How long is puppy adolescence

By teaching her that:. A piece of dog training advice you might hear on occasion: In order to control your dog, you have to be the most interesting thing in the world to your dog.

And with an adolescent dog? Good luck. Remind Sparky that even though everything else is extremely fascinating, he still has to listen to you.

Because you control his access to all that fascinating stuff. You want Sparky to stop pulling on the leash. You have some delicious treats with you.

You plan to give him one every time he stops pulling to focus on you. What he cares about is investigating all the trees on your path.

So forget the treats. Now, get him to acknowledge you and when he does, even for a second, let him go sniff a few trees. Keep repeating this process, gradually increasing the time Sparky has to focus on you before he can get to the trees. River and I started doing a lot of focus and attention training. Privacy Policy. Share on facebook. Share on twitter. Share on whatsapp. Share on pinterest. What to expect The adolescent period starts at around six months for small dogs and eight months for big dogs.

Watch out for the second fear impact period The first fear impact period occurs when a puppy is about nine weeks old. This is the time where lack of adequate and appropriate socialisation and habituation can become an issue, and those dogs that have missed out on this can start to show behaviour problems associated with fear including reactivity and perceived aggression.

There are health benefits for both male and female dogs and it may make certain behaviours easier to manage. Many people don't understand this and think their teenage dog is just being destructive when they actually have a physical need to have things to gnaw on. Kong toys are perfect for this and, stuffed with food, they will provide ideal chewing opportunities; and can save your furniture and your shoes!

While sometimes it is easy to think that your adolescent dog is intentionally trying your patience, in reality this is a complex developmental time for your dog. Keep that in mind and, with a bit of teamwork, you will get through it together.

If you need help teaching your rebel pup some manners, check our useful guide on how to stop puppy bad manners or get a refresh on puppy training tips to reintroduce them to the good habits. Take the worry out of puppy parenting! Get weekly, pawsonalised puppy advice delivered straight to your inbox and receive unrivalled access to our expert team of in-house vets, behaviourists, and advisors.

Suggested products. Next article. Puppy Behaviour. Carolyn Menteith. Related topics. Our experts are here to help you. Our experts are here to help. Get in touch with us directly any time, any way. Message us. Adolescence is a challenging time for both your pup and yourself. Learn how to get your stroppy puppy back to their normal selves. When does a puppy become a teenager? At times he may look at you as though you had just addressed him in Mandarin, trying to convince you that you never taught him the sit command.

Handle these lapses the same way you would with an untrained dog. Take a step or two backward in your training program and patiently re-teach him the command by luring him into the requested position. Be sure to make it worth his while with the use of positive reinforcement.

Keep his focus on you, using favorite toys and treats as lures. And keep your training sessions short and functional, always ending with a game or playtime. If you take away the fun, he or she will show even less interest. And by all means, hang on to your sense of humor. Although your pup may try your patience, take heart — adolescence is one thing your dog is guaranteed to outgrow!

Dogs go through adolescence, too. Learn how to survive this phase in your pup's life.