When Does A Puppy Stop Being A Puppy?

[Salukifan]

First question: at what age do you switch from calling your dog a puppy, to calling them a dog?

When it reaches the age of sexual maturity. But definitely by 12 months.

[Dame Aussie]

First question: at what age do you switch from calling your dog a puppy, to calling them a dog?

When it reaches the age of sexual maturity. But definitely by 12 months.

Agree with this.

[Simply Grand]

First question: at what age do you switch from calling your dog a puppy, to calling them a dog? Second: when are puppy behaviours expected to phase out? Madam was sitting and offering a shake for a treat this morning, and I was asked how old she is (10mths) and got the comment "she's still very puppy like isn't she?" Just wondering if she's supposed to be more grown up by now or if a playful "here's my paw, can I have a treat" is perfectly OK.

Labs are puppies forever.Ernie is 8 months but he looks full grown. People who don't know treat/expect him to behave like one.Until they see him wrestle the vacuum cleaner, clear the coffee table with one swipe of his tail, bark at the kitties on the tv, race around the house gleefully holding the broom handle, get an erection at any opportunity, bury his bone in my cactus pot plant (and the look sorry for himself at the prickles), fall through the steps on the kids playset slide, eat an entire box of Jatz off the counter in 3 minutes (box and all)....You get the idea.

Quinn's 3 and not puppyish at all but she still does all of the things listed above (except get an erection lol)!

They grow up so quickly that the longer they seem puppy like the better IMO. I totally agree with CK about how they suddenly seem so grown up as soon as you see an actual puppy puppy :)

[Loving my Oldies]

All my dogs are from pounds and only one was a puppy of about 6 months of age. Ten and a half years later, I still call her my puppy She is a Maltese cross Shih Tzu so she still looks like a puppy :laugh:

[Mumsie]

I find that most dogs have puppy like behaviour all their lives but generally calm down after they are 2.5 years old. My old girl was 16 but she was always "my little girl" when she was good or "madam" if she was naughty

[YOLO]

Depends on breed, training, and neutering.

Flat Coats (and most of their cousin retrievers) are very late to mature. Probably don't start to grow up until at least 5 years old.

Neutering obviously dials the hormones down, but I suspect it can delay other ageing signals as well.

Some behaviour that we tolerate in puppies just needs to be trained out.

Edited December 22, 2014 by Big D

[piper]

Generally our youngest gets called "Puppy" as a nickname until the next actual puppy turns up (ours currently aged 5 years, 3 years and 6 months).

Then you realise how grown up they are and how much hard work actual puppies are!

This is how it goes in our place as well. Well at least it did for Jazz. I don't really remember calling Piper puppy but I probably did.

As for age of puppy behaviour ending - that varies in individuals. Ricky and Piper were both quite young and mentally "mature" as in under 12 months. Reagan was puppy like almost all his life. Jazz remained puppy like until about the time of her first litter and Cinna is 2 and very immature both physically and mentally.