Struggling with energy level/behavior issue - need support

[Gabriele Gardner]

Hi Everyone,

 

I am writing this to all of you who may be in the same space as me and can identify with how I feel.  Also I am writing this to all of you who went through this with your doodle puppy and saw things improve at a certain age - to give me hope that it gets better.

 

My husband and I are really struggling with our goldendoodle, Bentley.  He is 5 months old and is a pretty pushy dog.  He is always jumping up on people (including my 6-yr-old twin girls), counter surfing and pulling off not only food but anything else he can find, barks while crated, goes around the house getting into things like my girls' toys, books, clothes, and decorations, humps my leg, gnaws on my hands and clothes.  Now this week, he has started guarding his food/chews and has bit my daughter twice (once breaking the skin).

 

He has completed a combo puppy/manners training where I learned clicker training.  He is very quick at learning and very food motivated.  He does great with the click/treats.  I have also consulted with trainers on the phone and read a lot of material concerning the behavior issues I listed above.  So I am working very hard with him and hoping it will pay off some day.  I also walk him every morning, play fetch a few times a day, pet/brush him a lot, talk to him, take him for rides in the car.  He gets a lot of attention.  The trainers say goldendoodle puppies are very high energy and need a lot of physical and mental stimulation and that puppy behavior can last a long time.  How much more can I do?  Our family is really starting to feel the stress of all of this and it is even affecting my marriage.  I just wonder if anyone else has or is currently going through this and if it is worth sticking it out.  I have wondered if it would be better to rehome him.  We all love him though and think he will eventually be a great dog so that would be a very difficult choice.  Any words of wisdom would be much appreciated!

[Dos Doodles--Sam & Luke]

Sounds like you got a great handle on this, and I'm so glad you are already seeing good results!  Thanks for mentioning the Bob-A-Lot feeder.  I've never heard of that and looked it up.  I am getting a new pup, and part of what I've been reading about how to occupy and teach a dog to be interested in only appropriate toys is to feed them their kibble from a kong (or kong-like) toy.  I love this idea and will see how it goes with new pup!  I hope you will keep us updated on how it goes with Bentley!

[shelly]

WOW!  This sounds terrific!  So glad it is working out with the trainer.  She sounds great!

[David E]

I've found the older Monty gets, the less frantic he is. At 4-6 months it was just a constant battle. At 6-7 some success and now just over 8 months he's 75% of the time like a normal dog..lol. I think the puppy stage is just maddening, but it sounds like you're doing all the right things. Whatever works eh?

We definitely stopped letting him run loose around the house, it's just asking for trouble. You just chase them around then and it becomes a game and you don't get a moment's piece. We started tethering him a lot to us and that helps. I would also hook him to whatever else was handy close by - door handle, table leg etc, so he couldn't race around. Our big problem was/is chewing and eating stuff still, so as well as being destructive, it's dangerous for him. Lots of rope and antler chews work well for me, nothing remotely soft though as they last seconds. Even the tough-toys fireman's hose toys lasted one day, these guys can CHEW!

Hope things continue to improve for you. I was relieved to hear others talk of how their pups change as they get older and I'm seeing the same thank goodness.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

This is such wonderful news!  You are clearly on the right track....great job!  Please continue to keep us posted....you'll give great hope to others in the same situation.

[Jenny & Henry]

Gabrielle,

 

I am so happy to read this update.  Sounds like Bentley is coming along just fine.  He'll get even better with time and the effort you are putting in will pay off.  :D 

 

Jenny

[Jess and Pippin]

HI all,  Just finished reading through all of the posts in this thread.  So good to read everyone's responses and to know that we are not alone.  Pippin is just over 6 months old and is still quite mouthy with us, although minimal pressure and has not ever bitten hard.  He did go through a phase where he really snarled, enough to scare the kids (12 and 14).  We talked the situation through and discovered the snarls happened when he was desperate to go outside for business and he had given a warning when the kids tried to pick him up.  He is a much more confident dog than either of our previous dogs, and also more independant and less inclined to cuddle, although he is so happy when we come home.  We did a stint of having him "attached" to us by leash, so whenever we moved, he moved.  That really helped the growling (the kids learned to recognize when he needed to go outside and avoided a build up of tension) and taught Pippin the pecking order.  A really, really stern, growly AH-AH, has helped the mouthiness.   We've also been teaching him "kisses" by having a smear of peanut butter on our hands and telling him "kisses' as he lickes it off, all the while lots of praise for being gentle.  I hadn't thought of giving him something to carry in his mouth during play, and will try that.  I had read so much about what great temperaments doodles have, and have been feeling discouraged at times by the growling and mouthiness and persistance of it compared to our last puppy (pretty much had settled down by 8 months and was a much quieter, more submissive temperament than Pippin).  We do see glimpes of a more mellow Pippin, so it has been good to read the progress from puppy crazy to lovely tempered dog that others have shared here.

