Was it a walk in the park raising your pups/dogs that you have had over the years or was there an age when you felt you had to weather the storm ....?

It is no coincidence that the age that dogs are most given up to rescue is 8 months to 2 years.

The teenage stage is the worst as I think most people expect the work of a puppy, in the early days pups sleep more, and then they hit adolescence, bad habits become more of an issue, and many loose patience.

I certainly have found raising pups much easier with resident adults to take a lot of the strain, and to help with teaching them they are not top of the pile.

My first puppy was a Lab who was an absolute breeze to raise so when she was 14 months I got a Golden puppy who was also very easy.  When they both sadly passed I got another Golden who has been a nighmare from day one when at 8 Weeks I went into the garden with him to toilet and he ran across the lawn and fell into the pond!  Although he has been brought  and trained in exactly the same way he has been what I can only describe as "a challenge"!! Incredibly naughty and always very hyper.  I had the breed rescue number stored on my phone for months, but never actually resorted to using it.  He is now just turned 2and is finally starting to calm down and turn into a lovely boy so glad I persevered.

My second golden was a very difficult puppy as she was incredibly nervous. With hindsight I shouldn't have got her, but as usual I was swayed by the lovely golden puppies and of the two that were available she seemed to be the friendlier.

When I got her home I began to wonder if she had ever been in a house as she was terrified of everything in it and went and hid in a tiny gap between to pieces of furniture and that's where she stayed most of the time until she grew too big for it.
Having got used to being indoors, she then became frightened of outdoors so taking her out to toilet was a nightmare as every tiny noise sent her scampering back to the door. We live in a small quiet village, but a neighbour was having work done on the house and every clatter or bang and she would be off. Getting her to relax long enough to have a wee would take ages.
I thought things would improve once she was old enough to go for a walk, but no, she didn't like that either. I would gently persuade her to walk up the road to the fields, but she would only go so far before turning to get home again. Each day she would happily walk to the point where she stopped the previous day, then have to be persuaded to go a little further. She seemed to know to the exact paw print where she had stopped the previous day.
She didn't really improve until we got a second dog which gave her more confidence, but she was always a nervous nelly and proved difficult to train, her recall was never that good and she spent more time then I would have liked on the lead especially when she went deaf as she wasn't a dog that 'checked in' whilst on a walk.
On the positive side, she was a very friendly dog with humans and dogs alike and did learn to relax more as she got older although she was never great going somewhere new and was terrified of thunderstorms and gunfire.

Having lived with Bassets for many years, both  from birth and not always from birth, our buy-in Whippet was quite a culture shock, even if I'd had some contact with the breed via my long-time neighbour whose hounds we had sat for.   It took some time for me to find the key to get inside her brain and for sure, the zoomies were an eye opener.   To the point my ageing last Basset headed for his chair when she got silly.   I can't remember when she grew through all that, but she did and in the meantime, I learnt what she was all about.   One thing to this day (she's 9 now) I haven't managed to sort out is the fact she pretty much refuses to empty anywhere other than out back.   When we went away overnight, she didn't pee for 11 hours until she finally had to.   I was about to find a vet to catheterise her.   Most of the time this doesn't matter, but if we ever move ..... ?

Some puppies are easy - some are not so much.

> The teenage stage is the worst as I think most people expect the work of a puppy, in the early days pups sleep more, and then they hit adolescence, bad habits become more of an issue, and many loose patience.

I think too that people tend to 'relax off' when the puppy gets older, thinking their work has been done - some puppies know this and will push the boundaries.

I always find the first few months the worse, with house training, lack of sleep and restrictions on exercise. I've not had much problem with "teenagers" but I tend to have bitches which I think are calmer.

Having older dogs also stops youngsters from getting to wild, and often just a glare from my oldest bitch will stop the worst of behaviours! I have tried to master that look but it doesn't have the same effect

> Having older dogs also stops youngsters from getting to wild,

That is exactly it, your adult dogs are such a boon when bringing up a new puppy, and why I have to remember back to what it was like rearing an only dog from a puppy, for the benefit of my new puppy owners.

