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. 

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

we have never had another dog in our home and if we are on a walk I have to make sure that we are on the opposite side of the street from the other dog.  If I get him into a sit/stay and pull out massive quantities of yummy treats, I can usually get him to focus on me enough to stay seated.  It all depends on the other dog too.  If the other dog is just walking by and ignores us, I don't have too much trouble, but if we are walking and the other dog is walking and barking I end up with a bucking broncho on the other end of my leash.  Ollie can not be in the backyard if my neighbor's dog is out because Ollie will rush the fence and bark and snarl.  When out on walks I try to make him walk past yards with fenced dogs and if he gets out of control I make him sit and I won't continue walking until he looks at me.  I thought this was just something that we had to work through, but now I just don't know.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You are describing JD, except, add another 50 or 60 lbs.

You can work through this. It may be that he is never 100% solid with other dogs on-leash, but you can manage that. I still walk JD twice a day, and while there may be incidents here and there, I feel very comfortable most of the time, and I am confident that nothing horrible will happen.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Yes, that's just what I'm talking about!  What is Ollie's background?

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

we adopted him as a rehome through DRC this past June and he turned 2 in August.  The family had 2 other dogs and 5 or 6 kids so I am guessing he didn't get much leash time or socialization outside on a leash.  His former family said that he only really went in a car to get to the vets office and to the groomer so I know he wasn't out of the house much.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Jane, I am not advocating, only wondering...has anyone ever talked about trying a low dose of anti-anxiety medicine for Murphy and see if that helps? I am basing my thoughts on humans more than dogs and I believe, some people have a chemical imbalance that just cannot be made better without some type of drug therapy. Just the fact that Murphy cannot truly relax until bedtime made me wonder.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

No, I suppose that would come from the Vet, and she has never witnessed one of Murphy's reactive episodes.  I suspect that this could be a recommendation from the Behaviorist if we go that route.  Murph will also totally relax if he is laying somewhere where he can actually touch me....even if it's just my feet.  Our trainer says that he is getting all of his confidence from me...and that isn't a good thing. 

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Jane, I have to say I'm in awe of you. I know this has to be so hard on you and yet you do it...especially the touching part. If anyone can get to the bottom of this, it is you! Good luck.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Thanks so much Laurie!  I have made a decision on our next steps.  The Vet/Behaviorist that I mentioned studied at Tufts with another Behaviorist/DVM who has written two books.  I've just ordered them, because I would assume they would give me some good insight into how they diagnose and treat these situations.  If I'm feeling comfortable with what I read, I am going to go ahead and make an appointment for Murphy to enter treatment with her.  The name of one of the books is "The Dog Who Loved Too Much"....I really like the sound of that.  I'll keep everyone posted on what we learn.  We will keep going with the training program...because we are seeing results.  Now I just want to better understand what's causing all this behavior.  It just feels to me like the correction and reward based training is managing Murph to the point where we can walk him and know that he is under control....now I want more.  I want him to feel confident and safe.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I often tell people that why is a difficult question and we may never know the answer. The more important question, I think, is what to do about the problem. Sometimes that entails trying different approaches and seeing what works, just as you are doing.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Good point.

[DeeDee and Sheila]

Hmmmm.  Very interesting.  I may bring it up w/ my vet.  I did this with my last rescued lab and it helped tremendously.

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

I am a big believe in nature AND nurture. Obviously some animals have had experiences that have upset them. Others it seems to be inbred.

I know this is different, but I have 2 8 year old cats. They are litter mates, and were rescued from the streets by the spca. They had ringworm so were going to be put down, so a local rescue took them. they lived in the ladys home for a few days til I took them home. Merry was always very shy, and terrified of men. it took her over a year to go near my ex. She would hide IN the duvet for 2 weeks when we moved house. Over time she has got braver. Pippin always loved everyone, but over time has become more jumpy - mainly since we were broken into a couple of years ago. They have had the same experiences all their lives, but responded differently to them