Doddle Bad Behavior Help wanted!!

[CElizabeth Stevenson]

ANYbody who could comment on this would be greatly appreciated....

I'm having behavior problems with my 7 month old Doodle.  I am SO good

to her that I don't understand it.  I've taken her to "Doggie Class", I take

her to Daycare once a week so she can play with other dogs....at home

she just thinks everything is "Hers" and runs away with it whether it

be kleenex, envelopes, toilet paper, cd's....YOU NAME IT!!!  The "leave

it" command HAS helped, when she decides "ok, I'd better fork it over",

but it's driving me nuts.  Plus she's "bitey" to my husband and I and we've

tried the big "Ouch"- no luck, we've tried holding her mouth shut and she

quits for a time...and then the mood passes.  It seems like she's hyper

to me!

Any suggestions out there???

Thanks

Cady's Mom

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Hey mom, you ARE a good mom. Cody is only 7 months old, still very much a puppy. This is normal well adjusted puppy behavior. Almost all puppies love to "steal" and run with things. Its a game. Expect the stealing thing to gone on for quite awhile and resurface from time to time. The trading for a cookie works for me too. Tigger is 22 months and I only occasionally have to resort to the cookie, mostly he will give it back. I spent a year listening to my mother- in -law tell me that I was bribing Tigger to give it back. She raised seven children to be wonderful adults, but never raised a puppy in her life. Dogs cannot understand the concept of bribery, what a dog gets from the cookie trade is "Mom won't chase me - oh look cookies!! Eventually the drop comes without the cookie. By the way Tigger still loves to steal things, it goes in spurts. Roo who is 31 months rarely, rarely steals things and when he does he either brings it straight to me or if he is feeling especially frisky he hands it off to Tigger!

Mouthing is another word for "biting" and it sounds so much better. Sure, some puppies never mouth, puppies are different, just like children. Doodles come from two dogs that have a strong instinct to hold things in their mouth. Poodles, labs, and goldens are all retreivers that have soft mouths and are often mouthy for quite awhile also. Their intent is benign, sort of like a two year old testing everything by putting it in his mouth. Mouthing is not usually dominant behavior, just instinct with these dogs. Just be careful not to reinforce it inadvertently. Roo my older doodle was so mouthy that I taught him to "get bone" which is a zogoflex bone. I made it very valuable by playing fetch everyday with it outside and praising him lavishly when he carried it in his mouth. At two and half he has outgrown the mouthiness, but he still "gets bone" and carries it with him when he gets excited. It has become sort of a pacifier for him.

Enjoy Cody's puppy spirits, they usually peak around 18 months -give or take a few months - and then you will have a great friend, who will steal only very occasionally. Remember you are raising a friend and family member, not a "perfect dog" whatever that is.

[CElizabeth Stevenson]

Oh thanks so much for your input! Yes, it's been 14 years since I raised a puppy- the age of our English
Setter now. I had forgotten and this one is especially spirited, but loveable. Sounds like you have a
lot of experience and thanks again for the reinforcement!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

The "cookie" trick above is what we learned in training as "drop it". Used when the "leave it" failed or the opportunity for "leave it" didn't present itself. You give them the "drop it" command, followed by the treat when they do.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I was thinking about your post last night. The comment about your Doodle being "bitey" got me thinking. I reference a book often with my puppies called "Mother Knows Best - The Natural Way To Train Your Dog". I like the author's approach, especially for puppies, because it's based completely on how the Mother trains her litter of pups. It has helped me often with Guinness and Murphy. So, I looked up what she had to say about the "nipping", and here's a summary. Again, everyone has their own ideas about training, and none are totally "right or wrong". This is one trainer's view, but it does make sense to me. I hope it is helpful...

-"The first limit to be set has to do with nipping. Yes, it is perfectly natural for a puppy to put his teeth on everything he can reach and yes, you can and will set limits about what he can and cannot gnaw upon. First of all, he can't gnaw on you. It's easiest and best to be rigid here. If a dog has not been taught to keep his teeth off you, he can escalate gentle mouthing into a painful bite in no time."
-"When your puppy nips, tell him NO. If he nips again, tell him NO again, stopping him physically with your hands. This means you can hold him off by his collar. Do not hold his mouth shut. This frustrates him so much that he loses the connection between the nip and the correction in his struggle to get out of your grasp. If he keeps at it, grab his collar and gently shake him the way his mother would have if he took untoward liberties with her."
-After that, if he continues, put him in his crate to cool off.

