Exact Answer: 2 years
Humans have been domesticating dogs since time immemorial. The biological name of the dog is Canis familiarise. They have owned the title of being “Man’s Best Friend” for a reason. Dogs, over time, have shown their significance to man in various prospects of life. Be it security or therapy or assisting police they have shown that why they are the best friend of humans.
Over time, various breeds of dogs have been made. They are selectively bred to get desired features such as appearance or sensory capabilities. Examples of different breeds of dogs are bulldog, pitbull, and many more. A juvenile dog is called a puppy and they are highly social.
How Long Is A Dog Puppy?
Puppies are baby dogs. At birth, they can weigh from 1.5 kg-11kg depending upon the breed. In the starting, puppies spend most of their time sleeping and feeding. They choose to remain in close proximity with their fellow puppies and become distressed if separated from the group.
People are always confused as to if their puppy should be considered as an adult dog or not. In order to know if the puppy is now a mature dog following characteristics can keep in check. These checkpoints include sexual maturity, physical maturity, emotional maturity, and more responsiveness.
For most dogs, the puppy stage is known to last at 2 years of age. But this is not true for every breed. The puppy phase is considered to be over when the dog stops doing puppyish activities and acts mature than before. Hence, it is different for different breeds. The following table shows how long the puppy phase lasts for different breeds of dogs.
| Breed Of Dog | Duration Of Puppy Phase |
| English Bulldog | 18 months |
| Pitbull | 2-3 years |
| German Shepard | 9-24 months |
Why Is A Dog Puppy For This Long?
In order to reach adulthood and to be called a dog, a puppy has to cross various stages. He/she should become mature in all aspects be it sexual, physical, or emotional. A puppy undergoes the following stages to reach adulthood:-
- Birth to 14 days – Most of the time is spent in feeding and sleeping. They are totally dependent on thier mothers and are sensitive to touch.
- Transition stage – This is the time period between two to four weeks. The eyes open. They begin to bark and walk. They are still dependent on their mother to an extent. The sense of hearing and smelling gets stronger.
- The social phase – They begin to walk around and begin to notice things around them. They start to interact with their fellow puppies and develop social skills. They start to learn and play. This phase lasts from 4 weeks to 12 weeks.
- The adolescent phase – The puppy starts to devlop its sexual behaviour. They become more dominating to see their dominance over others. This phase lasts till 18 months.
- The mature phase – This comes after 1-2 years of age. The puppy starts to act more mature. They attain thier sexual maturity completely and have all the checkpoints to be called as a dog. Hence, a puppy is a dog now.
Conclusion
A juvenile dog is called a puppy. The puppy stage is known to last until the puppy reaches maturity. Theoretically, all puppies after the age of 2 are considered dogs. But in reality, there are various prospects that have to be checked before considering a puppy as a dog. The weight of the puppy significantly increases until it reaches adulthood.
The main thing that determines if the puppy is a dog or not is the skeletal growth of the puppy. That is why big puppies take more time to reach adulthood as compared to the puppies of smaller breeds. During a puppy stage, the puppy learns all the life skills such as walking, barking, playing, socializing, and so on. Puppies have a relatively weak digestive and immune system. During its growth into a dog, it overcomes all these weaknesses to grow into an adult.
Proper care of diet, hygiene, and exercise should be taken care of to transform a puppy into a healthy, strong dog.
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