We NEED help & advice on bad behaviors!!!

[Michelle]

   Hi all! Let me start by saying we have spoken to our vet & started seeing a trainer once every 2 weeks for 1 hour personal time, our 3rd visit is next week, but I am putting in a call to her tomorrow, because of what happened today(which I will eventually get to!)

   I apologize for being so wordy, but I want anyone giving their advice to know & understand our situation. We have 2, 10 1/2 month old, male, neutered, 50 lb, medium sized, black, cross-back labradoodle brothers from the same litter which we LOVE and care for more than words can say. We met them at 5 weeks old & took them home at 8 weeks. They haven't had any medical issues besides 2 bouts of diarrhea, but they are in complete health & eat Natural Balance Chicken & Sweet Potato. They were crate trained and when they were 12 weeks old we brought them everywhere for puppy classes & socialization and we also had a lot of company in our home & they always behaved fine. Well...

  This spring we noticed at my 10 year old son's soccer games/practices that the dogs started getting hyper & anxious everytime a small child would run by, pulling on their leash, jumping & going crazy trying to get to the kids. I went from a regular collar to a harness which didn't help. Then, if we had company in our 1/2 acre fenced in yard, the dogs would run after the children & jump on them & nip & try to play very rough with them which can be really scary for the children! Which is what happened again today, but actually left teeth marks & bruising! This was after coming back from a long walk! The dogs were loose in the yard, but leashed so when the children got out of the pool, we were going to grab & hold the leashes, but 1 of the children got out un-noticed & they were so quick & went after her. They will also bark 1 shrill, surprise bark at adults to try & be intimidating. A worker at Petco asked if we adopted them assuming they were previously abused! We don't believe in hitting animals and I never wanted to use shock collars(which alot of people recently advised). We started uses the prong collars recently which has helped 1 of them learn to walk nicely on leash, but didn't even slightly hinder them when they see kids running! The trainer said they will eventually get tired of pulling & jumping w/the prong collars on, but they didn't!! Our trainer advised us not to let them on the couch or bed anymore, no more jumping up for hugs, no more greeting them or giving them positive attention when they are jumping, hyper or anxious. She told us to try a squirt of water & lemon juice in their mouth when they jump, I swear the dogs laughed at me when we tried that one! We switched to white vinegar which was working for 2 weeks, but didn't phase them around kids!  Which we have been following strictly for the past 3 weeks. She said tire them out before company comes..we did. I groom them myself so they've never been to the groomer & they flipped out when we left them for the 1st time at the vet when they were fixed in June. The trainer says their separation anxiety is bad when they are away from each other, me or my kids, so we should walk them seperately. We have had kids & strangers give them treats when they sit & behave.

   So, can anyone please tell me what the heck we've done wrong??? And is there anything that I am missing?? Giving one of them up is NOT an option!! I don't want to crate them when we have company. I want them to behave around all people, all the time and be able to bring them to outings w/us!! What do I do???? Please help!!

 

  

[Michelle]

Maryann,
What a wonder feeling you must have had with such a successful walk by the children at the busstop!! Congrats!!! I was hysterical when I was reading about Roo's tuche! He sounds like my little guy Duncan, when he is really excited he wags his tail his whole lower half wiggles too!!

Thank you so much for all of your detailed advice!! I have already found myself reading & re-reading so it all sinks in!! Lol I am so happy these posts will be here for me to look back at again & again like a reference guide! It was so kind of you to give me so much of your time & help!

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

I can share a little of what we did when our Murphy started reacting to children. It started about 10 months old too. And like you have done, he was VERY well socialized so I wasn't expecting any problems. He began with showing fear of children in strollers. Or maybe it was the monster stroller that he was afraid of, but he started by growling when he'd first see it, then hide behind me and as it approached he;d lunge for it and bark. I started correction with that immediatly and deliberatly so he knew without a doubt that he was NOT to do that. I pulled him back, turned his sight from view of the child, put him in a sit, demanded "leave it"! He remained there until they were out of view. This went on for months, until my son visited with our 5 month old grandson and we walked Murphy with their stroller. ( Couldn't borrow any kids to practice on, but knew my son would work with me on this and ofcourse protect his son above all else, plus, I don't think he would've sued me over a scratch if Murphy even made it that far.)
It did take work, and lots of praise when he did well, and soon we got over the stroller.

Then it was little girls in pink.....WHY girls and WHY pink? Who knows. But that was tough, since I only have a grandson. ( My son was NOT going to dress his son in pink, so I didn't even ask!) So we started all over again as we did with the stroller. Firm, immediate, constant and not giving in to any misbehavior. But rewards when he was calm or could see a stroller go by and not go nuts, and then for seeing one and eventually not noticing at all. I have to say, positive reinforcement and treats works much better for us with all our training. . And the treats were the high value ones, like fresh cooked chicken, or freshly made liver treats that I baked. i pulled out all the stops for that training and for "COME" as I felt not attacking or scaring little children and coming when called are life saving trainings. On the positive side, he is now 20 months old and just tolerates kids or ignores them. So hang in there. Good luck

[Michelle]

Good treats & basic commands!!! You are a wise woman!! And I think that is why we were having problems, because the treats were just average & they have been testing us & ignoring us w/their basic commands! We were too laid back w/them & got used to repeating ourselves because they weren't listening the 1st time! They are actually a bit confused since we've been getting strict over the last 3 weeks! Thank you for sharing your experiences, it is helping me to see the light at the end of the tunnel!

[Michelle]

Thank you Jenel! I can't wait til puberty is OVER!! Lots of work with stubborn boys, but I am up for the challenge! (now!)

[Michelle]

Just a quick update: my trainer is coming out to do a home visit next week. In the meantime we are working with the boys together & separately with basic manners & commands. Their separation anxiety has also seemed to get better since we've been doing this. I will continue to update!! Thank you all!!!

[Lisa {Zoe's Mom]]

Always remember you are the pack leader, the alpha dog. Sit outside where you ar near the kids or passer by's and put the dogs in down position and tell them to stay. Put your foot on their leash just enough so that they can move their head but can't get up. When you see someone nearing you, give the hand signal to stay in front of their face while telling them to stay. Then reinforce with the leave it comand. Sounds kooky, but it works for Zoe.

OR

As someone is nearing you, have delicious treats that are better than the normal, maybe( a smidge of peanut butter on them or cheese [I have a friend who swears by a bit of cheese whiz on the finger tip]) AND either call them by name, say ready, or watch me and when they look treat them. They will be focused on you, which is what they should do and will give them the idea they are doing something.

Sometimes a dog does these things because they are a dog and they need a "job"...Try training them during this and get them to focus on you!

Good luck, hope these ideas are as helpful to you as they are to me.

[Michelle]

Thank you! I will definately try these techniques as well! I appreciate it so much!!