Why is my puppy acting this way?

Navigating the stages of puppyhood

Puppies grow rapidly, but we have fairly consistent timeframes for the stages of growth. It is important to remember that every puppy is an individual and may reach these periods earlier or later than this guide, but most puppies follow this timeline.

8-12 weeks:

Puppies in the 8-12 week range are rambunctious and play motivated. Puppies play with their litter mates and their mother to learn important social cues that they will use throughout their lives. Puppies are quick to respond to being called during this phase, as they are happy to be with familiar humans and are often found standing underfoot. This can be the beginning of a fear period so any new experiences should be as positive as possible. Puppies in the 8-10 weeks range are impressionable and scary events during this time can impact their future greatly. If a potentially scary event - such as a vet visit for shots - must happen, make it a game. Praise the puppy for being so good, feed them lots of treats, and make it a happy experience.

This is also when many breeds begin the process of sending puppies to their new homes. 8 weeks is too early for Irish Wolfhounds and Scottish Deerhounds to go to their new homes, so this milestone happens closer to 10 weeks or later for our puppies. Puppies form strong attachments from 8-12 weeks, which is why this is when most puppies begin making their transitions to new homes.

The most important thing to remember about this stage is to make every new experience as pleasant as possible.

12-16 weeks:

This is a very busy time for your puppy. This is what some trainers and breeders call "The Duckling Phase." During this time, your puppy is interested in exploring their world, but is also eager to be with you as much as possible. This is a crucial time for you to work on socializing your puppy to many things in the world. "Socializing" does not simply mean making your puppy meet as many people as possible; rather it means allowing your puppy to experience new places, new surfaces, new foods, new environments, new or different toys, and when appropriate and safe, meeting other people or dogs. Socializing can be exhausting to your young and growing puppy. Keep socialization adventures short and fun, and then take your puppy somewhere that they can have a nap to recover from their wonderful outing or experience.

During this stage, your Irish Wolfhound or Scottish Deerhound puppy can nearly double in size, as they grow rapidly during this stage. Naps are very important for your puppy. All puppies should sleep around 18-20 hours every day. This is because puppies are growing physically, mentally and emotionally. This takes a huge amount of energy and food. And speaking of food, you will be increasing your puppy's food intake significantly through the first year of their life. This is when you will see this begin to happen.

Now lets talk TEETH!!! Your puppy will turn into a terror, chewing and biting at anything and everything. Teething is a time when you want to make sure you are always supervising your puppy, or that they are safely enclosed somewhere that they cannot chew up something that you would be sad to lose. I highly recommend having a crate or an exercise pen where you can give your puppy alone time to focus on chewing. Give them safe chew toys and teething toys that they can really gnaw on. This helps their teeth fall out and helps relieve pressure on their swollen gums. If puppies are not properly supervised or confined they will find anything and everything that is near their mouth and chew it to shreds. (Goodbye forever forever favorite sandals I accidentally left by the back door.)

Housebreaking should be well underway by this point. If you have concerns about a potty training schedule, here is what I do. I start a new puppy going out every hour on the hour. I set a timer and when it goes off, we go outside. If the puppy goes to the bathroom, make a big deal and give them a cookie. If they do not, take them back inside and put them back in their safe confined area. Try again in 10-15 minutes. When you see consistent success hourly, begin adding short 5 or 10 minute increases between going outside. Eventually you should reach going out every hour and a half, and then every 2 hours, and then 3 and so on until eventually you will have a puppy who is able to understand that going outside means it is time to relieve themselves. Please remember that puppy bodies grow rapidly and sometimes their bladder may not grow as fast as their frame, so they may have difficulty some days holding their bladder as long as you would hope for. If accidents are happening often and you are providing many chances to go outside, you may want to check with your vet about the possibility of a UTI. Some puppies seem to be making great strides in housebreaking, and then regress and begin having accidents again when they start teething heavily. Do not be discouraged. They will get back on track, you may just need to increase the times they go outside. Potty training is about human consistency. The puppy is still learning what the signals are that their body is giving, and so accidents are just that- accidents. Disciplining your puppy for having an accident is never effective for potty training. When accidents occur, simply clean them up and move on with your life. You will be much happier and so will your puppy.

