Dogs in Adolescence - What Actually Happens?

Does this sound familiar:

Life is great! You have a wonderful puppy, walking nicely, recalling amazingly, training is going swimmingly...

But then, everything changes - your dog stops responding to recalls, has started chasing every animal they see, their lead manners are dwindling...

Welcome to your dog's adolescence period!

The adolescence stage can occur between 6 to 18 months, and is often where dog owners will begin to identify behaviour problems and struggles. This age range is the most common for dogs entering rehoming centres!

Some common themes I see in adolescence:

1. Testing Boundaries - our dogs may have some new found confidence to explore further than before independently

2. Prey Drive - adolescence is a really common time for the prey drive to kick in, so watch out crows!

3. Increased Frustration - our dogs may struggled at managing arousal and frustration levels through adolescence, and can become conflicted over choices

Additionally, the second fear period creeps in too!

So, what are some things we can do to help our adolescent dog?

1. Keep training sessions short, fun and successful

2. Consider if we need to take a step back in the training, in order to move forwards. For example, going back to using a longline while we work on rebuilding the recall

3. Give your dog beneficial outlets, think about tying it in with breed specific behaviours. For example, give some simple scentwork a try with your spaniel

4. Don't give up! I see quite a few owners who hit this difficult stage and decide to give up, however, it's then more likely your dog will continue these behaviours as an adult too

Don't be afraid to ask for help with your furry teenager!

Emma, Elmtree Dogs

(BSc, MSc Animal Behaviour & Training, UK Sniffer Dogs Scent Detection Instructor)