Clover has HIGH Drive and we have Yorkie's

[Tina, Clover, Plus 5 More]

It's been awhile since I've posted.  Things got a little crazy here.  I posted yesterday in one of the groups and then deleted it.  It just didn't feel right the way I worded it.

Before I continue, I just want to say that Clover is not going anywhere.  When Clover joined our family it was forever.  Sometimes bad things happen, but from experience the good always outways the bad.  We just have a lot of work ahead of us.

Clover joined our family in January at 10 months as a foster.  We fell in love and adopted her in February.  Clover has the sweetest disposition.  Since we are her fourth home I'm pretty sure no one took the time to work with her.  I have experience with rescues so I know there can be issues that show up later. 

Clover has always been very gentle with the Yorkie's.  The first week Clover was here Mae would clean her face through the crate, lick, lick, lick.  After everyone was used to each other Clover had full access to the house.  I even caught Clover, Apollo (lab) and the Yorkies taking a nap on our bed.  I guess I was being to noisy cleaning in the living room.  About 4 weeks ago Clover was trying to play with Mae and got a little rough. Clover was holding her down with her paw, so I redirected Clover.  It just scared Mae no one was hurt.  Things went back to normal, but I paid more attention to everyone's interactions. 

Then about 2 weeks ago when Lexi came home from school she rang the doorbell, which has happened several times before.  But this time Clover got over stimulated, turned around and grabbed Daze by the neck.  Luckily I was just a couple feet away and able to prevent a very horrible outcome.  Daze is fine, she had a small puncture wound on her neck. 

We have a trainer that comes to our house every other week.  So we started including Clover in our training sessions when she first got here.  We have 2 sessions left and have already made great progress.  If anyone's interested I can let you know the steps we are taking.  I have grown up around Labs and Golden's, so I now they can have a high prey drive.  Clover is a goldendoodle and actually the first doodle I had seen.  I just realized how funny that sounded, LOL.

We live on a farm, have a fenced in area for the dogs to play.  Clover and Apollo go out 4-5 times a day, up to an hour at a time playing.  Since the weather is getting nicer we have added off leash walking in the field a couple times a day.  I play fetch with them 10-15 minutes a day.  I thought we were getting enough exercise, but the trainer thinks Clover needs a little more.

Since I am not real familiar with doodles and their development I need some advise.  I read that before the age of two a doodle should not be worked real hard or damage can be done to their bones.  If this is incorrect please let me know.  Our trainer suggested that we started running her 10-15 minutes twice a day.  Before I do this I want to make sure it will not hurt her.  Also, if anyone has any other ideas please let me know.  

[Adrianne Matzkin]

Hi Tina!!

I heard that no dog should be doing jumping or running until a year of age to keep from injuring those developing joints and bones. I never heard to wait until they were 2. I know that agility classes are not open to a dog under 1 so I assume that Clover is okay for running.

I use a Chuck It to play ball with Samantha - it goes much further than my arm could ever throw and she just loves it! She complains that I throw like a girl.

If you haven't tried them, the puzzle dog toys work great if Clover is food motivated. I have the one that looks like a bowling pin. Filled with kibble and a few Zuke treats, she will work at for an hour. After that it is time for a nap.

I noticed that when we have someone come to the house or even if my daughter comes over, Samantha gets so excited and she goes and grabs her 'moo'. She will walk around with it in her mouth until she settles down - I wonder if that is what Clover did with Daze. (I am thrilled that Daze wasn't hurt too bad).

[Tina, Clover, Plus 5 More]

Thanks Adrianne.  I also use the Chuck It otherwise there would be no exercise benefit for the dogs, just me. lol  I have been considering a puzzle toy just not sure which one to get.   I remember reading a couple of post about how some are hard to get apart. 

Our trainer told me it's the prey drive in Clover.  But honestly I think Clover has so much puppy in her and wants to play non stop.  Plus she was never taught how to appropriately interact with small dogs.  We don't allow them to play in the house so we have lots of trips outside.  Clover was allowed to run with other big dogs at her previous home which was a farm.  So I'm sure the dogs she ran with taught her how to kill rodents.  I'm sure she has the prey drive in her.  But I think it's more the case of not knowing what/where it's okay to direct the energy towards.

[Adrianne Matzkin]

fetchdog.com/pet-supplies/dogtoys/interactivedogtoys/canine-genius-...

 

This is the toy we have. Not sure that this site has the best price though.

