territorial doodle

[Jaime Garfield]

Hi I am new to doodle kisses...my golden doodle was 2 yrs in January, he has been professionally trained since we got him around 9 weeks old. He's super sweet with me & my 12 year old. My high schooler & my husband good too, although will growl at them occasionally. My main issue... kids that are neighborhood kids come into house, Bailey is fine. But kids maybe from school or kids that come hang out in house or kids that sleep over-FORGET IT-he growls, he barks, he nudges them in the butt with his nose, its awful!! and nightmarish! He's a guard dog, wicked protective (something I thought golden doodles were not). Trainer suggested rewarding him with treats to distract this behavior-which I do not agree with (why positively reward him with negative behaviors?) thus I feel I have created this outcome. He stays on his leash which I hold when others are here, it really is no fun at all. I really don't like when he barks and growls at other kids. And lastly, my friend came over while trainer was at my house, my dog dislikes her, even at the end of the 90 minute session nothing changed, he continued growling and barking at her...

HELP-- I am loosing patience daily with my dog whom I love very much, but I wish this 1 behavior can change.  I am willing to try ANY thing to help my dog. Thanks in advance

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I am sure Jane will respond to you as she is my training hero from working with an extremely reactive dog..  It might be better to close the discussion here and  post it in the training group.  http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/trainingmindsets

[Jaime Garfield]

Jane --where are you? Bailey and I need you...

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Jaime...I responded below.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

First of all, I also have a very reactive dog, and we have to manage his behaviors every day, so you have my sympathy.  We have to literally "manage his world" to avoid reactions, but for the most part this has been successful.  One thing that was important with my Murphy is not to leash him when there are "triggers" in the house.  The leash seems to make him even more reactive.  I use gates.  Here's a typical example of this weekend when my son had a friend over for the afternoon....we knew what time he would get here so we had Murphy gated in our room for the "arrival"....he could see the friend arrive and he did bark.  I went into the room and put him in a "down/stay" and as soon as he calmed down he got a treat.  He stayed there sleeping in our room for awhile.  We then took him out for a walk (with the friend in my son's room with the door closed while we came and went).  That tired him out and he went back into our room and was gated for the rest of the visit.  So this is our plan when there are people over and I'm really unsure about whether or not to trust Murphy.  When it's someone I am more confident about like my son-in-law or pretty much any woman (he's less likely to be reactive to women), I still gate him in our room for the arrival.  We go through the "down/stay...treat" exercise and when he's calm I let him out of the room.  I get ahead of him and go to the visitor...claim the person (like with a hug)...and then let him greet.  At the first sign of any vocalization he goes back into our room...we wait and then try again.  It's so important that the visitor not acknowledge the dog and that any touching is done with you taking the lead...definitely not the visitor.  Keep cookies in your pocket and reward calmness.  Try your very best not to show nervousness and no raising of your voice....that makes it worse from my experience.  If there are workmen in our home, we send Murph to Daycare or he stays in our room.  I never fully trust him with male strangers.  IMO the worst thing that can happen is that he gets a chance to "practice" this behavior.  You mention that he kept growling and barking at your friend....I would not allow that.....I really feel he should be removed from that situation.  Always remember YOU are in control...not him.  Get yourself a good, high baby gate....I couldn't manage Murphy without mine.  I hope this helps.  Please keep us posted.  I'm going to send you a friend request so you can share any questions with me if you'd like.  Good luck!

[Adina P]

^Jane has worked HARD in training.  An opinion worth trusting :-)

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Thanks Adina!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

You are my hero, Jane.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Aww....thanks!

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

If you don't mind my asking Jane, when did you first start noticing his "reactive" behavior? What things did he do as a puppy that tipped you off to his reactiveness?

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

He was very pushy as a puppy.  On his first Vet visit he bit me (not a puppy nip).  My Vet pointed out at that time that I would need a very good trainer and I should start working with him right away.  As time went on he started manifesting other behaviors....trying to guard me....reacting to other dogs, joggers, bikers on leash....reacting to dogs or even people passing by the house.  We worked with a trainer for months before I was able to trust him with the grandkids.  We also worked with a Vet Behaviorist and used anti-anxiety meds for awhile during the most intense phase of his training.

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Thank you so much for responding! I'm trying so hard to stay on top of the training game. Your dedication is so inspiring :) there aren't many good trainers in my area so I have been basically On DK trying to get any advice I can because I'll probably be doing the majority of training myself!!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Good for you for being so focused on training!  I can recommend the Doggy Dan online training program.  I subscribed to it for awhile and there was some great information.