Tues 16th Feb: Changing from puppy to adult

Will someone please give Cider a home? This is how he "hangs out" all day

I talked yesterday about puppies and their early stages, but something today reminded me that there's another stage of a dog's life that I need to mention, because it's the time when more dogs are given up or abandoned than any other.  We all know about puberty in humans and the difficulty of transitioning from being a child to becoming a young adult, but do you know that dogs go through the same? The reminder I got was from an adopter whose previously sweet and easygoing puppy was suddenly fighting with his best (dog) friend and his behaviour wasn't what they were used to.  Before handing the problem over to Cactus for her detailed reply, I asked how old the puppy was now as I suspected it was something to do with puberty, and yes, it was exactly the age when it's common to see such behavioural changes.  However difficult it is, just like the baby puppy biting and chewing, this too will pass, and I hope that understanding that it's simply a result of raging hormones will help.  Your puppy hasn't suddenly become crazy or aggressive, and you just need to be patient for a few months and make allowances. "The onset of sexual maturity (puberty) is triggered by hormonal changes that lead to physical and behavioural changes. Generally speaking, puppies will start to mature sexually between 7 and 10 months of age. There is some variation and every dog is different."

As always we had quite a lot of visitors to our Homing Centres and I again I hope that tomorrow I'll be writing about decisions made.  However for today it was puppy Jim who was taken home from the Tai Po Homing Centre, one of the three large-sized puppies sent to the big centre from Ap Lei Chau just recently.  Jim's brothers Joe and Jack are still available, along with another litter of around the same age.