Results of Study of Puppy Behavior At Adoption Events

Saturday's adoption event involved a lot of puppies. After a lot of research and hands-on evaluation, I have determined that there are three stages of puppy behavior at adoption events. I've decided since there isn't a lot of information on this out there, I would share my results first with you. Then perhaps I'll write a paper to be published in the Journal of Puppy Behavior*.


Puppies at adoption events generally follow a set pattern of behavior which can be recognized as it progresses through the following three stages: the Obnoxious Stage, the Calm Stage, and the Stuporous stage.

First is the Obnoxious Stage. You may question how such cute little creatures could ever be considered obnoxious. Unless of course, you've experienced life with a puppy first-hand. Then you will quickly recognize that this is a stage that is repeated at several times during the first year of a puppy's life. Obnoxious behavior can be observed at adoption events when the puppies begin wrestling, playing, chewing, exploring, and tugging on objects all around them. At this point, the best chance anyone has to control a puppy is just to hold onto the leash and stay out of the way. It's tough to get a picture of a puppy in this stage, but I have provided some examples below to demonstrate various puppies engaged in the Obnoxious Stage of Behavior:

Out of control puppies





Plotting puppies




Puppy attempting an escape from his collar.


After the puppies have used up most of their abundant energy supply, they enter the second stage of behavior, known as the Calm Stage. This is the stage where the puppies are most often chosen for adoption, because potential adopters only see a cute little puppy that licks their face, not the obnoxious chewing creature that was on a mission to destroy all shoe laces in the world just ten minutes earlier. Here are some examples of puppies who have entered the Calm Stage of behavior:




A great example of how looks can be deceiving




Innocent look perfected.

 

This puppy is beginning to transition from stage 2 to stage 3.

  Finally, energy reserves fully depleted, puppies enter the third stage of behavior - the Stuporous Stage, also known as the "Dead to the World" stage. At this point, you can do pretty much anything without the puppy waking up. You can make as much noise as you want. You can transfer the puppy from person to person. For all intents and purposes, the puppy has been "turned off" while it's energy cells are recharging. Enjoy this time, because it seldom lasts as long as you'd like. Here are some puppies that have fully entered the Stuporous Stage during the adoption event.

Down for the count



This puppy would make a great doorstop.





This puppy knows how to make herself comfortable before shutting down to recharge.

*Not an actual scholarly journal - but wouldn't it be great if it was?