First time dog owner - Help with 6 month old!

[Natasha]

Hi all,

Not sure if I'm posting correctly as new here but just wanted some ideas and advice for other doodle/dog owners.

We've had Pippa, our F1 goldendoodle since she was 8 weeks old and she is just a few days away from being 6 months now.

I'm finding that we're having some issues with Pip and just wanted to know what is normal and whether I'm just worrying or over thinking things?

Firstly I feel like I don't have the strong bond with her that I would have hoped for. I think I've read someone else's post on here where they have said something similar. I have been the one who has been raising her since she came home but I don't feel like Pip is overly cuddly at least with me, she doesn't ever jump in your lap etc. She enjoys being stroked for all of two minutes and then she wants to shoot off and do something else. She doesn't really get that excited around me, probably only in the morning when I get her up. I'm at home all the time at the moment as I'm retraining to start a new career so I wonder in part if it's just because she sees me all the time. I guess it's also just her personality? Although she has always seemed to follow my husband around a lot more and constantly wants love and attention from him, a lot of the time where she is falling at his feet for belly rubs etc. Another thing is that she gets very excited around guests, strangers and people in our family that she doesn't see all the time and really loves their attention.
She seems to be a lot more poodle like in looks and personality and I wondered whether that would make her a bit less affectionate than the Golden Retriever half of her but it seems like poodles are as equally affectionate?
One thing to note is that she will lick your hand a lot when she is tired.

Another problem she has is urinating when she is excited which is always when she is being greeted by my husband or others. She has only done it with me a couple of times. I have spoken to the vet about this and she said that it is just a sign of immaturity and that she will grow out of it as she gets her season as she advised us not to spay her.
Did anyone else have this? And if so how long did it take for your pup to grow out of it? I was sure that she might have grown out of it once she had more bladder control after 4 months but she hasn't.

It also seems that she has a very high prey drive, she will chase anything that moves, the most annoying thing being leaves that are moving in the wind because there's no escaping them! It was a nightmare last night to get her to focus on toileting because every time the wind would pick up, she would have her head and, looking around for leaves to chase. We also let her off lead last week and she was good for the most part but she was off when she saw a bird that was flying low. We did manage to call her back once the bird had landed in a tree but it still wasn't ideal.
I've read that they can grow out of the leaf chasing thing but I do think she has such a high prey drive that we might not be able to have her off lead for fear that she might run off or even into a road.
Does anyone else have experience with this?
Another problem is that this game of chase doesn't just end with those objects, she likes to play chase with other dogs too. Whenever she sees another dog on leash she will bark and try to swipe or jump on them to try and annoy them so they will chase her. It's almost like she doesn't care if she annoys them to the point where they're likely to get aggressive. It's almost like she ignores the warning signs other dogs give her and is just always in play mode.
Whenever we take her to my in-laws, who have a miniature schnauzer, she just wants to run around chasing her around the house with no signs of stopping. The schnauzer will growl and bark but she doesn't listen.

Lastly, she has begun resource guarding her chew treats. The point that I noticed that was really bad was when I gave her a lamb bone leftover from Christmas. I made her do about 5 tricks before she got the bone so that she was working for it and handed it over. When I attempted to stroke her she was growling. She stiffens up, stops chewing and her behaviour changes if you stroke her when she has a dental stick chew, pigs ears or raw hide chews. I have stopped giving her bones (that was just a one off anyway), raw hide and pigs ears. The strange thing is is that she doesn't get aggressive with her normal puppy food, you can hand feed her, stroke her etc. and she's fine. I think I may have a part in this as there were times when I would remove small pieces of raw hide from her mouth when she was younger to prevent her choking or it getting blocked so that may have caused this? I am trying to give her other treats while she is chewing her dental sticks to show that I'm not trying to take it away and it seems to be helping a little.

Any tips or info would be appreciated and thanks for reading.

[Natasha]

Hi Jenny, thanks for your input :)

I'm hoping she'll grow out of it like Cooper did, I think I just need to let her be a pup for now ;)

So glad I'm not the only one lol.

