Caring For Your Crazy Canine: When Do Puppies Calm Down?

Puppies are the cutest gift of nature that one could ask for, they are always hyperactive at a young age and follow you around everywhere you go.

Getting a pooch is a long commitment, many situations will arise where their behavior might test their boundaries. The high energy level of the little puppies makes them do cute stuff all the time but sometimes their hyper behavior may become uncontrollable.

Pups are a powerhouse of energy. Human owners can never match the energy levels of puppies. Sometimes their pent-up energies can lead to certain notorious and destructive tendencies in them.

Therefore, it is not wrong of you to wonder at what age your little pooch is going to calm down. They are always hyped up and in a mood to play.

Including training and physical exercise in a puppy's daily routine from a very young age is important as an outlet for their energy. Just like any child, a puppy also likes to run and play in the house. The training and exercise help in calming down the puppies.

The puppy breeds do not take equal time to mature. Some dogs may mellow at a younger age while some take more time to mature.

A larger dog breed tends to show more hyper behavior than the smaller ones. Trying to keep the mental health of the puppy healthy during the puppy's young and adolescent stage is very important. Crate training and exercise regularly during the dog's puppy stage will keep them happier and also calmer increasing the chances of maturing faster.

A puppy matures faster in presence of older pet dogs and starts following their calm routine. A female dog matures faster than a male dog due to differences in its biological structure.

If you like what you read, do check out when do labs stop growingandwhen do puppies stop chewing everything. 

How The Breed Of A Dog Affects Its Maturity

A very common aspect that affects the energy level and maturity of a puppy is its breed. This observation is common and normal as dogs of different breeds mature at different ages.

The maturity of a puppy depends entirely on the genetics and physical development of the dog breeds. The differences in the amount of physical training and diet between the breeds determine the age at which the dog can calm down.

Age is not the only factor that controls the behavior of dogs, there are also few other things to consider if you are wondering when your dog will calm down. One such thing is the breed of the dog.

It is absolutely normal for you to feel that your puppy is taking more time to mature than the other pups of the same age. In your visit to a dog park, you may notice that some pups naturally have a higher energy level than the other ones.

This is because some breeds are more energetic and show more hyper behavior than others. Some hyper dogs fail to remain calm even after crossing the adolescent stage.

The history of the breeds plays an important role in a puppy's calming process. The dogs living a life that does not suit their actual purpose take more time to settle in a homely environment.

The energy of the puppies that were bred to hunt by the side of humans or to take part in games as a form of entertainment are more active than the others. For example dogs like Labradors, retrievers, terriers, dachshunds have high energy levels because of their genetic evolution.

Keeping these dogs behind closed doors and never playing with them will consequently make them act up.

Some breeds carry their higher energy levels from puppyhood right up to adulthood. Generally, smaller dog breeds tend to calm down before the larger ones.

They reach maturity faster than the latter and the adolescent energy of the puppies mellow down a bit. The larger breeds hold on to their hyper energy even in their senior years.

The Optimal Age Of Puppies To Calm Down

High energy levels are expected in newborn pups at least until they mature. A puppy is just like a small child that experiences the world for the first time.

They only remain inactive during their sleeping hours, the rest of the time they are either running around in the house or playing with their toys.

In reality, there is no particular age for a dog to calm down, their energy levels are affected by certain external factors. Some common factors that you need to consider before determining their age to calm down are the breed of the dog, psychological state, gender, and social structure.

A puppy experiences the most drastic changes in its behavior within 10 weeks after they are born. This is the most adorable phase of your little pooch.

Puppies after their birth are generally shy and tend to stay close to their mothers. After a few days when they become big enough to walk and run on their own, it becomes very difficult to keep them calm.

Sometimes the owners might get tired by the big bundle of energy of their hyper puppy. The span between 10 weeks to 16 weeks old is a dog's adolescent stage.

During this time their energy levels remain higher than ever. They might indulge in doing destructive things and ignore your basic commands to test your boundaries in this phase. At this stage, routine sessions of crate training and exercise are required to develop their socialization skills.

