Inside Your Teenage Dog's Mind: Understanding and Managing the 'Not Listening' Phase

Adolescent dogs (6–24 months) face brain changes, distraction, and impulse struggles. Learn how to manage this phase with patience and training.

Introduction

The adolescent phase in dogs typically lasts from 6 months to around 2 years. The duration of adolescence is largely determined by biological and breed factors. Smaller breeds often mature faster, exiting adolescence earlier, whereas larger breeds may remain in this phase for longer.

This developmental stage can be particularly challenging for you. One moment, they’re your sweet, obedient puppy, the next, they’re giving you the "What? I don’t know what sit means" look, while sprinting off to in the opposite direction faster than you can say "sausage"!

If your well-trained puppy has suddenly started ignoring you, you’re not alone. The good news? This phase is normal, temporary, and manageable with the right approach. Understanding what’s happening inside your teenage dog’s mind can help you navigate this tricky stage and come out the other side with your relationship in one piece. It can also help you to avoid some common pitfalls and misconceptions.

What’s Happening Inside Your Teenage Dog’s Brain?

Just like human teenagers, adolescent dogs go through major developmental changes that affect their behaviour. Here’s what’s going on:

Brain Development: During adolescence, your dog’s brain undergoes a process known as synaptic pruning. This is where the brain refines and reorganises neural connections, strengthening frequently used pathways while eliminating less-used ones. This makes learning more efficient in the long run but can temporarily result in unpredictable behaviour and memory lapses, explaining why a dog may appear to ‘forget’ previously learned commands. Yes, your dog did know ‘sit’ yesterday. No, they’re not pretending. Their brain is like an overloaded internet browser—too many tabs open, and the important ones keep crashing.
Hormonal Changes: As your dog matures, their body experiences an influx of hormones, particularly testosterone and oestrogen, which influence behaviour, mood, and energy levels. Studies have shown that these hormonal fluctuations can contribute to increased risk-taking behaviour, higher excitability, and reduced impulse control, similar to what is seen in human adolescents.
Overactive Limbic System: The limbic system, which governs emotions and survival instincts, is highly active during adolescence. This means that your dog is more likely to react emotionally rather than logically. Research suggests that adolescent dogs show increased activity in the amygdala (the emotional centre of the brain), which can contribute to heightened reactivity to stimuli, including unfamiliar people, dogs, or sudden noises.
Dopamine-Driven Exploration: Adolescent dogs experience changes in dopamine regulation, the neurotransmitter responsible for motivation and reward-seeking behaviour. This shift encourages exploration, novelty-seeking, and risk-taking, which can sometimes appear as increased curiosity, distractibility, or selective hearing. Understanding this can help you approach training with patience and structure, reinforcing desirable behaviours with rewarding outcomes.

These changes explain why your dog may seem unpredictable - listening one day and completely ignoring you the next!

How These Brain Changes Affect Your Dog’s Attention and Behaviour:

Recall and Basic Cues Seem to Vanish: Your dog is experiencing shifts in motivation and focus, making familiar cues less appealing compared to new distractions in the environment. This can lead to slower responses or seemingly ‘forgotten’ training.
More Interest in the Environment: With dopamine-driven exploration at play, your dog’s heightened curiosity means they are more drawn to investigating new sights, smells, and sounds rather than responding immediately to cues. They may spend more time sniffing, staring, or even wandering off mid-walk.
Weakened Impulse Control: Your dog may suddenly start chasing after things they have never shown interest in before - like leaves, birds, or even distant sounds. Their ability to stop themselves from reacting impulsively is still developing, making recall and lead walking challenging.
Inconsistent Responses: One moment, your dog might execute a perfect recall, and the next, they completely ignore you. This variability is due to ongoing neural changes - on some days, well-practiced behaviours are reinforced, and on others, new experiences take precedence.

What Can Help Make Adolescence Easier?

While the duration of adolescence is largely influenced by biological and breed factors, there are several things that can help make this phase more manageable.

Consistent reinforcement of behaviours – Strengthens synaptic connections, reducing the need for excessive relearning and helping dogs retain their training.
Positive early experiences with novelty – Exposure to a variety of environments, people, and experiences in a controlled and rewarding way can lower sensitivity to distractions and improve adaptability.
Impulse control training – Teaching exercises like 'wait,' 'leave it,' and structured play can help adolescent dogs develop better self-regulation, reducing frustration-based behaviours.
Enrichment and mental stimulation – Activities such as scent work, puzzle toys, and structured exercise engage the brain and provide an outlet for exploration in a constructive way.
Training consistency across family members – Ensuring that everyone in your household reinforces the same rules and expectations helps the dog understand how things work and limits confusion.

By incorporating these elements into daily life, you can reduce frustration and build stronger engagement with your adolescent dog, making this developmental phase smoother for both you and your dog.

Managing the ‘Not Listening’ Phase – Practical Solutions

The key to success is adapting your training to your adolescent dog’s changing brain.

Training Adjustments for Success

✔ Reinforce the Basics – Revisit simple training exercises in low-distraction environments.

✔ Reward Attention – Mark and reward eye contact and voluntary check-ins.

✔ Keep Training Sessions Short and Fun – High engagement prevents frustration.

Walking & Recall Solutions

✔ Use a Long Line – Allows freedom while maintaining control.

✔ Don’t Repeat Cues – Avoid “Come! Come! COME!” as they’ll learn to tune it out.

✔ Introduce Novelty – Use unexpected rewards, new toys, varied movement patterns, or fresh training environments to maintain their interest and engagement.

Mental Stimulation & Scent Work

✔ Scent Work is Perfect for Teenage Dogs – It engages their brain, satisfies their need for independence, and improves focus.

✔ Enrichment Games at Home – Food puzzles, scatter feeding, and sniffing games to channel energy productively.

What NOT to Do During This Phase

Don’t Punish or Get Frustrated – This is a brain development issue, not defiance. No matter how much they’re acting like a rebellious teenager, they’re not plotting against you. Promise.
Avoid Overwhelming Situations – Too much pressure can create frustration-based behaviours.
Don’t Stop Training – Keep reinforcing the skills they already know.

Need Extra Help? Training Classes for Adolescent and Adult Dogs

If you’re struggling with your adolescent dog’s behaviour, structured training can make a huge difference. My Beyond Beginners class is a follow-on course designed for those who have already completed a foundational training class and want to progress their skills with their puppy, adolescent and or adult dog, while my Adolescent and Adult Beginners class provides a great foundation for those new to training, or those looking to reinforce essential skills. For additional enrichment, my scent work courses provide mental stimulation to keep your dog engaged and satisfied.

Conclusion

Finding the right help and support during your dog's adolescent phase can make all the difference. Now that you understand your dog isn’t being ‘naughty’ but is instead, going through a natural developmental process, it’s important to seek guidance from someone who recognises this and can provide the right professional support. A qualified trainer can guide you dog through this tricky stage, helping your to strengthen your bond so that you and your dog develop a true partnership built on trust and understanding.

Ready to get your teenage dog back on track? Book a class today!

Categories: : adolescent dog training