I'm just dealing with the onslaught of canine adolescence with Pippin the chiweenie.

For those of you who don't know Pippin, he was illegally advertised on Facebook one Friday night as a 10-week-old Chihuahua. I whipped and fetched him, because he could have gone anywhere and he was tiny (and long) even then.

One DNA test later, and the Chihuahua is 31% weenie, and even longer now.

So anyway, adolescence is upon us and Pippin is being a bit of a pest, especially to Foxy, who is tiny.

If you've got a dog anywhere between five months and two years old, you'll probably recognise the shift.

The biddable puppy who followed you from room to room has been replaced by a dog who seems to have forgotten every recall you ever taught, who tests every boundary, and who suddenly finds the smaller dog in the house endlessly fascinating to pester. He's pulling on curtains and ears, pouncing on passers by and generally being a bit of a sod. 

We are in dog adolescence, one of the most misunderstood and most consequential stages in a dog's life.

Canine adolescence isn't a training failure. It's a developmental stage, and it's driven by biology as much as behaviour.

During adolescence, a dog's brain is undergoing significant reorganisation. The prefrontal cortex, the part responsible for impulse control and decision-making, is still developing, while the limbic system, which governs emotional reactivity, is already firing on all cylinders.

That mismatch is why an adolescent dog can look, for all the world, like they know better and simply choose not to comply. In truth, the wiring for consistent self-regulation isn't finished yet.

Hormones play a major role too. Rising levels of testosterone and oestrogen (whether or not a dog is neutered can affect the timing and intensity of this) influence confidence, arousal, and social behaviour.

This is often when we see an increase in boundary testing, in reactivity towards other dogs, and in behaviours like mounting, marking, or a newfound interest in dogs of the opposite sex.

It's also common for a previously confident puppy to develop a fear period during adolescence, becoming suddenly wary of things that never bothered them before.

Pippin's pestering of Foxy fits this pattern well. Adolescent dogs, particularly small, entire males, often become more socially pushy.

They haven't yet learned the subtlety of canine communication that comes with maturity, so play can tip into harassment without them fully registering the shift.

Pippin is actually an amazing puppy and a very good boy. His behaviour is testing even though I understand it, but he does listen, he does know that a break in his playpen means he has gone too far, and he rests and is redirected well. 

And my dogs love each other, Foxy asks Pippin to play 'bitey face' regularly, it's just that when she's ready to stop he isn't. Darcie is a little less tolerant of his over keen playing - but they also play together lovely! 

Canine adolescence isn't a training failure. It's a developmental stage, and it's driven by biology as much as behaviour.

During adolescence, a dog's brain is undergoing significant reorganisation. The prefrontal cortex, the part responsible for impulse control and decision-making, is still developing, while the limbic system, which governs emotional reactivity, is already firing on all cylinders.

That mismatch is why an adolescent dog can look, for all the world, like they know better and simply choose not to comply. In truth, the wiring for consistent self-regulation isn't finished yet.

Hormones play a major role too. Rising levels of testosterone and oestrogen (whether or not a dog is neutered can affect the timing and intensity of this) influence confidence, arousal, and social behaviour.

This is often when we see an increase in boundary testing, in reactivity towards other dogs, and in behaviours like mounting, marking, or a newfound interest in dogs of the opposite sex.

It's also common for a previously confident puppy to develop a fear period during adolescence, becoming suddenly wary of things that never bothered them before.

Management, not punishment, is the tool that gets guardians through this stage.

Lower your expectations temporarily, not permanently. A recall that was rock solid at four months may become unreliable at eight months. That's normal. Keep the dog on a long line in open spaces rather than testing off-lead recall you can't yet enforce.

Protect smaller or more vulnerable dogs in the household. If you have a dog like Foxy, who is small and can be overwhelmed, separate play sessions, structured downtime, and supervised interactions matter more now than they did before.

Baby gates, crate rest, and short, calm reintroductions all help prevent the pestering from escalating into genuine conflict.

Keep training sessions short and rewarding. An adolescent brain has a shorter attention span for structured learning. Little and often beats long sessions that end in frustration on both sides.

Give the hormones somewhere to go. Adequate physical exercise, scentwork, and enrichment give an adolescent dog an appropriate outlet for the increased arousal and energy that hormonal changes bring. Pippin is brilliant at scentwork and loves it. Here are some ideas for you. 

Expect fear periods, and don't flood them. If your dog suddenly startles at something familiar, don't force exposure. Let them retreat, reassess, and approach in their own time. Learn more about fear in this blog post.

Consider neutering timing. This is an individual decision that depends on breed, size, and behavioural presentation, and it's worth a proper conversation rather than a default date on a calendar. Pippin is likely not to be neutered unless it's absolutely necessary, for a number of reasons including heath and confidence.

If you're neutering a dog I would say give them at least two years to grow up before you do. 

This stage is, without question, one of the biggest drivers of relinquishment and rehoming. Rescue organisations consistently report that dogs between six months and two years old make up a disproportionate number of the dogs surrendered to them.

The reasons are understandable, even when the outcome is heartbreaking. Guardians who took on an easy, compliant puppy suddenly find themselves living with a dog who barks more, pulls more, ignores cues, and seems to have undone months of careful training overnight.

Without knowing that this is a temporary, biologically driven stage, it's easy to interpret it as a permanent personality change, or as evidence that the dog is somehow unsuitable for the home.

Add in a lack of preparation (most new guardians are told a great deal about puppyhood and almost nothing about adolescence), a household already stretched thin, or a multi-dog home where the balance shifts as one dog matures, and the pressure mounts quickly.

That's exactly the crossroads many of us find ourselves at, wondering whether we've taken on more than we can manage, and whether another dog in the house might be better off without the disruption.

Understanding what's actually happening in the dog's brain and body doesn't make the day-to-day easier, but it does change the question from "is something wrong with this dog" to "how do we get through this stage together."

Most dogs who make it through adolescence with consistent, patient guardians come out the other side as the settled, sensible adults we hoped for all along. The dog who is hardest to live with at nine months is very often the dog who is easiest to live with at three years old.

If you're in the middle of it, with a small dog getting pestered, a big dog ignoring every cue they used to know, or both at once, you are not doing it wrong. You're doing exactly what adolescence requires: holding steady until the storm passes.

My ebook Adolescence Unleashed is fantastic to help you through canine adolescence.

And finally, endure, this is as precious a development stage as any you will share with your beloved dog. 

I promise it doesn't last forever.

If you would be interested in a course on surviving canine adolescence, drop me a line. If there's enough interest I'll deliver one. 

Just going to help Pippin off my curtains.