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Training & Development10 Month Old Puppy

Is My 10 Month Puppy Still Considered A Puppy?Growth and Development

Growth and development begins to slow around the 10-12 month mark. However, mental and emotional development continues long after your puppy’s first birthday. Your pup still needs you there to provide guidance, reward good behavior, facilitate opportunities for socialization, and provide physical and mental enrichment. Though the puppy antics and adolescent behavior may still peak its ugly head out now and again, overall your pup is moving into adulthood with a nice training foundation!

10 month puppy with owner

Get Out and Get Going!Your 10 Month Puppy Needs Exercise

As your pup continues to develop preferences, it is important to continue the socialization process. Meeting new people, sniffing new dogs and checking out new locations will help your puppy stay well mannered into adulthood. Try to visit local coffee shops, new parks, and take stroll around Main street. The introduction of new places will encourage your puppy to become comfortable with a variety of people encounters and experiences.

Continued Exercise and Mental Stimulation For Your Puppy

As your puppy grows older you may see a decline in energy levels (those cute puppy zoomies aren’t on display quite as frequently). This is natural, but don’t use it as an excuse to slack off on exercise and training..

Keeping Your 10 Month Pup Active

New Games and Activities

Do you notice your pup is getting bored with activities you used to play? If so, try to find new ways to exercise. Start incorporating a game of fetch or frisbee into your routine, play hide and seek around the house with your pup's favorite toy, or go for a bike ride. New activities will keep your pup excited, and will burn off some steam.

Advanced Training

Let’s face it, your puppy is a genius. By the time your pup has reached 10 months old he will be so well trained the neighbor’s children will look like little demons in comparison. But remember, the learning and training should never end. Introduce new, more challenging behaviors and fun tricks. Learning new tricks stimulates your puppies brain and exerts energy.

Classes

Plan for a special night out for you and your pup each week... join an advanced training class or even a therapy dog class. Check out tricks, disc games, agility, scent detection, freestyle dancing, and more! There is really no limit to the cool new things you and your 10 month puppy can learn together.

Cleaning Out the ClosetGo through your puppy’s toy bin every 3 months and clear out the clutter

We know you and your 10 month puppy have both grown attached to that torn up plush toy with one eye and half his stuffing missing, but enough is enough. The cute dragon with no head has served his purpose and it is time to retire him to dog toy heaven. Go through your pup’s toys and accessories and clean out everything that is worn out or dirty.

Dirty toys that have been sitting under the couch for months can carry harmful bacteria. Give them a toss and replace them with shiny new PupBox toys! Your puppy will appreciate it too! Dogs tend to get bored of toys after a while, and the introduction of new toys will keep your big baby intrigued and engaged!

Your Pup’s Bed: As your 10 month pup gets bigger think about upgrading his bed as you can now be more confident that he won’t use it as a potty spot or chew toy. Make sure to get a bed that can be washed easily, and try to wash it at least every few months.

Puppy Sleeping Patterns

On the flip side of puppy exercise and stimulation, let’s take a look at your pup’s changing sleeping patterns. A puppy’s schedule can be exhausting, a few hours of sleep followed by a few hours of non-stop craziness. As your puppy starts to enter adulthood his sleeping patterns should become more routine. Many new puppy owners worry that their pup sleeps too much, but the fact of the matter is most adult dogs sleep 14-18 hours per day.

Like humans, the more exercise your 10 month puppy receives the better his sleep patterns will be. Also, like humans, dogs have different cycles of sleep and enter a REM sleep cycle when they are in their deepest of slumbers. So if you see your pup’s legs moving, and hear soft barks while your baby is sleeping, don’t be alarmed. Your puppy is snoozing away, and most likely dreaming about chasing butterflies in the yard.

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