Oh, adolescence… You think you’ve got through the tough months of puppy biting and toilet training and then bam, the teenage phase hits! Adolescent dog problems can be frustrating and feel like your puppy has gone backwards with a lot of their training. Adolescence typically starts around 6 months for small breeds and 8-9 months for larger breeds. It usually ends between 12 to 18 months for small breeds and closer to 2 years for bigger breeds. Most dogs don’t reach full maturity until around 3 years old though.
Sexual maturity
As they hit puberty, your female dog will have their first season, unless they’ve already been spayed. Many females appear more nervous during this time. They may pee more, show a change in their behaviour towards other dogs and start to nest at home. There may also be a change in their normal energy levels, with some girls seeming sluggish whereas others are extra bouncy and energetic.
Male dogs may start scent marking and may start cocking their leg to urinate when they hit adolescence, though this may start earlier. Males may also start humping other dogs, people and objects. This is often not actually sexual behaviour and not necessarily a reason to neuter your dog.
Regression in early training
From a training perspective, a regression in early training is the hallmark of the teenage period. Training adolescent dog problems include;
- Recall seemingly disappears.
- More interested in other dogs than before.
- Pulling on the lead- also harder as your dog is bigger and stronger than a few months ago too.
- General lack of obedience and ability to listen to your cue’s
During this phase, your dog hasn’t actually forgotten everything you’ve worked on. You may just need to go back a few steps, reward all the behaviour you’d like to do again and be consistent. For example, with recall, you’ll want to keep your teenage dog on a long line so they can’t rehearse the habit of running over to distractions.
Adolescent dog problems
You may also notice some changes in your dog’s overall personality as they hit adolescence. Many dogs show more boisterous behaviour and greater independence. They may get frustrated more easily with training or toys that they were happy to work through before. You might also notice an increase in anxious or nervous behaviour around things that didn’t bother them before. Your puppy goes through a fear period around 8-11 weeks and then a second one between 6-14 months, often around the 9 month period. Keep an eye on your dogs body language and don’t force them to interact with people, dogs or situations they seem uncomfortable with, even if they were fine with them before. This phase will pass.
Over the next few posts, I’ll be discussing classic teenage dog problems and their potential solutions. These include humping, an increase in boisterous and over-exuberant behaviour and the regression in training.
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