Chapter 12: Your Adolescent Dog

Ah...the joy of canine adolescence! If you have ever lived with a teenager, you know that adolescence can be a stressful time for both parent and child. Raising a canine adolescent has a lot of similarities. It should come as no surprise that the average age of dogs surrendered to humane societies is less than two years of age—right in the middle of adolescence. Of course, some dogs mature sooner or later than others, and some dogs, depending on their individual personality and temperament, are more rebellious and challenging than others.

Adolescence tends to begin any time between seven and ten months of age, with nine months being typical, although some small breeds can enter their adolescence as early as five months of age. In larger breeds, dogs may not go through adolescence until twelve to eighteen months of age. Adolescence can be exasperating, but by accepting the fact that most, if not all, dogs go through a behavioral change during adolescence, you are better equipped to recognize those changes and will be more prepared to face the daily skirmishes.

Many dogs become bolder and more curious about the world around them. They may not listen as well, and sometimes they may try to ignore or challenge their owners. Some dogs may scuffle with or try to push around their canine siblings or steal their toys. Basically, they are true teenagers!

While your adolescent dog is not likely to scream “I hate you!” or slam his bedroom door, canine teenagers seem to forget previously learned behaviors. They have shorter attention spans, and while they may have been straight-A students just a few weeks ago, today they may struggle to execute even the simplest commands.

What Is an Owner to Do?

After all of your hard work in training, socializing, instilling basic puppy and obedience skills, adolescence can be really maddening. Do not take it personally. Yes, your puppy is acting out and challenging every household rule—not to mention every last shred of your patience—but he is not acting out to hurt or anger you. It is a normal part of puppyhood and growing up.

While it may seem like adolescence lasts forever, it will not. Around eighteen months of age, most dogs are on the fast track to mental maturity (although some large-breed dogs—especially males—seem to remain goofier and more challenging for longer periods). Surviving your puppy’s teenage phase is all about remaining patient and continuing to reinforce household rules as well as his existing obedience training. Continue praising and rewarding his good behavior, but avoid interpreting your dog’s mistakes as willful disobedience or defiance.

For the most part, dogs fail to respond to their owners because they are confused, afraid, or distracted, or they feel that they have another choice. Most adolescent dogs are distracted. Oftentimes, your dog is trying the best he can, but his brain and all of those teenage hormones coursing through his body are not yet in sync. Teaching new tricks or working on advanced training at this stage is usually futile. Instead, continue working on the games and exercises he already knows, building the human–canine bond, and giving him plenty of physical and mental exercise to burn off excess energy. Reminding yourself that “this too shall pass” over and over again may help, too!

Spaying and Neutering

Considered an essential part of responsible pet ownership, spaying or neutering dogs is not a new practice. It has been around for years and began as a way to help control pet overpopulation. Years ago, the norm was—and still is today—to spay or neuter dogs at around six months of age, and certainly prior to one year of age. In the 1970s, animal shelters started spaying and neutering puppies as early as eight weeks of age because they noticed a lack of contractual agreement with owners who agreed to alter their adopted pets around six months of age. Animal shelters were seeing previously adopted dogs coming back to the shelters along with their litters of puppies. This did not bode well for shelters, who were attempting to curb canine overpopulation. Along the way, researchers discovered that spaying and neutering dogs before six months of age provided plenty of health benefits to dogs.

A 2013 study raised some interesting and tough questions about the best age to spay or neuter dogs. The study on 759 Golden Retrievers by Gretel Torres de la Riva et al. at the University of California Davis analyzed five diseases: hip dysplasia, cranial cruciate ligament tears, lymphosarcoma, hemangiosarcoma, and mast cell tumors. For all five diseases analyzed in the study, “The disease rates in males and/or females were significantly increased when neutering was performed early and/or late.”

The study found that “males neutered before the age of twelve months were twice as likely to suffer from hip dysplasia,” and that “three times more early-neutered males suffered from lymphosarcoma than intact males.” On the other hand, late-neutered (after twelve months) females suffered from hemangiosarcoma four times more than intact or early-neutered females. A 2004 study from Cornell University concluded that “both male and female dogs sterilized at an early age were more prone to hip dysplasia.” If that isn’t enough to make your head spin, another recent study found a correlation between “reproductive sterilization and a longer life span when neutered dogs were compared to intact dogs.”

So what are you to make of these recent studies? While it does get veterinarians and owners talking about the pros and cons of early sterilization, it has probably generated more questions about what was previously known about the effects of neutering pets. Equally important, the study was done on Golden Retrievers and cannot automatically be applied to all breeds.

Clearly, there appear to be health advantages to waiting until after puberty to spay or neuter your dog. However, significant risks, hazards, and headaches also accompany owning an intact dog, be it male or female. Testosterone-driven males—and all of the behaviors associated with that wild hormone—can send owners rushing to the closest veterinarian! Intact females are equally troublesome because they come into season generally every six months for their entire lives. Some females come into season every four months, while others cycle only every nine months, but typically it happens twice a year. Basenjis, Tibetan Mastiffs, and Azawakhs, for the record, only cycle once annually.

Navigating all of the pros and cons of when to spay or neuter your dog can be perplexing. Keep in mind that your pet will not be a better pet simply because he or she is allowed to remain intact. Behavioral issues associated with intact dogs can be daunting, especially for novice or inexperienced owners. Perhaps one of the more frustrating behaviors associated with intact dogs is marking.

Guarding breeds like the Belgian Tervuren develop strong territorial instincts, which can be manifested in marking behaviors.

