LIKE many teenagers, Teddy finds the world can be a pretty confusing place.
All that testosterone, for example, and other dramatic hormonal changes.
No more of that delicate squatting for a neat and orderly pee. Suddenly, there’s obsessive free-form leg-cocking on every bush and tree trunk in the park.
But just when you want to test the boundaries, get more independence and explore the world, everyone seems determined to cramp your style.
Mum and Dad seem determined to get you to walk to heel, older dogs are looking distinctly unimpressed at the idea of playing games and many of the male dogs you bump into appear suspicious, grumpy or actively aggressive.
For owners too this can be a confusing time, we’re told. After making it through all the toilet training and puppy biting, suddenly that cute little bundle of fluff has turned into a rebel.
The vets and dog trainers are great at warning what to expect, but it’s still a difficult time for owners when it seems as if their pride and joy has forgotten a lot of their training and developed an insolent streak.
Typically, it’s a time of increased independence, curiosity and social desires. Thankfully, Teddy is a super-sociable soul with no hint of aggression, even when those pesky other dogs start to bark and yap at him.
Sleek, glossy and big for his age, on a quiet day he’ll potter about in the undergrowth like a contented manatee, those sensitive scent receptors working overtime.
But he’s definitely keen to explore and a little too excited about meeting everyone. His recall can be great when he’s off the lead in remote places with few distractions. But he can’t be trusted in a busy park, especially with an interesting female around.
The experts say it’s all completely normal, a result of those dramatic hormonal changes and a reorganization of the brain, when all the early lessons seem to have been forgotten and the lead pulling, jumping and other anti-social acts seem to reflect a general lack of obedience and selective deafness when it comes to once-familiar commands.
Teddy knows how to sit, stay, settle down and search, but suddenly seems reluctant to do anything so compliant when required.
And as long as there’s a risk of him jumping up on a stranger, small child or vulnerable older dog, he needs to be under strict control whenever such hazards are around.
At 34kg, he’s just too big and boisterous: and these are situations he needs to become comfortable with, without using harsh training techniques or exposing him to bad experiences that could stay with him for life.
Gwen Bailey and other authors and trainers are reassuring: “Feelings of failure are normal, but remember that this phase will pass and you will both emerge on the other side older and wiser.”
Here’s hoping. In the meantime, using a long line has been one useful technique for practising recall, though using it without getting tangled in it is a feat in itself, and sometimes he’s more interested in chewing the line than focusing on the task in hand.
Like most owners we’ve had our fair share of embarrassing encounters and anxiety-inducing moments, when our pride and joy has wanted to jump all over a stranger or has suddenly chased off into the distance, distracted by a passing spaniel or friendly looking cockapoo.
But if there are times we despair about him ever becoming that well-mannered model citizen who sticks to your side like glue whatever happens around them, there are plenty of small daily victories to remind us this is very much a journey, and that success doesn’t come overnight.
When things do go well, it can be easy to forget them, even on those occasion when they feel momentous, like the first perfect loose-lead saunter round the park or the times when Teddy makes the “right” choice to lie down and snuffle in the grass rather than jumping all over our neighbours.
Just lately there have been more of those moments when we’ve had that warm glow that we might finally be making progress: like his first visit to an indoor cafe where he lay down contentedly despite the presence of other dogs at the table.
Of course there are those other times too, when Teddy flumps on the grass with a stick and refuses to move or where a moment’s inattention means you fail to realise he’s just taken off at 70mph in the direction of an unwary pigeon.
But at puppy class there are smiles all round when Teddy demonstrates he can be calm and contented rather than straining at the leash, even when fun small dogs are quite close by.
And when he’s snoozing at your feet or gazing at your with those wonderfully expressive gorilla-like brown eyes, there’s no hiding the fact of just how dramatically he’s wormed his way into our hearts in four short months.
Other labrador owners are perhaps the most reassuring, even if their messages are mixed. “Oh, he’s gorgeous,” they coo. “Such a handsome boy!”
And as Teddy leaps and jumps with excitement at the attention, that slight pause when they reflect back over the years. “And so lively too,” they add. “Don’t worry, he’ll be calmer when he’s two.”
