Neutered and more obnoxious

[Angela Maynard]

We just had Charley (21 weeks) neutered this past Friday.  He was fine as soon as I picked him up from the vets that afternoon and he acts like nothing has happened.  Since the surgery he seems much more obnoxious now.  He has always been a pretty hyper puppy so keeping him calm is extremely hard. Now though he is much more nippy, jumpy, and barky.  Before the surgery we had pretty much gotten him out of the nipping and mouthing and he would only do it every now and again to my middle son.  Since Sunday it has gotten so bad.  He's doing it again to all of us.  And now he has taken a liking to getting in the kitchen trash can and putting his paws up on the kitchen table and sniffing.  Last night he jumped up on my son's bed and I went to get him off and he snapped at me.  I couldn't believe it!  This morning the whole way coming down the steps he was nipping at the back of my legs the whole way down. 

We went from a pretty well-behaved puppy to a monster in 2 days!  Agghhh!!! 

Has this happened to any of you?  He's not getting his good walks right now because of the incision and the vet told me to keep him less active for a week, so I'm hoping that is a contributing factor into this craziness! 

Where did my sweet Charley go???  :)

[Ginny Nightingale]

I totally agree with your last statement--he is not getting his exercise and that is something this dog obviously needs---also it takes a while for testosterone to leave his system, so don't expect the neutering to cause a change in such a short time. He will settle down again once you can get him out and running--in the meantime, keep up the training--it generally takes two years to get a puppy to consistently be an adult dog with good behaviors! All pups can have regression now and then too!

[Marnie, Stanlee's Mom]

Sweet Charley has hit a rebelious stage.  Stanlee started doing the same thing about 2 weeks ago (he was 21 weeks at the time) and it has S-L-O-W-L-Y gotten better.  He was neutered yesterday so time will tell if it starts getting worse instead of better.  As we're in the same boat, feel free to vent at me instead of the dog.....

[Angela Maynard]

Thanks for the offer to vent to you.  I'll take you up on it :)  Feel free to do the same.  You have some great pictures of your doodle.  Charley is so hard to get a good picture of his face becuase he is so dark.  It's probably about time for me to invest in a better camera anyway!

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

This is what I was about to say. Peri turned a little nutso around 5-6 months (right after her spay).  You need to exercise him much more AND be diligent with discipline and enroll in formal obedience asap. 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Some of it may be related to the lack of exercise, but this is the age when my Doodles really started to challenge things and it's when I started some really serious training.  All of these behaviors that you describe can be handled through training.  I would want to nip the "snapping" in the bud before that gets any more serious.  Have you started a training program yet?  Please consider joining the training group....lots of helpful training discussions there.

[Angela Maynard]

Thanks Jane.  I'm starting a training program next week, officially. 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

That's awesome, Angela.....it made such a big difference for my Doods. 

[Bonnie and Kona]

As much as it seems that Charley has been transformed by his surgery, that is not the issue. He has hit the dreaded teenage period for puppies. It is time to buckle down with training and add as much exercise into his day as possible. When you have had enough of his schenanigans, crate him. I found that Owen would act his very worst when he needed a nap but he would not rest on his own. Obviously if Charley is crated and doesn't rest, then you can let him out after 10 minutes, but Owen usually needed that break from his chaos! I cannot emphasize the importance of giving Charley lots of exercise. He has tons of energy to expend and if he doesn't do it through exercise he will do it through wacki-doodle naughtiness! We also use dog puzzle toys to make him use his mind constructively. I feed them with the giant kongs that distribute the kibble as they roll it around. It makes them think and slows their eating. Good luck and hang in there, this too will pass. ;o)

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

I think it is just the puppy thing along with not being able to get enough exercise.  My favoite saying is "a tired dog is a good dog" - LOL.  My Oliver was a really good puppy mabye because he had Sasha to pay with.  But when it was just Sasha and I she was a crazy puppy too.  She did not like when I wore skirts or dresses and when I would get ready for work in the morning she would bite my skirs and dresses.  She was very mouthy as well.  I constantly worked on this with her, we went to puppy class etc. and once she was out of that puppy stage she is the most amazing, smart, and well behaved dog ever !!  Oliver really did not go thru the terrible puppy stage, of course he did his puppy things but was never very bitey or mouthy at all.  I guess it was do to having Sasha who was 10 months old when I got Oliver so she did all the correcting which spared me - LOL.  Maybe you should get another puppy :)

[Angela Maynard]

Ha!  My husband would die if I told him we were getting another dog.  We have our hands full with 3 kids and Charley :)

[Shannon and Finn]

Just another thought, is his incision healing well? I could imagine he could be moody if he his having discomfort or pain. Like babies, they often act out when not feeling like themselves.

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

He is still a very young puppy and lack of exercise can make a big difference.  That said dogs will "test the boundaries" as they grow up.  You must keep training, retraining, reenforcing, and exercising for the first three years.  After that he will still need lots of exercise and some continuing reminders.