Four-legged furry teenagers: Dogs go through adolescence, too
Sometimes I wonder why people don’t act like butterflies and just sleep away their teenage years, all wrapped up in a cozy little blanket. And when they are ready, out they come, wings spread and flapping, a full-fledged adult ready to take on the world. All of this without the typical teenage drama, braces, hair growing in strange places, school dances, and learning how to maneuver your car between cones going forward and backward.
Adolescence is a rite of passage, though, and because we aren’t butterflies if you are over the age of 18 and reading these words, you are survivor of those formidable years. If you’re in the same boat as our family, you’re raising or have raised teenagers. That’s where gray hair comes from, right? Navigating the changes as kids become adults is tough stuff. I thought we were almost through it when my puppy started going from her cute little self to a rambunctious, attention-hogging larger self with more energy than I could fathom.
Dog go through adolescence too
And that’s when I learned that dogs go through adolescence, too. Just like people. Without the school dances and braces, of course.
According to Purina.co.uk, dogs stumble through this transitional phase of life from anywhere between 6 and 18 months. Common behaviors during this time include fun things like ignoring you, running off, being more pushy or rude, lack of ability to concentrate, more likely to react/bark, be more sensitive/needy, toilet training failures, and excessive chewing.
Read that list again. Remove the part about house training and chewing, and you might swear it was written about humans. I know I have seen these things appear (and thankfully disappear) in our own children, but I never thought I’d have to deal with them in my dog!
So what is a dog parent to do? You can’t send them to their room for running off. You can’t take away their phones for being rude. You can’t even make them do chores for ignoring you. The website does list some tips. As far as social time, they recommend not letting your dog play with aggressive dogs and stick with dogs you know. They also kindly suggest you don’t think of your teenager as being difficult, that these changes are normal and they need your guidance.
Read those tips again. Remove the part about dogs and replace it with friends and again I might suggest these are excellent human parenting bits of knowledge.
As our canine companion goes from pup to dog, I will be less frustrated with behavior knowing that this too shall pass. I'm sure there will be days when I want to scream at her for not paying attention or making less than perfect choices, but just like our actual children I know that what they need most is guidance and love. I’ll just keep fighting the good fight of extra walks and fetch, thankful dogs don’t need a cell phone plan and can’t really roll their eyes.
Reach Karrie McAllister at mckarrie@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Just like teenagers, dogs go through adolescence