I think I need to lower my expectations a little. It's too easy to compare your puppy to other pups/dogs so I need to stop that too and just work with her.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Natasha, you've gotten good advice regarding training and keeping her safe, so I will speak to the bonding, cuddling side. When I got our first dog Murphy, my DH said, and quite adamantly, "Don't make it MY problem, he's YOUR dog".  It goes without saying, DH did not agree with my decision to get one.  However, as does happen with these loveable sweet dogs, he was totally won over by our sweet Murphy and they became fast friends from the get go.

I was determined to have Murphy not be a problem and spent many hours training, grooming, disciplining, taking care of very severe ear infections his whole first year, taking him to the Vet that was very traumatizing for him as it always involved painful ear exams, (until I changed Vets). He's see me come near him with a brush, comb, bottle with an applicator, syringe, pills, cotton balls, Qtips, and he hides behind DH. (DH has never had to do any of the care taking ) Murphy is an anxious fella anyway and afraid of everything, so I think just by nature of taking care of him, he has become leery of what I am going to do to him next.

Having said that, he was a bit aloof from the very beginning. We would put him on the couch near us to cuddle and he'd jump right off and go lay under a table. We had him sleep on our bed from the first week and he always moved to the farthest end of the bed and if one of us touched him with our foot by accident he'd quickly move away.  Even now, he just tolerates or allows me to love on him, but has a favorite spot right by DH's chair at night where he gets rubbed for hours by his daddy.  

I don't take it personally, (anymore) it's just him and there is so much good about him, and he is so well behaved and sweet that we just roll with it. However, it is the reason I got a second doodle with the specific requirements that he/she were very cuddly.  And boy did we get it! Our Bella is an in-your-face-pet-me-now dog. She loves everyone who will touch her and you're only her favorite until you stop petting, then she's on to the next person.  She really is my love bug and just loves to be groomed and clipped, comes running when she sees a toothbrush, willingly opens her mouth for any meds, and is always within a few feet of me.  Maybe it's because she's never been sick or needed a lot of care like Murphy but who knows.  I think that they each have their own specific personalities. As does Pippa. She will always want to be with you no matter how little affection she shows you.

[BG and Gavin]

Regarding increasing the bond: I would begin doing umbilical work. Put you dog on a leash and clip it to your belt loop. Do this for an hour a day (can be broken up). Carry on about your usual business around the house ( up and down the stairs, doing laundry, washing dishes, watching tv.) Do not talk to the dog or give any commands. The dog will have to look at you for body cues and figure out what you want her to do. You will notice a big increase in eye contact and the dog paying attention to you. It is very important not to talk. My friend was at an impass with her relationship with her 18 mon old shelter dog who she adopted 6 months ago. She did this exercise for one day and had a complete breakthrough. It really works.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Basically, she is a puppy and mostly she will outgrow it.

1.  Not all dogs are cuddle bugs.  The good thing about this is that she is independent and won't have anxiety issues.  She might get more affectionate as she matures.  She does love you.

2.  Submissive pee is almost always outgrown.  Ways to cope - ignore her when first entering the house or room. Especially do not speak to her in a high baby voice.

3. Prey drive - if she has it she has it.  You can train more obedient behavior, but she will still want to chase things. You should not trust her not to run into the street unless and until she is truly well-trained.

4. Training and maturity will teach her not to chase and annoy other dogs.  Other dogs should put her in her place with a growl or a nip, but some are too submissive to stand up for themselves - then you intervene to protect them.  She needs a time out when she behaves inappropriately.  Leash her when at your  in-laws.

5.  Do not allow her to resource guard.  Take away all high value treats and toys until you have control over this.  (High value is what SHE values.)

[Natasha]

Thanks all for the input.

Have started upping training and she is responding well. I think I started to relax a little on training as she has started to become a little less dependant and can be trusted with house training and of course as I am currently studying.

Re-started loose leash walking yesterday. Had to stop and start a good few times at first and I know people were looking at me crazy but didn't care! Towards the end of the walk we had to stop a LOT less. Today was an even better report as there was a considerable improvement with heeling, its like she knows what I expect.

