Everyone keeps telling me that part of my 7month old Great Dane puppy's boisterous behaviour is due to her age and that she will eventually calm down and settle when she grows up/matures. Lots of people I've met tell me this with great confidence but I just wondered if it's true? Those of you who have older dogs - is it true - did you really see a difference in behaviour/general calmness when your dogs "grew up"? And when did you start noticing a difference? At one year? Two? (PLEASE tell me that there is light at the end of the tunnel!!)

A related question - as they get older (and hopefully calmer!), will they stop going beserk and wanting to play with every dog they see? I see other people's (older) dogs out on walks and when they meet, they just do a polite mutual butt-sniffing thing and then stand around calmly while their owners talk. When Honey meets another dog, she ALWAYS has to try and entice it to play with her (usually with a big paw in their face!) and goes crazy trying to lunge on her lead (if I let her) to try and wrestle the other dog to the ground. If it's a young dog, then it'll usually return the behaviour but most older dogs view her with contempt! :) I wish she could just meet dogs calmly and just do the butt-sniffing thing...why does she have to play with every dog? Is this a normal puppy thing and will she grow out of it?? When??

And she seems to have no sense too when it comes to wanting to play with every dog. Last week at Obedience class, we were working next to a boxer who obviously had aggression issues (lunging for and snarling at and trying to bite every dog, kept starting dogfights) and when we walked behind it in a circle during a class exercise, it suddenly turned around and lunged at Honey, all teeth bared. It was pretty scary and its owner pulled it away just in time. But Honey seemed completely unfazed! I keep hearing everyone here worry about their puppies getting negative experiences from unsociable dogs and this was like the worst nightmare - and yet my puppy didn't seem to learn the lesson! She was still going up to this boxer afterwards and wanting to say hello and play, despite being attacked by it several times in class. She would reel back a bit when attacked and look unsure but then a minute later, be trying to go up again!! I just can't understand it - is she thick or something?? Can't she see that the other dog doesn't like her and is trying to attack her?

Would be really interested in your experiences -
Hsin-Yi

My GSD pup is exactly the same. Will be interested in the replies. I dread taking her to the park now I can only just hang on to her.

Yes, dogs definitely do 'grow up' and behave more calmly when they get older (just like people!). My breed (dalmatian) is notorious for being 'late-developers' mentally, but they are usually fairly well settled-down by eight years old or so! Most gundog breeds seem to be more 'sensible' by about 3, though of course there are exceptions within breeds as well!

Although a calm, sensible dog is easier in many ways, I'm always rather sad to lose my puppy.

yes, my dog will be 3 years old next week and i am also sad to see him leaving puppyhood.  that exhuberance and boisterous behavior can be difficult, but when they grow up you will miss it greatly.  just like with humans.  two-year olds can be a real pain, but when your child is 17, you will long for those two year old days again. 
don't push your pup to grow up, let him do his own growing.  inevitably, he will grow up and mature probably around 3 years of age, but enjoy his antics now.......so fun and funny are puppies. 

I have 3 Staffs, the adult bitch (3yrs old) and her 2 sons (10mths old).  The bitch is now very happy to ignore other dogs totally but her pups constantly want to play with other dogs when we're out and just don't get the hint when the other dogs tell them to go away!  I suspect it's going to be sometime yet before the pups get out of the habit of demanding to play all the time, it's all just too exciting for them! :-)

I don't always allow the pups to go and play with other dogs, depends on whether I know the dog or not, and the pups have learnt that they cannot always go play with all and sundry and must sometimes ignore other dogs.

A dane is different from other dogs because of the enormous size difference. A 7 month old puppy can be far harder to cope with than a same age smaller dog because everything they do is multiplied by their size. People also expect them to be far better behaved as they always assume them to be older than they are.

Yes, your girl will grow up and mature, yes, she will calm down, she's just having lots of puppy fun :)

:D If she were a Boxer I'd say they never really grow up and calm down...
I had a 10 yo that was the eternal peter pan, she never really calmed down until the last week of her life
when she was really poorly :(
I have a 6 yo that is as nutty now as she was as a pup.
Her daughter who is 3 yo in July. She's still as playful as ever. Infact she plays exactly the same as your Dane.
She has had one unfortunate experience with a Dane where it bit her, grabbed at her flank side
and made her yell. But never once did she go back to bite it.
But she isn't the sort to have a grudge and loves to play with a friends Danes (she has Blue's and Harlie's)
I think a few people were quite amazed to see a Boxer and a Dane bouncing around at a recent Ch show.
There was one Dane that wasn't amused at a Boxer bouncing with it's buddy. Also avoiding being knocked flying
by the Dane and Boxer who had no real comprehension of anyone else around them as they were so
intent on playing :)

Some breeds are just boisterous all their lives..Boxers certainly can be one of those breeds....I'm not sure on Danes!

Hi Boxacrazy..glad I am not the only one with a boxer who still has not grown up at the age of 5..and since having her spayed she seems to have gone more puppyish!!...bless her...she is just great and I would never want her to change...
Getting her a new friend in july...weim puppy so I am going to have fun with the both of them!!!  :-)..

Jane...

Thanks to everyone who responded with their experiences. It's reassuring to know that there is hope! I know I should savour her puppyhood and that I'll regret it one day when she is old but I have to admit, at the moment, with her boisterous behaviour towards other dogs, I'm desperate for the day she will interact with them calmly!! I know that Danes are slow to mature so I think I'm going to be in for a loooooong wait!

Thanks again everyone,
Hsin-Yi

i have a 14 month leo that is the same all he see's is the dog and play mode comes in.a dog can growl,bark and even snap at him but he doesn't read the signs. it is not funny when you are talking giant breed pups as he is over 60 kg now.but i think some of it is down to his age because he is different with dogs of equal size he acts more like a puppy should.i think it is just time and training to try and teach him how to say hello with out scareing the wits out of the smaller dogs.
i have a trainer working with him and there has been improvement in him because it was getting him to stay focused on me rather than the other dog.