# when is your puppy no longer a puppy



## triordan (Dec 5, 2008)

as i watch dresden grow and mature, and did i mention grow, i'm wondering when he's no longer considered a puppy...what do you think?? No one believes me when i tell them he's 10 months old...BTW the pic is of him at 41/2 months old...i need to update my pictures


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## GSDBESTK9 (Mar 26, 2002)

They are no longer considered puppies at 1 year of age. He is very cute.


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## jencarr (Apr 21, 2009)

They grow soooo fast! Jackson is 9 months old and does not look like a puppy anymore. More like a gangly teenager. He sure acts like a puppy, though!


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## littledmc17 (Apr 9, 2008)

Brady is 4 but I still see the puppy in him


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## RavenSophi (Feb 23, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: littledmcBrady is 4 but I still see the puppy in him


Yes, I think their body might look adult at 1 year but they're still puppies inside. I think the time it taks for the puppy attitude to change depends on the dog.


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## Amaruq (Aug 29, 2001)

Tika will be 10 YEARS in December and I still see a lot of puppy in her.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I think female shepherds are puppies until they are at least eighteen months old, and males are puppies until they are at least two. Different breeds mature faster or slower. And individuals within a breed mature at different rates. Individuals in the same litter mature differently. 

Looking at Milla and Ninja today, they are puppies. They will be a year old on the seventh. I do not know whether they are full grown yet. Ninja is stocky, Milla is thin, both do not even LOOK like adults yet. Milla is bouncy and puppyish, Ninja is a little less outwardly puppyish, but when she dashes around the house, she is 100% puppy. 

They lose their puppy license with other dogs around five months. That is when the other dogs start putting them into their place. Their attention span is longer and they can understand the difference between going for a walk and going for a romp. 

Milla and Ninja are almost yearlings, are what I consider "puppy bitches" or "baby bitches." 

My two year olds I consider "young bitches", though they will be three momentarily.

At three or four, I start considering them "mature bitches."

Arwen is my "Old Bitch."

And Rushie is simply my dog. He is three and a half, and I consider him a young dog. 

Reproductively, a dog can be a young dog a lot longer, when he is a mature dog he can still function much longer than the mature bitch. 

I suppose a behaviorist would have definite markers that separate puppies and adults, the young dog to the mature dog, and the mature dog to the old dog or geriatric dog. I may not be kind enough to Arwen at eight years. She still may qualify as "mature." Old or geriatric may have indicators such as loss of function and cognitive abilities, like my parents' ancient setter.


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