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What's the difference between "puppy love" and real love?

I've been looking around a lot and I've noticed that a lot of the time when someone young thinks they're in love, most people dismiss it as "puppy love".

So what's the difference between this "puppy love" and real love?

How old do you have to be before you're told that what you feel is more than just "puppy love"?

Why is it that it's only when people are young that they're told their feelings aren't real?

Why do you think that people under whatever age you picked cannot experience true love but only "puppy love"?

Of course, you can replace "puppy love" with whatever term you choose but the questions are still the same.

Before any of you start saying that I'm a young person trying to justify my puppy love, I'm 19 with the maturity of about a 25 year old and I'm pretty sure I'm not in love with anyone. This is just a question I felt I had to ask because I've seen too many people just brush a question about love or relationships off with "you're too young to know what love is".

Update:

I'd also be interested in how old you, the answerer is. If you don't mind sharing.

9 Answers

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  • 1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    I suppose that puppy love would be attributed to a crush or perhaps a first time experience with these types of feelings.

    As life goes on and experience is gained your definitions tend to get reshaped.

    Being happy is what matters most.

    Good luck. M39

  • 1 decade ago

    The difference between "puppy love" and "real love" is usually the difference between lust and love. Lust is what happens when you first meet someone and want to be around that person and touch that person and hold that person all the time. Love is a commitment two people make to one another after the lust phase has run its course. Not to say that it will end in a good relationship. It's a healthy part of love and you should fight like hell to keep it alive if you want the love to last. Nineteen is not to young to understand what love is if you are mature. Don't be in too big of a rush though and be true to yourself. Take the time to become really good friends with someone along with the relationship. Find someone who is honest and that you can be comfortable enough with to communicate well with and time will tell if you have found love.....................

  • 1 decade ago

    I'm in the same situation I'm 19 my bf just turned 26,, We've been togthere over a year.. N now i feel like its"puppy love" this whole time cuz my eyes seen to wonder now and I feel like Im intersted in someone else.. I want my cake and eat it to .... if i can get a brreak and then if we come back to each other then its meant to be ........ but the difference is puppy love your infauted with someone and the other is you cant leave with out the other

  • 1 decade ago

    Puppy love is like infatuation. You're just enamored with the person, and think this is it! Dr. Dobson, the great Christian family counselor says the difference between infatuation and true love is TIME. Take time, make time to get to know this person. Age doesn't have anything to do with this. Teens who begin dating in high school, get to know every aspect of their bf/gf's make-up can enjoy successful relationships or marriages because of the TIME. Dr. Dobson also says "Don't settle for someone you can live with, wait for the one you can't live without."

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  • gumsy
    Lv 4
    1 decade ago

    Teenagers tend to changed once they start standing on their own feet and face the world with all the responsibilities on their shoulders. It changes your view of life and the way you view relationships in most cases. When people move up in their 20's they start looking for different things in a partner.

    I believe it depends very much on how a person is brought up and at 19 you may very well already be stable in the way you feel about relationships.

    Puppy love is mostly when you fall head over heels for someone you are physically attracted to who has some cool skills like perhaps being able to draw beautiful pictures or dance really cool. When you're a young teenager you're more prone to dating guys who are gorgeous and sexy, but when you become more mature you tend to be a little less focused on outlook and more to characteristics, what job your partner has ect.

    When I was 19 I was already aware of what I want and I was also told that my interests will change when in fact I was already mature enough.

    The best way to handle it is just to stand at what you believe and ignore people who tell you that it's only puppy love, because society looks through the eyes of stereotypes and not all people fall under stereotypes.

    Basically Puppy Love is based on physical attraction and to attraction to someone you think is super cool.

    Real love is when you are prepared to make sacrifices for someone, to make a few changes in your life to fit sharing your life with that person and someone you can see sharing your future with. And when you are prepared to accept that the person you are with is not perfect and can make mistakes and prepared to forgive them for the sake of staying happily together.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    Puppy love is a somewhat derogatory term that is used only with younger people. However, people of all ages can experience a similar type of "love". Most true love even begins this way. For people of all ages it can be described as infatuation. This is the type of love that is often portrayed in romantic movies/plays. True love occurs after a longer time of knowing someone, with more depth. It isn't as exciting, but it is wonderful. You have to truly know yourself and the other person to be truly in love. It takes time and work to develop. I am 22 years old and I am in love with my boyfriend of two years. In the beginning, it was infatuation. That was great, but our relationship has progressed. It isn't as whimsical, but we love eachother for who we really are.

  • 1 decade ago

    There is no difference between two . All most all the times all are like the animals .

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    puppy love like you can get over him but real love you want to spend your holl lift with him

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    I know this is ridiculous but I'm only 13 and I know that I'm in love. puppy love is when you are like really really friendly friends. Actually love is when you can't get that person out of your head and he/she is the only one you want to talk to. I being so young have had a lot of confusing emotional stuff that I don't talk to any one about. When it becomes so unbearable I ask questions. The thing that bothers me though is that every one says 'you're too young' or 'don't worry about that yet, your not mature enough'. Even though I'm still young I can't control my heart. Trust me. I've tried to. So remember. Puppy love~ you're infatuated with them True Love~You deeply care about them and would do anything to make them happy.

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