Our dogs transition through several phases across their lifetime. From a behavior perspective adolescence is perhaps the phase with the most potential to cause disruption in a household and can really test our skills as a trainer.
Adolescence is the time between puppyhood and adulthood. In dogs, this developmental phase starts anywhere between 6 and 12 months and typically ends somewhere between 18 months and 24 months. Adolescence is accompanied by physical changes, endocrinological changes, and neurological changes. During this phase there can be significant changes to motivation, preferences, energy levels, ability to focus, emotion regulation, impulse control, and decision-making skills.
Many of the overt and challenging behaviors exhibited during adolescence are driven by frustration; increased evidence of frustration is common at this time due to our dog struggling with conflicting motivations, and/or due to them being blocked from engaging in the (inappropriate / unsafe) activities they would choose to undertake. Frustration can be a particularly challenging emotion for an adolescent dog to manage. The intensity of the emotions and urges experienced, together with the dog’s reduced ability for impulse control during this phase, frequently leads to “undesirable” and challenging behaviors that the human needs to manage or modify. The exact behaviors exhibited will depend on the individual dog’s coping style as well as other factors influenced by genetics and prior learning. Some of these behaviors are only evident in training scenarios, whereas others are evident in day-to-day life. Common examples include:
- Reverting to performing behaviors that had previously ceased during early training (e.g. jumping up on people, pulling/lunging when on leash, mouthing / nipping / grabbing, etc.)
- Excessive barking and/or whining.
- Destructive behaviors (e.g. digging, ripping up objects, etc.)
- Unable to maintain a stay or other durational behavior particularly when “distractions” are added.
- Unable to focus or remain attentive for more than brief periods.
- Reduced interest in their human, combined with increased interest in the environment.
- Low levels of perseverance (i.e. rapidly disconnecting from training at the first moment of confusion / frustration / uncertainty – resulting in either zoomies, running off to visit people/dogs, wandering off sniffing, leaving and lying down, leaving and hiding, the development of avoidance behaviors, etc.).
- An apparent deterioration of previously “known” behaviors (e.g. not able to follow “known” cues, not able to perform a fast or accurate recall, etc.)
- In some dogs we may also start to see aggressive responses occurring that were not previously present. These may be directed at other dogs or humans.
Adolescence can be an extremely challenging time for both the dog and their human/s. Sadly in the pet dog sector adolescence is the primary developmental phase where re-homing and relinquishment occurs. In the dog training sector, it is the phase where handler’s skills and emotions can get pushed to the limit. Having our dog emerge into adulthood as a confident, capable, relaxed, and well-rounded individual requires us to be strategic in our training and management during the adolescent phase.
In this webinar we discuss the changes that are occurring in our dog as they transition from puppyhood into adulthood, as well as practical adjustments we can make to our training during this developmental phase. These adjustments will:
- Reduce frustration for both us and our dog.
- Allow us to enjoy our time with our adolescent dog.
- Allow our dog to enjoy their adolescence.
- Assist in forming a stronger relationship with our dog that will carry forward for the longer-term.
- Create beneficial habits that will support our long-term training goals.
- Increase the probability of reaching our long-term training and competition goals.
Presenter: Sharon Carroll
