The Adolescent Puppy Stage Nobody Warns You About
- Blair K.
- Aug 15
- 7 min read
You survived the midnight potty trips. You made it through teething with most of your furniture intact. Your puppy learned to sit, come when called, sleep in a crate, and look at you as though you personally hung the moon.
Then, one morning, your sweet little student wakes up and chooses chaos.
“Come” becomes a suggestion. The leash is apparently designed for competitive sled pulling. A leaf blowing across the driveway requires a full investigation. Your puppy suddenly notices other dogs, distant squirrels, neighborhood children, and mysterious smells that are far more interesting than anything you have to say.
Congratulations—you have entered puppy adolescence.
Wait…Dogs Become Teenagers?
They certainly do, although they skip the acne and go directly to selective hearing.
The adolescent stage commonly begins somewhere around six to nine months of age, but the timing varies by the individual dog, breed, and adult size. Larger breeds—including Golden Retrievers—often take longer to mature physically and emotionally. According to VCA Animal Hospitals, large dogs may not reach full maturity until approximately 18 to 24 months. That means your nearly full-sized Golden Retriever may look like an adult while still operating with the judgment of a furry middle schooler.
This stage does not begin or end on one specific day. Development tends to arrive in waves: a lovely week of progress, followed by three days during which your dog appears to have forgotten his name.
It can be frustrating—but it is also normal.
Why Does My Puppy Suddenly Seem to Forget Everything?
Your puppy probably has not forgotten his training. He is simply trying to use those skills while his brain, body, confidence, and interests are changing rapidly.
As puppies mature, they become more independent and curious about the world beyond their families. The puppy who once followed you everywhere may now feel confident enough to explore. Add stronger bodies, heightened awareness, exciting distractions, and occasionally raging hormones, and even familiar skills can become much harder to perform.
Think of it this way: your puppy learned to “come” in the kitchen. Now you are asking him to come away from a squirrel while standing outside in the wind with seventeen fascinating smells passing through his nose.
That is not the same exam.
Training is not truly finished when a dog performs a skill in one quiet room. Dogs need to practice that skill in different places, at different distances, and around gradually increasing distractions.
Common Signs You Have a Teenage Dog
Adolescence looks different for every puppy, but families often notice some combination of the following:
Recall suddenly becomes unreliable.
Leash pulling increases.
Jumping, barking, mouthing, or demand behaviors return.
The puppy becomes more distracted by people, dogs, wildlife, or scents.
Chewing and destructive behavior make an unwelcome comeback.
Previously understood boundaries are tested.
Excitement becomes harder to regulate.
The puppy needs more time to settle after activity.
Confidence increases in some situations while uncertainty appears in others.
Your dog looks directly at you, considers your request, and appears to submit it for further review.
None of this means you have a “bad dog.” It means you have an unfinished one.
The Return of the Chewing Machine
Many owners assume that chewing will disappear once the adult teeth arrive. Then adolescence begins, and the coffee table becomes interesting all over again.
The American Kennel Club notes that some dogs experience a secondary chewing phase around eight to ten months as their adult teeth settle into the jaw. Adolescent dogs may also chew because they are bored, overstimulated, under-supervised, or simply enjoying themselves immensely.
Continue puppy-proofing longer than you think you should. Keep laundry, shoes, remotes, children’s toys, and anything emotionally or financially important out of reach.
Provide appropriate chews and rotate toys so old options feel new again. If your puppy selects the wrong object, calmly trade it for something appropriate rather than turning the situation into a high-speed game of “Catch Me With Your Favorite Shoe.”
The Mysterious Case of the Missing Recall
Reliable recall is often one of the first skills to wobble during adolescence.
Young puppies naturally stay close to their caregivers. As their confidence grows, so does their desire to explore. That early clinginess can create a false sense of security, leading families to allow off-leash freedom before the dog is ready.
If your adolescent puppy’s recall has become unreliable, bring back the long line and start practicing again. Use excellent rewards, celebrate enthusiastically, and avoid calling your dog when you cannot safely follow through.
Most importantly, never punish a dog for finally returning—even if you have been standing in the yard wearing slippers and questioning every decision that led you to this moment.
Coming to you should always be worth it.
Fear Can Make a Surprise Appearance
Some adolescent dogs experience temporary periods of increased sensitivity. A puppy who previously ignored the trash bin may suddenly decide it is deeply suspicious. A familiar statue, fluttering flag, stranger in a hat, or noise in the distance may earn barking, hesitation, or a dramatic retreat.