Marking

It is jokingly referred to as “pee-mail,” but marking is a highly complex and frequently misunderstood method of canine communication. Most of us go online daily to check our e-mails, but did you know that dogs have a similar modus operandi? Urine marking is a protocol that predates electronic gadgetry by thousands of years.

The intricacies of canine marking remain a mystery to many experts, but they do have a pretty good idea of why it happens and how to manage it. Primarily, dogs that mark are leaving messages, so to speak. They are “branding” or “staking their claim” to what they believe is their territory. Whether a dog hikes his leg on a tree, a fence post, or your couch, he is saying, “This is mine.” Then other dogs come along and check the message, and they may leave messages of their own by marking over or adjacent to the original spot.

By so interpreting the messages left by other dogs, a dog can determine the sex of the dogs who came before him and whether they are spayed or neutered. A dog can tell if there is a female in heat or coming into heat, and he can determine the health, stress levels, and social statuses of the dogs who previously marked the spot.

Dogs who urine-mark may do so in a variety of situations, such as while on walks in the neighborhood or at dog parks. Some dogs, although not all, mark both in their own homes and outdoors. Some male dogs mark only when in the presence of female dogs—especially if they are in heat—as a way of impressing the females; other males mark only when interacting with other male dogs—usually rival males. Some females mark as a form of competition. Many dogs never mark in their own homes but will mark while in unfamiliar places, such as the veterinary clinic or a friend’s home.

Dogs don't mark out of spite. A dog doesn’t think, “My family left me home today, so I think I'll pee on the furniture plus Mom’s new purse!” Dogs urine-mark indoors and/or outdoors for two primary reasons: first, for territorial purposes, to define and redefine their turf; and second, due to anxiety issues, which can include:

•separation anxiety

•a new pet in the household

•conflicts with other pets or people in the household

•a new baby, boyfriend, girlfriend, spouse, relative, or other person living in the house

•the departure of a family member from the house

•an unfamiliar dog urinating in the yard

•new objects, such as luggage or furniture, in the house that have unfamiliar smells or another animal’s scent

Until recently, little research has been done on scent marking, and much of what owners and experts thought they knew was based on empirical or anecdotal information and general observations. For example, many owners think that only male dogs mark and that marking is all about status-related behavior. However, a 2011 study uncovered some interesting facts:

•Both male and female dogs mark, but they do so in different ways and possibly for different reasons.

•Males and females are equally likely to urinate immediately upon entering a dog park, but males often urinate more frequently than females.

•Intact males with high social order are most likely to overmark (pee over another dog’s scent).

•Females spend a lot of time investigating the urine of unfamiliar male and female dogs; males are primarily interested in the “messages” left by other males.

What does all this mean to you? Marking remains a mystery to many experts, but what they do know is that urine marking is a natural canine behavior. Research indicates that it develops after sexual maturity, with 70 percent of urine marking in dogs starting by one-and-a-half years of age, and 90 percent starting before two years old.

If your dog’s marking has become an issue—especially indoors—you may need the expertise of a knowledgeable dog trainer or behaviorist to determine what circumstances are eliciting the behavior and possibly to implement counterconditioning strategies, such as spaying or neutering.

It is important that you not correct or scold your dog. He is not a hooligan or first-class criminal. Besides, corrections rarely work—even when he is caught in the act. Allow your dog some leeway to mark while outside in the yard or during walks. By preventing him from marking altogether, you may frustrate him and actually exacerbate the situation.

While outdoor marking is usually not a problem for owners, indoor marking can be a deal-breaker. To discourage additional crimes against your personal property, consider a proactive approach with the following strategies:

•Spay or neuter your dog. This will decrease or eliminate sexual motivation for marking but may not completely remedy any learned marking behaviors.

•Clean up all signs of marking so your dog is not further stimulated to leave pee-mail. Use products designed to eliminate urine odor. Do not use ammonia, as this can attract him back to the same spot to mark again!

•Supervise your dog like a hawk when he is indoors. Constant supervision is critical; otherwise, the problem is likely to continue.

•Address the dog’s underlying anxiety or territorial insecurity that is causing him to mark repeatedly. His reasons can be complicated; consider the services of a certified animal behaviorist.

•Consider using a synthetic hormone (pheromone) diffuser, which can, in some cases, have a calming effect on dogs.

•For repeat offenders, consider discussing medications, such as antidepressants and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, with your veterinarian. Medication alone will not be effective, however, especially if the underlying causes have not been addressed.

In many cases, it may take a combination of strategies to diminish marking. A veterinary checkup may be necessary because some medical conditions, such as cystitis, kidney dysfunction, endocrine abnormalities, incontinence, house-soiling, and the onset of old age can inadvertently be mistaken for marking.

Male dogs tend to mark their territory by raising their legs on vertical objects. While on a walk, your dog may mark trees and poles to let other dogs know he’s been there.

Urine Marking Is Not House-Soiling

House-soiling and submissive/excitement urination are completely different behaviors from urine marking. If your dog is having potty accidents in the house, there are a few reasons why this might be happening.

•He is not house-trained (despite your best intentions).

•He has a medical issue that is causing incontinence.

•He is taking a medication that may be causing more frequent urination.

If you are not sure what is going on, consider these facts:

•House-soiling generally results in a good deal of urine.

•House-soiling may occur in corners or other areas that you are less likely to notice.

•Submissive or excitement urination generally occurs during greetings, physical contact, or scolding.

•Urine marking generally involves small amounts of urine.

•Urine marking usually happens on vertical surfaces, such as walls or furniture.

•Marking normally occurs in prominent locations.