Am I the only idiot that still refers to a 2 year old dog as a puppy?

I have two 2yr old Shelties, (birthday's end March and early April) and I find myself still saying to OH things like 'have the puppies wee'd and poo'd, are the puppies with you or did the puppies chew my plants again?

I also have two near 12 year old's (a GR and BC) and a 4 yr old Sheltie too, and I never thought of any of these as puppies at the age of 2yrs.

The only thing that is different is that my two youngest are not spayed and they are still deliquents, I know I baby them and see them as babies so is it my fault that they haven't yet grown up or is it because they're not spayed?

I must add they are delightful and I would not change them but I am curious as to why they are still idiots. :-D

I "talk" to all mine and refer to them as "pup". They'll never be oldies in my eyes.

Don't think that Newfs ever grow up , thought that my eight year old had grown up , then she started playing with her 4 month old grandaughter and it was like watching two 4 month olds.

None of my others have ever grown up !!

Peanuts

I call my 10 year old 'puppy-boy'.

Mine are called puppies until the day they die

My goldie is turning 6 years this May, and I still see him as a puppy. It's like I can't believe he's an adult dog.

I know I baby them and see them as babies so is it my fault that they haven't yet grown up or is it because they're not spayed?
Spaying can make a dog less active, but, personally, I would not consider it as a sure remedy for misconduct.
What is their misbehaviour like?
Do they poop inside the house?
Are they just very "puppy-like" active?

Anyway, I'd treat a grown-up dog as a grown-up one. I wouldn't sit and wait "until the puppies are mature" as I think it's very important to show the dog what to do and what's not allowed.
Take a champing child for example. If you don't say anything thinking he's just a child and sooner or later will grow up, he or she won't stop to eat food noisily. Just because they don't know it's wrong.
It's never too late, but if we need a nice behaving dog, we have to bring up the puppy correctly. "A puppy" doesn't mean "cute and nice thing that's allowed everything". It should be almost the other way round - "a puppy" is something that will become a mature dog, and it's our job to prevent bad habits.

my boys are always puppies to me--actually they're not much past that now, but if I'm still around when they're sweet sixteen they will still be puppies to me...and I'll be the old dog :)

Same as Tadsy I still talk to mine and say Pup!!
I think when they go grey I will change it to my Boys!!
Mind you I call my OH's Jake Jakielilly so I do tend to give them daft pet names.

think we're all the same then cos ive always greeted mine in an awfully high itched voice "PUPPIES" if one of em come to sit with me or by my feet its hell pup if theyre on my feed and i need to get up its mind pup mummies moving.

mine are puppies and i like it that way!

We have an elderly friend who refers to her very elderly lab as 'the puppy'.

I think thats very endearing :-)

Yes it makes me think there every young. Whis is a bit poorly after his op and all my big workman are using baby language to him its really sweet.
I can screech Whistler and my OH says Im making his deaf.

> I must add they are delightful and I would not change them but I am curious as to why they are still idiots. :-D

Probably because there are two, I find it is the ones spayed Young that don't mentally mature.

I certainly consider them puppies until at least two.  My Inka will be two at the end of July and is very much still the puppy/trouble ;)

I don't consider any of mine to really be adult until they are four.

>I don't consider any of mine to really be adult until they are four.

My breed tends to suddenly 'mature' and become sensible at the age of 8 years. Until then you've got a playful youngster.

I still call my 8yr old GSD puppy :-) I'm sure she still thinks she is one! when we are on a walk people always comment about what a big puppy she is :-) Its the way she run's round just like a puppy. My 3 yr old is definitely an adult I'm sure he has been since he was 6 months old! he is just so regal and mature :-)

I think you're right, they've always been very close to one another, there's only 3 weeks age difference and they're not spayed.

My 4 yr Sheltie was spayed at 2 yrs but she was brought up with 2 older girls and was a lot more steady.

They are not badly behaved at all just very exciteable/speedy and noisy when in the garden or on a loose run in fields, but well behaved during lead work.

They're my double trouble but lovely with it. :-D

It is one reason I advise people to have more than a two year age gap between dogs as a puppy will often cause a young dog to regress and return to puppy behaviour.

My puppy is a puppy until the next one comes along :-D Mind you, my 11 year old is still very much my puppy :-p

I think when you have two pups it's easy to keep calling them 'the puppies'. We had two pups together and I think they were about 4yrs old when we finally stopped called them 'the puppies' - about time really as one of the 'puppies' was grown up with her own pups! :-D

I still call them all puppy, and they all still come running when I call 'Puppy puppy puppy!' which I do with every litter that we have. It's funny how the remember it. I looked after a litter for a friend and hadn't seen them since they left at 8 weeks old. I saw one of the bitches 2 years later and as soon as I called 'Puppy puppy puppy!' she went mad and remembered who I was straight away :-D

i am with you peanuts , my 9 year old girl is at this moment rolling around on the floor , legs in the air rubbing her snout on the floor and making a right racket, and the boys well cant ever see them growing up either.

no you're not the only one, my 2 1/2yr old is often greeted with "hello puppy", he is the first dog i've owned and will always be my baby!

Dogs are a bit like men aren't they - they never grow up!

My GSD is 9 now and is still called " mummys baby"

Hen's 8 and I often call him my 'mummys boy'! :-)

LOL In my experience they're always puppies!

I used to think it was a breed thing but perhaps it's because most of us still treat them as pups all their lives they continue to romp, play bow and get up to all sorts of juvenile nonsense because they know they make us laugh (my excuse for untrained OAP delinquents )

> LOL In my experience they're always puppies!
>

I sat in my garden last night with 'bubs, tweet, flump and the gruesome twosome and all 5 were behaving like idiots ;) so I think you're right age is no barrier and as for training!!!!

have one that's nearly 7 and he still gets called stormy pup.