terrible twos
May 05, 2021
are the terrible twos a thing for dogs? because i feel like dogs go through terrible twos, too. and if normal dogs don't go through terrible twos, i'm here to tell you that in our household, we are currently going through puppy terrible twos.
we've hit a bout of puppy regression in our home and i can't say that i'm surprised. when we first got indi two years ago, i spent all of my free time watching training videos and practicing what i learned with indi. he mastered so many tricks at such a young age and i learned so much that i've continued to implement in our daily lives. but with all that progress, i know i've definitely let my guard down and relaxed a bit on the training. i know i'm blaming myself but i am his owner. it is my responsibility to teach him and lately, he's just out of control.
he's always been an anxious pup. we noticed he was that way since the day we picked him up down in north carolina. while his littermates were climbing up the fence to greet me, baby indi was hiding all the way in the back having zero interest in meeting us. that didn't change much after we brought him home and he started with the separation anxiety, barking when we locked him up in the kitchen. or even more subtle tells, like when he follows us everywhere we go, or whines when he wants to get his way.
i feel like his anxiety has heightened as an after effect of the pandemic. i was working from home for a while which we both absolutely loved, of course. once i went back to the office full time, we notice his anxiety progressively getting worse. i'm back to the drawing board with him and trying to educate myself as much as possible. i'm going to dive back into watching zak george and cesar millan. i may even consider getting a trainer (and that's huge because i'm a big DIY girl).
it's been stressful for the both of us (and junior, too) so please wish us luck!! indi is extremely smart and i'm sure with me dedicating myself to helping him cope with his anxiety, this season will soon pass.
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