# At what age did your dog start to mellow out?



## passionfruit61 (Jul 20, 2011)

Our dog is 9 months and he is super hyper and playful. We take him to the park so he can burn off his energy and socialize with other dogs. The problem is, sometimes he rubs off other dogs the wrong way and they would growl at him. He also won't take no for an answer when the other dogs want nothing to do with him. It gets a bit frustrating sometimes always having to pull him away when all the other dogs behave. He also gets yelled at and scolded at by other dog owners quite often, ugh. Is this typical puppy behavior or is he in need of training? I can't wait for him to mellow out so he is not so crazy all the time.


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

One and a half years is when I've noticed all of my dogs mellowing a bit, but at two years old it's like some kind of switch got flipped and they're suddenly really great, haha. It varies by breed and by individual dog, I'm sure... but all of mine were noticeably much calmer by age two.


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## Roloni (Aug 5, 2011)

Its more of a question of training ..and not so much about mellowing with age.
A dog that isnt responding to training , can act like this for years.

But @ 9 months old..Its probably just crazy puppy behavior. 
Consentrate on training basics.


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## KBLover (Sep 9, 2008)

Don't know. I'm still waiting.

...And he's close to 5 years old.


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## trainingjunkie (Feb 10, 2010)

At 4, mine are still nuts! Well-trained, but P S Y C H O!

My boxer died hyper at 11, never settled a bit!

But I am drawn to high energy dogs, so maybe it's not hopeless for you!


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Age will often mellow a dog in terms of sheer energy, but it does not replace training. If your dog is misbehaving to the point that other dogs and their owners are both yelling at him, then he needs training. As a plus, training is a lot of fun and a well behaved dog can go more places and do more fun things with you.

Chester started to mellow at about 3 1/2. He's about 4 1/2 now. He has a ton of energy still, but its more controlled and he is able to deal better with less exercise if need be (as in, he much prefers an hour + of walking daily, but if the weather sucks, he won't destroy the house if we skip a walk)


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## KBLover (Sep 9, 2008)

Shell said:


> As a plus, training is a lot of fun and a well behaved dog can go more places and do more fun things with you.


Agreed. But Wally's definitely trained...but thinks walking across a parking lot is the grand adventure of a lifetime and gets just soooooooo wound up with excitement! 

And going to PetCo...it's like a kid going into Toys 'R Us. 

Not exactly "mellow", imo! 

If I couldn't direct him/calm him, he wouldn't be able to come, but he's still so melodramatic about things!


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## Zoey's Mommy (Mar 3, 2012)

This could be an odd comparison to make, but I'm gonna say it anyway.... as an Adult ADHD'er and long time dog owner, both me AND my dog tend to have more success socially if we have already "burnt off" our hyper energy *before* social interactions. My analogy might seem a tad off, but the reality is, dopamine is released when we exercise. Dopamine is a nuerotransmitter, and that helps both me and my dog, get it through our think skulls when others are giving us non verbal queues to back off. A thirty minute walk before socializing and training is a good way to get the nuerotransmitters flowing, so all the info gets where it needs to go! 

The analogy seemed appropriate since there is a book out there entitled, _All Dogs Have ADHD._


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## winniec777 (Apr 20, 2008)

Our girl started settling around 3-3.5 years. If your dog has trouble controlling himself in play with other dogs, you might want to try to find some friends who have dogs with a compatible play style. A dog park can be a difficult place to learn the rules for a rambunctious puppy. And if your puppy encounters an intolerant dog, he could learn a painful lesson trying to interact with the wrong dog. I'm not a huge fan of throwing strange dogs together to let them figure it out.


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

Muggsy "mellowed" around 5, but was still bouncy and happy and silly until he died at 13. 

Kabota is 3 or 4 and practically comatose in comparison. 

A lot of it is the dog.


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## Tofu_pup (Dec 8, 2008)

Kaki will be eight soon and she still destroys whatever she can pull into her crate if we miss a day of exercise. For her seventh birthday, she did hundreds of dollars in damage to my bedroom(I'll be paying for that this month as I'm moving out...). She won't have the opportunity to do anything like that ever again. She has an off switch for sure but she can go, go, go until the cows come home. I don't expect that to change any time soon(I really hope it doesn't). 

