Adolescent Changes in Your Dog
You won’t get a firm consensus from dog behaviorists about the exact moment when canine adolescence begins. The onset of this stage can begin as early as sixteen weeks, or it can begin to show as late as eight months of age. Generally, smaller dogs mature sooner than larger-breed dogs. I consider eight months to be the average age when true adolescence kicks in, a period of sometimes daring and unpredictable behavior that can drag on until your dog is two to three years of age. During this phase of his life, your dog’s brain is still maturing, but his body is nearly full grown.
As a puppy, your dog was reliant on your constant input and completely driven by the innate desire to follow you and to fit into your pack. An adolescent dog has a mind of its own. The dog begins to test every single limit that you’ve worked so hard to impose during those previous, formative eight months. If you waver from the program and your dog begins to believe that the rules apply only sometimes, you’ll risk establishing negative patterns of behavior that could haunt you for the rest of your dog’s life.
If you go back to basics and stick to the guidelines you’ve already set, you will have the chance to establish an even deeper bond with your dog and to build a more mature, more meaningful connection.
Physical Changes.
Your adolescent dog isn’t being willful just to spite you. There are several significant changes going on in his brain and in his body that are driving some of these frustrating new quirks in his behavior.
His permanent teeth either are all the way in or finish coming in, so he goes through a second, sometimes more destructive, chewing phase.
He may be growing so fast that he has literal “growing pains, “which can range from mild to severe.
His defense drive begins to develop and mature, so fears he may still harbor from a younger age can show up again, as either shy or aggressive behaviors.
Rapid growth causes joints and plates to become unstable and susceptible to injury, which means that certain vigorous activities may have to be put on hold until his body matures a little more.
Older dogs begin to hold the adolescent dog more accountable than they did the puppy, which means new conflicts can develop, seemingly out of nowhere.
I urge my clients to focus on preventing issues or stopping them early on, before they become chronic. I advise to lay down a solid foundation of rules in puppyhood and never waver from those basic guidelines, no matter how big or defiant the adolescent dog become.