[David E]

Hang in there, you have a while to go. Monty was very mouthy from 4 to 10 months. Now (10 months) I'd say it's 20% of what it used to be, I think they just grow out of it. Sounds like you're doing the right things to encourage good behavior. I think the doodle temperament is sometimes over-hyped to be honest, they can be stubborn and the males can be quite single-minded at times.

I found that the chewing became an issue after 6 months, so I discovered antlers and knuckle bones. Really concentrated his chewing on something he liked, then he was far less prone to chew and also mouth other things! Also it occupies him for a while and gives us a break! lol. Just make sure it's the big solid ones that aren't as likely to splinter. Maybe Pippin is a little young yet for bones, Monty was too quick to swallow anything until the last few months, but the mouthing is all related to the chewing I think.

[Jess and Pippin]

Thanks David!  Bully sticks and knuckle bones are life savers!  We do have an antler for Pippin but he really doesn't like it.  I'm not sure if he even knows what to do with it  :)  I just keep reminding myself to work towards the good behaviour instead of focussing on the naughty (kind of glass half full vs half empty mindset).  That way it is easier to remember all the things we love about Pippin.  I also think the mouthing is related to either being tired (he is still a pup and needs the downtime, and we see more mouthiness when he is tired) and also boredom (I'm bored so I"m going to stir the pot a little to see what happens.  Such a clown).  Love your pic of Monty and the box, BTW.  I can totally see Pippin doing the exact same thing, and then when busted, giving us the "who me?" look!!

[David E]

I let Monty have at it with the box - you pick your battles...lol.

Try boiling some chicken broth and soaking the antler in it. It should help increase the interest level in it.

I really started noticing a change in Monty at 8-9 months and I see it continuing now at 10. He's far from perfect, but he's becoming so much easier to handle the more he matures. 

[Jess and Pippin]

Great tip!  I'll give it a try.  Definitely seeing improvement in Pippin as well as he gets older, and all the work the family is putting into training and socializing really does pay off too, so a big pat on the back to all of us doodle families.  Wish I had found this site before bringing Pippin home.  We would have been a bit more prepared for what we were getting into  (the reality). All the research I did was, easy to train, wonderful temperaments etc etc. Easy to train in that he is really smart and learns quickly.  Challenging to train because he is so curious that getting his attention can be quite the trick (my son calls these moments the doodle brain.  Nothing but static!)  Again, each dog is so different, and  Pippin has fewer and fewer doodle brain moments, but not what I was expecting.  Would I trade him in?  Never.  It is totally worth it and he brings so much laughter.  We belong to a doodle romp and what I totally love about these dogs is their happy spirit, good naturedness, love of people and great with other dogs.  I just wasn't expecting the puppy phase to be so darn challenging (and Pippin is not our first puppy, but first doodle)

[Jess and Pippin]

Thanks Sandy.  Resource guarding hasn't been an issue with Pippin.  I can give him a new knuckle bone and take it away from his mouth and no problems.  I must admit I was surprised (very happy though!).  He does not like having his head or collar handled and will 'buck" my hand away.  Working on that with good treats (being handled means something tasty) and it is helping, but a slow go.  I think I'm going to try a smear of peanut butter on my hand while for him to lick while I handle his head and collar as PB is his fav!  Hattie is a real cutie

[shelly]

Tori was in NO way a mushy - cuddler type dog - at the beginning... we had a male GR who would constantly be nudging at our hands for a petting and some love'n... Tori didn't even want to be touched mush.  Now all my boys wanted was to snuggle and cuddle her. After continuous snuggling and touching, she's become quite the love bug... but mind you... only when SHE wants to - but we'll take it!  Now if I can get her to stop barking at strangers and unfamiliar guests....