Those Paws, Those Eyes ... That Smell!
Hormones also play a major role in your canine's adolescence. Most dogs become sexually mature at eight to twelve months of age; at this time, females will experience their first estrus (heat) cycle and males will begin to lift their legs and show interest in "the ladies." By spaying or neutering early (between two and six months of age), you can save yourself and your dog such varied experiences as increased indoor urination (females in heat do it to advertise for suitors; for intact males, it's a way of marking territory), inter-dog aggression (primarily between dogs of the same sex who are compelled to "fight off the competition"), and the complete loss of attention span that attends raging hormones. This also eliminates accidental matings, false pregnancies, and the male teen's need to taste-test female urine.

Remedying Rover's Memory Loss
An adolescent, even a neutered one, will experience occasional lapses in attention. At times he may look at you as though you had just addressed him in Mandarin, trying to convince you that you never taught him the sit command. Handle these lapses the same way you would with an untrained dog. Take a step or two backward in your training program and patiently re-teach him the command by luring him into the requested position. Be sure to make it worth his while with the use of positive reinforcement. Keep his focus on you, using favorite toys and treats as lures. And keep your training sessions short and functional, always ending with a game or playtime. If you take away the fun, he or she will show even less interest.

In order to get through your dog's adolescence, remember to provide plenty of exercise, continue to crate/confine when he or she is unattended, spay or neuter, and keep your training sessions fun. And by all means, hang on to your sense of humor. Although your pup may try your patience, take heart -- adolescence is one thing your dog is guaranteed to outgrow!

Surviving Your Dog's Adolescence

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