Finley is ten months old now and has definitely moved into the teenage phase with hormones firing! He is marking a lot outside and is now cocking his leg. I do feel for him as this stage is very hard for boys as they don’t really know what is happening to them and their ‘hormone head’ is not helpful in making good decisions.

Finley’s recall is not so sharp at the moment and there is quite a bit of selective hearing!The teenage phase can be a difficult time and its sometimes mistaken for dogs being deliberately ‘difficult’ or ‘stubborn.’ However, we know from research that during this phase, much like human teenagers they are not only experiencing hormonal shifts which include huge rushes of testosterone, their brain is still developing and reorganizing itself.

Think about when you were a teenager, struggling to understand all the emotions, wanting to be independent, but still need your caregivers and finding boundaries really hard! Evidence suggests it is much the same for your teenage dog.The teenage phase can start from five months of age and depending on size of dog, can end around 14 months (small dogs) two years (bigger dogs) each dog is individual and there is no hard and fast rule on this.

1. Your dog needs you to support him through this phase, accept that there are going to be days when your dog ignores you, struggles to listen and make good decisions. Rather than thinking that your dog is defying you, support them through a difficult time.

2. Setbacks during this phase are TEMPORARY. As your dog emotionally matures, with consistent help, management and training, you will get through it.

3. Keep your training easy, do the basics and be consistent. Expecting perfection is not going to happen, remember they find it hard to focus. Too much pressure and they will have a meltdown (again think human teenager!)

4. Have bucket loads of PATIENCE and more patience

5. Keep routine regular, have more ‘you and the dog time’ on walks that are not too distracting. Choose quieter places to walk.

6. Incorporate scent work activities to help with sniffing and searching which triggers more dopamine and also helps to calm those erratic hormone surges.

7. IMPORTANT- this is not the time to neuter your dog in the hope it will help calm him down. He needs his testosterone during this time to cope with the emotional changes going on and also for his physical development (always talk though with your vet first)

8. Be prepared to put management back in place frequently though this phase. So, managing environment, interactions, using a long line, regulate their rest and reward calmness, any opportunity to capture a calm interaction is important.

9. Lower your expectations at this stage and enjoy your dog for who he is at this moment.

10. Remember this is TEMPORARY, have fun and keep building your bond