dog bit my 5yr old, 9yr old and me

[Michele Glass]

I am a f1b mini labradoodle owner. I live on an acre, and we've had our boy, Cody, for 2 yrs. He's been obedience trained and he's a very loving, fun, energetic, and smart dog. He has developed some
issues and he's started to become passive aggressive as the trainer
states. I have 3 gentle children who love Cody, but all 3 have been
subject to his aggression. I have also been a target and the trainer we
have been working with for 2 weeks is stumped because he's getting
worse not better.  The trainer says he's definitely fixable, but it will take time
and consistency which I'm willing to do, but .... I'm not willing to
risk my kids getting hurt.

Cody is just over 2 yrs old. He's white, 35 lbs., neutered, very well cared for and loved. He has learned agility in 4H, he's earned the CGC award
and he is obedience trained. He has a crate, that is his den, he loves
it. He is housebroken and very well mannered. He sits to be petted, he
stands at the door to be let outside when he needs to go potty. He
loves walks and heels nicely, he loves jogging and running along side
of me while I ride my bike. He loves the water and playing fetch. He
sits pretty when it's grooming time and he's got a beautiful woolly
coat. He's is an awesome dog, w/ issues towards guarding random things.
We never know what that item might be that turns on his aggression
which has makes it very hard for us to train him. We have never abused
him or mistreated him, we love him very much!!!

[Michele Glass]

Thanks, the support has been wonderful from everyone on here. It has been very traumatic, emotions are running high right now. We worked very hard with Cody, training him daily for his first year with him. We used treats and praise, how 4H teaches. My daughter actually did most of the training for the CGC test. We started watching The Dog Whisperer last year and practicing some of his techniques, which was really stupid, because that is one thing he has always done is guard certain things. Cody is very smart and food motivated. It is so easy to train him, it's just amazing how smart he is.

I think Ceasar Milan and the ways he teaches is so wrong now, I've always felt it in my gut, but now I know why. I think we certainly did ruin alot of the trust we had built up and this trainer we had just made it happen alot quicker.

Thanks so much for the compliments, made me feel much better. I can't believe how much this helps to talk about it with people who understand.

Our family has been praying about this for a while now, and I believe this is prayer being answered.

:)

[Lynne B]

We have a very reactive Australian Shepherd, When she was younger, my husband started watching Cesar Milan and tried some of his 'techniques' on her..what a mess. Instead of her just barking at the UPS truck as she did before, she would try to attack the driver when he came to the door. All that crap just gave an insecure dog validation for her fears. She's better now, but it took a long time to undo all of that, and my husband is now convinced that +R training (positive reinforcement) is the only thing that works in the long run

[shelly]

Lynne... Tori is half australian shepherd and she reacts in the way you described. My husband wants to use a bark collar on her, but I don't want to discourage ALL barking. I like that she barks as a protective instinct. But she can NOT be around if a delivery, mail, or unannounced visitor comes. She gets frantic!! NOTHING can deter her attention away. We have the fortunate that my in-laws live in an apartment in our house and we can remove her when we anticipate an arrival, and then she goes CRAZY sniffing all around where that person stepped. What did you do to stop that??? You can contact me privately if you'd like. I was actually thinking of posting this in forum.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

That's is why doodle kisses is so great - it has helped so many of us. I am so happy you feel better about the situation. I was looking at new DK photos and ran across quite a few of your Cody on vacations with the family, etc....he looks like a great dog. It will get better!

[Sandra Griffith]

It sounds as though you have found the right trainer.for you. Cody is fortunate to have someone that has taken the time, done her homework, and reevaluated the situation when he is telling you that what you're doing isn't working. So many do not listen to what their dogs are trying to tell them. It sounds as though you have worked so hard right from the moment that he entered your family and are continuing to do so. Bravo!

[Ann Kendig]

Hi Michele, I was sorry to read you are having this problem with Cody. I see you have received lots of good ideas and support! I have never had a dog that has bitten anyone so I can't really offer much guidance. My labradoodle Duke sometimes "air bites" but it is when he is happy. We are starting obedience classes and the trainer will be watching for this behavior. I hope all goes well for you. Keep us informed.

