Surviving the Teenage Phase: Managing Adolescent Gundog Behaviour

You’ve made it through the sleepless nights of toilet training and the needle-sharp teeth of the land-shark phase. Your little gundog puppy was shaping up beautifully, perhaps even showing a flash of brilliance with a retrieve or a perfect recall. And then, at around six to eight months old, you suddenly find yourself living with a different dog.

Welcome to adolescence.

If your angelic puppy has been replaced by a selectively-deaf, lead-pulling, scent-obsessed delinquent, take a deep breath. You are not alone, and your dog is not broken. This "teenage" phase, which can last from around six months to two years, is often the most challenging part of dog ownership. For high-drive breeds like spaniels, retrievers, and HPRs, it’s a hormonal hurricane where biology wages war against your training.

What’s Really Going On?

This isn't a deliberate act of defiance. Your dog’s brain is undergoing a massive redevelopment. The impulse-control part of their brain takes a backseat, while the parts responsible for seeking, hunting, and exploring go into overdrive. Add a flood of new hormones, and you get a dog that is easily distracted, emotionally volatile, and seemingly forgets every command you ever taught them.

For a gundog, this is particularly potent. Their genetic programming is screaming at them: "Chase that!" "Sniff that!" "Run!" Your recall whistle suddenly becomes, at best, a vague suggestion.

The Teenage "Crime Sheet"

Does any of this sound familiar?

  • Sudden Deafness: The recall you spent months perfecting has vanished. Your dog's name is now meaningless in the face of a flapping pigeon or a particularly interesting smell.

  • The Scent Vacuum: Walks have become a battle. Their nose is permanently welded to the ground, and they are pulling you with the strength of a small tractor.

  • Boundary Pushing: That rule about not jumping on the sofa? They're testing it. Daily.

  • Training Regression: "Sit" "Stay" and "Heel" are words that apparently no longer apply to them.

  • Reactivity: They might become more "shouty" on the lead, barking at things they used to ignore.

Your Survival Guide

Don't despair. The goal is not to "crush" this spirit—it's the very drive that makes them a great gundog. The goal is to manage it, guide it, and survive it.

1. Go Back to Basics (and Your Long Line) Your dog hasn't unlearned everything. They're just too distracted to access it. Accept this and re-teach. Your new best friend is a long line. It's not a step backward; it's a vital management tool. It gives your dog freedom to sniff and explore without giving them the chance to practice ignoring you and disappearing over the horizon. Every successful recall on the long line reinforces your bond; every failed recall off-lead teaches them that you are irrelevant.

2. Be More Interesting You are now competing with the entire world. This means you must become the most exciting thing in their environment.

  • Use High-Value Rewards: That dry biscuit won't cut it. Think cheese, hotdogs, or their favourite squeaky toy.

  • Be Unpredictable: Don't just walk. Stop, run away from them, hide behind a tree, and reward them massively when they find you.

3. Work the Brain, Not Just the Legs A common mistake is trying to exhaust a teenage gundog with physical exercise. You can't. You will simply create a fitter dog with more stamina. Instead, work their brain.

  • Channel the Nose: Instead of a long, chaotic run, do 10 minutes of scent games in the garden. Hide treats or a toy and let them "hunt" for it. This is more tiring than a 30-minute walk.

  • Practice "Stop": Re-engage their "stop whistle" or a "wait" command. This builds vital impulse control.

4. Keep Training Short and Sweet Your dog's attention span is short. Ditch the hour-long training sessions. Aim for three or four 5-minute sessions a day. Focus on one thing—like perfect heelwork for two minutes, or a 30-second "sit-stay." Always end on a high note.

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

This phase is tough. It's frustrating, and it can feel like a personal failure. It is not. It is a biological stage.

The key is consistency. Keep managing the environment to prevent failure, keep rewarding the good choices, and keep building your relationship. The work you put in now, guiding your hormonal-but-brilliant gundog through the adolescent fog, will build the foundation for an incredible, reliable adult dog. This, too, shall pass.

Need help with your Adolescent Gundog ? WHatsapp Steve on 07795 466007