Had a lovely time with a fellow dog walker and his 5 year old cross, it was like she thought he was her daddy, following the other dog around and playing, wanting to do what he did. Some chasing but she actually showed signs of stopping and submitting when being told off by the adult dog, haha!

It looks like as she is turning 6 months on Sunday that we may just be able to take her to the original training class that we wanted to go to as the times are slightly different for 6 months and up. So need to enquire about that again. Have also found out that there are local agility classes so may try her at these.

Dental stick was given this morning and other treats were given for being calm and allowing stroking and the tense behaviour seems to have substantially reduced. I will keep this up for a few months and try to switch slowly to higher rewards using the same approach. I have also switched back to hand feeding to help with bonding and resource guarding.

As I have upped the training I do feel like she is more responsive and even have had a few licks from her aside from her normal tired ones.

As for the umbilical work, I will try this. I did start ignoring her yesterday for a while before your suggestion and without the lead to see what she would do and it seems like she knows that I'm not acting 'normal' and is more eager to come over for attention.

Thanks again for the help.

[Valarie]

Sounds like you are already making progress. Great work.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I have to say as I read your discussion there are parts of it where I thought you were talking about my Fudge. I am willing to bet that Pippa is a very smart dog and I think the smart ones can be the hardest. I tell everyone that my next dog will be dumber than a bag of rocks and have absolutely no prey drive. Fudge has such a strong prey drive that I think when we are outside her little mind is working a mile a minute. She gives off this energy level that affects our other dog, Vern, and even when she is heeling by your side, she is prancing and her nervous energy is evident. I spend the majority of our walks scanning the horizon for anything that she will react to....cars, dogs, squirrels, anything moving...and try to avoid it.  I don't trust her for a minute off leash, because if she sees anything worth hunting, she is off. Even on our pontoon boat, we keep her tethered to a 30 foot leash in and out of the water and once when I forgot to tether it to the boat, she took off after a goose and ended up pretty far out and luckily a fisherman returned her to us. Her nose leads her into trouble. I just don't want to risk losing her, so I do not ever let her off leash. 

I think a lot of what you are experiencing is normal puppy behavior, but it also just might be Pippa and her personality. Fudge is not an overly demonstrative dog, but is giddy over my husband and his belly rubs, too. I like her independence, because she is not a velcro dog. Lots of times I pick her up and make her cuddle me and I know she likes it, because when I stop she lifts her paw for me to continue. When we were moving and I was so stressed, I used her like a worry stone, and pulled her to me to cuddle at night and she let me, but she didn't initiate it, if that makes sense. I hug both my dogs a lot, but where Vern will get all excited and push his way in, Fudge hangs back more. I just think it is their personality shining through and I compare it to my family versus my husband's family. They are all big huggers and my family is not, so it took some getting used to on my part. 

I am also thinking Pippa may be a bit dominating and we experience this with Fudge. She was always a rough player with other dogs, but it is good that she likes other dogs and hopefully, the other dogs will teach her what they are willing to put up with her. 

As for the resource guarding, I would stop giving her those items that she resource guards. Period. If you feel the need to continue, then trading for higher value items would be beneficial.

I do think many of these things are puppy stuff, but I also want to give you a piece of advice.  Fudge was all the things I didn't want in a dog and sometimes she tries my patience, but really this was more my fault than hers. I had to learn to accept Fudge for the great dog she is and accept the fact that I had to let go of some of my expectations. I am not going to change her strong prey drive or the fact that she is so darn smart or the fact that she is not crazy about other dogs or her nervous energy on walks, but she is my heart dog and I wouldn't trade her for a million bucks. I will also tell you that routine and consistency helps a lot with Fudge. 

Give Pippa more time and I think a lot of these problems will work themselves out and meanwhile, Doggie Dan could help with those things you want to address right now. Good luck.

[Lynda Kamrath]

Have you ever had a two-year-old child?  I think a 6-mo-old puppy is similar.  All sounds normal to me.  She is growing and learning.