[Ginny Nightingale]

What great advice and support this site gives you when you have an issue. I wish I had had something like this when I had my Wheaten terrier. He had a lot of the same behaviors. I didn't even know what positive reinforcement training was, although I did use some of the techniques such as trading quite by accident. We struggled with him for 11 1/2 years, watching everything we did and putting him in his crate whenever anyone but family was present. We could not trust him and when he did go after someone, he always went for the face! He was usually fine with me, but if food was involved, I couldn't always trust him either.
My son ended up with 8 stitches in his face at the age of 5 when the dog was just 1 year old and I should have done something major then--but I didn't. There were other small incidents for years, but my watchful eye always prevented catastrophes. But, 11 years later, he was not in his crate when my sister-in-law came into a room and he got her, in the face of course. She had many, many stitches and could have lost her eye. It was a nightmare and I felt so bad for letting the dog near her. (I was in another room and was on my way to put him away. My sister-in-law knew he was dangerous, though and should have waited for me to remove him.) I had to put the dog down due to tremendous pressure from my family and other reasons--my sister-in-law was going to collect from my insurance company and we would have lost our insurance if we still had the dog.
Here is my point--do not delay. Do what you can to re-train the dog. I agree that there are better ways to approach this. BUT, do not give it too long. This is causing a great deal of stress in your family-I didn't realize how much until the dog was gone and I could stop watching him and worrying about him. Like you said, you can't be everywhere--but goodness knows, you are trying.
Today I have two doodles that wouldn't hurt a fly. I took them both to tons of classes and I learned more than they did! The are both certified therapy dogs and have given us much joy. My son is now 18 and finally learned to play and wrestle with a dog without worry. That was the main reason I got another dog--I wanted my son to know that dogs could be trusted.
I am not suggesting that you put Cody down--my situation was more extreme--but he may need a home without children and with a strong leader. Just my opinion, though and i wish you all the luck in the world with a very upsetting situation.

[Michele Glass]

Thank You, everyone for all your wonderful supportive comments. I think you just saved Cody's home. I was ready to find him a rescue and unload him. I have been so frustrated and stressed and pressured by my family to get rid of him. I have been on this site everyday and I think this has been an answer to my prayer. We have not had any more incidents since we stopped all the dominance exercises in his training. We have been giving him lots of exercise, practice rewarding his good behavior, and love. We don't leave him alone with the kids and keep him gated in one room right now so we can control things a little better. The kids have to ask before they can pet Cody, and we are right there watching closely. It's really sad that we can't trust him, but I hope in time that will change.

[Julie Mison]

Hi Michele,
Thanks for the update. I've been thinking a lot about you and your family. Have you started with the new trainer? We should keep in touch as we are STILL dealing with Chewie and his issues. It sounds like you have all the right controls in place. Does he go to doggie day care by chance? We do this with Chewie and it helps quite a bit. It's funny...he is like their favorite there...they've NEVER seen the other side of him...in fact, they use him to "test" new doggies as he has such a great temperment and is soooo good with other dogs.

I look forward to hearing your updates...keep up the great work...I know it is not easy.

[Sandra Griffith]

Thank you for the update. Please let us know how things are progressing and what you are doing that is working. It's always helpful to hear what works for each dog.

[shelly]

Hi Michele! Glad to hear things are getting better. I'm still working with Tori... something I do when she steals items is very calmly talk to her... don't get my hands too close to the coveted item she stole and she now has allowed me to rub, or scratch the top of her head behind her ears... this seems to calm her. I leave her be with the object. She no longer chews it and later come back with a treat leave it there and walk away... she now will take the treat from my hand. Some times she even releases the item before i leave the treat. I still won't snatch the object away, but she's better about not snarling so much. Guess she's testing me too. Hang in there!

[Kristine and Charlie]

Hi Michelle - Not sure how I came across this year old post but after reading all 4 pages I'm dying to know how Cody is doing one year later....please give us an update!