Puppies are the most trying....

[PuppyQuestion]

.....at what age?

I will let you know in the morning

Lol :)

At what age do they stop being a puppy?

Just before they melt your heart and remind you that you love them to bits.

He/she might be less trying when you've shown us a pic pleeeeease

The first six months with this little arsehole were horrendous (it was a good job he was so cute as he thought he was a snapping turtle!), the next 2.5 years were rough (he developed from a snapping turtle to a bipolar squirrel) but finally he’s 3 toed sloth.

He’s just adorable now and loves his cuddles and smooches.

There were times when we never thought we’d get to this stage and it was only stubbornness that stopped us returning him to the breeder in floods of tears.

The photos are him when we first got him home (notice the cuteness that disguised the snapping turtle tendencies) and how he is now.

We have been pet sitting for a family members puppy for the last 6 weeks and honestly I am think of hiding him and denying all knowledge of him, lol

But I wondered if we just looked after him at an easy puppy stage. He was 5 months old and very bitey and jumpy when we got him but 6 weeks on he is very chilled. With two walks a day, frozen kongd to sooth his gums and many kids to play with including DH.

We will miss him so much when he goes back home. :(

I nick named our borrowed puppy the crocodile ! Interesting he learnt not to bite me (who feeds and walks him and expects calm behaviour) quickly but DH who is daft with him still gets an occasional bite.

We got her today, she's asleep at the moment and I have a double shift at work tomorrow, please pray I have an easy night! x

Mrsoh39 Aww, good luck. What a cutie.

Ohhhhh, MaitlandGirl, you could forgive that sweet little face anything!

You might be glad though to give him back. Mine was lovely at 5 months old and I though yes I had survived puppyhood. But from 6 months he changed and peaked at 8-9 months in stubborn asshole teenage hell stage.

I would ask to dog sit again around the age of 1

I found 5-6 months the easiest stage ever with mine. Like @BiteyShark - 8-9 months was the worst!

Mine is one in a few days and we're definitely coming out of the other side!

That makes sense, so hardest time is tiny 8 weeks old as they are literally babies and 8 to 9 months.

The teenage phase can last months and months. It just peaked in shitness for me around that age.

I'd agree that in a well looked after pup, 5-6 months is great. They've cracked house training, walk nicely, sleep through the night, and have finished teething.

My current foster babies are adorable, but at 4 months and not having had a good start, they know nothing of any of those things. Which is hard work and an awful lot of mopping up wee.

Yep.

Battendog's arsehole months were....

From 3 months old till about 6

Then we had a good couple of months.

Then 'bad' months from 8 until about 15 months. He's 19 months old now and we still have bad days but they are less and less. More and more we get steadier ones with good behaviour.

When my terrier was 6 months old DH was so annoyed at her biting his ankles he yelled at me to 'get rid of this dog/this can't continue etc etc'.

She grew out of it a week later. She's been a perfect dog in every way since she was about 9 months old but I thought the puppy stage was incredibly hard - small bladder so I got up in the night (she was in the crate next to the bed) to take her out.

Even now when she has the zoomies she runs past your ankles as if she remembers

His owners are very experienced dog owners, so probably timed it for him to be easy whilst we looked after him.

My girl is being a bit of a cowbag at the moment and she's 8 months. 4-7 months was lovely.