Nobody really talks about this part, but around five or six months, a lot of people start wondering if they made a mistake bringing a puppy home.
The cute phase starts to wear off. The dog has more energy, more confidence, and is getting into everything. It can feel like they’ve forgotten what you already taught them.
You didn’t mess anything up.
Your puppy is growing up.
This is the stage where they start testing things, pushing boundaries, and paying more attention to the environment than to you. It feels like training is going backwards, but it’s not. It just means the dog is changing.
This is where structure starts to matter more.
Rules matter. Boundaries matter. Follow through matters.
Less freedom, more clarity.
If you stay consistent through this stage, things do start to come together. The dog starts to understand expectations, and the behavior becomes more stable.
If your puppy is around five or six months old and you’re feeling frustrated or questioning your decision, that’s normal.
This phase passes.