# Types of progress - is a 1 year old dog still a "puppy"?



## dogclass (Feb 16, 2011)

I'm just posting to share where my dog is at in the 2 months we've had him. He is a now 1 year 1 month old, a collie/sheltie mix, 37 lbs. We adopted him from a rescue group in late February. He's very loving, and kind of clingy (follows us around the house).

He's pretty lay back. When ever we mention to people that we have a 1 year old dog, they've always assume he must be a handful. Maybe a lot of dogs are still puppish at 1 year? Our dog is pretty lay back. Doesn't chew the house up. Kind of a sweet heart.

-he already knew "sit" when we adopted him, and he's got that down pretty good now. He won't sit when he is distracted by birds or rabbits outside though. Still working on distraction training.

-doesn't cry most of the time when we kennel him before going to work. He cry a lot for the first few weeks.

-he's not dependable off-leash (runs to neighbor's house, doesn't stay in the backyard). But we haven't tried (or just don't know how) to train him to stay in the backyard (not fenced).

-He's great at his bathroom routine.

-He only comes when called sometimes. If he's not more interested in the neighbor, or someone walking by. He's fun at the dog park though. He seems to be more dependable about coming when called at the dog park, but not so much in the backyard around our house.

-although we enjoy walking him, he still has a habit of walking to the end of the leash until it's slightly taught. Not too much pulling, and he stops when he feels the tug, but he doesn't walk loose leash. He doesn't follow me when walking. We haven't found any tricks that works other than having dog food with us when walking. He'll walk looking up, or look at us when called. With the treats out of the picture, he won't walk loose leash.

-He doesn't let us brush his teeth still. He'd fidget and make it really difficult to get a good brushing in. Treats help a little bit, but still not quite the amount of brushing I'd like to do. We took it slow at first, getting him used to us touching his mouth, flipping his lips up, touching his gums...he doesn't get aggressive, but doesn't tolerate it either.

He's great though. Very snugly. We've only left him alone outside the kennel once, and he got on to the couch (he know he's not suppose to), and was chewing on some garlic he got from the kitchen counter. I think if we're not home he tends to get into stuff.

Edit: We think he was just chewed on the garlic, but didn't think he ate much of it? Not sure, but he seem ok afterward.


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## Labmom4 (Feb 1, 2011)

You know garlic's toxic to dog's, right? So are onions. Be careful.
I dont know how other breeds are, but labs are very slow to mature. A 1 yr old lab is most definitely still a puppy. I've never had one act like a 'grown up' til at least 3 or 4. But, thats a lab thing.
Sounds like he's doing great.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

I sew my 6 month old acting less like a pup & more like a dog every day, & frankly I can't wait til she is all grown up lol. I think the next dog I rescue will be an older puppy at the end of their puppy stupidity. I think hat I just don't have it in me anymore for young pups lmbo.


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## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

Puppies are just like people, I'm 2 weeks older than dust and my wife is still waiting for me to mature. Yes, a yr old pup definitely can and in most cases will be considered a pup.


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

I'm pretty sure my 3 year old dog is still a puppy.


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## eeloheel (Dec 28, 2010)

Definitely depends on the dog. Our sheltie/chow mix growing up was done with the 'puppy' phase by about 10 months old, acting like a mature dog. My mom's brittany 14 years old now, and she only stopped acting like a permanent-puppy a few years ago. My mom's 5 year old (ish) lab/mastiff mix is just starting to fill out and calm down, and her six year old beagle never acted like a puppy. (She was an abuse case though, and was never really quite right. We got her when she was six months old, and the vet suspects some mental impairment, so I'm not sure she counts. She's never really been a 'dog,' but we love her anyhow.)

I expect my ACD will be a puppy for a long time to come, and he'll be a year old in August.


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

eeloheel said:


> Definitely depends on the dog.


Yea, definitely. I think Pip was probably born mature. :/


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