The Beauceron is a wonderful dog in many ways, but it does have its drawbacks. One of those is the length of time it takes for this dog to mature.

The Beauceron needs a lot of patience and understanding as it is growing up. It takes much longer to accomplish this than most other breeds. It will take the Beauceron approximately 3 1/2 years to reach full maturity. This is a very long time to display puppy tendencies and antics!

The Beauceron will display his childish antics for the first 2 years. He is considered to be in his toddler and child-like stage at this point. He will run and romp and pounce. It is important to remember that the Beauceron is a large dog. When it is pouncing, it is a very large bundle that is coming at you! They definitely do not realize their own strength and size yet. When a Beauceron puppy jumps, things will go flying. This can include people. There should be great care taken if you have one of these puppies around small children. He will not mean to hurt them, but he is literally an accident just waiting to happen! The temptation to roughly play and create chaos is just too strong in the Beauceron puppy.

When the Beauceron reaches the age of two, he is considered to be a teenager. He will display willful disobedience and must learn to respect his master. He is a dog that likes to be in charge. He must be handled in a firm and consistent manner. Otherwise, he will not respect his owner and will constantly create ruckus and chaos in the home.

Beaucerons are capable of learning many things, but they do have a mind of their own. They can be obstinate and difficult to train. They will make you show them that you can make them be submissive and obedient to you. They literally possess an attitude of "Show me!", and "You can't make me!" while in their adolescence.

They can be destructive and neurotic in their youth. They can obliterate many of the qualities you found so attractive in the breed while they are young. You may often wonder "What have I done?" or even "What was I thinking?!" There is hope to be had and you will get through this period of difficult adolescence if you are consistent in training and extremely patient!

This payoff is when the dog finally reaches full maturity. He will be well mannered. He will be protective and obedient. He will be well over 100 pounds of love and devotion to you and your family! The qualities that you were beginning to wonder about will miraculously reappear. He will be your best friend and you will someday wonder what all the fuss was about. It is in these sublime moments that he will get a twinkle in his eye and proceed to play as if he were still a child. The benefit is that it won't be quite as long or quite as destructive. He will have a gentleness about him that didn't used to be there. He will be mature, but yet still know how to make you smile.