are new to this forum... love it...
i have a 12 year old lab named kona (who i've had since 6 weeks), and an 18 month old lab named stella, who i've had since about 8 weeks.
kona is a wonderful dog, and i have good relationships with dogs in general, if that makes sense... somehow i have garnered the reputation as the dog whisperer with folks here in our little beach town... but i don't have professional training, certainly don't have all (or even many of) the answers, and i very much respect the opinions i've read so far on this forum.
stella is a super exuberant 102 pound labrador (again, 18 months old), and i've managed to focus that energy into appropriate channels as she has matured. but tonight i had a funny/frustrating experience... we ran into an old acquaintance of hers from her puppy days, and she looovvvees this person, mostly by association. we would meet up with this person on the beach when she was much younger, and she would get SPUN chasing balls with him, etc. i eventually cut out that beach routine though, because i couldn't recall her well enough on command. anyway, tonight she turned into that "spun" dog again... her exuberance just increased tenfold and she went nuts around him, jumping up (which hasn't been a problem in a long time) and not listening to me at all.
my question to you guys is... when do you think a puppy is no longer a puppy emotionally/mentally (especially a labrador)? is a year and a half under the belt still a puppy in your eyes? i'm a very patient guy, but i'm not real patient with that kind of behavior. she LOVES LOVES LOVES other dogs and people and wants to be everyone's friend, which i respect but don't encourage... if that makes sense.
any thoughts are much appreciated!!!
alex