Puppies are cuddly, endearing and amusing to watch. They explore their world with wide eyed innocence, often with hilarious results. Puppies are babies that need to be nurtured, loved, and trained. Some people love the sweet aroma of puppy breath. When they are done exploring, puppies want to curl up in the closest lap and sigh contentedly.
At some point those charming, innocent, delightful little puppies grow. They move into their adolescence where they test boundaries. It no longer holds the sweet puppy gaze that allowed them to get away with eating a favorite pair of slippers. Most owners understand that this comes with the territory and step into the role of pack leader with ease. There are a few people who did not anticipate the amount of work it takes to develop a cute puppy into an amazing dog. Those are the ones who seek out new homes for their charges, either by placing ads or placing the puppy with their local animal shelter. Prospective families occasionally over look the older dogs because they have their heart set on a puppy. Are there advantages to adopting an older dog? Absolutely!
Training
There is so much for puppies to explore that training is far down on the list of things to pay attention to. Adult dogs have a longer attention span. They expect to have boundaries (even if they don’t realize it at the time) and crave the praise of their new family.
