Canine Behaviour Foundation Course
Module 1 - Section - 15 - Adolescence
Module 1 - Section - 15 - Adolescence
1. Physically what to expect
2. Behaviour
3. How to get through adolescence
2. Behaviour
3. How to get through adolescence
Adolescent Dogs
The term adolescence is derived from the Latin word „adolescere“, which means „growing up“.
Anybody that has had the pup has probably experienced adolescence – and not always with laughter! The first time you realize your pup has gone into adolescence is then the dog that always ran up to you when called and looked at you in adoration, now spends 40 minutes running away from you with great glea and seems to totally ignore anything you ask it to do!
You may also find that when you ask your adolescence to Sit and are greeted with a look that says ‘you want me to do what!!!’ Yes, boundaries are definitely being tested and your pup is figuring out what it can get away with – does any of the above behaviour remind you of a teenager? It should, the adolescent age can be compared with the teenager period in children – the good news here is that thankfully it does not last as long and it passes!
What is so important for owners to realize is that this is a natural process – the dog is not trying to spite them in any way or does not love them less – it is a time of enormous change and a totally natural process and your dog is developing its own personality.
1. Physically what to expect
Adolescence starts at different ages and often breed dependent with the big breeds seeming to start a bit later, however the average is about 6 months with the majority of dogs at 8 to 9 months of age. This period lasts until approximately 18 months of age. What is very interesting and unfortunately very true is that the majority of dogs are surrendered to rescue centres between 6 - 18 months of age.
Physically this tends to be a time where the pup looks very gawky and ungainly and on average the pup has reached his full physical height – as it gets older the body will fill out more.
The pup will already have its adult teeth, however that does not mean the need to chew has gone – it is definitely still there and often seems to be worse than when the dog was a puppy! At around 9 months to a year of age the back teeth are still settling into the jaw and chewing will help the adolescent to deal with this occurring so increase the number of chew toys remembering that it may be necessary to use a larger and stronger size than previously used. .
You will also see that that gorgeous puppy coat is falling out and this often seems to happen during one huge shedding cycle – this allows the adult coat to start growing in. That lovely puppy smell will disappear and one sometimes realizes that the pup now smells more like a ‘real dog’.
It also seems that adolescent dogs seem to be faster than ever and rush around at the speed of knots and never seems to get tired. Many adolescent pups will be lying quietly or moving from one room to another when all a sudden it seems that a rocket has been let off under them and they will run around in circles, jumping on furniture and acting a bit like a mad dog – this is normal, don’t worry - if possible increase the exercise.
This is a time when hormones are peaking– on average a male dog will have the highest testosterone levels at about 8 months and a female will come into heat (estrus). This is another reason why it is preferable to sterilize at about 6 months of age which prevents the hormone peak – the pup will still be an adolescent, however it tends to be a less extreme period if the pup has been sterilized before adolescence happens.
It is at around this age that males will start to lift their leg against objects for urination rather than squatting. Due to the changes in haormones, if the male dog has not yet been sterilized, behaviours such as humping, inappropriate elimination often inside occur. The dog may start ‘marking’ its territory inside the home and also to interest the ladies – the urine will signal by way of hormones that the dog is ready for mating– this is their way of preparing themselves for adulthood.
Female dogs may also start to urinate more and especially inside – this is in preparation of announcing themselves ready to mate to any interested male dog.
There are also enormous changes taking place in the brain especially the amygdala and the cerebral cortex, which are beyond the scope of this course and covered more in Level 2. Due to our profession we do tend to touch dogs a lot, especially at Puppy school and although there does not seem to be anything documented about ‘touch’ in relation to adolescence, I do believe that adolescent dogs as a whole, do not like to be touched as much. This is where TTouch can also assist and if you do know how to do TTouch then doing a bit daily will definitely help with the adolescent process.
2. Behaviour
As the hormones are surging around it is a pretty sure thing that your dog will have the attention span of an ant – it is simply not able to concentrate on anything and seems to try and do a whole lot of different things at once rather than concentrating on one particular thing. Selective hearing is another thing that happens as is your adolescent dog seeming have totally lost its memory!
Any minor behaviour concerns that were there when the adolescent was a pup will become exaggerated at this time. Bite inhibition and basic manners seem to go out the window as well.
The adolescent, especially males may suddenly start to become reactive to other dogs, especially other male dogs, even ones they were friends with before – your gorgeous, cute waggly butt, I love all dogs pups has gone!
Where reactive behaviour is concerned, this is not something that happens over night – one needs to be aware of the early telltale signs and the sooner these are tackled the better. It could be the dog starts to back off from other dogs, it may growl, the body language will change from friendly behaviour etc – read again your 5 F’s of behaviour and stress signs and signs of reactive behaviour.
It is also not unusual for other male dogs (whether intact or not) to react towards an intact male dog – this is simply because they smell different (the hormones) either barking as they come close or even acting in a reactive manner. If the dog was not adequately socialized prior to adolescence the reactive behaviour tends to be much worse.