Clearly this was written for puppy training, and your dog is now seven months...I still think most of it is appropriate though. This is the approach I've used, although I never resorted to the "shaking". I don't believe it it, and I really didn't have to with Guinness. Murphy still does nip on occasion, but he's only a little over four months. He "mouthed" all the time at the beginning, and now it's pretty rare, but this is the method I use every time. I've also found I need to be calm when I tell him "NO". If I'm overly excited myself, he feeds on that, and the negative behavior escalates.

[CElizabeth Stevenson]

Thanks so much... it all makes sense to me and the bitey thing has gotten less. She has adult
teeth now so it hurts more. I agree, I wouldn't shake. She hasn't liked her crate for about 2 months.
The only dog I've ever had that doesn't care about comfort. She likes to sleep on the hard floor!
But here's my question- Do you think I should use the crate as a "naughty place"? A "time out"
place? I think she would get the idea that she'll go in there if she doesn't behave. Hmmmm.
Right now the crates are in the garage in storage but I could always bring one in...

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Here's what the same book has to say about the crate, and I agree. It's worked for me.

Confining your dog to his crate is effective. It will not make him hate his den. Dogs have a sense of fairness. If your correction is clear, your dog will accept it with equanimity. If you are clear about what you don't like - nipping for example - your correction will be understood as follows: "Look Buddy, I've asked you several times not to exercise your teeth on my hands. If you won't stop, I won't play with you for a while. Go sit in your den and think it over!" Of course you don't want to isolate the puppy for two long. Healthy, loved puppies are very forgiving creatures. Correct fairly and your puppy will both learn and continue to adore you. He will not hate you for exercising your right to teach and lead. You are going to use the crate not only as den and bedroom, but as your chief tool for prevention of dog problems and one of your chief methods of correction.

My trainer explains it this way. When you have a toddler who is misbehaving or having a tantrum you tell them to stop. You then give them a chance to correct on their own. If they don't, you give them a "time out" so they can calm down and understand that you are not going to play their game, and this particular behavior is not going to be allowed. Often that spot is in their room. They don't end up hating their room. She's certainly not saying puppies are the same as toddlers (although I sometimes think they really are), just that some of the same "leadership" principles work for both.

I hope this answers your question.

[CElizabeth Stevenson]

Thank you for your input!

[Debbie and Thomas]

She will grow out of this...but you have to be firm. Tell her "no teeth" and if she doesn't listen, then tether her to a spot where she can see you and your husband but not reach you when she is nippy. As far as "leave it" that takes so much repitition that all you can do is treat her, take it away and hope the next time she will listen. You know what they say..."practice makes perfect"...wel we had to practice a lot. She is just a baby now but she will get it eventually.

[CElizabeth Stevenson]

Thank you so much for the hope! And I like your suggestion on the teeth so we will
try it.

[Adina P]

In addition to other suggestions. Remember that a huge part of what will make your dog a good citizen of your home is obedience training. I know you've been to "Doggy Class" but one class typically does not a trained dog make.

Can you tell her to sit-stay when he starts to nip and have her reliably do it? Will she come when called always at home?
If not, then I think a big missing piece in this puzzle is FINISHING her training. Doods are smart and they learn what words mean in a jiffy...but teaching is the first 10% of training. The other 90% is taking those 'tricks' into real life and making her response reliable and trustworthy and working her lots on what she knows around tough distractions. I think if you work to get her to high reliability then she'll very likely lose the bad habits AND will be reliable and trustworthy when you ask things of her.

[CElizabeth Stevenson]

She comes most of the time. And that was only her FIRST class of 8 lessons. Right now we're between
classes for the Second set cause of her surgery. Then ultimately she will have her Therapy Dog classes....
I will try to keep the faith...
Thank You

[sbis0oszc95r]

as for the stealing of things, our puppy did the same thing until we found a sprayer that we filled with water.....we'd say, "leave it" and if he didn't, he'd get a spray of water on his back that he didn't like, but he would drop whatever he had and then we'd praise him and he'd get a treat....no getting up or chasing involved. He learned quickly.