Crate training is one of the best teaching methods for your dogs. It helps them to settle in the house and learn appropriate socialization skills along with teaching basic commands.

As their teeth begin to grow in this stage, the puppy's mouth becomes itchy and the puppy starts biting everything it gets as a form of relief. So they need plenty of food-grade toys at this stage.

Between four to six months of age, the puppies begin entering their adult dog stage, however, their energy level still remains considerably high. A dog experiences many new things throughout its puppyhood, they get accustomed to the new environment and people by this time, so the pup diverts its energy towards other dogs.

They have fun and play with other dogs and puppies of the same age. Aggression is also common during this period of life so continuous training and exercise are required to keep them calm.

Puppies seem to get easily distracted at this age, so it is better to keep an eye out for their destructive behaviors and teach them a lesson whenever necessary. Between 6-12 months of age, a dog's energy might seem to tune down a bit in some breeds.

The puppies get more accustomed to a schedule and know how the world works by this phase.

They still remain energetic wanting to play around and have fun but realize that they are tied to a schedule. After two years, most puppies reach full adulthood.

There is a significant change of behaviors from the past stages and they become much calmer now. The controlled behavior and decreased energy are signs of a dog's maturity.

The Most Difficult Period Of Dealing With A Puppy

Just like humans a puppy also goes through its adolescent phase. A normal teenage pup becomes overly youthful, settled, and loud during this stage. This is the most difficult phase to deal with your pup.

An increase in the sleeping hours of a puppy indicates that they are steering towards their adolescent phase of life. The teenage phase of a dog lasts until it reaches two to three years old.

Before growing into an adult, the pup goes through a stage of drastic changes. The span between 8-18 months is the most challenging period of development in a puppy.

However, after crossing this phase your relationship with your dog is going to be better than ever. Interacting and handling your dog in a proper way during this time is necessary.

Changes In The Behavior Of Spayed Puppies

Most dogs are neutered when they reach the adolescent period. During this time when their aggressive behavior increases, it is quite normal. Neutering or spaying a dog does not cause any permanent changes in a dog's behavior. However, right after the surgery, there might be a slight decrease in their appetite but that is temporary.

A puppy is always high-spirited in its puppyhood days. Although a puppy is spayed around six weeks old, its spirit still remains the same.

Therefore, there is very little chance that the dog would calm down after being spayed. Moreover, the personality of a dog is not related to spaying.

A naturally high-spirited and jovial dog breed seems to be hyper for a longer time than the softer ones. Spaying cannot change the actual disposition of a dog, therefore expecting your dog to be permanently less hyper after the process is absolutely a myth.

Best Methods To Calm Down Puppies

Puppies are expected to be overly energetic; running and jumping around the house when they are not sleeping are considered to be signs of happiness. However, if a puppy is barking loudly all the time and spinning in circles uncontrollably, there's a chance that it might not actually be happy.

Many people encourage these behaviors in dogs, thinking it to be cute and jovial. Unfortunately, that is not true.

A calm and submissive puppy is happier than an over-excited one. Apart from regular training and exercise at their young ages, there are also various other methods you need to follow for keeping your dog happy.

Encouraging calm and soft nature over an excitable and wild nature in a puppy should be stopped. A submissive dog tends to understand the love and affection of the owners faster than others.

Ignoring the excited behaviors of a puppy and rewarding them when they are calm will develop their instincts correctly. An over-excited dog will continue its rowdy behavior if it easily gets away with all types of wrongdoings.

Puppies should be provided with a source of energy outlet to reduce their excess excitement. For example, playing fetch with it or running through obstacles keep them happier than just sitting around.

Even though the main motive is to keep their spirit in check, this can't be achieved if they are kept behind locked doors all the time. Captivating a dog builds up frustration while letting them free up to an extent stimulates its senses and also drains some amount of its energy.

Training and exercise are important in puppies since they are born. It does not only wear out excess energies in our pups but it also helps them to maintain a good physique.

Crate training should be a part of a pup's schedule since its younger days. It will help them to understand basic commands and teach them to be calm.

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