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Canine adolescence can catch even experienced dog guardians off guard. Recall disappears, lead pulling returns, focus goes out the window and your previously confident puppy might suddenly become worried about things they never noticed before.
In this episode of The Yappy Hour, Nathan is joined by dog trainer Juanita Rogers from K9 Klass to unpack what is actually happening inside the adolescent dog’s brain and body. They explore hormones, brain development, fear periods, breed-specific behaviours and why your dog really hasn’t forgotten everything you’ve taught them.
Most importantly, Juanita shares practical ways to make this stage easier for both you and your dog, from going back to training basics and lowering expectations to enrichment, sniffing, decompression days and knowing when to ask for professional help.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
✅ When canine adolescence begins, how long it can last and why it varies between individual dogs
✅ Why your teenage dog can suddenly seem to forget their recall, stop responding to their name or start pulling on the lead again
✅ What’s happening in the adolescent brain, including neural pruning, brain development and those frustrating moments of apparent “brain fog”
✅ How hormones, emotional development and fear periods can affect your dog’s behaviour and confidence
✅ Why breed-specific behaviours such as herding and chasing can become more noticeable during adolescence
✅ How short training sessions, enrichment, scent work, play and decompression days can help an adolescent dog cope
✅ When to seek professional support and why choosing a qualified, force-free professional matters
Key Takeaways:
Your dog isn’t doing it to spite you. Adolescence is a major developmental period involving physical growth, hormonal changes and changes within the brain.
Going backwards is sometimes exactly what your dog needs. Bring back the long line, practise recall at an easier level and keep training sessions short rather than expecting your dog to perform at their previous level.
Consistency gives your dog stability. Everyone involved with your dog needs to be working in roughly the same way, particularly while so much else is changing for them.
Enrichment isn’t just about keeping your dog busy. Scent work, play and activities that give your dog an appropriate outlet for breed-specific behaviours can help with arousal, confidence and your relationship.
A walk isn’t always what your dog needs. Sometimes a decompression day at home, with sniffing, enrichment and gentle training, can be more beneficial than adding another potentially stressful walk.
Adolescence doesn’t last forever. Your dog needs support and guidance while they move through it, and struggling during this stage doesn’t mean you’ve failed.
Thanks for tuning in! Let’s celebrate the joy and challenges of dog parenting together, because we’re all here for the dogs.
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