Teenagers along with their mood swings and rebellious nature is nothing strange to us, however, a new research has shown that dogs too go through a similar ‘teenage’ growing up phase when they hot 8 months.
The discovery comes after hundres of dog owners were studies as their pooches grew up and reported ‘adolescent’ behaviour at eight months.
Naomi Harvey, a research fellow at the University of Nottingham’s veterinary clinic told Times that every dog goes through the teenage phase where owners report that the mutts forget previously learnt commands, become impulsive and easily distracted as well as turn erratic. Sounds familiar?
Well it turns out that how a dog is treated when it is young is more important in determining how it socialises with humans than its breed or other DNA influences.
The team discovered that dogs had a ‘socialisation period’ from three to 12 weeks that teaches them what is normal and what is a threat.
The research was sponsored by the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association and published in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior,
The results of the study suggest social factors may be the most important with regards to shaping dog behaviour.
