Dog temperament changes around year 5

[Anonymous]

Can any of you dog owners out there comment on this? My aunt swears that every dog she's owned has mellowed at around age 5 but we have had the opposite experience with increased separation anxiety and new aggression towards other dogs (previously she loved every dog she would meet). I think this is more common with some breeds than others - poodle mixes - which is what our dog is, but if anyone can give anecdotes about this I'd be interested to hear. There are no physical illnesses or tumors (we've checked) and the dog eats good quality food and has a lot of exercise. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

I joke that my dog finally got a brain around age 7.

But no, the other half dozen dogs over the years have all been who they were going to be from around 6 months or so, absent trauma of some sort. Of course they grew and changed with training and additional family members, but small changes, not going from timid to bold or friendly to skeptical.

[Anonymous]

My erstwhile highly active Samoyed slowed down at about 4. He was mauled by a very large dog as a puppy, and he's reactive around males that are larger than he is, and probably always will be. But yes, he's lower-energy now than he used to be, which frankly is a relief, because that sled dog go go go mentality was too much!

[Anonymous]

Check his thyroid, full panel not just tsh

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Check his thyroid, full panel not just tsh

If you read the OP you'll see there are NO medical issues. And this thread is not seeking advice for what might be causing it, but similar stories from other dog owners

I should never start a thread because there's always at least one moron who fails to actually read what has been written.

[Anonymous]

My 5-year-old dog is showing no signs of mellowing. Terrier mix. My brother fosters older non-adoptable dogs, and he had one (some kind of hound) that had never mellowed.