[gsdemack]

This is my first dog so I don't know exactly what to expect of her as an adult....she is 3 in December...

Thanks.

 

[Mary Beth]

I think it depends on the dog. Physically, a german shepherd is mature by age 3, but emotinally is different. My Sting had a lot of pup in him right up until age 4.

 

[dogfaeries]

My girls were definitely "grown up" at age 3. Now, Russell has 5 months to go till he hits the 3 year mark. I'm not holding out any hope that he magically becomes mature then. I keep telling him "one day when you are five, you are going to be the best dog ever!". I'm not sure which one of us that I'm trying to convince.

 

[Fodder]

just like with people, dogs are constantly maturing and there are quite a few factors that slow or speed up that process. of my 2 current males I could tell they had matured not because of things they started or stopped doing but more so how they handled stressful or stimulating situations. personalities play a big part too... my 2yr old is more mature than my other dog was at 5... for him it took losing my older/dominate female (who was more mature than both these guys by 1) to put his big boy pants on but still... personality wise he is still pretty goofy in play and a bit high strung. another thing I notice is how differently training sinks in.... that moment when things you've been working on just click and everything comes together.

so.... it's very individual and something you just "know" when it happens, somewhere between 1 and 5.

 

[wolfy dog]

Deja appears to be more mature after training and exercise. Besides age, it also depends on these factors I think.

 

[Jenny720]

Even though max is almost 11 months and still a pup i have hard time seeing him any other way. I do see glimmers of maturity but deep down i always think he will keep that puppy/goofy side.

 

[Shade]

I think each dog is different, Jazzy has always been very serious and adult like even as a puppy so I didn't feel there was ever a significant change in her personality

Delgado on the other hand, when he was about 2.5 I really started noticing less and less 'puppy brain' moments as I called them and he was able to pay attention much easier and I didn't have to watch him as much as I had previously. Plus I saw him making the right decisions without my prompting as well. That's when I started saying he was growing up and maturing mentally

 

[gsforever]

My first dog was "smart" but become super "smart" and mature around 2 years old, bottom line each dog will be different. My present dog is only around 9 months and time will tell when it will mature I guess.