4-6 months

If you thought your puppy was teething hard before, hold onto your hats! The teething will intensify and you will need to be even more vigilant. Your puppy will be mouthy and irritable, and may not want anyone touching their mouth. However, you still need to keep a close eye on incoming teeth to be sure there are no issues with the growth of adult teeth.

Your puppy is becoming more independent and wants to explore on their own. Think of this the same way you do when teen agers tell their parents they are so embarrassing. Your puppy is developing confidence and wants to learn about the world on their own terms and without any interference. However, you as the loving puppy parent that you are understand that this is not always the safest option for your intrepid pup. So you should allow your puppy to explore as much as possible while maintaining safe boundaries. This may look like walks through your neighborhood with less emphasis on leash training and more on stopping to sniff, or letting your puppy learn that a cardboard box may tip over if they stand on it, but only giving them a short box so they do not fall too far.

Encourage your puppy's independence while teaching them that you are still their best friend and biggest reward.

This is an ideal time to sign up for puppy training classes. These are offered in most areas, either through local pet stores, local dog clubs, or training businesses. Find a trainer that is familiar with sighthounds and large and giant breeds. Truthfully, most of my puppies do a fair amount of sleeping when we take a training class. Puppy training is less about getting perfect sits and stays and heels, and more about learning to work in new places and around other people and dogs.

Sighthounds are wonderful to train, but most do not like to do multiple repetitions of the same activity. Short, easy sessions between 30 seconds to 2 minutes, are best and the training can be repeated several times throughout the day. Do a couple of sits before eating meals, or a couple of downs when you are watching television. Have your puppy practice leash skills for short easy walks in front of your house or in your living room. These training sessions do not need to be long to be effective.

You puppy will try to convince you that they are not tired. Again, they are just about to become teenagers, so they start to develop a little bit of an attitude about naps. And yet again, you being the loving pet parent that you are, you will help them understand that napping is nonnegotiable. Naps are even more important now, as your puppy is often expending more energy running and playing and exploring. Giving your dog a quiet time to settle and sleep will allow them to retain their training as it gives their brain a chance to store and process the training session.

6-12 months

Now the real fun begins. Your puppy is starting to really push their boundaries now. They begin to test the rules and this means that you must be sure to enforce the rules that you want them to follow. A puppy who feels safe in his environment will begin to test you and try to see how you react when they misbehave. This is normal behavior, and your responses must be firm, but kind. If they are not allowed on the couch, but climb up anyway, gently but firmly redirect them to their mat or bed. Give them praise and reward them for listening so well. If certain toys are only to be played with certain ways, you may need to remove the toy until the puppy is in the right circumstances to play with it. Be consistent in everything. This is where you are cementing the household expectations.

Puppies of smaller breeds are generally starting to hit physical and sexual maturity at this stage. This is not the case with large and giant breeds. Your puppy will be a large, gangly, uncoordinated baby still at this point. You may find yourself sitting on the ground holding a lapful of massive puppy because they got scared of a butterfly, or the neighborhood chihuahua barked at them and made them sad. Remember that these breeds are slow maturing, so even when they look like older dogs, they are still very young.

Will there be days that you look around and see torn up toys and garbage cans that are knocked over and your shoes being chewed on? Absolutely. But, there will also be days where you see your polite puppy greet your neighbor calmly and let your neighbor pet their head. There will be days when you reach a huge training goal, whatever that may be, and you will be elated. This is a dynamic time in your relationship with your puppy. It will take patience, consistency and more patience, but you will make it through.

12-18 months

You made it! Your puppy is a year old. What does that mean? Well, not too much really, because they are still very much a puppy, just in a very large, very strong body. Your puppy may hit another fear period during this time, though some puppies reach this anywhere from 8 months to 2 years old. Continue working on training and building you puppy's confidence in new environments. Your puppy, although they look all grown up to you a this point, is more along the same stage as a smaller breed dog would be at about 7-10 months. These big, sensitive breeds take a very long time to mature, so be prepared to give your puppy some extra time to grow up. There is no reason to push a puppy into adulthood and the expectations we place on older dogs. Let your puppy be a goofball for another 6-12 months. Enjoy this time and take lots of video and photos. They are so much fun, and so happy to share this life with you. When you catch yourself asking why they can't focus on training, or why they are still such a maniac, remember that they are just a baby inside of a very large body. Give them a kiss, tell them you love them, and give them time. They will grow up much too quickly.