Getting Aggressive

[Molly Doodle Went to Town]

 

Hi everyone,

I just joined today, but we have been a fan of the site for quite some time. In any case, our F1 goldendoodle Molly is 12 weeks old. She is very sweet and very smart. I'm so impressed with how quickly she has learned sit, down, and shake, and when she is just with us, she listens very well. For some reason, however, when we get visitors, she gets very disobedient with us. I know she has a harder time concentrating with more people around and she gets excited from the attention, but she becomes borderline aggressive toward us. She growls and charges us and doesn't listen. We hate to crate her or put her in another room around company, but there's not much else to do because she's so out of control.  Any experiences like this? Any suggestions for how to handle this?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Molly is just being a puppy. The puppy biting stage almost drove us nuts. I would try distracting her with a toy or a bully stick. I think puppies just get wound up and unfortunately, they get ornery and bite. The company just adds to the excitement. If all else fails, I would time her out in the crate until she calms down. Lots of times when they are being terrible, they are over tired and over stimulated. Puppies need a lot of sleep and our Fudge would start acting terrible and 9 times out of 10 she was tired. I don't think Molly is being aggressive, but she is being a perfectly normal pup. DK has a puppy group and it has lots of discussions on this same topic and is a good group to join. Good luck!

[Adina P]

I second Laurie.  She's just a puppy and like toddlers don't always know how to channel their energy when they don't get what they want.  At 12 weeks there's probably not a pet puppy out there who will 'obey' in the midst of distractions such as guests arriving.  I would keep a leash on her when guests arrive, but don't plan on giving too many commands because she won't really listen to them.  Dogs don't generalize well so just because she's learned the meaning of sit and down and shake doesn't mean that will transfer to exciting situations without some maturing most of all with continued obedience training and consistency. 

 

Definitely enroll in some obedience classes and stick to it through the 'advanced' stage. 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Yup, I totally agree with Laurie and Adina.  I found the leash to be helpful.  I often still put a leash on Murphy (15 mos) if there's lots of company here.  That way I can control his "exuberance".

[Molly Doodle Went to Town]

Thanks for the replies. Very helpful to know!

[Dori & Rua]

Molly is adorable, first off!  Welcome to DK...glad you stopped "lurking" and joined!  LOL  I second and third the advice you have received.  We put Rua down for two naps a day when she was young and that really helped.  Also, I created a time out spot (not her crate) in the laundry room (with a baby gate) and would put her in there for just a minute or two till she got it.

 

Enjoy the puppy stage!

[Molly Doodle Went to Town]

Thank you! The time out spot (separate from the crate) is a great idea. So much great advice on here.

[Carol Brand]

Why do you hate to crate her?  I have a 12 week old Mini Poodle puppy and I can tell you that when she gets wound up, into the crate she goes!    

[Adina P]

I agree with Carol. I crate Boca if she gets out of hand and I can't deal at that moment. It's only a 'bad' experience if you make it so. She actually settles down in her crate. It's fine to have a separate time out spot but there is no problem with the crate being that spot. It's a cool down and relax moment.

[Molly Doodle Went to Town]

Didn't mean I hate to crate her. She loves her crate actually. With our previous dog, it seemed we were always separating her from people because she got so wound up, and that became a habit. It was tough to transition her into being around company, so I guess I meant that I didn't want to fall into that again. :-)

[Jennifer Tramell]

Many people don't realize how long it takes for dogs, especially large breed dogs, to mature.  Many standard goldendoodles are still puppies until 1 1/2 - 2 yrs old.  12 weeks old is very young for any sort of obedience and the growling and charging sounds like typical puppy behavior.  She is probably saying "New playmates!  Yess!!  Play with me....come on....I'll get you....can you get me???....hey!hey! pay attention!  Puppy here!!!  Dontcha wanna play?!?!?"

 

It can be a definite shock (and embarrassing!)  when our quiet, calm, well behaved puppies suddenly freak out around company but it's normal.   It can be a tricky behavior to train for because you can only correct the behavior when company comes over and who wants to spend company time training your dog? :-)  Both of my dogs were calm, attentive, and well mannered at home but then someone would come over and they'd go nuts.  Usually I was busy getting ready for my visitors and completely forgot about the dog UNTIL the excessive greeting began.   My Charlotte is 9 months old and she is just now controlling her emotions when people come over.

Like everyone said, you aren't punishing your pup when you put her in a crate.  It's like scooping up a crawling baby and putting him in a playpen so he can't get into trouble.  Toss a filled kong or similar attention grabbing toys in her crate and she can have some "me" time :-)

[Lorraine Bromley]

I make sure to tell my guests to show no attention to the puppy at all. It encourages his wild behaviour. Then leash him and have him sit. Then have the guests say hi only when he's sitting. And not excessive ruff up attention just a short hello. Then keep him leashed and have him sit or lay down beside you. While he is behaving rewarding him with a few pats or a small treat will reinforce the good behaviour. This is basic training advice that we got from our puppy school. Hope it helps.

[Molly Doodle Went to Town]

Great ideas. Thanks!