Hurray, Your Puppy Turns One Year Old 🎂

Doesn’t it seem just like yesterday that you brought home your adorable, little puppy who could barely coordinate his legs to walk? Who, with his tiny, yet sharp, puppy teeth chewed a hole in your leather sandals. Who had you getting up at all hours of the night, scooping him up to go “p-o-t-t-y” outside, only to find that, really, he just wanted to play. With every day you have spent with your puppy over the last 10 month or so, you’ve fallen more madly in love with him. And today… Hurray, your puppy turns one year old!

Does This Mean Your Puppy Isn’t a Puppy Anymore?

Oh heavens, no! Your puppy will always be your sweet puppy. But, depending on the size of your dog, he may or may not be done growing. In all honesty, one year old is still pretty puppy-ish, regardless of breed or size. Here’s some info to help you identify some general timelines about puppies growing into adulthood.

• 10 Months to 1 Year: Small breed dogs, such as Affenpinscher, Brussels Griffon, Chihuahua, Yorkies, etc., tend to reach maturity at this age.
• 1 Year to 15 Months: Small-to-medium size dogs, such as Beagle, Boston Terrier, Miniature Schnauzer, Shih Tzu, etc., will most often reach full growth at this age.
• 18 Months to 2 Years: If you have a medium-large dog, such as Boxer, Golden Retriever, or Labrador, they tend to reach full weight at this age.
• Up to 3 Years: This timeline is for giant dogs, like Bernese Mountain Dog, Great Dane, Irish Wolfhound, Cane Corso breeds. 

The old expression, “your dog has to grow into his paws,” is actually a truism. When puppies are small, depending on their breed or expected full-size at maturity, their paws can be disproportionate to their bodies. Aren’t you glad humans don’t have that issue! So, while there is a lot of variation in size because every dog is unique, keep an eye on the paws in relation to their body, as that is a good indicator for when your puppy is full grown. 

Terrible Twos and What to Expect from Your Puppy

Well… you’ve likely already begun to experience your dog’s terrible twos. And, while all dogs do not have this phase, those that do tend to start it at roughly the 7 to 8-month mark. Just like children, puppies hit an age where their mental acuity becomes sharper and they can begin to show a desire to be a bit more assertive and/or independent. But, if you’ve been working with your puppy, creating daily training opportunities, it is unlikely that the terrible twos will rear its ugly head. This is also a good reason to start puppy training fairly early on.

Does Being One Mean Training My Puppy is No Longer Required?

Definitely not. If there is one thing to be sure of, the world is an organic and dynamic place. I don’t know about you, but every day I am blessed to wake and face the world, I learn something new! Sometimes little things, like how to send a SnapChat of my dog… And, sometimes big things, like forgetting to pay the utility bill has consequences. It’s the same for your puppy. Now is the time to build on prior training, and perhaps have your puppy try agility, or dog dancing, or urban herding (also called Treibball). By one year of age, you’ll have a good idea of the things that interest your puppy, where, together, both of you can have fun expanding your training sessions. 

Hurray Your Puppy Turns One Year Old

Turning one is definitely a big deal, so celebrate it this special time. Invite some of the puppies that your dog has met over for a paw-ty! Throwing a paw-ty is a blast. You can make some good dog-friendly food to eat, play doggy games, hand out prizes to the ‘guests’ and top it all off with pupcakes for the dogs while the humans sing an off-key version of Happy Birthday to Fido! Whatever you decide to do to celebrate your puppy turning one, take pictures because you will cherish this moment for years to come.

Pupcake Recipe

Our pupcake recipe is a spin on the well known, and much beloved, Jamaican dessert: Hummingbird Cake. We revamped our recipe to use only dog-friendly ingredients. These pupcakes will be a big hit for your pup’s one-year-old paw-ty celebration. Feed in moderation, as you know how one-year-olds can be!

Pupcake:

2 C Almond or Coconut Flour

½ C Pineapple, unsweetened, drained and pureed

½ C Apple, shredded with food processor

2 Bananas, mashed

2 tsp Baking Powder

½ C Water, filtered

Frosting:

1 pkg Cream Cheese, low fat (4 oz)

1 Tbsp Maple Syrup

This recipe makes approximately 6-8 pupcakes, depending on size of the cupcake mold used.

Preheat oven to 350℉. Using coconut oil, grease cupcake mold. Place cream cheese on the counter to allow to come to room temperature.

Directions

In a large glass bowl, combine the following pupcake ingredients: mashed banana, shredded apple and drained and pureed pineapple. Once incorporated, stir in flour and filtered water.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Doneness will be when the center of the pupcake is firm.

While pupcakes are cooling, prepare the frosting. Mix cream cheese with maple syrup until nice and fluffy. You can add a drop of natural food coloring if desired. Once pupcakes are cooled completely, decorate with frosting.