Dog adolescence can be a testing time. Just when you thought you had this puppyhood thing figured out, your sweet and innocent puppy turns into a teenage tearaway! Selective hearing, bags of attitude, some serious stink eye and a whole heap of false bravado comes around when dogs go through adolescence. But here’s the thing…they think they’re big and brave, but really they are still sensitive and need a lot of emotional support from us!
This rocky period is a necessary part of your dog growing up, and is also the time we need to do the MOST training! And how do we do this? By rewarding the good stuff they do it MORE. Don’t think we can phase out the food rewards stage yet. Confused? Don’t worry, we’ve got you!
In this article we’ll get into when does your puppy become a teenager, how long the dreaded teenage phase lasts, and whether it is really as awful as you’ve been told. We’ll help you figure out what really happens in the teenage puppy period and how you can cope with it, as well as the hot topic…when to neuter your dog.
But above all, if there’s one thing you MUST do, as we’ve already alluded to, is to train your dog more, not less.
You can download a full programme of training in the Zigzag puppy training app. During their teenage years, it won’t be anything shorter than a lifesaver! We’ve got everything covered there for training your pup: from before you even bring them home, right through to adolescence, and even for when your puppy becomes older; and adult dog training too. It doesn’t stop there – we also have a team of professional dog trainers on hand to help you every step of the way!
When does your puppy become a teenager?
From around 5 – 6 months old, your puppy starts becoming a teenager. This will vary a little with smaller dogs since they hit adolescence sooner, and mature faster than larger breeds.
How long do the teenage years last?
Thankfully, not years! Different breeds mature at different rates, both physically and emotionally. This is generally linked to their size.
Here’s our round-up of how long you can expect the teenage phase to last in dogs, based on their size.
| Size of dog | How long adolescence lasts (Approx) |
| Toy Breed – Chihuahua, Maltese Terrier, etc. | 6-12 months |
| Small Breed – Dachshunds, Frenchies, etc. | 6-18 months |
| Medium Breed – Staffordshire Bull Terriers, Cockapoos, etc. | 8-18 months |
| Large Breed – Labradors, Dalmatians, etc. | 10-24 months |
| Giant Breed – Bullmastiff, Great Dane, etc. | 12-24 months |
Are they really the “terrible teens”?
Yes, teenage dogs can present just as many challenges as we faced during our own adolescent years, and while they feel like the terrible teens to us, we also need to be mindful of the turmoil they experience too.
During those turbulent teenage months, dogs undergo a variety of changes that render life confusing, frustrating, and at times, quite sad for them. Compounding the situation, we humans heap tremendous pressure on these young dogs to “grow up” and behave like mature adults – when they’re just not ready. I’m sure you can relate…you went through pretty much the same thing.
What to expect during the teenage puppy phase?
A bad attitude! Nah, just kidding, but you’ll find that at this stage, your teenage dog will be busy working out what works for them and what doesn’t. Their behaviour will change depending on their hormones as well, which is also a whirlwind, not gonna lie.
Forgetting recall
During dog adolescence, it can feel like your puppy has completely forgotten their recall! You may or not have seen the famous ‘Fentonnnnn’ video, but it can often go that way. Dogs forgetting recall is a common problem during adolescence!
The truth is that there’s a lot of competition for your dog’s attention because of all the distractions outside when you go out for a walk with your puppy. Your teenage pup may have had the pleasure of playing with lots of other dogs, or jumping up on people ‘just to say hi’ before, so be prepared for them to do this a lot more frequently at this stage.
We’ve got some great information on how to teach your puppy to come back and how to stop your puppy jumping up in our articles. It’s also probably worth you checking out how to teach your dog to ignore other dogs too – that’s a great one!!
Behaviour regression
Chewing can come back for revenge at this age. They’re strengthening their jaws by needing to chew on everything, but it can surely give you a headache while they’re at it.
You might see regressions in other areas of behaviour, like digging, the inability to listen, a lack of focus or attention, toilet training, sleeping through the night and struggling to be alone. These are often areas of weakness in adolescent dogs, but nothing you both can’t handle together!
Hormones
Male dogs may also start to experience competitive aggression, fuelled by those raging hormones! You’ll also see them starting to cock their leg to mark their territory as they might think, sometimes inside your house, or someone else’s.
Fear stages
Adolescent dogs go through a fear stage that lasts around 3 weeks. It generally occurs between the ages of 6 and 14 months.
During this time, they can suddenly feel afraid or frightened of things that they weren’t before. We typically see separation anxiety or resource guarding becoming a problem at this time as well, so be prepared!
Training regression
Loose lead walking, jumping up, feeling like they’ve forgotten what they learnt yesterday, and what overall feels like a training regression in adolescent dogs is completely common and really to be expected!
What should I be doing during puppy adolescence?
Lots of training! Training your dog through adolescence with games, positive reinforcement and general fun will definitely be the right way to go. You’ll be working to keep good habits and behaviour you want to see from your puppy in the future.
Check out our adolescent programme in the Zigzag app to learn more about the changes that happen to your dog during adolescence and how to deal with them.
We’re sure you’ll want to dive into the lessons of sound sensitivity and separation anxiety, too – these are two areas which can become a problem during this phase, where your teenage dog is a little more sensitive.
How can I help calm my dog during adolescence
Teenage dogs have a huge amount of energy, so making sure their needs are met through breed appropriate training and enrichment will really help with making sure they can calm down when needed.
Should I consider neutering?
While neutering is often a good idea to help with population control, people will often neuter their dogs to ‘calm their dog down’…but it rarely works.
You should discuss the right time to neuter your dog with your Vet, and consider whether it’s worth letting them grow up first. For example, large breeds in particular can benefit from being fully grown before neutering.
You might also want to check out our guide on how much it costs to neuter a puppy if you want to consider all aspects of neutering.
Top tips for dealing with your teenage puppy
You’ll need bags of patience. Teenage dogs are up one minute, down the next, then hyper and crazy, and then they can be sad and withdrawn! The road really does look like a zigzag.
In their teenage years, they’ll have ooodles of energy and need plenty of exercise, both physical and mental. In fact, you may want to consider enrolling in puppy classes or puppy agility classes to give them an outlet for all these emotions.
Oh, and please have fun! Don’t always aim for ‘strict obedience’ – it’s just not going to work as well as if you keep an enthusiastic, light and fun mood in your training sessions. We’ve got heaps of ideas on how to do this in our article on training games – there’s over 50 games you can mix into your training to keep things interesting!
