Doodle only bites when we play outside! Help!

[Michelle & Oliver]

8 month Oliver never bites or plays rough when we are inside. He even walks off the leash at the prairie path we go to. He was so easy to train and is a very smart, loving dog. He gets plently of exercise and socializes with a lot dogs and people.

 

He’s overall a perfect dog, except when he gets really excited while playing outside and loses all control!!

 

It doesn’t happen all the time, but he will get fixated on the play and he loses all control of his actions. He will bite, jump up on me, and growl. He will still do it even when I turn my back (he bit my butt the other day! Ahhhhh) It’s really scary because he is usually such a loving, playful dog.  I have bruises and scratch marks all over my arms from him.  I will grab his collar and have him lay down until it seems like he is calm and he’s fine after that.  He probably does this once a week.

 

He would do something similar when we would take him for a walk when he was about 5 or 6 months old.  It only lasted the first minute or two on our walk, but he would be fine once he got going. He eventually got out of that once he got older.

 

A friend of ours is watching him for a few days and I am concerned because they have a daughter who is 8 years old and I don’t want him to do it to her.

 

Can anyone help with suggestions?!?

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

When you say he gets really excited outside and loses all control....how exactly are you playing? I'm just trying to get a better understanding of what the activity is that leads to this level of excitement.

[Adina P]

You said he trained easily.  Is he completely trained then and responsive to commands on and off leash?  If so then in the middle of his biting frenzy he should respond to 'Oliver Sit, Stay.'  If not the obedience work is not done and it needs to be finished.

[Michelle & Oliver]

I will be running around in the backyard with him, playing catch or something like that. He also has done it when he was playing in his little baby pool.

But it happened yesterday at my parent's house. He was trying to eat a plant near their pool. He would then run around the pool and then jump in the plant and try to tear off the flowers that were blooming from it. When I went over to stop him, he started jumping on me and began biting me.

 

It mostly happens when we are running/ playing catch in the backyard.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Well until he's fully obedience trained and can respond to you when you give a command (no matter what the circumstances are), I would not be running around with him in the yard.  IMO that's creating excitement which is leading to the bad behaviors.  I found this to be a tough age with my guys, and the thing that really helped was to keep them as calm and controlled as much as possible and lots of training "practice".  Neither of my Doodles "thinks straight" when they're all "wired up".  Even when we play fetch, between every few throws they have to sit and wait while I throw the ball....they can't go until they get a release.  The game is still fun, but they stay much calmer and they have to do a little "thinking".

[Michelle & Oliver]

I actually started to have him sit and stay before I throw the ball... that seems to help. But he is still learning that he was to bring the ball me and drop it!

 

I worry that he will do it to a child if he sees them running/playing. He's around children, but not when they are playing or running outside.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Well until he's much more reliable with his commands around distractions I would not allow him to be running free around children who are running/playing.

[Michelle & Oliver]

@Adina- He learned all basic commands within 2 days of me teaching him. He responds to commands off leash when he is in not in this state of mind. 

But he gets in such a frenzy it's like he can't comprehend the command. It's only when I take his collar and give the command to sit and stay is when he will listen. He will lay down and I will bend down next to him until I see his breathing slow down, then he is fine.

I know that he is only 8 months and he is still learning what is acceptable, but it's still a concern for me.

[Adina P]

The learning is almost always easy with doodles.  Learning what words mean is a cinch.  But  real training is when you take that learning and apply it in distracting real life situations with regular practice.  Take him downtown and practice his commands, take him to the park and practice his commands.  At first start in the low distraction section of the park and over time work in more distracting areas (by playground, by people playing ball, by duck ponds, by people walking their dogs).  PetCo, PetSmart, (sometimes only outside the store until he's under better control), Lowes, anywhere indoors or out that allows dogs--dogs don't generalize well.  So just because he can do it when nothing interesting is going on does not mean he'll do it when more tempting/exciting things are happening.  You have to practice with him in gradually tougher and tougher distractions and make it clear to him that you only give the command ONCE and then will follow through and MAKE him do it.  There's no 'chasing' him to catch him.  He needs to be under supervision and wearing a long leash so you can step on the leash (to prevent getting leash burn by trying to grab it with bare hands) then grab it and make him come to you after you've called him.  I mean if you HAVE to go get him, do, but try to prevent having to run after them.

[Michelle & Oliver]

He's perfect when he go to Petsmart. He's obviously really excited when we pull up to the store, but he listens to all commands while we are in the store.

I will issue the command sit and stay and he will remain there for minutes.... when I walk into another room, if I go downstaits, bounce a ball, if he's around other dogs or if he sees a rabbit or squirell. I never have to chase him to get him to come, no matter where we are.... even at the prairie when there are anywhere from 3-8 dogs walking with us.  The other dog owners at the prairie always tell me that they are so impressed with how he listens to me with only being 8 months and all the other dogs around. If the other dogs run ahead he will just sit and wait for me.

I feel like it's just when he gets into that "state" (and it doesn't happen often, maybe once a week). It's like something switches in his head and he loses all control of his actions and then 30 seconds later, after I grab his collar and he lays down, he's perfect again.

Maybe he thinks he can play the same way like he does with other dogs because he will stick his behind in the air the same way when he plays with them.

[Adina P]

That's pretty darn good Michelle!  Perhaps it might help to keep a long but light leash on him so when he gets into his frenzied state you can issue a command and grab the line to correct him and MAKE him do it rather than grab his collar.  You want him to obey the command and be expected to obey regardless rather than to merely submit to you.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Wow, I think you've done an amazing training job if he's doing all of this. I didn't realize he was already this reliable around some tough distractions.  It definitely feels to me like he's just getting a little too excited during these times when he "loses" it.  I'd try to control the level of excitement as much as you can.  Maybe you also want to "proof" him a little more around kids.  Put him on a leash or long line and see if you can find some "volunteer children" to help with this exercise.

[Janice Felciano]

My 18 month old rescue does the same thing. He "pretends" to bite my feet or legs . . .sometimes making contact. He will try to grab my arms. Every so often he just starts running around in a craz frenzy and can't be stopped either. It is all done playfully.