What Age Do Labradoodles Naturally Calm Down?
All kinds of puppies can be a lot to handle with their plentiful amounts of energy and curiosity about the world. Labradoodles are no exception; they are especially hyperactive when puppies and they can put a lot of stress on an owner. Luckily, puppies will eventually calm down to a degree as they get older.
What Age Do Labradoodles Naturally Calm Down?
Labradoodle puppies will calm down when they are around 3 years old. This is also when the Labradoodle becomes an adult dog and is fully matured. Of course, there are exceptions where they stay energetic throughout the rest of their years.
Dogs age much faster than us humans and they don’t age in a linear line. Labradoodles have different life stages that represent different periods in their life and maturity.
Puppyhood
Puppyhood is the life stage that many owners would get their dogs at if they bought from a breeder. This life stage is when a Labradoodle needs the most care and attention. They are just learning about how to live in the world and are beginning their training.
Puppyhood lasts for around 5 months starting at birth. With their curiosity, puppies are known for getting into a bit of trouble such as getting into places that they shouldn’t be. These puppies are energetic and love to bounce around.
Adolescence
After a Labradoodle finishes their puppy years, they go on to being an adolescent. This is probably the roughest time in any dog’s life as this is when their attitude is the strongest and their energy is at the highest.
The adolescence phase is when you’re going to have a lot of trouble taming the craziness of your Labradoodle. If you started training from the time, they were a few months old, you should have a better time with keeping control and obedience.
Your Labradoodle will be in its adolescence phase for the next 2 years until your Labradoodle becomes an adult. In the meantime, you might either find your Labradoodle sleeping the day away on the couch or getting into trouble with its hyperactivity.
Adolescence is the time when you will want to work on command training with your Labradoodle. Labradoodles are an incredibly intelligent breed of dog, and adolescence is essentially the “prime time” for training as what your Labradoodle learns during this time will be remembered throughout the rest of its life.
Adulthood
Once your Labradoodle reaches the age of 3 or possibly 4, they have become a mature adult. This is the point where they will eventually calm down from the hyperactivity of their youth. However, some Labradoodles will continue to hold onto that energy for much longer.
Adulthood is when the labor you have spent over the past few years will have paid off. Any training that you and your Labradoodle have done throughout its youth will present itself in adulthood. With the proper training, you will have yourself a well-behaved and well-rounded Labradoodle.
Later on, in adulthood, your Labradoodle will become middle-aged. This usually happens around the age of 7 and it is when they start to slow down. If they managed to hold onto the hyperactivity of their youth, it will start to fade away in this stage.
It is also at this point that health problems might become present in your dog. Each breed of dog has its own set of health problems that they are prone to, and Labradoodles are no exception. Routine vet checks are necessary to make sure there aren’t any underlying problems.
Senior
Once your Labradoodle hits 12, it is officially in its senior years. Your Labradoodle will spend more days lounging around than days being active.
At this stage, you will also need to give your Labradoodle much more care and attention than you did during puppyhood. Senior dogs have a lot more health challenges than young and healthy dogs. This will require you to be more aware of what your Labradoodle is doing and any symptoms it might show.
Labradoodles live for 12-15 years. The smaller they are, the longer they will typically live. However, there are always cases of Labradoodles living past 15 years of age.
What is the Personality of a Labradoodle?
Labradoodles are super friendly dogs that love to play around. They have a lot of energy that they have to use up every day, so they are considered to be pretty active.
These dogs are huge people pleasers. They want to impress everyone that they meet and to be loved by everyone that they meet.
This eagerness does have its advantage in the training world. Dogs that are eager to please tend to be easier to train as they will want to impress their owner with all the tricks that they learn.
Labradoodles are also very curious dogs. They love to explore the world, which can be seen when taking them on a walk. These dogs will want to sniff and explore everything that they pass. Nothing can be overlooked by a Labradoodle.
On the downside, the mix of hyperactivity and curiosity can become destructive if your Labradoodle becomes too bored.
With boredom comes destructive behaviors in your Labradoodle like breaking things or getting into places where they don’t belong. It is important to keep your Labradoodle both mentally and physically active, so they don’t get bored.
Labradoodles can be compared to small children, and they get along with such. This breed of dog makes a great family pet that will get along with the children that you have.
A Labradoodle and child can make great playing partners as long as neither of them gets too rough.
How Can I Deal with My Labradoodle’s Hyperactivity?
Dealing with the hyperactivity of a young Labradoodle can be a lot of work and can get overwhelming. Especially if you are already super busy, a “small child” of a dog can simply be a lot to handle. Thankfully, there are different ways to handle a Labradoodle’s hyperactivity that is still fun for your dog.
Bump Up That Exercise
With hyperactivity comes a lot of energy. The best way to use up a lot of energy is by increasing the amount of exercise that your dog does in a day.
However, be aware that very young Labradoodles shouldn’t do too much exercise as it may put a lot of strain on their still-developing bones.
If you are wondering how much exercise your dog can handle doing, call up your vet and see what they say.
Different forms of exercise to include in your Labradoodles routine include:
- Walking (walk your Labradoodle at least once per day)
- Playing in the backyard
- Playing at the dog park
- Swimming
- Agility training
So many different forms of exercise can be super fun for both the Labradoodle and you as the owner.
Medication
If the hyperactivity of your Labradoodle is causing a lot of problems, you can go to the vet and get calming medication for your Labradoodle to take.
This medication will relax your Labradoodle so they won’t get so hyper that they destroy something. Also, you can use this kind of medication if you have to take your Labradoodle on car rides.
Over-The-Counter Calming Products
You can find a lot of products in a pet store that is meant to calm your dog down. From calming collars to even calming dog beds, there are so many items that have been infused with calming scents to aid with hyperactivity in your dog.
Calming products can be a median between trying to solve hyperactivity with exercise and going to the vet. These products can also just help if you notice that your Labradoodle has trouble sleeping at night.
Just remember that during puppyhood and adolescence, this hyperactivity is due to all the changing hormones that your Labradoodle is facing. Your Labradoodle isn’t trying to be super hyper to cause trouble, it is what they know how to do with the energy that they have gained.
Final Thoughts
Labradoodles can be quite the crazy dog in their use, but they will calm down as they get older. For many Labradoodles, they will calm down by the time that they reach adulthood, which is at 3 years old.
Some Labradoodles will keep their high energy for much longer, but usually, even they will calm down by the time they reach middle age.
Labradoodles will reach the peak of their hyperactivity during their adolescent years as all their changing hormones give them a huge rush of energy. This can sometimes mean that your Labradoodle can get into a bit of trouble, but they don’t do it to be mean to you.
The personality of these dogs makes them great family pets. Labradoodles are friendly, loving, and very playful. They make great friends with the children of the household, and they have so much love to share.
Even when they are hyperactive, they simply want to have fun and spend time with their family.
If you can make it through the hyperactive life stage of a Labradoodle, then you might get a lot of joy from having one as a pet.
