28/10/2026
🐾 Why We Teach Teenage Dogs With Love, Care and Advocacy 🐾
I have just had the most wonderful day with my teenage flattie- nearly 13 months old now.
My reflections from today and experiences from when teenage moments started have prompted me to share my thoughts with you.
One of the biggest things I would love the world of dog owners/guardians to learn about is that teenage dogs aren't trying to be difficult.
So often, behaviours we see during adolescence, like pulling on the lead, jumping up, barking, or looking like they are "forgetting" their training, aren't choices they're making to frustrate us. They're signs that they're struggling.
As dogs grow, their bodies, brains and emotions go through huge changes. Just like teenagers, they can feel overwhelmed, confused and unsure of how to cope with the world around them. During this stage, they need our patience and understanding more than ever. Through kind, force-free training, we help them build confidence, develop resilience and create positive neural pathways that will support them for the rest of their lives.
Advocacy, care and support is at the heart of everything I do.
Many adolescent dogs go through fear periods where things that never bothered them before suddenly feel scary. My role isn't to force them to "get over it". I listen, support them and give them the space they need to feel safe. Trust grows when dogs learn that we are there to protect them, not push them beyond what they can cope with.
The same applies to social interactions. Not every dog wants to greet every dog or every person, and that's absolutely fine. Lets help them make wise choices and not push them into potentially fearful interactions.
Being an advocate for your dog means respecting their feelings, recognising when they need space and helping them move around their world without unnecessary pressure.
When learning together gets tough, I encourage myself/guardians to:
✅take a step back rather than push harder.
✅Go back to the basics.
✅Play together- perhaps in a different way.
✅Lower expectations.
✅Celebrate the small wins.
✅Focus on enrichment, sniffing, exploring and activities that support emotional wellbeing as much as physical exercise.
For me, dog training has never been about control or obedience through fear. It's about building a relationship based on trust, communication and understanding.
🩷 When we choose empathy over punishment, advocacy over authority ..... we are developing dogs ready to learn life skills, creating confident, secure companions who know they can seek our love and support in the difficult as well as fun moments
And that bond is worth everything. ❤️🐾
(Photo of our nearly 13 month teenager- a flattie .Known as the Peter Pan of dogs that never really grows up)
