The Case of an Adolescent Dog

One of the most confusing moments for puppy families happens right around six months of age. Training that once felt smooth suddenly feels inconsistent. Your puppy still knows the cues, but responses are slower, selective, or sometimes absent altogether. It can feel like progress has disappeared overnight.

This stage is known as adolescence, and it is a completely normal part of puppy development.

During this time, puppies grow rapidly; physically, emotionally, and neurologically. Their bodies change faster than their brains can keep up with, and their ability to regulate impulses is still developing. What often looks like stubbornness or defiance is actually a puppy learning how to navigate a more complex world with an immature nervous system.

Around this age, many puppies begin to test boundaries. They start to wonder whether cues are always required or if there is flexibility in the rules. You might notice your puppy taking longer to respond, offering a modified version of a behavior, or choosing to disengage entirely. This is not a sign that training has failed. It is a sign that your puppy is growing.

Because of this, adolescence is not the time to push harder or expect more. In fact, increasing intensity or introducing too many new skills often makes things more difficult. Instead of learning new behaviors, this stage is best used to reinforce what your puppy already knows. Training should feel simpler, clearer, and more predictable than before.

Precision and consistency matter more than novelty right now. Clear cues, familiar routines, and predictable expectations help your puppy feel safe while their brain is catching up to their body. This is not a stage for perfection. It is a stage for repetition and support.

One of the most important shifts during adolescence is lowering expectations and focusing on management. Management means setting up your puppy’s environment in a way that prevents overwhelm and reduces opportunities for impulsive mistakes. When expectations are low and the environment is supportive, your puppy is better able to stay emotionally regulated. A regulated puppy has a much greater ability to respond to training, even when distractions or frustrations appear.

This is also the stage where relaxation and impulse control should become daily priorities. A puppy who practices settling learns how to downshift their nervous system instead of staying in a constant state of excitement or frustration. The simplicity of relaxation protocol helps keep your puppy under threshold, which improves their ability to think, respond, and recover from stress.

Impulse control exercises serve a similar purpose. They help your puppy learn to pause before reacting, even when emotions are high. These skills don’t eliminate impulsive behavior overnight, but they provide your puppy with tools they will rely on as they mature.

Adolescence does not have a fixed end date, which can make it feel unpredictable. For most puppies, this stage begins around six months of age and continues until somewhere between twelve and eighteen months. Smaller breeds often move through adolescence more quickly, while larger and giant breeds may continue developing into eighteen or even twenty-four months. Progress during this time tends to come in waves, with moments of clarity followed by moments of regression. This is all part of the process.

The good news is that adolescence passes. Puppies who are supported through this stage with patience, consistency, and realistic expectations often emerge more emotionally stable and confident. The foundation you reinforce during this phase becomes the structure your adult dog relies on later.

If training feels harder right now, it does not mean you’ve done something wrong. It means your puppy is growing. Staying simple, lowering expectations, and focusing on regulation rather than performance allows your puppy to move through adolescence without unnecessary pressure.

This stage is not about fixing your dog. It is about guiding them through development—and that guidance makes all the difference.