Last month your puppy came when you called. Sat at the door. Walked past the couch without a second look. Now you call and get a long stare, a little head tilt, and then they trot off to sniff something that is apparently way more important than you.
If that sounds like your house right now, welcome to the teenage phase. It happens to nearly every puppy, so you're in very good company. The catch is that how you handle the next few weeks decides whether it's a blip or a habit.
The frustrating part? Your puppy probably still knows what you're asking. What's changed is that they've discovered other options exist.
There Are Two Teenage Phases, Not One
Most people expect one rough patch. In our experience there are usually two, and they feel pretty different.
The first one tends to show up somewhere around four months. Your baby puppy, who thought you were the most exciting thing on the planet, suddenly notices the world. Other dogs. People. Leaves blowing across the driveway. It's actually a lovely sign of a confident puppy, but it makes training harder, because now you've got competition.
The second one lands around seven months, and it's the trickier of the two. By then you've likely had a good run. Things are working. And then your puppy starts testing whether the rules still apply now that they're bigger. They know the right answer. They just want to see what happens if they don't give it.
Watch the full conversation between Kayl and McCann instructor Meg here:
Even a Trainer's Puppy Goes Through It
Meg is one of our head instructors. Her Border Collie, Highlight, was the kind of baby puppy everyone wants. Eager, happy, keen to do whatever you asked. Kayl borrowed her for a few of our videos at around 10 or 11 weeks and she was a dream to work with.
Then, around four or five months, Highlight figured out that things move. Dogs, people, anything with legs. Motion became the most interesting thing in her world, and Meg had dropped a spot or two in the rankings.
When Meg brought her to class at about five months, she noticed right away that Highlight lost focus whenever another dog moved. So Meg stacked the deck. She sat at the very end of the room so they weren't surrounded. She brought five or six kinds of treats. And because food wasn't really Highlight's thing, she brought a toy too, since that was her number one reinforcer.
We'd love for you to borrow that thinking. Before you take your puppy somewhere new, a park or a friend's house, count how many hard things you're asking for at once. New place, new people, new dogs, on leash or off. If it's a lot, make it easier. Go at a quieter time. Stay a bit further back from the action. Bring the good stuff. You want your puppy practising good choices from the very first minute, not learning that the park is where they get to ignore you.
Around Hamilton, that might mean Bayfront Park on a Tuesday morning instead of a sunny Saturday afternoon, or starting at the quiet end of a trail rather than right at a packed trailhead. Same place. A completely different level of difficulty for a five month old puppy.
The Day Highlight Said "Peace Out"
Around seven or eight months, Meg started taking Highlight hiking with her other dogs. It went beautifully at first. Long line on, and every time Meg called, Highlight turned on a dime. Every single time.
So Meg got a little overconfident and took the line off.
You can probably guess what happened next. Middle of the trail, Meg calls. Highlight looks at her, looks back at the other dogs running ahead, and takes off after them. Meg's words: "She gave me a peace out." She'd been right so many times that it honestly seemed like ignoring her name had never crossed her mind. Turns out it had.
She tried the same thing once more with a squirrel in the backyard. And here's the moment that matters. Meg could have shrugged it off and hoped it would sort itself out. Let that go on for a few weeks and you've got a dog who's learned that recall is optional.
Instead, the line went straight back on. Meg trained Highlight around her 13 year old dog, Swift, who moves slower and is a whole lot less exciting. Once Highlight was nailing it there, Meg added a second dog. Then the whole pack. Now all three hike together and her recall is right back where it was.
That's the lesson we'd want you to take from this. The first glimmer of a problem is your cue to dial things back. Put the long line back on, go back to easier setups, and build it up again before the bad choice has a chance to become a habit. Puppies do what pays off, and every time they get to chase the dogs instead of coming back, that choice gets paid.
Back Inside the House
The teenage phase doesn't just show up on trails. At home it usually looks like accidents coming back, chewed shoes, a sudden interest in the couch, or a puppy who can't settle when the house gets busy.
Meg's son was three at the time, and Highlight did fine lying on her bed while he did puzzles or art at the table. When he was tearing around the house in a cape yelling at the top of his lungs? Much harder. She wanted in on the fun. So Meg practised calm in the easy moments first and didn't expect it in the chaotic ones until Highlight was ready.
Meg's brother had the opposite lesson. He'd been home for months, so his Husky slowly earned run of the house. Then he went back to the office. First day back, he came home to chewed baseboards and shoes from the front hall. The Husky went back in the crate.
People hate that part. It feels like going backwards. We'd say it isn't. Freedom goes up and down for a while. You give a little, they make a mistake, you take it back, you offer it again later. Eventually you can't remember the last time they grabbed a shoe, and that's how you know they're ready. Where most people go wrong is handing over too much, too fast. Going from never left alone to eight hours loose is a big jump. Try the length of a shower first. Then a trip down the street for the mail. Build from there.
Couches and counters are a big one at this age. Your puppy's taller, can see more, and is wondering if the four month old rules still count at seven months. Those behaviours pay off on their own (a cozy nap, a stolen loaf of bread), so if you're not there, they'll keep doing it. Put a leash or a light line on your puppy in the house. If they grab something, use the line instead of chasing them, or you've just invented the best game of catch me if you can.
Better still, catch them getting it right. One of our online students had a puppy who jumped on the couch every time they walked through the living room. With the line dragging, they walked past the couch, and every time the puppy looked at it and didn't jump, they praised and rewarded. Then they guided the puppy over to the dog bed and gave a Kong or a bone. Meg even suggested keeping a little container of treats beside the bed. The couch stops being the place where good things happen. The bed takes over.
A few house setups that help a lot: close bedroom and playroom doors, use baby gates, and keep the crate somewhere central so your puppy is still part of family life, just in a controlled way. The goal is a day full of "wow, great choice" instead of "no, no, no."
You'll Get Through This
If Meg, who does this for a living, had to stop and rethink a few things with her own puppy, you're allowed to as well. The teenage phase isn't a sign you did something wrong. It's a sign your puppy is growing up. Plan for it, catch the small slips early, and keep paying the choices you want to see more of.
If you'd like some help getting through it, you can work with Kayl and Meg in our online Life Skills program at mccanndogs.com.
Local? Our school is out in Flamborough, so if you're in Hamilton, Dundas, Ancaster, Waterdown or up on the Mountain, our in-person Life Skills classes are a short drive away. We've been training Hamilton-area dogs (and their people) since 1982.