OP-

Nine months is the age when dogs begin entering adolescence(or already have). Teenage dogs get themselves into at least as much trouble, if not more trouble, as teenage humans. I dread adolescent dogs at work. If your dog is irritating other dogs AND people, you really need to consider whether or not he belongs in a dog park setting at all. Try giving him good exercise BEFORE going to the DP. Give him a time outs for naughty behaviors(three strikes you're out). Study up on dog body language as well as good play. You might be missing a whole lot of bad behaviors or poor communication. 
I work with an adolescent coonhound mix that is so unbelievably rude. He doesn't care if the other dogs consent to play or not; he turns it into a game. Consequently, he gets a lot of time outs and he is improving. 

Explore other avenues for draining his seemingly endless energy. For example, I've recently started urban mushing with my crew.


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## passionfruit61 (Jul 20, 2011)

Thank you all for the great responses! We do give him timeouts when he mis-behaves, but I don't think it's really helping. We r first time dog owners and I am really seriously considering seeking professional trainers to help us out. I'm just wondering if it's worth it, or if it's something we can handle ourselves. He is quite a handful sometimes!


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

I think a *good* professional trainer is a great thing, even if you basically know what you are doing. Some of the benefits of taking a training class are: 
distraction proofing (a dog must learn to obey commands even when all kinds of things are going on around him), 
change of location (dogs don't generalize well, so teaching and reinforcing commands in varied settings is important),
teaching the dog to listen to another person (the trainer or other handlers in the class might take turns working with different dogs, teaching them to listen to other people when needed)
and you can always learn new tips and tricks!

I've been doing classes with my foster dog and have seen enough benefit and enjoyed the classes enough that I have signed up Chester for obedience and nosework classes coming up soon. Chester is fairly well trained- good in the house, good with people, good with dogs, I even took him shopping with me today and he behaved well in the store and with the kids and adults who wanted to pet him- but the training classes will sharpen some of his commands that he slacks on (and I slack on too) and the nosework classes will be mental exercise for him and fun too.

The classes we are taking run about $75 for an 8 week basic obedience course and about $10/session for other classes of different lengths (5-8 weeks or so). It also makes a great rainy/snowy day activity.


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## GottaLuvMutts (Jun 1, 2009)

Yes, definitely attend a training class. You don't necessarily need a behaviorist for private sessions (those are usually reserved for aggressive, extremely fearful, etc. dogs), but classes will help you enormously. Also, read the stickies at the top of the training forum. Institute NILIF now!

I've seen a huge amount of variation in people's opinions of what makes a high energy dog. I was at Petco a few days ago and there was a couple there with a 4 month old yellow lab. Very sweet, very responsive, not wild at all. He was happy to have me pet him, but not overly-so. He already had a nice automatic sit. Later I overheard them telling the cashier how "high energy" he was. I'm standing there thinking my ~4 year old dog wouldn't behave that well in Petco! Seriously, she'd be checking out every toy/treat in every isle, and trying to entice anybody who smiled in her direction to come closer so that she could deliver the face lick of death. 

I certainly consider my dog trained (we successfully compete in agility), but she is far from mellow. If I give her ample opportunity to get out her ya-yas, then she can stay passably calm, unless there's something interesting going on, and then all bets are off. I hope she never mellows.


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

I didn't see... what breed ?

I have a Lab - GSD mix (Lab personality) and his hyper, devilish ways disappeared when he was 3 yo. Still enthusiastic and playful, but not hyper... although he can still pester other dogs to play.


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## LittleFr0g (Jun 11, 2007)

KBLover said:


> Don't know. I'm still waiting.
> 
> ...And he's close to 5 years old.


Same here.


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## Elliebell (Mar 13, 2011)

Neeka mellowed out a little at 5, but at almost 10 people still think she's a puppy. SiSi was born mellow.

I definitely second the training class idea. It's worth it (as long as you get a good teacher)


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## lil_fuzzy (Aug 16, 2010)

Mine are 2.5 and 1.5 years. They're not showing any signs up mellowing, but they're both well trained and well behaved, so it doesn't bother me. One of them is a JRT x, so naturally high energy and intense, so I don't really expect that to change. If you choose a high energy dog you have to be prepared to live with it.


