How they change... how they stay the same

[missbattenburg]

Just watching my 5 month old springer play with his toy spider on the armchair and wondering if he will do that when he is older. Got me thinking about all the ways dog personalities stay the same as when they were puppies and all the ways they change and wondering what all your experiences were like.

So, in what ways have your dogs changed as they grew up (whether you've had them since puppyhood or not) and in what ways have they stayed the same? Are there quirks they have always had or stuff they grew out of?

My patterdale x now has toys whereas pre being 2/3 everything was ripped to shreds in an instant, he’s 7 now and once he’s taken off any extremeties the actual body of the toy is allowed to survive , we have a toy box full of animals with missing ears and limbs .

MIne is now 14 months old and doesn't often play anymore with toys but every now and again he grabs one and starts to hurl it about like he is 4 months old again.
He definitely has a strong personality and will huff and sigh if he isn't pleased or doesn't want to be disturbed. There are so many quirks and little things he does every day that make me smile but he is very different from when he was the age that your puppy is now.

Mine is just 5 and she's barely changed, she's a teeny bit more chilled but still pretty much the same

Our unfathomably lovely and delicious golden still comes in from his night time wee and sprints to our bedroom to sleep on the rug on the floor at the end of the bed where he lies with a sneaky look on his face. This arises from when we stopped crating him at night some three months ago and he couldn't believe his luck that he was allowed to sleep with us. He still thinks that he has to chance his arm. Bless

My 4 yo poodle cross still suckles! Give him a large soft toy and he's off, sucking away with his little paws paddling...fluffy little weirdo!

We got our collie X at 8 months after he had been shunted around several different homes... I would LOVE to have known him as a pup to see what behaviours are learned from his early (traumatic) life and what is just his personality. What's been lovely over the year we've had him is watching him slowly relax - snoozing all stretched out by the fire and not following us from room to room. But I think his love of tennis balls will never change!!
Interested to hear from other rescue owners how their dog changed over time.

My labradoodle chose me as an 8 week old pup by yomping over to me, plonking himself in my lap and starting to chew my bracelet. That was that. He was mine, and I was his.

He's an old bloke of ten now, with a white beard, and he's still my mucker. The most affectionate, loving dog I've ever. He comes and says good morning by giving me a lick on the hand, sticks his tongue in my ear every time I bend down to get something out of the fridge and will just randomly give me a nibble when I need cheering up.

He's not just a good boy. He's the good boy.

I'm loving reading these stories of your happy and well-loved dogs!

It's making me feel all warm and Christmassy.

Our nearly 2 yr old black lab has finely made the connection between retrieving absolutely anything and everything and actually bringing them to me and giving me them. She had this epiphany on Christmas Day while I was preparing dinner ( I suspect large quantities of lovely smelling meat had something to do with it) She kept bringing the usual socks slippers and her new chew and throwing them at me expecting samples in return.
She started bringing her food bowl to me at nine weeks old and when she wants a walk brings me my walking trainers. However DHs slippers are for playing with. She doesn’t stand at the door when she needs to go out, instead she gently grabs your hand to lead you to the back door.
Our old lab never tired of dirty socks and even at 12 would follow me out to the garage to grab a sock from the dirty washing pile. She never bothered with clean socks. She was my loyal kitchen waste disposal unit, chief biscuit pincher and would remove wrappers from chocolates before eating them.

My golden lab was called “Gentleman Jim” by his breeder because he was a loner, he didn’t play with his 7 other siblings. He used to sit very neatly and properly in the corner. He is still the neatest dog when he sits and he’s quite aloof. Both he and his dear departed brother have always slept on their backs, four paws in the air. His brother snored from day we got him at 8wks and did til the day he died at 10yrs old. I always thought he’d grow out of it when he lost his puppy fat. Their personalities were evident from about 6 was old

Eric is 4 now and a lovely dog. As a puppy he was feisty and demanding as an adult he is chilled but still relishes attention good or bad. He loves toys and always has anything that squeaks is a hit. He has always been very vocal so snorts, yips, whines all day long and expects you to answer. His groomer always laughs because he joins in any conversation going. He has always been loyal,you can tell that we are his world and out and about he herds us so that he can keep us in check. I really wish we'd had him when the dc were smaller as he would have been great at keeping the dc altogether out and about.
The breeder said that he was the clever one and I think she was spot on because he picks stuff up in no time and you can see he thinks and plans his high jinx. I often wonder how his brother got who the breeder called the noisy one tbh

16 month Scottie - gets more affectionate every day

Was crated, then slept in crate with door open, then rug on floor next to bed, then end of bed.

Now spooning me every night and new goal is to get on pillow with me. She licks my arm in middle of night when she senses I'm awake needing a pee and gets her tummy out.

I luffs her more than anything.

My gorgeous doodle girl is now 8, we had her from a 10 week pup. She was batshit crazy, jumped, chewed, zoomed like a loon up until about 2 years ago. She still jumps and chases balls but is not as loon like.

She is currently recuperating from a cruciate op and is bored stiff. She is on bed rest for the next few weeks - I miss the running around but she is still my gorgeous girl.

Lets see a pic of your springer.

Our JRT Milo was 4 when we got him from Battersea 8 months ago. In that time he's gone from being very quiet and well behaved to very vocal and aggressive. He had bitten both of us several times and he's been very afraid we would send him back. But he is ours now and we are his and we are very happy with him and enjoying working with him to understand and deal with his triggers, which all stem from trauma we think. He is becoming more and more settled with us, and is funny, loyal, energetic, playful, intelligent and very cute. This is him on Christmas day after he'd opened presents, played with his new toys, had 2 long walks and eaten his own weight in Christmas dinner

One picture as requested .

We also have a JRT and she is also very hard work. We didn't have her as a pup but as she's got older she has got increasingly vocal and, unless walked to the point of exhaustion, very highly strung. Lovely and cuddly to humans and patient with the puppy (to a point) but barks at any noise and all round the garden. She's 12 and shows no sign of slowing down yet...