Adolescent dog training, the six to eighteen month wobble
The dog that had brilliant recall at five months and ignores you at eleven months has not been ruined. It has grown up, and adolescence temporarily rewrites the priorities.
Reduce freedom, do not increase pressure. Go back to a long line, shorten your sessions, raise the value of your rewards and keep the rules identical every day. Most dogs come out the other side by around eighteen months if the structure held.
What is actually happening
Hormones, a changing brain and a widening world all arrive at once. The dog is not testing you in the way people mean, it is simply finding the environment more interesting than it used to be.
What holds
- ●A long line back on for a month or two.
- ●Fewer free for all park sessions, more structured walking.
- ●Clear house rules that do not change on tired evenings.
- ●Mental work, scent games and training sessions, not just more miles.
The mistake to avoid
Escalating punishment at this age damages the relationship you will need for the next decade. Manage the environment instead, and let the dog be right more often than it is wrong.
Need hands on help?
Ask about a two week reset stay for adolescent dogs.
Three generations of the same family, over 8,000 dogs trained.
Common questions
Usually yes, if the structure stayed consistent. Dogs that were given more freedom to compensate tend to stay difficult.
It is a health and management decision, not a training one, and it does not fix trained behaviour problems. Ask your vet.
It can be excellent, because we can reset the routine daily and hand the dog back with the standard already set.
Related guides
Looking for training near you? See our dog training areas, our protection dog areas, or all services.