Today at 9 weeks I am left with the last pup in my current litter.  His new owners can't have him for a couple of weeks so I will be boarding him.

I have three veterans 9 1/2 - 14 1/2 so am in a quandary whether to keep the kitchen puppy pen up, or to now let him loose full time with the adults.

due to the oldest probably going to keep him penned for another weeks, with only short periods with the others when he goes outside.

I have a 3mth old Jack Russell, and i cant wait for him to get out of the puppy stage! Having a puppy is like having an infant child, I am tired ALL the time..

We're starting puppy "obedience" training in a few weeks, after he has had his full set of vaccinations, and when the trainer thinks he's ready we'll move up to the next class and onward and upward from there, I am aiming to get him into agility eventually, so the training will never stop.

I have spoken to many, many new puppy owners and the ones who are finding it a breeze ALL have older dogs in the house, so i think it makes a massive difference to have residents who "speak dog" lol  There are some things that i just can't teach him, that older dogs can! We do have a 4 year old cat, or catdog  as i call her (we had a mastiff when she came to live with us as a kitten), who plays with Nugget endlessly and also puts him in his place when he gets too rambunctious, but her social skills arent the same as a true blue dawg.

Great for new puppy owners to read everyone's posts on here because if they ever get to a difficult stage raising their puppy, at least they will then know that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

> I have three veterans 9 1/2 - 14 1/2

Barbara I can't recall the last time that I had a lone puppy.  My Bearded Collies even taught Chihuahuas to wee on the grass.

When I got my pup I was surprised at how little she slept. She was constantly wanting to play and explore.
Getting up in the night for wee's, and having to constantly be 'on duty' to make sure she wasn't doing anything she shouldn't and doing toilet trips was exhausting. She wouldn't settle in her crate. We had to go out and leave her for a break.
I personally wouldn't have another pup as I'm too old for all of that !

> Having older dogs also stops youngsters from getting to wild, and often just a glare from my oldest bitch will stop the worst of behaviours! I have tried to master that look but it doesn't have the same effect

Perhaps it's just an older bitch ability?  My last dog (cocker male) was kept in order by my Mum's Cavalier bitch mostly with a look, but when necessary with a soft "stupid puppy!" growl.  I currently have 2 male cockers, the elder was a very well behaved dog who I hoped would show the pup how to be an excellent dog.  He was 6 when the puppy arrived, and although he had no use for the pup (except as a source of toys and chews to steal), he (re)discovered his "inner naughty puppy" and needed almost as much training as the youngster.

Well took the puppy pen down, so Mr Lime (9 weeks today) is now loose with Mum and older sister and the oldies are able to get away from him in the living room.

The lovely dog knowledgeable couple who are hopefully having him have just exchanged contracts on a house and will know completion date confirmed in a few days, hopefully 9th March.

So I will have a few weeks of socialisation, vaccinations etc.

Our older dog - 10 yo bitch with a no nonsense attitude - turned into a permissive pushover when the puppy arrived.  We thought she would help put him in his place, but instead she has always allowed him to do whatever he wants (other than hump her face - she said no to that). In reality, we've now retrospectively understood that SHE didn't have the communication skills to teach him. So he's been sent out with the dog walker for 3 hours a week since he was 5 months old to interact with many different adult dogs. He's taught her a thing or two about canine communication now.

More generally, he has been a difficult puppy. He became a trigger for a serious anxiety disorder in me, and I've wanted to alternately throw him or myself off a cliff (j/k). He has been loud, clingy, stubborn, reactive, irritable. He still doesn't like strangers or any other animal despite textbook socialisation. He's fearful of strange dogs and had the personality type that is more likely to be fear aggressive than evasive.  We were his second home, and I don't think I realised how much "damage" can be done in the first weeks of life (we got him at ~12/14 weeks).