Do not force your dog toward something frightening to “show him it’s fine.” Give him space, remain calm, and reward curiosity from a comfortable distance. The goal is to help your puppy feel safe—not to win a confrontation with a recycling bin.
Positive exposure should be based on your dog’s emotional response, not simply whether he physically remained in the situation. The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior explains that socialization is more than exposure; overwhelming a worried dog can increase fear instead of reducing it.
If fear becomes intense, lasts, or begins affecting daily life, speak with your veterinarian and a qualified reward-based trainer or veterinary behavior professional.
Your Puppy Is Not Giving You a Hard Time
Your puppy is having a hard time.
That distinction matters.
It is easy to label adolescent dogs as stubborn, dominant, defiant, or difficult. But those labels do not tell us what the dog needs. Often, the puppy is distracted, overly excited, unsure, tired, under-stimulated, or being asked to perform a skill that has not yet been practiced in that environment.
Adolescence is not the time to become harsher. It is the time to become clearer.
The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior recommends reward-based methods for dog training and behavior modification. Reinforce the choices you want repeated, prevent unwanted behavior when possible, and break difficult tasks into smaller, achievable steps.
Your dog does not need a power struggle. He needs practice.
What Not to Do
When adolescence becomes frustrating, avoid:
Giving too much freedom too quickly
Repeating commands until they become background noise
Punishing growling or other warning signals
Forcing your puppy into frightening situations
Assuming more exercise will solve every problem
Comparing your puppy with someone else’s dog
Expecting adult behavior from an adolescent brain
Waiting for a serious concern to “work itself out”
And please do not take difficult behavior personally. Your dog is not plotting against you. He does not have a secret group chat with the neighborhood puppies.
He is developing—and development can be messy.
When Behavior Deserves Professional Attention
Not every behavior should be dismissed as “just adolescence.”
Schedule a veterinary visit if your puppy shows a sudden or significant personality change, new sensitivity to touch, unexplained house-training accidents, unusual fatigue, appetite changes, or behavior that could be connected to pain or illness.
Seek qualified behavioral help for escalating fear, aggression, resource guarding, separation distress, severe reactivity, or behavior that puts your puppy, another animal, or a person at risk.
Early support is not an overreaction. It can prevent a manageable concern from becoming a deeply practiced habit.
Our Favorite Training Resource for Puppyhood—and Beyond
Platinum Goldens is proud to partner with BAXTER & Bella Online Dog Training, and we enthusiastically recommend the program to our puppy families. It gives owners a clear, practical training plan they can follow from home—without waiting until a small puppy problem grows into a full-sized Golden Retriever problem.
The program is designed to coach people as thoroughly as it trains dogs. Members receive a step-by-step curriculum featuring more than 75 lessons, hundreds of video demonstrations, printable resources, socialization activities, and training on real-life challenges such as puppy biting, loose-leash walking, impulse control, adolescence, resource guarding, overstimulation, barking, and reactivity. Classes and courses are offered live and are also available on demand, allowing busy families to learn and practice on their own schedules. Explore what BAXTER & Bella includes.
One of our favorite features is that membership is not limited to the tiny-puppy stage. The program provides ongoing training resources and professional support as your dog progresses from puppy basics through adolescence, intermediate training, and even AKC Canine Good Citizen preparation. Its lifetime membership is a one-time purchase that never expires—so you can return whenever your dog reaches a new stage or suddenly “forgets” everything during adolescence.
We cannot recommend this program enough. Consistent training is one of the greatest gifts you can give your dog, your family, and your future relationship together.
Platinum Goldens families can use code PGR25 to save 25% on a BAXTER & Bella Lifetime Membership.
For severe, sudden, or safety-related behavioral concerns, online training should complement—not replace—care from your veterinarian or a qualified behavior professional.
The Dog You Adore Is Still in There
Puppy adolescence can be humbling. It can make thoughtful owners question their training, their relationship with their dog, and occasionally whether the puppy has been replaced by a nearly identical criminal.
But this stage is temporary.
The work you do now matters enormously. Every calmly repeated boundary, rewarded check-in, successful recall, positive outing, and quiet moment of connection is helping shape the adult dog your puppy will become.
One day, almost without warning, you will notice that walks feel easier. Your dog settles without a production. He looks back at you when something catches his attention. The lessons you thought had disappeared begin showing up exactly where you need them.
Your puppy was listening after all.
He was simply growing up—and, like most teenagers, he needed more patience than he wanted you to know.
