JUST WHEN YOU THINK YOU HAVE YOUR DOODLES FIGURED OUT....

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I really thought I had a good handle on Guinness's & Murphy's "personalities".  There haven't been many surprises from them in a while.....until yesterday.  We went to a cookout at my son-in-law's Mom's home which is way out in the country on many acres.  There were six dogs (two Labs, a Golden, another Doodle, and our two), and she has chickens and horses.  My guys behavior was a complete surprise to me.  Murphy positioned himself right by my side for at least the first hour.  He would not let any of the other dogs approach me....he gave a low growl that sent a clear message.  Again, for the first hour, he wouldn't run and play....literally he just sat beside me.  As he became more comfortable he did move away, but never let me out of his sight.  Guinness, on the other hand, was a bit of a "wild man".  Of course, he was the smallest dog, and for some reason he had a real attitude with the other dogs.  He's been going to daycare most of his life, and he's always displayed great "manners". Yesterday for some reason he felt the need to try to be the "tough guy" with the other dogs....barking, showing teeth.  There was no biting, but he was sending a message of "leave me alone".  This seemed to confuse Murphy who would just bark like crazy when Guinness was "going at it" with another dog.  Guinness was also running like a complete lunatic, and at one point squished himself under the fence and into a pen with a horse and donkey.  Not a good situation, especially with his size.  At that point I ended up having to tether him.  The horses completely "freaked out" Murph...he barked non-stop when they were in his view, although he didn't go anywhere near them (too busy "guarding" Mom).

So, I'm really not sure that I handled any of this appropriately.  I tried to redirect Murphy when he was guarding me from the other dogs, but there was no changing his focus at that point.  I did correct him whenever he growled, but other than that I ignored the behavior.  Was there a better way to handle this?  With Guinness, I was at a total loss, since I've never seen him act this way with other dogs.  As I mentioned, I ended up putting him on a tether, and either DH or I stayed right with him to prevent any more of his "nonsense", but again I wonder if there was something different that I could have done.  Lastly, the frantic barking at the horse....I had no clue how to stop that since it was almost impossible to get him to a place in the yard where he wouldn't have a view of the horse.

I'm sure everyone there was talking about the "bratty Doodles" after we left.  So much for my normally well-behaved boys.  They certainly did NOT represent the Doodle breeds very well yesterday, and Mom was very embarrassed. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think that if you squelch the growling, it's okay that Murphy doesn't want the other dogs near you. My perfect guy can't stand to see me giving affection to other dogs. Fortunately, the method he uses to discourage this is very friendly, in an obnoxious way...he shoves his big self in between me and any other dog and starts washing my face as if he hasn't seen me in a month! Same motivation as Murph, but sloppy kisses are slightly more socially acceptable than growling!
I wonder if Guinness didn't just feel a little overwhelmed by the size of the space and the other animals present. He may have just been feeling very vulnerable and like he had no control of the situation, and his behavior might have been a response to that feeling. I can identify with that!
I think your responses were just fine under the circumstances. Also, the boys may both have been feeling a little insecure, since you've only been back from your trip a few days, right? I'll bet the next time you visit your DD's in-laws, it will go more smoothly.

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

New enviorment, big spaces, unfamiliar animals and smells around MY mommy. All this would make any loving doodle protective and guarded. Sounds like you did just the right thing to keep everyone safe. The barking probably didn't bother others as much as you.
My Murphy did that consistant barking with a cow once. Took him over to it and let him smell and "talk" to it. (at a safe distance) He eventually got too busy with smelling to bark and the cow just tolerated him by ignoring him.

Sounds like they acted like perfectly normal dogs given the circumstance.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

New enviorment, big spaces, unfamiliar animals and smells around MY mommy. All this would make any loving doodle protective and guarded.

I agree.
And if this is not a daily occurrence, and it's not, not to worry.

We take our dogs to family picnics just because..... it is different each time even when it is the same house they were the week before. We are just grateful the families allow us to bring them but most times they do very well. Give it another try

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Thanks Karen & Sue...I feel better now. Maybe it was all just a little too much for them, especially after we had been away for a few days. My guys are usually so good....this just wasn't like them at all. It does point out the need for lots and lots of very diverse socialization.

[Amanda and Quinn]

It's the worst when they're badly behaved in front of people! I agree that it sounds totally normal given the circumstances, though. And was it hot outside, by any chance? I made the mistake of taking Quinn to the dog park in the afternoon this week (we usually go early in the morning during the summer) and he was a complete crank. I realized after the fact that it was hot and he was just not in the mood.

[Liza, Halle and Finn]

Jane, your doods just went to Doggy Disneyland for the first time, and they were really excited, and all those other dogs have lived there, and its no longer new and exciting to them!! I'm sure that's why they acted the way they did! I feel like my two doods probably would have displayed the same behaviors. Your boys were in a new place, with new sounds, and smells, with a bunch of new 'people'. Kachi, I'm sure would have barked at the horses, because he barks at everything that moves, if he is unsure of what it is! And heaven help me, if he ever sees a chicken! (Oh my gosh, he'll go completely nuts! ) And he is also a very cautious, if not suspicious, kind of guy that really has to take in new situations, and especially new people, for a period of time, before he will be comfortable.

Also, is Guinness your 'alpha' dog at home? Because if he is, when he got to that new place, he may have been trying to quickly let the other dogs know that he wasn't about to be second fiddle to any of them. Since there are NO equals in the dog world, he may have just been trying to assert his dominance. More than likely, unless there was an overly dominant dog within the other 4, the situation would have sorted itself out. We had a similar situation with a dog we baby sat one time, Kachi would growl at him every time the visiting dog walked by him. Our dog trainer told me I erred when I would correct Kachi, because Kachi was letting the new dog know that he was the dominant dog, and that's how it works in the dog world! Probably, if you go again, Guinness will be fine around the other dogs.

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

Diverse socialization is the key! I feel these dogs do so well when around people as they love everyone. We take Murphy anywhere we can, and we travel a lot with him. He just went to a furniture consignment shop with me to pick out an end table and then to the Pet Club to get his Booda Bones. BTW, 5 pack of the Biggest Booda Bones are only 4.99 there. Can't get them on line anywhere for that price!
Anyway, everywhere he goes people come up to him and ask to pet him, so he gets lots of socialization.

Two pit bulls barked like mad at him at the Pet Club today and he just stood there like " You talking to ME?" He's been in these situations before and we have trained him to "leave it" or sit and be calm,or removed him and rewarded for good behavior.
I think just getting in and out of the car in strange parking lots with strange surroundings and smells, along with following commands like stay and sit and wait are so helpful when we practice in all these diverse settings. At 19 months I feel I can take him anywhere and let him 1. Be a dog, and 2. use the situation as a training session.

[F, Calla & Luca]

My dogs barked at the horses I took them to visit a couple of times. They seemed overwhelmed by those giant animals. I'm think if they saw them often the situation might change.