Bernedoodle Adolescence: Why Training Can Seem to Go Backward

A Bernedoodle who once came running may suddenly seem more interested in a smell, another dog, or what is happening across the street. Adolescence brings physical and social changes, and skills can look inconsistent as the dog meets harder distractions. This does not mean earlier training has disappeared. It often means the environment has become more difficult than the current level of practice.

Why It Can Feel Like Backsliding

Young dogs gain confidence, strength, and curiosity. A cue learned in a quiet kitchen may not yet be reliable at a park. New fears can also appear, even around familiar things. VCA notes that adolescent behavior may include increased independence, changing responses, and periods of uncertainty. Timing varies by individual and size.

Make the Next Repetition Easier

Return to a quieter place, increase distance from distractions, and reward the first correct response. Ask for one behavior at a time. If recall is unreliable near an open area, use a long line in a safe setting and practice when the dog is likely to respond. Do not test a skill in a high-stakes situation just to see if it works.

Keep Household Rules Predictable

Everyone should use the same cues and boundaries. Prevent repeated jumping, door rushing, counter surfing, and leash pulling with gates, leashes, and supervised access. Management protects the dog from rehearsing habits while training catches up.

Give the adolescent dog adequate rest, movement, and mental work. Short reward-based sessions and sniffing activities can be more productive than repeating commands until the dog is frustrated. Keep practicing handling, settling, and calm observation.

Notice Stress and Get Help

Record what changed, where it happens, and what the dog’s body looks like beforehand. A sudden change in behavior, pain, or new sensitivity deserves a veterinary check. Seek qualified behavior support if fear, reactivity, guarding, or separation distress is intensifying.

Stay patient and adjust expectations to the dog’s developmental stage. Reliable adult behavior is built through many supported repetitions. For signals that can be easy to miss, read the existing body language article and revisit the training basics.

Protect Skills During the Teen Months

Use a long line in a legal, open area when practicing recall. Keep high-value rewards available and call the dog when you have a strong chance of success. If the dog ignores you, avoid repeating the cue while the dog continues toward the distraction. Move closer, reduce the challenge, or guide the dog safely with the line.

For leash manners, reinforce check-ins and slack leash before the dog reaches the end of the lead. For greetings, add distance and reward calm observation rather than requiring the dog to meet. Adolescent dogs may need more support around triggers they previously ignored.

Review the Situation Before Changing the Cue

Compare the easy version of the behavior with the difficult one. Does the dog respond indoors but not near a trail? Walk comfortably before another dog appears? Settle in the morning but struggle during evening activity? That comparison helps separate a training gap from a broader concern.

Choose one easier condition and practice there. For recall, shorten the distance and choose a moment when the dog is not already chasing or intensely sniffing. For settling, reduce traffic through the room. Keep a reward the dog values ready, and avoid asking for a behavior repeatedly while the dog rehearses a different one.

Protect Safety While Reliability Develops

Use secure gates, supervised outdoor access and suitable leash equipment. If recall is inconsistent, an unfenced area is not a useful place to test whether the dog has improved. Practice with a long line only where it is safe and allowed, keeping it away from roads, tangled obstacles and other dogs. Ask a trainer to demonstrate safe handling before you use one with a strong dog.

Our leash walking guide provides an easier foundation for outdoor practice. The Guide’s Mini versus Standard comparison helps families think about adult handling needs, but every dog needs training regardless of size. Recheck equipment as the puppy grows.

Refresh the Household Routine

Keep meals, toilet breaks, rest and appropriate activity predictable. Revisit whether the dog is spending too long waiting for interaction, or whether a busy day leaves little room to settle. You can add sniffing, simple food-search activities and short training without turning every walk into exhausting exercise.

The Guide’s exercise and enrichment article and our joint health guide support questions for the veterinarian about activity. If toileting slips, return to the potty training plan and check for medical concerns rather than assuming the dog is making a deliberate choice.

Decide When You Need More Help

A short log should include what happened, what preceded it, the dog’s posture and how long it took to settle afterward. Share videos when it is safe to capture them. Sudden pain sensitivity, major changes in sleep or appetite, or new distress deserves a veterinary discussion.

If the main problem happens when you leave, use the home-alone guide and get help with the specific separation pattern. If fear or reactions to dogs are growing, revisit the socialization approach at an easier level. The Journal’s body language resource can help you recognize earlier signals. Adolescence is a reason to adjust support, not a reason to ignore a concerning change.