Did My Dog Forget Their Socialisation? Understanding Fear, Adolescence and the Teenage Brain

About this episode

This episode explores the changes in behavior of adolescent dogs and the neuroscience behind their development.

Have you ever felt like your dog suddenly ‘forgot’ all their puppy socialisation? One minute they were happily greeting strangers, confidently exploring the world, and strolling through busy environments without a care… and the next, they’re barking at people, hesitating in places they used to love, or acting unsure about things that were never a problem before. If you’re living with a teenage dog and wondering what on earth happened - this episode is for you. We’ll explore the neuroscience behind why confident puppies can suddenly become cautious teenagers, and why this stage is far more normal (and temporary) than many owners realise. You’ll learn why adolescence is a critical period of brain development, how neural pathways are being refined during this time, and why your dog’s threat detection system might be working a little overtime. Most importantly, I’ll walk you through how to respond in a way that genuinely builds your dog’s confidence, rather than accidentally making things harder. In this episode, you'll learn: What synaptic pruning is and how the teenage brain restructures learning Why the brain follows a ‘use it or lose it’ rule during development How the amygdala…

People in this episode

Host: Lisa

Topics covered

• dog socialisation
• adolescent dogs
• neuroscience
• fear in dogs
• confidence building

Keywords

• puppy socialisation
• teenage brain
• fear periods
• neural pathways
• confidence

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