Navigating Canine Adolescence (& Senior Stubbornness) with Compassion vs Frustration
- alysha carusi
- Jan 5
- 3 min read
Adolescence and senior years are two of the most challenging — and misunderstood — stages of a dog’s life.
Understanding canine adolescence requires us to look beyond surface-level behaviour and into dog development, emotional capacity, and nervous system regulation. When we do, this phase becomes far less frightening — and far more navigable.
Dogs Don’t Outgrow Emotions — They Learn How to Live With Them
Although dogs age faster than humans physically, their emotional and mental capacity remains similar to that of a young child throughout their life.
Dogs experience emotions in real time. They don’t rationalize, suppress, or contextualize feelings the way adults do. Instead, they respond to the world directly through their nervous system.
This means:
Fast reactions
Big feelings
Limited impulse control under stress
During adolescence, these traits intensify — not because training failed, but because the brain is reorganizing itself.
From a behavioural perspective, this is not regression. It’s neurological development.
What Actually Happens During Canine Adolescence
Canine adolescence typically occurs between 6 and 24 months, depending on breed and size. During this phase, dogs experience:
Hormonal changes that heighten emotional responses
Increased sensitivity to their environment
Temporary drops in impulse control
Renewed fear periods
A stronger drive to explore, test limits, and seek stimulation
This is why dogs may suddenly:
Pull on leash
Bark more frequently
Seem “selective” about listening
React differently to people, dogs, or sounds
Nothing has been lost. The brain is simply rebuilding pathways.
Much like human teenagers, adolescent dogs are learning how to exist in a bigger, more complex world — often without the emotional tools to do so gracefully yet.
Why So Many Dogs Are Re-homed at This Stage
Adolescence often collides with expectation.
By this point, many guardians feel they’ve invested time, money, and effort into training — so when behaviour becomes challenging, it can feel personal or permanent.
Without an understanding of canine development, normal adolescent behaviour is misinterpreted as:
Disobedience
Aggression
A “bad fit”
This is where dogs get mislabeled instead of supported.
In reality, many dogs surrendered during adolescence are not unfit — they’re overwhelmed.
The Same Support Helps Dogs at Every Life Stage
Here’s something many people don’t realize:
What helps dogs during the puppy-to-teen phase is often exactly what supports them again in adulthood and senior years.
Dogs thrive when they consistently experience:
Predictability — routines that calm the nervous system
Patient guidance — leadership without fear or force
Emotional safety — environments where expression isn’t punished
Clear communication — understanding what their body language is saying
This isn’t about permissiveness. It’s about relationship-based behaviour support.
When dogs feel safe and understood, behaviour naturally softens over time.
Behaviour Is Communication, Not Character
One of the biggest mistakes we make is treating behaviour as a personality flaw rather than a form of communication.
Pulling, barking, destruction, lunging, pacing — these are not random or malicious actions. They are messages.
And adolescence is when those messages often get louder. Learning to read canine body language — subtle stress signals, calming cues, and early signs of overwhelm — allows us to intervene before behaviour escalates. This is where most change actually happens.
The Best Next Step: Learning Your Dog’s Language
If you’re navigating adolescence right now — or supporting a sensitive adult or senior dog — understanding body language can completely shift your experience.
That’s why I created Decode Your Dog: The Body Language Playbook: the raved about guide by dozens of dog owners.
It’s designed to help you:
Recognize early stress signals before reactions escalate
Understand what your dog is communicating beneath the behaviour
Respond with clarity instead of correction
Build trust, safety, and emotional regulation — at any age
Not to “fix” your dog — but to understand them.
Because when we change how we see behaviour, everything else follows.
Lastly...
There is nothing wrong with your dog as they move from puppy to adolescent, or from adult to senior.
Growth isn’t a problem. Sensitivity isn’t a failure. Big emotions don’t mean bad dogs.
Dogs don’t need perfection from us.They need steadiness, compassion, and someone willing to stay present during the messy middle. Those are the dogs who grow into the most deeply bonded companions of all.
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