 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Tina, I don't know if it helps at all, but we also have this same problem with Guinness and Murphy.  Guinness is a mini (22 lbs) and Murph is a Standard (about 55 lbs).  Whenever someone comes to the door Guinness gets very excited which sets Murphy off.  Murph will always "attack" Guinness when he's (Guinness) in this "unbalanced" state.  He usually goes for his legs and will bite (although he has never broken the skin).  All of Murphy's "excitement" is directed toward Guinness.  In theory, my challenge is to redirect both of them....but it's very difficult to handle two excited dogs at the same time.  What I usually do is back Murph away from the door (and Guinness) with my body and put him in a sit stay (he will always obey, thank goodness).  I should be doing the exact same thing with Guinness, but I just can't do it with two at the same time.  Right now my two Doods are struggling for who will be "second in command" in the house.  They recognize that I'm their leader, but they are each trying to "improve" their position in the family hierarchy.  My husband isn't even in the running right now....we're working on that.  I would be really interested in the "steps" you're taking.  I also work with a trainer, and he's told me the perfect solution is for me to not allow them to get to the front door.  I should be leashing them (which gives me the ability to effectively handle both of them at the same time and prevent the escalation).  That works unless I'm upstairs when the doorbell rings....then it's too late.  As for the exercise, I find that Murphy can't seem to get enough...he's 15 mos.  Once they've reached full skeletal growth, I think they can handle just about any amount of "work" we give them.  Good luck....at least you know this is not "unique".

[Tina, Clover, Plus 5 More]

Jane thank you for the support.  Mae is our biggest at 11 pounds, Daze, Willie and Simon all weigh under 6 and Clover is 70-75 pounds now.  When Clover did the grab and almost the shake with Daze it was redirected excitement.  The problem is since then Clover has became very aware and pushy with the Yorkie's.  Our house has become divided by gates, treats between gates to associate good things when everyone is together.  With Clover's harness on, I have one of the small dogs approach and put Clover in a down stay and give treats.  The outcome I'm hoping for is Clover will go into a down stay on her own when the small dogs are around.  Clover has already started to show the behavior.  So it is getting better, but a long road ahead.

For the doorbell here's what I've been working on.  Since we have tile in the entry way I have been working on the tile is off limits.  I put them in a sit on the carpet at the edge of the tile, Lexi is already outside to ring the bell.  When the bell rings I correct them for going onto the tile, place them back into a sit and praise like crazy.  Once they have this step down I will go to Lexi ringing the doorbell while they are just hanging out.  When they go running to the door I'm looking for them to sit at the edge of the tile.  It's much easier doing it one on one, but the more I do the better they get.  I already have them do a sit stay at the door before going in or out, so hopefully this will become automatic for them too.  I will keep you posted on the progress.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

It sure sounds like you've got a good plan in place.  Good luck...

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

First of all I would like to applaud you for not giving up on Clover like apparently many others have.  Clover is adorable and it sounds like you will make a wonderful home for her.  While I can't really help with the prey drive, I can tell you that with our two girls, starting around 15 months they started slowing down with a lot of that puppy energy and it has only gotten better ever since.  They needed so much exercise as puppies, but their need now is pretty minimal.  Not that they won't take every opportunity they are given, but if they don't get the opportunity, they are usually just laying around.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I never heard that it was not okay to do exercise of any reasonable kind after a year. I think running for Clover should be fine. She sounds exuberant but not vicious and she just needs help to redirect her energy. But clearly she could hurt a little dog unintentionally. Keep up the good work with her and hopefully all will turn out well.

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

We asked our vet about the running issue at Luna's first checkup.

 

She said she thinks the benefits of having a healthy, well-exercised dog outweigh the slight wear and tear they might get by running while they are still developing.

 

She did have a few precautions to take though:

- Keep runs short (10-20 mins)

- If the puppy looks tired stop running, they will hurt themselves if they run when tired

 

Clover is just over a year old, so she should be fine, but I think the "stop if the dog is tired" is probably a good idea until she can easily keep up with you for the duration of the run.  Just like people, dogs need to train if they are to run long distances!

 

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Tina...I too have read and been told a year before long walks or running.  Also running up and down stairs and jumping.

[Sally, Ditzy Mitzi & Sgt. Pepper]

I am curious as to how old Clover is.  Mitzi is a goldendoodle and now at 3 plus years old is first beginning to calm down enough to cooperate with training.  She went through training when she was one and it really did little to improve her behavior.  The one thing we have noticed is that she still loves her crate which we had removed for over a year.  As we recently, one month ago, added another dog to our family, we brought her crate back and set it up again.  She goes into it for security, especially when someone comes to the door, we tell her to go to her room and she does and stays quietly in the crate even with the door open.

We had been told it takes goldens between three and five years to mature to a calmer behavior.  I didn't believe it at first, but now I do.

[Tina, Clover, Plus 5 More]

Clover just turned 1 and has been easy to train.  My DH allowed Clover and Apollo to play in the house once when I was gone, now it's all they want to do.  Before this both were mellow in the house and crazy outside.  It's been hard breaking the habit of playing in the house, but I keep trying.  Clover loves her crate too and prefers to sleep there at night even when the door is open.