- Location
- United States
My sister has been staying with us for a few days with her doggies! Its nice for Aspen because he gets to play with his cousins and also gets to stay out with them while I go to school. I came home Monday and my sister asked me "Is Aspen sick?" I knew he was fine because he was his usual cheery wiggle-butt self when I got home. I told her "No...he seems fine to me. Why?" She told me that he had lied around all day with her old dogs (not actually too old, 5 and 7) and that she was worried he had an upset tummy or something because he wasn't his usual rambunctious self.
We don't get to see each other very often because of her work schedule, so I realized that she doesn't get to notice all of Aspen's growing up. I told her that yes, Aspen was fine and that he's finally just settling down. He often lays around now when we are lounging around. Then a day later when my mom came over to make dinner with us all, and everyone was commenting on how nicely Aspen was behaving and how he was very calm aside from his initial jumping when everyone came through the door.
I was also impressed by Aspen because we crated him for the night and my sister and brother-in-law ended up coming home late. Aspen didn't bark or whine once when they came in and fell back asleep. He woke at 7:45 am and I fed him and let him out, then brought him upstairs to sleep with me until about 9 am. He didn't get antsy when he heard my sister's dogs wake up and run down the stairs and instead quietly lied with me.
I am so impressed with how much he has grown over the last 6 months and I am glad to know that most of his "naughtiness" was just him being a puppy. When people ask me how my dog is I feel very proud of myself for being able to say that we struggle a bit with recall and jumping and excited-ness but that he is a good boy overall. I am so proud of him for being such a sweet, gentle boy who loves everyone.
If your puppy doesn't seem like he should still be acting like a puppy, give him a little break! I sometimes forget that Aspen is only 1.5 years old and that he will still act like a little one at times. Sometimes we expect too much of them because they are beyond "being one year old" and think they should have it all figured out. I have to remind myself that Aspen probably won't truly settle until he is 3 or 5 with my luck
Sorry for the long post, just proud of the behavioral milestones that Aspen hits, and figure that it is something that can be shared for others who are struggling with puppies who seem to have never-ending naughtiness! As the saying goes (especially on this page...) "This too shall pass."
We don't get to see each other very often because of her work schedule, so I realized that she doesn't get to notice all of Aspen's growing up. I told her that yes, Aspen was fine and that he's finally just settling down. He often lays around now when we are lounging around. Then a day later when my mom came over to make dinner with us all, and everyone was commenting on how nicely Aspen was behaving and how he was very calm aside from his initial jumping when everyone came through the door.
I was also impressed by Aspen because we crated him for the night and my sister and brother-in-law ended up coming home late. Aspen didn't bark or whine once when they came in and fell back asleep. He woke at 7:45 am and I fed him and let him out, then brought him upstairs to sleep with me until about 9 am. He didn't get antsy when he heard my sister's dogs wake up and run down the stairs and instead quietly lied with me.
I am so impressed with how much he has grown over the last 6 months and I am glad to know that most of his "naughtiness" was just him being a puppy. When people ask me how my dog is I feel very proud of myself for being able to say that we struggle a bit with recall and jumping and excited-ness but that he is a good boy overall. I am so proud of him for being such a sweet, gentle boy who loves everyone.
If your puppy doesn't seem like he should still be acting like a puppy, give him a little break! I sometimes forget that Aspen is only 1.5 years old and that he will still act like a little one at times. Sometimes we expect too much of them because they are beyond "being one year old" and think they should have it all figured out. I have to remind myself that Aspen probably won't truly settle until he is 3 or 5 with my luck
Sorry for the long post, just proud of the behavioral milestones that Aspen hits, and figure that it is something that can be shared for others who are struggling with puppies who seem to have never-ending naughtiness! As the saying goes (especially on this page...) "This too shall pass."
