Goldendoodle expert in Dupage County Illinois? Help

[Kurt]

Ok so my update on Lucy.  She's still very active and happy to see most people.  We are heading out of town this weekend and our neighbor that owns a golden retriever asked us to watch Lucy on Saturday and Sunday this upcoming weekend.  Super nice, huh?  Lucy and her dog Zoey have played and stayed together before but today when my wife took her over there to say Hello and get a warm up for this upcoming weekend Lucy attacked her.  Not rough play but seemed like a full blown attack.  No blood was drawn but apparently it was bad enough that my wife is really shook up about it.  Lucy is an incredible dog, can be very loving, loves to play with my kids but as I've stated before seems to have a screw loose.  Can you put a goldendoodle on meds?  I don't really want to go this route but unless I bring her to work with me daily I'm not sure what else I can do for her.  She loves to play ball, loves walks, loves everything and can be really sweet but she gets spooked and this aggression stuff needs to stop.   We have been through dog training with a veteran dog trainer but he didn't socialize the dogs.  I've gone to the dog park but that doesn't seem to help if not makes it worse.  I no longer take her in there.  It's like she's trying to be the lead dog when I'm not around.  Agh... I researched and got this breed of dog due to my allergies and it's been a rough first year with issues that seem like that they are getting worse.  I don't want to put her down, I don't want to rescue her but want to help her get over this.  Ultimately taming the situation or getting it fixed.   I'm very concerned about my dog.  I want what's best for her. 

[Deborah Brown]

How old is Lucy?  I haven't seen any other posts about her so I'm trying to catch up.  We have reactive doodles so I can relate to your concerns.  Have you worked with a behaviorist or a trainer that specializes in reactive dogs?

People don't expect doodles to have these types of behavior problems but they are not immune.  It is possible that medication could help.  Please look at this site to get an idea if it might be right for Lucy.  You will need to see a vet behaviorist for a proper diagnosis.

http://suzanneclothier.com/the-articles/3-ps-does-your-dog-need-med...

So back to the recent problem... How long has it been since Lucy and Zoey were together?  Did Lucy give any signs that she was stressed?  Did they meet outside or on Zoey's turf?  Is she jealous of attention that Zoey gets?  She may remember past visits at either house.  There is usually a trigger for aggression.  Recognizing it is often the tricky part.

I'm not in Dupage county but close.  We live in Oak Park.  I could try to get a referral for a trainer for you.

[Kurt]

Lucy was born 10/2/2012.  It's been a while with the winter weather that they have had a chance to be together.  I wasn't there so I do not know if she was stressed out.  Lucy entered Zoey's house and both dogs ran outside in their backyard apparently.  I've witnessed them before they both play loud and it does look like their hurting each other but they both will get up and run away from each other than run back to play with each other again.  I think this behavior shocked my wife.  I know my wife doesn't trust her so maybe from what I'm reading that doesn't help her situation.  I will read the link tonight.  Thank you for your response.

-Kurt

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

What you need is a dog expert, not a "Goldendoodle expert", lol. Goldendoodles are just dogs, mixed breed dogs. There is nothing physiologically or psychologically different about them than any other kind of dog. You can put them on meds just like any other dog for whom behavior-modifying drugs would be helpful or appropriate. But you do need a veterinary behaviorist to make that call. 

I can recommend this veterinary behaviorist to you: http://chicagovetbehavior.com/locations/

He has hours at the specialty center where several of JD's specialists practice, I have heard good things about him,  and I think one of his locations is probably not too far from you. 

[Deborah Brown]

Good recommendation!  I have the Decoding Your Dog book.  This guy is great!

[Kurt]

Thank you.  I will look into this.  Kind regards, -Kurt

[Marie and Hoka]

We previously had a husky-mix with problems interacting with other dogs.  The problems were at their worst from about 3 years to 6 years.  Torrey was really a great dog overall and never aggressive with us and lived happily with 2 other younger dogs introduced slowly.  She was always pretty "high maintenance", territorial, and seemed to want to protect us from strange dogs.

Even if the other dog was her "friend", if they had not been together for a bit it might have been best to meet up on neutral territory first. We also noticed she was more territorial about certain family members than others. I highly recommend the behaviorist route.. it really helped us. Good luck!

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

I hope you will follow up on Karen's suggestion.  Lucy is still young and this is the time to work with a behaviorist/trainer, so good for you that you're reaching out.  Sometimes meds can be used in combination with training successfully. We have some DK members in the training group who have experience with this and hopefully they can give you more insight.  Dogs will be dogs, and as sweet as Finn is 99% of the time -- he can get territorial about spaces he thinks are his or me.  He's never been outright aggressive, but he regularly needs to be reminded of who's in charge. That said, I'm surprised how many strange dogs don't like him. Whether they have their own issues or they sense his high energy "play level" and don't like it, I don't know but we avoid dog parks.

However, the worst attack I've ever witnessed took place in a friend's home with 4 golden retrievers.  All well socialized and trained dogs with dog savvy owners. 3 of them knew each other well. The 4th was a senior rescue.  The gentle senior was minding his own business when the year old male literally flew across the room and attacked him. It taught me there are triggers we don't always understand.  Good luck, and keep us posted.      

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I definitely agree that you need to talk to a qualified Behaviorist, and I'm so glad Karen was able to recommend one.  If you ultimately do decide that medication is the correct approach, the Behaviorist will determine the best med and counsel you on side effects.  I have a very reactive Doodle and we consulted a Behaviorist who provided great insight.  We did medicate him for several weeks while we worked on a program to help him with his issues.  Once the Behaviorist laid out the strategy we were then able to work with our trainer on execution.  We still have to manage his environment...always will.  We would not be able to bring him into a home with another dog without carefully managing the situation...it would be a disaster even now after all of the work we've done.  For us it's a totally manageable situation...we now know all of Murphy's triggers and do our best tocontrol the environment to avoid a reaction.  Don't give up....with a little guidance and work you can turn this around.

[a.k.a. Rodney]

Kurt, i have an amazing Trainer..not sure what county she is in She takes dogs for 2 wks and they return like they had personality transformations!!

i will give you her info

she live in Elburn, il 60119

she generally picks the dog up & brings them back and then works with you to understand what the dog understands after being with her...however i a.m. not sure about Dupage co. & where that is exactly. She serves the North Shore of Chicago for sure and i believe she is not far from St. Charles, il

i would prefer to send it in a pvt. message

you have to accept my friend request first to do that