Does Anyone Have A Dog Reactive Doodle?

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Those in the training group know that Murph is very dog reactive.  It's something that we've been working on for over a year.  Today we were talking to our trainer about what may have caused this initially and he mentioned that he's now working with quite a few Doodles and none of them have the same type of reactiveness that we see in Murphy.  He said they are usually excitable and "react" when they see another dog because they just want to get to that dog to play.  There is nothing dominant of aggressive in this....they are just pulling or lunging out of pure excitement. With training he said this is very easy to correct.  Murphy's reaction is completely different....he is fearful of the other dog and so he has been reacting negatively and even with aggression.  He has no interest in getting to the other dog to "play"....there is no wagging tail. Over the past few weeks he's been able to walk by other dogs without a reaction but it is so apparent that he is very afraid.  He tries to get as close to me as he possible can....which I can't allow because that won't help his confidence at all in the long run.  He is great in Daycare which is a whole different context for him.  Most importantly I am not there, and there are lots of dogs so he can't fixate on any one.  We've been trying to determine what happened to Murph to cause this, and maybe there was nothing....it could just be "hard wired".  We'll probably never know.  I'm just wondering if anyone else has a Doodle with this problem.  I'm putting the discussion here versus in the training group just to try to get a broader audience.  After our discussion today with the trainer I started to think that I've never heard of another Doodle here on DK with the same problem as Murphy. 

[Ginny Nightingale]

Rio is still a bit young but he does bark and growl at other dogs when we are out--but his tail is wagging too--hard to say what he is thinking--I usually let him approach, but the other owners look a bit scared of him with all the barking going on--trying to correct this! He gets long fine with dogs at home, mine and other dogs, so it is just out and about that I get the reaction--he gets scared easily too and will cling to me--sometimes, he tries to literally jump into my arms.

Wish I could help--no clue what to do!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Well this actually helps me Ginny.  We know how well Rio was socialized, so there is clearly nothing about his background that would make him fearful of other dogs when he's out.  I've been wondering if there was something that may have happened to Murph as a puppy that created this fear.  Perhaps that isn't it at all.  I guess I need to just let it go and stop trying to figure out why it may have occurred.  It just seems that this is very unusual with Doodles, and after talking to our trainer today and hearing him say he's never seen another Doodle with the same issues as Murph it just made me wonder.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Jack is reactive to dogs he doesn't know, and just like with Murphy, it's always when I am present and he is on leash or on his "home" turf. At a dog park, vet office, groomer, etc. there's no problem, and I believe he would be fine at a daycare, too. He has no interest whatsoever in playing with other dogs, even the dogs he knows, but he's friendly to them.

It's hard to say what caused this. He wasn't this way when I first got him, but he was shell-shocked at that point, and didn't really know if he had a home or a person yet. It seems to have started after he was attacked on leash by a shih tzu to whom he was being submissive. But it might have just come out at that time because by then he did have a person and a home.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Karen, how long after you adopted JD did the shih tzu incident occur?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You know, I can't remember if it happened during the first year or the second. It was more than 6 months after i got him, though.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

YES, YES. YES!!! Fudge has been socialized with dogs since we got her. She has gone to doggie daycare, dog parks, pet stores, and a dog sitter. The problem with Fudge started when we got Vern. I started noticing at the dog park that she didn't want other dogs playing with Vern and her. She no longer really liked going to doggie daycare, so we stopped. She still goes to my pet sitter and gets along fine with her dogs and any dog the sitter has over, although we met the sitter at the park one day and she did not get along with one of the dogs she brought along.  She loves my DD's dogs.

If we are walking and a dog approaches, she is very reactive and not in a playful way. I feel like it has to do with Vern and me somehow, as the sitter never has a problem. I continue to issue corrections, but frankly I would be fine if we never saw another dog on a walk.

At our last training class, a male dog (not neutered) approached her and she made it clear she did not like it, but when we walked around to each person and introduced ourselves to the other dog handlers and shook hands, she sat perfectly and no problems. I am at a loss too!

