they get a lttle speech basically telling them they will be much happier with the pup (therefore me LOL) if they will wait to start them till they are at least ten months old.

[hunt14]

I agree alot with the above post. It is hard to leave a young super star at home when the last time out he showed up all the old dogs. I have found myself throwing a young dog into the fire probably too early because he/she acted like they were ready. Jim Bundrick told me one time in so many words that dogs under the age of a year dont need to have a place on the truck every time out. If a young dog was put down on the last track and did a good job then that is great leave him home for a day or two or even a week and then take him again and let his mind development catch up to his/her heart and desire. Jim probably thought I wasnt listening to half the stuff he said but I do believe it to be a good rule to follow. lol You often see a similar situation with kids pushed too hard at a young age. They most likely will get sick of it and take some time off or develop a bad taste in their mouth and never go back to it. However I do believe that this is just a general rule to be followed because I have seen some young dogs start out at 6 or 7 mos. old and just go right on and never miss a lick. Alot of dogs are just tough mentally and arent affected and this trait is something that I believe should be sought after and striven for in a program.

[007pennpal]

Just a thought... Its about that time, two years or so, that things start to happen to change up the hunt. Dogs becoming mature can induce fights over alpha rule. And heat cycles occur. Also, we tend to expect more from our "pups" in the off game catagory about this time and one can get over zap happy. I'm just saying it is a confusing time for some dogs and it might not be all the dogs fault.