Help!

[Kelly Oliver]

This is my fourth week back to work, and my 4 month old Chloe is not adjusting well.  She has regressed in her training, and is just sometimes downright naughty-like they all can be I suppose.  I do play with her every night and she gets good exercise, since we live right by some ball fields that aren't being used right now.  I'm just getting a little discouraged.  Those of you with darling, sweet adult doodles-were yours naughty as pups?  I know I have to keep working hard at her training, but it's becoming REALLY hard!

[Christine & Shelby]

Sounds like Chloe is the perfect doodle pup and her 4 month behavior sounds very normal. I also struggled during this time frame and found that tethering her to me did wonders. Also - I began to give her time outs for nipping. I would scoop her up and place her in the laundry room on her own for about 30 -45 seconds. When she came out - she had settled. It seemed to help. Might be worth a try. Good luck.... it does get better.... I would keep working on training stuff daily to keep her engaged, challenged and focused on you! Have you tried teaching your GD to do some obedience with her. At 8 she should be able to do some commands (and I bet she would love doing it)... that might help Chloe understand she has to listen to her too!

[Kelly Oliver]

I think I will try the tethering-thanks for the suggestion. The 8 yr. old has been keeping treats handy and commanding her to sit, and that seems to be helping. I know if we stick with the training things will get better as she gets older, but gosh it's tiring/trying sometimes!

[BG and Gavin]

Be sure to join the puppy madness group for tons of great information and support.

[Taylor & Huff]

Instead of the gentle leader head collar you could use the gentle leader harness. I don't think they ever get used to that feeling around their noses. The harness is much more comfortable. www.google.com/products/catalog?q=gentle+leader+harness&oe=utf-...
I don't think that the keep-away will ever stop. Huff still does it but mainly to get attention. We have learned to put up paper towels and socks so he can't get them. He loves socks! You could try spraying bitter apple on your hands and clothes for the nipping. Instead of doggie daycare you could get a pet sitter to come over and play with her for a while during the day. We have one here called George's pet sitting. He is very good although I have never used him. I have heard people tell me that he is a very good pet sitter.:)

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

The good news is that the puppy teeth should start coming out anytime in the next month. Once that happens the nipping is a little more bearable. In the meantime try keeping a toy or chew close at hand to put in her mouth when she is nipping. I agree with having your GD involved in the training. My niece is 6 and she loves getting Lucy and Sophie to sit and down for their treats. We had some pretty tough times when she came over when they were little. Ours mostly dealt with getting scratched when they would jump. I'd just wrap her in a blanket. Still do for the first few minutes after she gets here because L&S just get too excited. Then it all calms down and all is fine. Little girls have a tendency to run and scream as well which just excites the puppy. I had to teach Emma if you run they will chase you and nip at you. You have to walk from place to place in the house. You really MUST focus on her training or your problems are only going to get bigger. This doesn't mean just taking her to a class once a week, it means practice every single day in between classes. Just incorporate it into everything that you do with her. It doesn't have to take an extra hour, just use it in your regular routines. Sit and wait to go out the door, to come in the door. Down/Stay while you run the sweeper, sit/wait for release to eat her food, down/stay while you eat dinner. You will be so happy that you did it I promise you. That being said though, if she doesn't get the exercise she needs (and that is ALOT at this point) all the training in the world won't rid her of destructive behavior. That energy has to go somewhere. Best of luck. Keep us posted.

[Kelly Oliver]

Thanks for the advice-you're right about the energy needing to go somewhere! We do work on the training every day, and get her outside running every day-I know if we stay focused it will get better as she gets older.

[Lee Seidman]

We found that the Gentle leader was not for us. Lexi hated the one around her mouth so we exchanged for the harness style.She developed a cyst under her armpit ( I guess thats what it is called) which cleared after we stopped using it and we did away with that idea. Adrianne Matzkin from the DRC came up with the idea of a Martingdale Collar. That worked great and we just ordered a second one for our new Doodle Billy. We got them from Amy at wagntails. You will not see them on her site, but E Mail to her and she will make them custom to fit your Doodle. They run around $15.00 with a Quick disconnect and work similiar to a choke collar.. They are an excellent lead training device and much more humane then a choker or pinch collar.

http://home.comcast.net/~wagntails/index.html