Well we won’t lie, adolescent dog training can be demanding, but is also one of the most important times to train your dog.
Puppy adolescence is an in-between phase within their developmental period. Remember your teenage years? Those confusing and slightly triggering times? It can actually feel quite similar to dogs. They look a lot like the adult version of themselves, but still aren’t anywhere near the sensibility of an adult dog. They really can seem like teenage tearaways!
Trust on this – you’ll need all hands on deck to help you train your teenage dog. Download the Zigzag training app today for a smoother ride! You’ll receive a programme specifically designed around your dog’s breed and their age to make training go by like a breeze. Especially with our team of professional dog trainers. They’re available 24/7 via our in-app chat to talk you through every step of the way and answer all of those questions around how to train a teenage dog.
Want to know more about what to expect in the teenage phase in our article? Read our article on Puppy Adolescence – Understanding Your Teenage Puppy.
Are you concerned about your puppy’s training as they get older?
No worries, your concern is completely normal. Puppy adolescence can be quite the learning curve for us; your puppy is going from our little bundle of fluff who hangs off our every word, to a stroppy teenager full of hormones who seems to have forgotten EVERYTHING you taught them.
This is definitely the time when you’ll want to learn about management in dog training, and probably refresh those puppy training commands.
Training you’ll need to revisit during puppy adolescence
Teenage dog training is a whole entire subject on its own. When dogs go through the adolescent stage, it may seem like everything they knew before goes straight out of the window.
First, take a deep breath. Part of what makes it so hard, is us simply not understanding adolescent puppy development properly, and having too high expectations of them. We also tend to forget that training dogs is all about practise, patience and persistence too!
Here are some topics you should refresh when training adolescent dogs:
Off-lead training
Off-lead training (including recall) is often the first lesson to get completely forgotten about by dogs when adolescence hits! There are so many distractions and competing motivators around. Practising management while using a long lead is the best thing to keep your puppy safe.
Check out our guides to recall training, how to get your dog to focus on you outside, and how to train your dog to ignore other dogs for more tips on how to keep on track of off-lead training and getting your teenage dog to listen to you.
Positive reward training
We understand – training a teenage dog can sometimes feel overwhelmingly frustrating. It just feels like ‘they just don’t listen’…but here’s the truth. They won’t be more inclined to listen if you start to use harsh methods! The best way to go about training during your dog’s adolescence is with positive reinforcement training using rewards like treats or food rewards. Playing with your dog and giving them access to other life rewards can also be hugely reinforcing, and simply a joy to do!
Basic obedience training
Refreshing basic obedience commands like stay, come, lead walking, and leave it, will do wonders. The key is to remind your teenage dog how much fun listening to you is. Don’t worry, you’ll get a well-behaved dog in the process. Teaching a dog different behaviours means they will be able to make better choices in the future, as they’ll have a number of ‘good’ behaviours to choose from. Makes sense, right? Oh, and they’ll also be less likely to be impulsive and do the wrong thing. A win all around!
Handling Fear
Teenage dogs do go through a fear period, which can make them suddenly scared of things like car journeys, being home alone, or sensitive to noises like fireworks or other random things in their environment.
Fear periods may be reflected in your adolescent dog suddenly stopping on walks…when they seemed to be doing just fine on them before. It’s important to note that these behaviours are usually motivated by fear, or a sense of trepidation or insecurity. We can help them work on their confidence by being patient and supporting them by piling on the praise and rewards.
Socialisation Training
Puppies have a primary socialisation period that lasts until they are around 3 months old. Although this is a specific developmental window, socialisation training will go on for your dog’s whole life. During the teenage phase, you’ll still want to expose them to different things, but you might need to use extra treats to help them build positive associations with all the new things they’re encountering when they’re going through adolescence.
Socialising with other dogs during puppy adolescence
If your puppy was not socialised during their socialisation window, then socialising with other dogs when they’re teenagers will be very important so they learn not to be fearful with their own kind, and can learn to behave around them.
We’re gonna be honest – it can be tricky to get this right, but it can be made easier once you understand puppy body language. If you’re struggling with this part, we recommend reaching out to a professional dog trainer who can work with you, and maybe organise some play dates with other calm, well-adjusted dogs.
Some wonder if an aggressive adolescent dog that hasn’t been socialised can be trained. Good news! They can. They just need a little extra time, patience and a well-structured behaviour modification plan. We suggest you contact a professional behaviourist or trainer to help you develop a plan – we’re sure you’ll get there.
Download Zigzag today and get your hands on our adolescent dog training programme! We’ll talk to you through each step of the way with science-backed information, with lessons on how to bring out the best in your dog. Need an extra pair of hands? We’re the only dog training app with 24/7 access to professional dog trainers that will help you when you require it the most.
Start a trial of the Zigzag puppy app today, your dog will thank you for it!
FAQs – Training an Adolescent Dog
Do adolescent dogs need more exercise?
Yes! As your puppy gets older, you can increase the amount of physical exercise they get, as they also gain more energy themselves. A constructive way to do this is with training agility, since it also works their brain, and helps builds your bond and relationship too… which means they listen to you!
Do adolescent dogs calm down?
Yep, as their hormones start to level out, adolescent dogs do often calm down a lot. This happens, especially if you do plenty of training with positive reinforcement – it will help teach them how to be calm.
We’ve got more on this in our article how to calm a puppy down.
How long does puppy adolescence last?
In toy and small breeds, adolescence lasts around 6 months in toy and small breeds, and up to a year for the large and giant breeds. Don’t worry, it won’t last forever.