Vern, on the other hand, has had less socialization with other dogs and loves them all.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Laurie, when Fudge sees another dog approaching do you get a sense that if she were able to get loose she would try to attack the other dog....lunging, barking, showing teeth, growling, tense/fearful body language?  If that is the case then maybe she does have a similar issue to Murphy's.  Would you be able to take her to a romp or have another dog visit you without fear of a fight? 

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Jane, I am not as good at reading doggie language as you are, but she has never growled or showed teeth. When the dog approached her at our training class, she got right in his face and barked, but did not bite him. When we went to our trainer's house for this issue, she let Fudge out with her dogs (one by one)...she has eight rescue dogs....and Fudge did not react in any way. I would not take her to a romp, because I would be a nervous wreck, but I do feel another dog could come visit IF we handled it properly. If my DD shows up with her dogs, she does nothing....loves little Bonzai. Mostly it is all on leash and while we are walking. As far as what she would do if she got loose, I now use the collar system BG described and have a tiny attachment from her prong collar to her regular collar, just so I don't ever have to find out.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

It does sound similar, just not as severe.  It sounds like you're doing a great job of managing it, Laurie.

[Elaine Leitelt]

Maddie is 4 years old and I've had her for a year and a half.  Before we got her, she spent most life in a small crate from what we were told.  She is very dog reactive (barking, pulling & lunging)   Sometimes she sounds so mean and I wonder what she would do if she got close to them. We can't even walk by a dog on the other side of the street without her losing it.  Maddie reacts when she sees another dog walking past our house whether she is watching from the front door or outside from the fence.  The trainer I work with seems to think there may be a couple things going on with her.  It doesn't seem like it's always fear based and it doesn't always seem like she is a "frustrated greeter". 

One thing the trainer asked was if I thought Maddie really relaxes at home ( just because a dog is laying down does not mean they are relaxed). Not really sure how to answer that one.  Just as a thought, suggested I call the vet and ask about giving her Meletonin for a short time to help her concentrate on the training,although I haven't called yet.   Another woman has been giving that to her GS for a year and it's helped her dog to concentrate on training instead of reacting so much.  They call Maddie party girl" because she LOVES everyone and wants to greet everyone but I sometimes call her my ADD girl.  She is so easily distracted and is so focused on everything around her.

Like you......sometimes I wonder if she is like this because of something in her past or is it just the way she is.   She's a great dog and we love her dearly. I've learned some techniques to work with her while walking and I can read her body language pretty well now.  I hope she will improve, but if this is the only issue we have with her...we are still so blessed to have her in our lives. 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Elaine, I totally agree with you.  We also feel blessed to have Murph in our lives, even with his "issues".  We love him dearly which is why it bothers me so much that he has to go through this.  I can say that he rarely fully "relaxes" except at night when we're all in bed. 

[Jennifer and Jack]

Jack has been socialized since before I got him at eight weeks old. He has been everywhere, daycare four days a week from the time he was old enough till he was two. Play groups, training at Pet Smart all kinds of things. You name it we have been there, He is able to go in stores with me that normally don't allow dogs.

The issue for Jack is very clear, Big dogs scare him. He has never once reacted negatively to a little dog. In daycare he was separated from big dogs.. when Jack see's a dog under 50 pounds or so, he literally cries and whines to get to them to smell them and greet them.

A big dog is a different story... He needs a slow introduction to them and if the big dog is hyper or not well socialized he will react by growling.. I worked so hard with him on this with a trainer, We went to Pet smart every weekend and i worked with a trainer and we would approach big dogs and when Jack even started to slightly react he was immediately corrected. It went great.

A few weeks ago I had Jack at my mom's dog park and we went to big dog group, something I don't do at a dog park for many reasons.. but I went.. Jack walked through the gate and chased a huge dog and barked his head off at it.. His tail was wagging but he would not stop barking.. I had to remove him from the park

Just today we were doing our walking.. and a neighborhood dog got loose. It was a big mixed dog of some type and she came barreling toward us, really she just wanted to play but I didn't know that at first, so I did my immediate normal now response and I bench press Jack.. I literally had my dog above my head with my arms as high as I could to keep this dog off of him and who was growling and barking?? Jack.. the other dog didn't respond but there was Jack high above my head  growling...

His is for sure fear based too... I can't imagine why... but I don't trust him with big dogs  unless they are older and calmer...