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## L Kathryn (Feb 27, 2012)

The beagle mellowed at a year, blue heeler, 5 going on 6 and still waiting. He will lie down, but he's always waiting...the moment I move he's raring to go. The pup is a lower energy level and at 4mths he's already very thoughtful.
I also vote for training - high energy dog + new owners can definately = trouble.
And I agree that you should burn off some of his energy before going to the dog park. High energy hyper dogs/pups are pretty much guaranteed to get into a skirmish or two if they aren't at least a little calm before going in.


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## trainingjunkie (Feb 10, 2010)

BoxerDog said:


> My Boxer is still pretty hyper at age 7 now. I hope she makes it to 11 like your boxer did.
> My lab mellowed out after 2-years old.


I hope you you have her til she's 20!


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## luv mi pets (Feb 5, 2012)

JRT- going on 14ish! Stray dog she could be older, she could be a year younger. Lucky for her, we learned to laugh at her antics. The plus side she acts like the good child out and about. People are always commenting on how well behaved she is. It is at home the devil plays on her shoulders. 

I agree to the dog training. All my dogs go to a training class. I can do it at home, but it is so much better at a school. Other people, other dogs, distractions just make for a better trained dog.


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## juliemule (Dec 10, 2011)

Mine range from 6months to 14 years. The 13 year old malinois has started slowing down now. The others seem to get worse with age, the are still as hyper, just more serious lol. Calm isn't even a word I can use with them lol.


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## GottaLuvMutts (Jun 1, 2009)

juliemule said:


> Mine range from 6months to 14 years. The 13 year old malinois has started slowing down now. The others seem to get worse with age, the are still as hyper, just more serious lol. Calm isn't even a word I can use with them lol.


Serious, hmm. I definitely hope THAT never happens. Kit's always been the class clown, something I don't want her to lose.


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## Zoey's Mommy (Mar 3, 2012)

passionfruit61 said:


> Thank you all for the great responses! We do give him timeouts when he mis-behaves, but I don't think it's really helping. We r first time dog owners and I am really seriously considering seeking professional trainers to help us out. I'm just wondering if it's worth it, or if it's something we can handle ourselves. He is quite a handful sometimes!


The ASPCA site a a whole BUNCH of awesome training and behavior articles to tide you over until you find the right trainer. http://www.aspcabehavior.org/search.aspx?petCat=1&mode=all&sort=title&dir=ASC


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## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

Esther learned to relax at about age five. She rarely does it, but she knows how.

Molly is about five and we're still waiting.


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## CrazyDogLady (Dec 9, 2011)

Shell said:


> I think a *good* professional trainer is a great thing, even if you basically know what you are doing.


Also, don't be afraid to try a different trainer, if you don't connect with the one you're working with. Mercy completed basic Training, but I didn't really feel like we had "nailed it". We're starting work with a new trainer next week, but I can already see a difference in Mercy just with the preliminary exercises the new trainer gave us. The old trainer was very good and extremely well respected in our area (even by our new trainer), but I just didn't connect with her on some level. I think a good human-to-human relationship with your trainer is just as important as their dog knowledge and training skill.


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## embedded (Feb 6, 2012)

Not sure about mellow but I can relate to when I see my competence as the guardian, which was around 3 years old. At that age, he would greet his litter mate and other large breeds in a mature manner versus the juvenile rastling stuff.

And at age 3, our trust and respect seemed embedded so after he qould acquire a target, he would simply look and wait for my guidance rather than pursue.

Don't get me wrong, once we go on an adventure and I list 3 or 4 activities, when we do "The Stooges" activity he goes buck wild crazy, running around in figure 8s and we will chase each other.


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## LuvMyAngels (May 24, 2009)

Birth? 

Saints are a pretty mellow breed to begin with. He has a few times per day where he'll get a little crazy but his usual speed is "dog fur rug" or 'snoring speed bump"


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## Damon'sMom (Aug 2, 2011)

Sophie is 5 years old and she is still as crazy as ever. I do not believe she will ever mellow out. 
Damon is 1 and he is the same way, but he is still young so I guess we will just have to wait and see.


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