Name: Adolescents
Item: Adolescents
Author: kohmancb@gmail.com

My first Golden, Tomte, took to wandering out of our yard during his adolescent phase. One time, a well meaning person tied him up with a bowl of water a few blocks from where I lived. (I was in my 20s and living in Colorado.) Because he usually returned on his own, I became quite worried and went in search of him. It was a relief to see him lying happily in the shade – wagging his tail as I approached (and probably wondering what took me so long!).

Adolescence – Their Brains Are Changing Rapidly!

Dogs have a relatively short puppy-hood before entering dog adolescence. Just some quick clarifications before continuing:

– Puberty defines the changes in sexual and physical characteristics.
– Adolescence is the period between puberty and adulthood.

So, the term adolescence includes puberty changes, but it also includes other changes that have nothing to do with puberty.

Time Period: Dog adolescence typically runs from 6 to 16 months, with the average age of puberty ending around 12 to 14 months. These time periods vary according to the size of the dog.

All these changes are natural — and it’s up to us to be gentle with our dogs during this time period. It’s an important time for their development. What happens during adolescence can shape who they become as adults!

Our Training Approach for Adolescents

How do we help our adolescent dogs thrive during this sensitive time?

Adolescents get frustrated easily so be clear and patient with your requests. We make sure to train with small, easily understood steps.
We encourage the adolescent’s people to arrange regular meetings with familiar dogs, even if just walking on leash or off so they can explore together.
Try to limit exposure to areas with unfamiliar dogs and people.
We encourage increasing the amount of times you feed your dog per day. Frequent feedings (at least 3x/day) help them maintain blood sugar levels.
If we use puzzle toys or do anything involving finding little bits of food at a time, we make sure they’ve had a good portion of their meal first so there is no food frustration during the search games.
Limit fast, intense exercise to 5 minutes at a time so their bodies can recover. It’s fine if the dogs don’t do any fast, intense exercise too!
We reward frequently and raise the difficulty slowly to minimize training frustration. Adolescents might need reminders about behaviors they knew really well as pups!

Remember, this is a special time for our dogs — just like our teenagers. If behavior changes during this time, it is most likely due to the body and brain changes that naturally happen during adolescence. Of course, it’s always worth a veterinary visit to make sure the changes are due to adolescence and not because of any medical issue!

Recommendations (All these can be adjusted for the adolescent dog!)

Basic Manners (if the adolescent is new to training)
Advanced Manners (if adolescent has basic training already)
Learning By Imitation (for a new way of learning that suits adolescents!)
Any Dog Activities Training

Adolescents

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