Dogs are often referred to as man’s best friend. As per the latest study, they also seem to be having some similar behaviour as human beings when they hit their puberty.
According to a study in the BBC, a team of researchers based in Nottingham, Newcastle and Edinburgh revealed that the dogs who hit their puberty take longer to respond to commands and are tougher to train.
This was concluded after monitoring 69 five-month-old dogs. the canines' puberty is 5-months to 8-months.
If Dr Naomi Harvey, a zoologist who worked on the research is to be believed then the dogs behave differently only with their owner and are more or less well behaved when it came to unknown people.
Speaking to Newsbeat, Naomi said, “What we found is evidence that dogs do show a period of reduced obedience towards their owners and this is specific to their owners not to other people. It is associated with all of the issues going on inside the dog during puberty. The hormonal fluctuations and the remodelling of the brain to become an adult brain cause a lot of issues”.
However, what may come as a sigh of relief for dog owners is that once the dog crosses the period of puberty it becomes more obedient.
Dr Lucy Asher, who happens to be an animal behaviour scientist and the study lead asserts, “This is a very important time in a dog's life. This is when dogs are often rehomed because they are no longer a cute little puppy and suddenly, their owners find they are more challenging and they can no longer control them or train them. But as with human teenage children, owners need to be aware that their dog is going through a phase and it will pass”.
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