Anyone else have a dog regress when they are pregnant?

[lawphil]

We have a wonderful 1 1/2 year old lab who has a ton of energy, is very loving, and a little mischievous at times. Lately though he has been very defiant.

The biggest problem is that he takes off when we we walk off leash - which we have done every day almost since we brough him home. There have always been times where he has run a little too far ahead or lagged when he didn't want to leave a dog he is playing with but he has never truly 'taken off'.

Well that has all changed in the last couple of weeks. He has run from the path through the woods to near by neighborhoods where he hears either kids playing or dogs barking. We have always heard those noises and it has never been a problem before. At first I thought I was giving him too much lead time on me - not telling him to wait enough - but really he will do it if I am standing right next to him. Typically he will move slowly at first looking back to make sure I know where he is going and then just zooming away. If he does something like this in the woods I run the other direction letting him think I am leaving him and it usually works. Because of cars & kids I just can't do that in these circumstances.

My first concern is that I don't want him to get run over - that would just be devastating. Also, I am 8 1/2 months pregnant I can not be sprinting through the woods & neighborhoods after him. This is only going to get worse when I have either a jogging stroller or a baby attached to me. I don't want to stop our off leash walks - he gets a lot of great exercise and gets a ton of his energy out sniffing, runnin & playing with dogs that we see.

On top of all that he is jumping up on the counter, barking like mad at other dogs (sometimes the whole car shakes), pulls, etc. He eventually stops the behaviour but he is definitely slow to react to my commands.

I can't figure out if this new behavior is because he is a 'teenager' or if he senses that there is a change coming. Maybe because I am busy at work, getting ready for baby, etc. I have slacked off on discipline. We definitely have not slacked off on exercise - he gets three walks and/or dog park trips a day plus play time in yard or around the house.

Any thoughts, btdt would be greatly appreciated!!

[kemorr]

We have a German Shorthaired Pointer who whilst she was never an angel dog (strong, strong hunting instinct and thus never trustworthy off leash in a non-fenced in area), she did regress when I was pregnant and once we had the baby. Her commands aren't as strong anymore and she jumps up on people, which she never did before I got pregnant. I partially blame it on her getting a lot less exercise than she used to and us having less time and energy for her obedience.

That being said, I think it is a little irresponsible (and in most places, against the law) to walk your dog in open places without a leash on. It only takes one car or one aggressive dog to have a very sad and/or very expensive situation on your hands. I've seen so many dogs killed or seriously injured by cars when off leash, even when they had been walking off leash for many years. I appreciate that your dog gets great exercise off leash. A leash walk is not adequate exercise for my dog, either. I think you need to find a fenced in dog park. These are wonderful places that you can safely let your dog off leash to run to his heart's content and play with other dogs.

For the other behavior issues, if they are really bad, I would recommend taking him to some behavior classes or working with a trainer. We didn't and our dog is not nearly as well behaved as I would like. Try to nip it in the bud now, before the baby comes. He probably will only need a few lessons to remind him of his old training.

Edited to add - I just re-read your post and it seems as though you already take him to a dog park. Is it fenced in? If yes, I would limit his off leash time to the park and just enjoy nice walks on leash at other times.

[lawphil]

Actually, off-leash walking in nature preserves with a well-trained dog is very acceptable. Up to this point he has been that well-trained dog that responds to our calls and whistles that we have trained him on.

This lack of obedience is a new turn of events. I agree if he doesn't come then it is not a good idea - which is why I was asking the question of what to do.

The nature preserve where we walk him was left to the town specifically so dogs could be walked off leash. It is the purpose of the park, therefore it is not illegal.