At my wit's end!

[Amy Galvin]

In reading this forum, I so wish my doodle experience was as wonderful as most of yours, but it isn't.  After reading the interview with Karen, I'm wondering if a doodle just isn't a fit for me.  We have two issues:  biting and housetraining. 

 

Clara doesn't just puppy nip.  She snarls and bites at me when she gets angry and she definitely wants to be the diva of the house.  We attended a private training session in which she was a perfect angel the whole time.  HA!  I have continued to work with her, but everyday she breaks through my skin at least once!  I'm keeping Band-Aid in business.  My arms look like I've been in a fight.  My son is terrified of her.  He does all the right things - he doesn't use his hands or run etc, but she always tries to nibble on his ears or ankles.  I know puppies chew and nibble, but our last dog (a basset hound) was never like this.  There have been a couple occasions where she actually scared me and I kept thinking what am I going to do when she's 50lbs??  Is she going to knock me down and kill me! 

 

Have any of you had any trouble housetraining your Labradoodle?  Clara is 15 wks old.  We have no problems in the morning.  I come home at lunch to let her out of her crate and it's always dry.  In the evening, it's accident after accident.   For example, tonight I took her out at 7, within the next hour, she peed 3 more times by 8:15.  I'm so tired of cleaning!  She hasn't learned how to tell us she needs to go.  But I'm wondering if some of her accidents is her being mad.  When she gets nippy, we put her in timeout in the kitchen.  The accidents thankfully always happen in the kitchen. 

Thanks for listening, if someone can give me advice, I'd welcome it!   Did I get a doodle who inherited the bad traits of both breeds?? 

 

[Adrianne Matzkin]

I follow Dr. Sophia Yin on FB. She has wonderful ways to work with dogs. I get emails all the time with tips and info that I find invaluable.

This is her the link to her website. It can't hurt to check it out. 

http://drsophiayin.com/

[Adrianne Matzkin]

Perfect chapter to read - Dominance vs Unruly Behavior

http://drsophiayin.com/lsh/online/abridged/chapter2.php

[Amy Galvin]

Thanks to everyone for the responses, i appreciate them so much. I know its going to take time. Ive already tried a couple suggestions. Its nice to have this forum.

[Linda And Loo]

Amy, the first year is the hardest but with each passing week it will get better! I could not let Loo off lease because she would take off and visit all our neighbors' yards before she would come home! Usually one of the neighbors would catch or corral her before I could get her to stop! She would have to stay in the screened in porch while we were outside working or if the grandkids were over and playing out back! It took a lot of work with the long lead before she realized the boundaries of our yard! Then just a couple months ago, around 14 months, everything started clicking for her. She still pushes limits but when she runs to the edge of the yard and I say no, stay, she stops. Now, if I could keep both dogs from running thru the flowers beds when they chasing each other it would be great! I do have hope! With every dog I have had there has been some moment when I've asked myself what I have gotten myself into? Hang in there. It will get better!

[Marcia & MoneyPenny]

Penny went thru this also. Always have alternatives available, for us it's bully sticks & a Himalayan chew. And when we got a behavior that was not acceptable, we turn away & absolutely NO eye contact. This withdrawal of attention really works. At first it may take a few minutes for him to catch on but it won't take long for him to react quickly to this.
Good luck & hang in there. It will be worth it. Puppies are very hard as we are recalling after 25 years since our last puppy.

[Cathy, Fozzie & Shaggy]

I'm just now seeing your post and hope you have had some successes with Clara and the suggestions you have been given.

I wish you the best of luck and want to pass on a book I love and find very helpful even though my boys are older.  It is:

PUPPY PROBLEMS? NO PROBLEM! A Survival Guide for Finding & Training Your New Dog.  Includes DVD  by Brenda Aloff      http://www.brendaaloff.com/books.html

This book goes beyond any of the other puppy books out there and brings you Brenda's 20 years of experience working with problem dogs as a professional pet behavior consultant. This gives Brenda a unique view of what owners should have done to prevent problems from occurring in the first place. She says, "Many of the sad situations that occur do not have to be. Education on the person's part combined with humane and effective technique can make dog ownership the joy you imagined it would be!" Training your dog should be a shared and fun experience that enhances the relationship you have with your dog. This book will lead you through each "problem" and in an easy to understand step-by-step program will show you how to make big differences in your dog's behavior.

This book comes with a DVD that shows you exactly how to carry out the protocols in this book. Take a look at the Table of Contents. It is filled with all of those common, but irritating issues that come up in daily life with a new puppy or dog and solutions for each one.