Need some advice "Again"

[Discussing Labradoodles & Goldendoodles]

Hattie is a living doll and you all know how much I love her. With that said, I will also say she is a little headstrong. The problem comes when I take her off leash outside to let her run and get out some of that energy. She loves to get in the flower beds and dig. So when I go in to pick her up and take her out of them, many times she basically attacks me. She gets very angry and snarls and bites at me or simply runs from me. I usually just hold her by the collar and talk calmly to her and then take her directly in the house. But now it seems I can't let her off leash anymore because the first place she goes is in to dig. She has no interest in toys outside. I try to play fetch with her and she'll do it for two or three times then heads right back to the flower beds. What to do??? Am I correcting her appropriately? I would love to take her for walks but can't leave the yard yet.

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

She isn't ready to be off leash then. I'd keep her on one, make her come back away from the flower bed with a firm NO or Ugh-ugh. And a tug on the leash if she is not responding. The snarling and attacking is a definite NO! and quick removal from the area and into time out. And I mean a firm, loud NO with a firm quick action of taking her into the house. No eye contact, no talking. Let her know this is not acceptable. I have done all of my dogs training myself and although they are not perfect by any means, they know who is boss and that I mean business when I say NO!. My two both hate being isolated from me or having me upset with them. They act like they are apologizing when I am mad at them. It doesn't ever last long though cuz they are so darn cute.

[Pam and Ginger Snap]

THis post is right on the mark!!!  Good advice!

[Martha & Cooper]

Sounds like normal "puppy" behavior.  I know you think she is angry at you and she is probably testing you and her boundaries.  You definitely need to set her boundaries.   We fenced off our flower beds so Cooper could run and we didn't have to constantly pull him out of ours and worry about the poison plants.  Now, at 18mos, we are slowing taking down the fences where he isn't showing interest.   The nipping and "attacking" issue can sometimes be addressed by using bitter spray on your hands.   I used that off and on for months to stop Cooper from chewing on my hands and just about everything else that I didn't want chewed up.   Grannicks was the best brand for us.  There are several.    Our trainer told me to just carry it outside with us and after the first time I he went for my hand I sprayed my hand at the same time he was coming after it, he got the message loud and clear. Tell her "No Bite" at the same time.  After that, all I had to do was show him the bottle.   It even worked as a deterrent to keep him from jumping on me.   He used to like to run the yard really fast and them jump at me, but when I had the bottle in my hand, he would run around me instead!

[Jodi and Stella]

She is being a typical bratty puppy. Stella had me in tears sometimes when she first came home, now at 11 months she has become a great puppy (but still a work in progress...). Hang in there and just stay on top of her with training, it will give her structure and let her learn her role. As far as the digging...put some of her poop in the hole or cayanne pepper.

[Ginny Nightingale]

You have gotten some great advice--I would follow it--you should not be giving her a chance to be in the flower beds --because you are setting her up to be bad and then, when she gets mad, she is actually learning to bite you when you try to stop her. Do whatever you can to avoid this situation.  Use positive reinforcement of treats and praise when she plays outside with toys instead of trying to get to the flowers.  Many dogs do not automatically play fetch, but need to be taught how--there are lots of games you can play with her using food as a reward but the games need to be taught. There are books that show you how to introduce games and it can be a fun way to train your dog and establish a relationship.

My puppy has had temper tantrums with lots of "screaming" and fighting when I wanted to brush him or otherwise keep him from what he wanted to do--no real biting, but mouthing. That is really improving now--they need to learn self-control just like any other young animal or person. 

By the way, I have an invisible fence, so my dogs can run around my yard--they DO like to dig and my gardens are often their first place to go dig a hole. This is part of owning a dog! Some do love to dig! You can give them a dirt pile that they can dig up and then fence the other gardens. We have lots of fences now. When my husband spreads fertilizer they love to dig it up so much that they sometimes find a way to get through the fence! So, be prepared for all of that destruction--it is not nearly as ideal as we would all like it to be!

[Bonnie and Kona]

I'm just wondering if you use any fertilizer or mulch in the garden that she may be attracted to. My husband used to use fish meal and it was pretty attractive to the dogs. Just a thought. 

[Nina Vantschip]

Don't let her get away with it...you are the Alpha. Firmly tell her no biting, and I would remove her from the situation. You just don't want her to think she can tell you what to do, if you know what I mean. I know it's hard when they look at you with those big beautiful eyes, but really you don't want it to lead to other  inappropriate behaviour. Good luck. I'm going through puppy phases too with Finnegan. I understand completely!!!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

One other thing I just remembered is I used to distract Lucy and Sophie by blowing bubbles.  The would chase the bubbles and forget about digging in the flower beds.

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

I think that she should be left on leash still. She's a puppy and doesn't know that it's bad to do that. My younger doodle still gets snappy and she's 3 she wants what she wants and consistency is the key. Chloe was quite mouthy for quite some tiime as a puppy and we had to try lots of things to teach her it was bad. The screaming ouch is a way to let her know it's bad.

[Traci -Bexter & Maggie]

Has anyone ever actually made an area in their yard where the dog is allowed to dig?  Like a digging zone?  Maybe you could hide treats or something under the dirt...I don't know...Bexter hasn't done this yet...This just shows me what I have to look forward to!

 

Or maybe a digging zone would confuse the dog...allowed to dig here & not there...I'm just thinking as I write!

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

No digging zone.  So you and the pup are at the mall and the dog wants to dig in those flower beds, not gunna happen.  This is a training issue.  Digging is a no, no.

[Sharon & Monty]

We live in the mountains.  We have a very long private drive that goes to our neighbors property.  We had started leaving Monty off leash and he loved it, running up and down the drive.  But alas he discovered the ducks that are on our neighbors "private property"  He made a beeline right to the pond and tried to "play" with the ducks.  Nothing I did could convince him to come back to me.  He had never even been in the water before but that did not stop him.  Sorry to say this is not how to be a good neighbor and I realized Monty has a nose.... and follows whatever came by. No more off leash for Monty.  We are however in the process of fencing in the backyard.  No small feat on this mountain top, but we are getting there.  Monty will be two this month and I cant wait to show him the back yard is his to roam freely!  Pray for my flower beds.  :)