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What is Puppy Love??
Pop singer Paul Anka and a very young Donny Osmond each had a hit with a song dedicated to the phenomenon known as puppy love. In the song "Puppy Love," the singer denies accusations that his relationship with a young girl is little more than an adolescent crush. He insists their mutual feelings of love run deeper than a mere infatuation. This is the essence of puppy love, an early foray into the world of romantic relationships, often defined by immaturity and un-reciprocated emotions

Puppy love may indeed feel like its deeper emotional cousin called "true love," but it usually has a fleeting quality which keeps it from developing any further than a serious crush. Puppy love often starts with a one-sided infatuation, perhaps for a seemingly unapproachable classmate or an attractive teacher or other authority figure. For the smitten one, these feelings of attraction may be very intense indeed, and create the sort of distractions and obsessive thought patterns of true love.

Some young people gripped by puppy love will eventually make an effort to pursue a relationship with the object of their affection, with varying degrees of success. Occasionally two people with similar afflictions will embark on a short adolescent romance with little to no expectations of a long-term commitment. Others may lack the social confidence to approach the object of their affections, keeping their feelings at the level of an unrequited crush.

Puppy love rarely reaches a level of concern for parents, although they may become concerned if their child's budding romance begins to interfere with their other obligations and basic needs. A young adolescent experiencing puppy love for the first time may become easily distracted or less focused on other matters such as eating, sleeping and schoolwork. The inevitable break-up of a puppy love relationship may also create deep emotions which a young teen may not be prepared to handle. Parents should respect the fact that a puppy love relationship can feel very real indeed to the participants, and often mimics the same stages as a more mature romantic relationship.

The concept of a youthful infatuation or immature adolescent romance can be traced back for centuries. During the time of Shakespeare, the idea of puppy love was often rendered as calf love, with the same basic premise of an immature romantic crush. In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo is reminded of his former "calf love," a girl named Rosaline. Romeo's budding relationship with Juliet could be construed as a transition from a fleeting puppy love into a true, if tragic, romance for the ages.

What does "Falling in Love" Mean?
Falling in love may be a common expression in much of the Western world but it isn’t used much elsewhere. The phrase may be connected to the idea of "falling head over heels," which was used in the 1300s, and is another term for being struck suddenly by great romantic attraction to someone else. Even with this connection, it can be hard to get a beat on what falling in love means, or what it feels like. Each person may define this experience somewhat differently
Generally, when a person falls in love they have heightened romantic interest in someone else, and this doesn’t necessarily have to occur at first sight. Many people are friends first and find over time their feelings change to those more romantic in nature. They might want more from a relationship than just friendship and they may cherish more than friendly feelings for the person with whom they’ve fallen in love.

The word fall suggests that there’s a certain helplessness about these feelings of attraction, and they’re not necessarily within the control of the person stricken suddenly with great affection. It is true that people can’t always determine who or what attracts them, but they don’t have to be helpless in this regard. People can make choices about whether to act on romantic feelings. However, for those experiencing falling in love for the first few times, the feelings can seems so powerful that there seems little choice but to act upon them. Some people have challenges maturing out of this impulse, which can make forming lasting romantic relationships very difficult.

It would be hard to dispute that initial feelings of attraction and the “falling in love” state are powerful. For centuries, writers and poets have sung both the agonies and joys of discovering passionate feelings for someone else. Chaucer called this early “love” state the “dredful joye” representing both the pitfalls and ecstasy. Infatuation and romantic interest especially at the onset of a relationship can be both painful and exciting.

People have verifiable physiological reactions when in this early love state. A sight of the object of their affection may cause the pulse to race and the body to sweat. Certain neurotransmitters in the brain tend to be produced in greater volume, which can promote happiness and some anxiety. Yet most social scientists would agree that the reaction is not entirely a chemical one and involves the thinking brain and the emotions on numerous levels.
Another point on which most psychologists would agree is that falling in love is most certainly not the same as maintaining a sustained love relationship. Falling in love tends to be easy, but remaining in love with a person can be difficult. The rush of feelings accompanied with the flush of early love make it hard to judge exactly how viable a relationship might be in the future. For this reason, it’s not recommended that people make quick decisions or lifelong commitments while in this early stage. Getting to know someone after the roller coaster ride of falling in love with him or her may be a fantastic way to determine if the initial fall into love leads to lasting love

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