Puppyhood was tough, right?
There were probably times where you thought you couldn’t get through it. But somehow, you and the little demon puffball survived. You got through the sleepless nights, endless biting, and everything you own smelling like pet stain remover.
As they aged out of the intense baby-puppy phase, you looked forward to everything being smooth sailing.
Well.
I have some bad news.
Life with a teenage dog can be just as hard, but in new and exciting ways.
No, they’re probably not screaming the second you leave them alone anymore. You can probably put the pet stain remover down now and get more than a few hours of sleep a night.
But while puppies are exhausting, they’re also relatively simple.
Teenage dogs are complicated.
They have lots of complex feelings, and they tend to express those feelings in very dramatic ways. They’re somehow both stubborn, independent little jerks – and also big cry babies at the same time. They’re suddenly scared of trashbags, and think the postman they’ve happily greeted for their entire puppyhood is here to kill us all.
And, for real, what’s with all the attitude?! I’m just trying to live my life, Fido, I don’t deserve that stank face. You fed them, you clothed them, you gave them an education. So why are they giving you the middle finger? Was all the work you did for nothing?
To answer these questions, let’s take a dive into your adolescent dog’s brain real quick.
1. They forget everything you taught them because their brain is being rebuilt
Despite what Fido may be yelling at you as they slam their bedroom door and put on their hip hop musics, they’re not actually a grown up yet. Their brain isn’t fully developed.
Teenage dogs have a limited ability to think clearly and make good choices, because the part of their brain that tells them how to do that is undergoing some renovations.
Specifically, their pre-frontal cortex is being rebuilt.
The pre-frontal cortex is in charge of some important things. Like making rational decisions, regulating their emotions, and intelligently navigating social dynamics.
Which are all things you may notice are missing from the behaviour of your favourite moody little tyrant at the moment.
So, if your teenage dog is suddenly acting like they’ve forgotten what sit means, or like they’ve never seen their best friend from puppy playgroup before, you’re not imagining it. They may actually have forgotten some stuff for real.
They may have forgotten how to react to things that they’ve seen before.
All that socialization work you did when your puppy first came home is definitely not for nothing, but it might feel like it right now.
2. They overreact to every little thing because their amygdala is running the show
Living with a teenage dog can feel a little like living with a method actor who’s gunning for an Oscar. They have main character energy, and all we can do sometimes is get the f*ck out the way.
While the pre-frontal cortex is undergoing renovations, the amygdala is in charge.
The amygdala is responsible for emotional processing, committing strong emotional experiences to long-term memory, and it plays a big role in the Fight, Flight or Freeze response.
Now, because the amygdala is basically where Raw Emotion lives, it normally has a filtration system set up to make sure it’s not going into DEFCON 1 every time the neighbour walks by with their elderly Shih Tzu. This system is made up of inhibitory neurons, and they sort of act like bouncers at the door.
But here’s the thing:
During adolescence, those bouncers don’t really exist yet. So that means that we have a completely unfiltered drama major running the circus.
Sh*t’s gonna get a little messy.
Teenage dogs tend to overreact to things, and have some big opinions. That’s all driven by the amygdala constantly setting off alarm bells and telling your dog that if they don’t get over to say hi to that other dog right freakin’ now they’re going to die!
Their Fight, Flight or Freeze system is being tripped by everything. The best thing we can do for them is make sure all those alarms and sirens don’t turn into long-term memory lessons that they carry into adulthood.
During adolescence, old neural connections in the pre-frontal cortex are being discarded, and new ones are being forged in their place.
3. And let’s not forget: they’re a hormone soup
With the onset of adolescence comes hormones. Testosterone and estrogen are flowing right now, and they create some evolutionarily important behavioural changes.
Testosterone increases the instinct to roam, and can also increase the likelihood and severity of conflict behaviours. For our dogs’ ancestors in the wild, these changes spurred males to strike out on their own and find a mate, while also making them physically ready to defend themselves and/or defeat rivals whilst doing so.
Estrogen and progesterone peak just before and during each heat cycle, respectively, and can create restlessness, soliciting behaviour, handler sensitivity, and potentially increase resource guarding. These behavioural changes help them protect themselves from mating attempts before they’re ready, and protect themselves and their ability to mate when they are ready.
Both of these hormones can also change how other dogs treat our teenage dogs.
Adult dogs know what’s up, and may target teenage dogs as a result of these hormonal changes. Female dogs may also have to suffer a few harassing fools sniffing after her, and may have a lower tolerance for pushy behaviour than usual.
Don’t worry, the work you did during puppyhood hasn’t gone down the drain
Building a strong foundation in puppyhood still pays off as they head into adulthood, after the adolescent drama calms down.
Understanding what’s going on for our teenage dogs doesn’t necessarily make dealing with it any easier; they can still be complicated, dramatic, and frustrating.
But it does give us a little perspective.
There’s a certain anticipation that comes with getting through the puppy phase and getting to see what your dog could really be like as an adult – and the teenage phase can really give that hopeful feeling a kick in the guts.
But this probably won’t be what life is like forever. Just like puppyhood, adolescence is a time of rapid change that we have to ride out with our dogs, and there is light at the end of the tunnel.
And it’s not all bad! Teenage dogs also present us with lots of opportunities to make our relationship really strong, teach important emotional regulation skills, and establish the foundations of engagement and focus – even when it’s hard.
If you want to learn more about what to expect in each of your dog’s developmental phases, and how to get the most out of your training goals, check out our on-demand workshop Cheat Codes for Your Growing Dog’s Brain.
This workshop will help you:
✅ Build trust by meeting your puppy where they’re at
✅ Enjoy your dog more by setting realistic expectations for each life phase
✅ Get a clear sense of what to focus on now, and what can wait until later
✅ Stop unnecessary stress and drama (like trying to train specific skills in a phase where it won’t stick)
✅ Avoid common traps that can lead to aggression later
✅ Survive the rebellious teenage phase
✅ Learn how to handle reactivity in a teenage dog (our answer might surprise you)
