Can anyone advise?  My 10 month old standard schnauzer was spayed 10 days ago. Since recovering, her behaviour has changed. She seems to have reverted to a naughty puppy.  Before spaying, she walked well on the lead and showed a willingness to please with only the occasional bout of stubborness.  Now when walking she jumps up at me, biting the lead and then dragging me in the opposite direction. I have tried ignoring this and standing still, looking the other way until she stops (even in the pouring rain in the middle of our High Street!)  but she just continues as soon as I walk on.  I have also tried to keep walking while ignoring her only to have her tug even harder and almost be dragged along.  If she feels she is not getting the attention she wants she jumps up to get hold of the lead as near my hand as possible.  Could this change be connected to her operation or this this adolescence?  Any advice wold be appreciated.

I think it could be a bit of both.  She is of the age where she will be going through the adolescent stage but it would also be that after her operation she wasn't getting as much exercise and has forgotten the way things are normally.  I don't think it is anything to do with the operation itself just the circumstances following it.  Keep going the way you are going and she will turn around.  Bad age 10 months!!  I have a large pup at 9 months at the moment and I have to say althought she is a very good dog it ain't easy!!  Good luck

Thanks for your replies. Yes her exercise was reduced but I have been gradually increasing it since her sign off from the vet.  She has not yet been let off the lead for a run since her op as I am convinced she will not come back, as her recall has always been unreliable and dependent on there being no other distractions, especially other dogs.  On her walk this morning she started her silliness again and I gave her a sharp NO! and this seemed to do the trick, but it then started to hammer down with rain so we headed for home. We will try again later.  By the way any tips on recall would be great.  Thanks again.

Hi Davsar,  Glad to hear your puppy is getting better.  I suspect that she has probably been getting a little spoiled when she was unwell!!!! I know that's what happened with me anyway!!

Regarding your recall.  The whole thing about getting a good recall is to make yourself more exciting than everything else around.  Basically, that means making yourself the most exciting thing in the whole world to your dog!!!!!  Firstly, does your dog have a favourite toy that she particularly likes to play with?  If so, let her play with it and get her really excited and then take it away and put it out of sight.  You can keep bringing it out and letting her play with it but, basically, it's your toy and you decide when it's played with.  It always helps to have a squeaky toy because then you can use the squeak to get the dog's attention outside.  Remember, this is something the dog doesn't get to play with all the time so it is very interesting, a real prize.  When you get home, put the toy away and again, only play with it for short periods to keep the dog's interest and take it out on walks with you and let her play with it then (taking it away and putting it in your pocket!).  This should work for a while but then, like everything, she will probably get bored in time and you will have to raise the reward.  It will give you time to practice her recall though.

Another thing you could try is to get somebody to hold the dog in the park or somewhere and you run away calling her name all the time.  When you stop, call it in a really excited voice and let the person holding her let her go.  She should come running to you and you can then make a huge fuss of her.  This makes recall into a game and not a chore.  You are then really exciting!!!!

Wish you the best of luck!!!

Hi, thanks  for the reply. The hide and seek method worked well when we first started her recall training so its back to basics with her.  I suppose I had a bit of a panic when her behaviour changed but she is getting back to her old (if slightly more mischievous) self and everyone's advice has reassured me, so thanks again.

Could it be where her wound is where she was spayed? Maybe it is sore and uncomfortable. Take her for a check up and maybe ask if there is something you can rub into the wound to make it more supple. Perhaps baby oil or homeopathic cream like calendular.

Has she had reduced exercise since she was spayed? We usually recommend on lead exersise only until the stitches come aout 10 days after the op, so perhaps it is a mixture of excitement and frustration. The first day i let my dog off after the op she went bananas becuase she was so glad to be free again.