It is during this stage that the adolescent dog that used to happily share its resources may become a bit of a resource guarder as well.
This is also a stage where in some dogs fear behaviours start to happen, towards people, even people the pup already knows and this seems to happen more towards men and children, especially if the dog is not used to having them around. Fear may be shown when the dog goes to new locations and towards objects such as dustbin bags in the street, vacuum cleaners etc.
What is essential is that the new fear or reactive behaviour is dealt with immediately so that it does not become worse – as it will unless tackled correctly. It is not within the scope of this course to teach how to work with reactive behaviour towards people or other dogs, so please do call in the services of a professional to help you – in SA you can contact www.animal-behaviour.org.za to find an accredited canine behaviour consultant who will have the tools to assist.
For fear of objects and people you can refer to your notes in Pups with Potential Problems in Module 1 Section 14 for tools to overcome this.
3. How to get through adolescence
Don’t even consider trying to train anything new, it will be a waste of time and lower your expectation completely. The most important thing here is to try and ignore any ‘bad’ behaviour and really go overboard praising any good behaviour. Really focus on what the dog does well and do as much of this as possible.
Daily walks will make the world of difference and if the dog is showing any signs of reactive behaviour avoid walking in the street or anywhere else there are dogs – rather get into your car and drive to the local shopping centre and walk around this area – odds are no other dogs.
Lots of games of fetch and if your dog has forgotten how to retrieve an article, rather don’t even try – have 3 or 4 balls or ropes and throw them one at a time instead. A wonderful way to entertain a dog and also to tire it out is the use of a Flirt Pole. Don’t try to use obedience exercises combined with this at the adolescent stage, rather just use it for the dog to have fun and exercise.
In the next section on Adult dogs we have a whole section dedicated to the many different ways you can entertain a dog and bring these into play – it will be the first section of Module 2. These would include Digging Pits, scent Games, Toy on Rope, etc.
Especially when you are out, provide entertainment such as varied chew toys which are changed daily and as mentioned above a good idea to consider larger and tougher chew toys. These can be taken away when you come home. The additional benefit of chewing is that not only does it keep an adolescent busy, it will relieve boredom and frustration it will help the back teeth that are settling into the gums. As the inside of the mouth is connected to the limbic centre of the brain which governs emotions and is the seat of all learning, the chew toy will help the dog to be calmer.
On the alternative side, we have found that bringing in either the General Anxiety or Extreme Anxiety of the Avalon Pure for Dogs range really does help the dog to remain a bit calmer.
If you can find a good obedience school that understands what you are going through then – a definite bonus and they can also help with your dogs socialization skills at the same time – just don’t expect too much, view this as an outing rather than training.
The term adolescence is derived from the Latin word „adolescere“, which means „growing up“.
Anybody that has had the pup has probably experienced adolescence – and not always with laughter! The first time you realize your pup has gone into adolescence is then the dog that always ran up to you when called and looked at you in adoration, now spends 40 minutes running away from you with great glea and seems to totally ignore anything you ask it to do!
You may also find that when you ask your adolescence to Sit and are greeted with a look that says ‘you want me to do what!!!’ Yes, boundaries are definitely being tested and your pup is figuring out what it can get away with – does any of the above behaviour remind you of a teenager? It should, the adolescent age can be compared with the teenager period in children – the good news here is that thankfully it does not last as long and it passes!
What is so important for owners to realize is that this is a natural process – the dog is not trying to spite them in any way or does not love them less – it is a time of enormous change and a totally natural process and your dog is developing its own personality.
1. Physically what to expect
Adolescence starts at different ages and often breed dependent with the big breeds seeming to start a bit later, however the average is about 6 months with the majority of dogs at 8 to 9 months of age. This period lasts until approximately 18 months of age. What is very interesting and unfortunately very true is that the majority of dogs are surrendered to rescue centres between 6 - 18 months of age.
Physically this tends to be a time where the pup looks very gawky and ungainly and on average the pup has reached his full physical height – as it gets older the body will fill out more.
The pup will already have its adult teeth, however that does not mean the need to chew has gone – it is definitely still there and often seems to be worse than when the dog was a puppy! At around 9 months to a year of age the back teeth are still settling into the jaw and chewing will help the adolescent to deal with this occurring so increase the number of chew toys remembering that it may be necessary to use a larger and stronger size than previously used. .
You will also see that that gorgeous puppy coat is falling out and this often seems to happen during one huge shedding cycle – this allows the adult coat to start growing in. That lovely puppy smell will disappear and one sometimes realizes that the pup now smells more like a ‘real dog’.
It also seems that adolescent dogs seem to be faster than ever and rush around at the speed of knots and never seems to get tired. Many adolescent pups will be lying quietly or moving from one room to another when all a sudden it seems that a rocket has been let off under them and they will run around in circles, jumping on furniture and acting a bit like a mad dog – this is normal, don’t worry - if possible increase the exercise.