So definitely no walk in the park for us!  ... HOWEVER he did get his KC bronze at 6 months and will most likely pass the silver soon (well, if we can manage the examiner handling part!); he does baby agility (foundation work); he recalls away from horses and cows now; he's taught ME a lot about dogs (and I have a PhD in behavioural psychlogy  - oh the irony!). We've made mistakes and this little dog has not overlooked them. Dogs I've had in the past have been more forgiving. He's put my husband off puppies entirely (his first puppy) but I think the balance of our older dog causing confusion, my anxiety, and the terrier's slightly chaotic early months has just been a bit much for us all to deal with.  He's certainly brought out the stubborn streak in me! I have hope that things will settle as he grows up - he's a year old today!

I guess it all depends on the pup. My eldest dog was a rescue and we were his 5th home at 9 weeks old. Previous homes couldn't cope with his puppy ways but when he joined us I have to say he was the easiest pup I have ever had. House trained really easily, wonderful temperament and soaked up his training. He went on to compete in agility and is the large dog that everyone wants to introduce their young pups to. He is a Golden Retriever so that may have some bearing on the relatively smooth ride we had with him as a pup.

My current middle dog was 5 months old when we had him - another rescue - and he was really hard work but had spent the first months of his life shut in a cupboard so it was like taking on a whirling dervish with attitude.

My youngest was also a rescue who came to me at around 12 months old - a failed farm dog who had spent his life on a chain. He has been a huge learning curve and, although he has tested my resolve to the sticking point, he has been the dog that has taught me the most.

My next dog will definitely be a pup from a reputable breeder rather than a rescue - although I said that last time. I would love to have a pup who is a clean slate and is mine from the very start so I am not having to train out undesirable behaviours and trying to replace them with the desired ones.

Well I have quite a few dogs, mostly rescues though not all,  and I find the hardest time having a pup is the first 2 weeks after their arrival here. From getting an upset tummy,  introducing my own dogs,  getting the pup used to a new routine,  housetraining. Oh my god it's torture!!
But then tiny pup paws,  pup kisses and watching the pup settle in are solid gold!

I would say generally mine have been easy but one was a sod when he hit late puppyhood. Stubborn wasn't the word and being at training classes I came down hard on him and wouldn't give him an inch. It worked and we worked hard through this time.

Teething age can be rather stressful when they start chewing on your kitchen cupboards 

Compassion- Not to mention the little puncture marks in my arms and the back of my legs! Those tiny needle teeth can do some damage

Good point Christine I forgot about those little needles biting hard because they don't realise how hard they can bite, well until they hear you scream, in all fairness they do stop biting then, cute though the way they suddenly let go.

Yours let go? Nugget is getting better with his play biting, he just needs to realise that he cant be as rough with us as he is with his rambunctious doggy pals down at the beach!

Very pup-dependent.  I've had a mix - first two pups were a dobe and a rott X, both mid range of difficulty I'd say.  Last pup was a working line collie and she was ruddy hard work for a good few years!  Very bitey puppy too.

Seeing different puppies through work though, it is a huge variation - easiest pup on my books at the moment is a GSP from working parents!

My next pup (if it ever happens) will be another dobe, and I expect a bit of a challenge there as there is some european blood in the lines.  It'll depend on which dogs are bred at the time, of course, but the breeder does seem to breed for multipurpose dogs so a bit more driven than our usual dogs.

I find myself in the ridiculous situation of having a 10 month old and a 21 month old.

I have honestly loved the puppy stage, even with the silly overlap I chose for myself. The teenage stage is something else!

I think people SHOULD really have highlighted to them before they get a puppy just how hard the adolescent stage can be. It turned my eldest from the calm, friendly, top-of-the-class in obedience club to a frantic, panting, constantly-looking-for-other-dogs-to-play-with bundle of nervous energy. I was prepared for him to become more interested in other dogs but not the frantic deaf totally fixated effect. Things that had been rock solid for months and months suddenly vanished. My younger boy is now in puberty but fortunately has been much easier in the ways that I found hardest.

Ultimately the ages of the majority of dogs in rescues tells us that it really isn't a walk in the park, a lot of the time, to raise a puppy. Hard work and needs tenacity and patience,  but very worthwhile, I would say.