When Does A Puppy Grow Out Of That “puppy Phase”?!?
September 25, 2009 by admin
Filed under Care & Training Q&As
I got a puppy and she is 8 1/2 weeks old. Please answer this question: If she is constantly and properly trained, when will she grow out the phase that I can only explain as “the puppy phase”. I love her and am being nice but adamant about rules. Don’t worry, Im being nice 
I’m 14 and we’ve had 2 other dogs but this is MY first dog so I have to care for it. I would love for her to stay a puppy forever but I can’t put up with this craziness for too long! lol
So again: She is a 8 1/2 week old Cockapoo, (half poodle, half cocker spaniel) puppy. (named Ginger – the movie star!) If you’ve seen Gilligan’s Island you’ll know that reference
When will she grow out of that “puppy phase”?
Related Cockapoo Training & Care posts:
the worst is usually over around 6 to 9 months but as said above 1 to 2 years is when they truly stop for the most part however some dogs never do. I have a dog that is 5 years old and you would think he is 5 months old. he still plays like a puppy and drive my other dog crazy at times. good luck.
Good luck I have a cocker and he PP every time anyone looked at him for over a year. He is Nuts. Now he is older and some better but it will be about age 1 or so before he will stop driving you crazy.
the first puppy phase will end in a few months
but they wont stop being super hyper and teething until they are about 1 1/2 or 2
9 months
usually 6 to 8 months they calm down some.
Let me ask my six year old lab…
dsafd
Lily,
She gets much better by 6 months, much better again after a year, and after 2 years she’ll be playful but calm and won’t chew stuff that isn’t her own. The best thing you can do right away is to learn all about dog psychology and pack psychology so that you can train her right from the beginning. When I say right, I don’t mean with punishment. You can teach a dog all it needs to know through non-violent techniques, and your bond will be stronger because of it. The thing is, so much of it is not intuitive.
I didn’t learn about all this until my dogs were a couple years older, and their bad behavior had become a big problem. If you start early, she will be a joy to be around.
-Kevin
I’m not sure what you mean by “puppy phase”??? Do you mean all the active energy, the chewing, the many meals per day, the peeing on the floor, the crying at night? Please be more specific and re-post.
The energetic part will take a while to slow down as both cockers and poodles are supposed to be very active dogs and some are downright hyper! But by age 2, if not sooner, she should be calmer…more so by 5.
The crying at night usually lasts about one week.
The chewing is best managed by keeping a close watch on her. Trade safe, tasty chewables for items you don’t want chewed. Keep things out of her reach. Bitter Apple can help but you do need to re-spray it daily. When you can’t watch her, ask someone else to or put her in a place where she can do no harm and come to no harm (crate, playpen, etc.).
The number of meals per day taper down to two when the dog is 6 months old. Stay with 2 meals.
I guess you know the housebreaking drill if you’ve been reading Answers for a while? Basically, you take her out first thing in the morning, last thing at night, after every meal, after she wakes up, anytime she has been playing for a while, after she drinks a lot of water, any time she sniffs the floor.
Punishment actually slows down housebreaking so just focus on praising and petting her (plus a tiny treat?) when she accomplishes her mission outdoors. How to Housebreak Your Dog in Seven Days is a really good book. You can get it at Dogwise.com. It costs $7.99 Ofcourse no dog has physical control before it is 16 weeks old but they can get the idea and get into good habits long before that.
The faster you train the faster she will grow out of it. i have a 11 week old bischon-poo that has been and is just learning not to be in the disruptive puppy stage. She plays but the chewing and crying is all done.A lot of praising,treats only when she is good(size of treat depends on how good she is) and a dog clicker from Petco is what i did with mine. She learned to kennel, go down stairs which she was terrified of and sit as well. She is loving the attention she receives and will do it all to please you.
of course you can. but only if you believe you can. I will always love you.