This is a time when hormones are peaking– on average a male dog will have the highest testosterone levels at about 8 months and a female will come into heat (estrus). This is another reason why it is preferable to sterilize at about 6 months of age which prevents the hormone peak – the pup will still be an adolescent, however it tends to be a less extreme period if the pup has been sterilized before adolescence happens.
It is at around this age that males will start to lift their leg against objects for urination rather than squatting. Due to the changes in haormones, if the male dog has not yet been sterilized, behaviours such as humping, inappropriate elimination often inside occur. The dog may start ‘marking’ its territory inside the home and also to interest the ladies – the urine will signal by way of hormones that the dog is ready for mating– this is their way of preparing themselves for adulthood.
Female dogs may also start to urinate more and especially inside – this is in preparation of announcing themselves ready to mate to any interested male dog.
There are also enormous changes taking place in the brain especially the amygdala and the cerebral cortex, which are beyond the scope of this course and covered more in Level 2. Due to our profession we do tend to touch dogs a lot, especially at Puppy school and although there does not seem to be anything documented about ‘touch’ in relation to adolescence, I do believe that adolescent dogs as a whole, do not like to be touched as much. This is where TTouch can also assist and if you do know how to do TTouch then doing a bit daily will definitely help with the adolescent process.
2. Behaviour
As the hormones are surging around it is a pretty sure thing that your dog will have the attention span of an ant – it is simply not able to concentrate on anything and seems to try and do a whole lot of different things at once rather than concentrating on one particular thing. Selective hearing is another thing that happens as is your adolescent dog seeming have totally lost its memory!
Any minor behaviour concerns that were there when the adolescent was a pup will become exaggerated at this time. Bite inhibition and basic manners seem to go out the window as well.
The adolescent, especially males may suddenly start to become reactive to other dogs, especially other male dogs, even ones they were friends with before – your gorgeous, cute waggly butt, I love all dogs pups has gone!
Where reactive behaviour is concerned, this is not something that happens over night – one needs to be aware of the early telltale signs and the sooner these are tackled the better. It could be the dog starts to back off from other dogs, it may growl, the body language will change from friendly behaviour etc – read again your 5 F’s of behaviour and stress signs and signs of reactive behaviour.
It is also not unusual for other male dogs (whether intact or not) to react towards an intact male dog – this is simply because they smell different (the hormones) either barking as they come close or even acting in a reactive manner. If the dog was not adequately socialized prior to adolescence the reactive behaviour tends to be much worse.
It is during this stage that the adolescent dog that used to happily share its resources may become a bit of a resource guarder as well.
This is also a stage where in some dogs fear behaviours start to happen, towards people, even people the pup already knows and this seems to happen more towards men and children, especially if the dog is not used to having them around. Fear may be shown when the dog goes to new locations and towards objects such as dustbin bags in the street, vacuum cleaners etc.
What is essential is that the new fear or reactive behaviour is dealt with immediately so that it does not become worse – as it will unless tackled correctly. It is not within the scope of this course to teach how to work with reactive behaviour towards people or other dogs, so please do call in the services of a professional to help you – in SA you can contact www.animal-behaviour.org.za to find an accredited canine behaviour consultant who will have the tools to assist.
For fear of objects and people you can refer to your notes in Pups with Potential Problems in Module 1 Section 14 for tools to overcome this.
3. How to get through adolescence
Don’t even consider trying to train anything new, it will be a waste of time and lower your expectation completely. The most important thing here is to try and ignore any ‘bad’ behaviour and really go overboard praising any good behaviour. Really focus on what the dog does well and do as much of this as possible.
Daily walks will make the world of difference and if the dog is showing any signs of reactive behaviour avoid walking in the street or anywhere else there are dogs – rather get into your car and drive to the local shopping centre and walk around this area – odds are no other dogs.
Lots of games of fetch and if your dog has forgotten how to retrieve an article, rather don’t even try – have 3 or 4 balls or ropes and throw them one at a time instead. A wonderful way to entertain a dog and also to tire it out is the use of a Flirt Pole. Don’t try to use obedience exercises combined with this at the adolescent stage, rather just use it for the dog to have fun and exercise.
In the next section on Adult dogs we have a whole section dedicated to the many different ways you can entertain a dog and bring these into play – it will be the first section of Module 2. These would include Digging Pits, scent Games, Toy on Rope, etc.
Especially when you are out, provide entertainment such as varied chew toys which are changed daily and as mentioned above a good idea to consider larger and tougher chew toys. These can be taken away when you come home. The additional benefit of chewing is that not only does it keep an adolescent busy, it will relieve boredom and frustration it will help the back teeth that are settling into the gums. As the inside of the mouth is connected to the limbic centre of the brain which governs emotions and is the seat of all learning, the chew toy will help the dog to be calmer.
On the alternative side, we have found that bringing in either the General Anxiety or Extreme Anxiety of the Avalon Pure for Dogs range really does help the dog to remain a bit calmer.
If you can find a good obedience school that understands what you are going through then – a definite bonus and they can also help with your dogs socialization skills at the same time – just don’t expect too much, view this as an outing rather than training.
