Surviving the terrible teens
The majority of dogs given up for rehoming are in that 8mo-2yo age range, and for good reason. One day you’ve got a super sweet young pup who adores you and is starting to get the hang of the whole behaving themselves thing, the next you’ve got a little demon on four legs making you wonder why you even bothered to get a dog in the first place. Welcome to teenage dogs!
Often pups are approaching that teenage stage juuust as the owners take their foot off the training pedals. We’ve done puppy training, things seem to be clicking and we get complacent. The dogs get a little more freedom, you’re training a little less frequently and they’re not getting the same level of reinforcement you might have given as a puppy. But the teenage stage is where this stuff is the most crucial, as they start testing the boundaries with their new found confidence, independence and hormones.
Before you fall into a pit of despair, have faith that they do grow up. Some might take until 18mo, 2yo, 3yo to get there but they do eventually become fully fledged adults with fully developed brains. The key is making sure you are keeping up your side of the bargain in the mean time, putting the reps in and preventing them from getting too good at making terrible life decisions.
So if you’re noticing a few unwanted behaviours creeping in the window as your dog approaches their teenage stage, now would be a really good time to take it back to basics.
🌟Have their needs been met? This includes physical exercise and mental stimulation, appropriate diets, breed specific outlets (having the opportunity to do the thing they’re bred for, in a way that is safe & acceptable to you), and often overlooked - getting enough rest, and practicing that chill button. Make sure you’re holding up your end of the bargain before you go hounding the dog for not holding up theirs!
🌟If you’re not supervising, contain your dog somewhere they can’t get into mischief. Unsupervised teens make poor decisions, poor decisions tend to be things that they find highly reinforcing so they’ll keep doing it and getting better at it along the way. You can’t stop what you’re not there to stop - put the damn dog away.
🌟If you are supervising, have a way to enforce the cues. Around this time teenagers can start to go selectively deaf because other things become so much cooler than hanging out with their parents. So if you’re out on that walk and your dog is starting to ignore their recall, put that long line back on them and use that to make sure they aren’t finding reinforcement while they’re ignoring you.
🌟Along with this, make sure you are continuing to reinforce the good stuff they are doing. No teen wants to hang out with their parents when all they hear is “no”. Stash a portion of their daily food allocation somewhere handy, and when your teen is making good choices - reward the heck out of it. Take some decent treats and/or a toy with you on that walk, and when they check in with you recognise it and reward it with something worth their while. The more reinforcement you put behind it, the more likely they are to display those behaviours we like in future. And the more fun you’ll have together.
🌟Freedom is a reward in itself. Your teenager is coming into their own and freedom to check things out becomes a higher value priority than in their less confident puppy days. Use this to your advantage. They do something great, say “okay” and let them have a sniff around and explore. Freedom comes through you, you are not the barrier keeping them from it.
🌟It’s okay to say no. Assuming you have done your part and followed through on the above, if a dog is doing something outright bratty or dangerous, I will often mark that with a “no” and correct them. Whether that’s using a leash, my body language or removal of privileges (eg removing freedom & putting them back on a shorter lead). It’s not an emotional or scary thing feeding into the chaotic teen energy. It’s just a firm, drama free “no”, followed by a meaningful consequence that changes the behaviour - setting a boundary that we will not be tolerating that behaviour, and to try something else instead. From there I’ll also make a point at looking at what preceded that situation and see what changes we can make in future to support the dog in making better choices next time.
🌟And above all - be consistent. Some days it might feel like nothing is working and they’re never going to get it, then a week later things just click and everything you’ve been teaching them sticks all at once. Keep working on them, be patient with them, be gentle with yourself & remember that they do grow up eventually.
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If you need help along the way with your specific dog, get in touch. I offer owner coaching sessions throughout much of the Waikato & Waipa, as well as over zoom anywhere with an internet connection.
