I THINK MY DOODLE IS PART PITBULL!!!!!!!

[Chels*Claud*Midas]

Hey everyone i know we have posted about this before..but i honestly think i have the worst mouthing nipping case..unless anyone else can confirm they have the same issues lol.. My goldendoodle Midas is 5 months old.. we got him at 7 weeks old.. Since we brought him home he has been nipping and biting and mouthing! i have had 3 other dogs, a standard poodle..toy poodle and lhasa apso and NONE of them did this!! it was really bad at first to the point where we couldnt even sit on our couch without being gnawed on.. it got better for a few weeks when he was like 4 months old but now it seems to be starting up again! he lost all his baby teeth now so i cant see it being teething anymore.. honestly i think i have tried everything.. he gets tons of exercise.. he goes on 2 walks a day...goes to the dog run.. just started puppy classes last week.. he has play dates with my sisters 3 dogs stated above.. we train him in the house.. i first tried the yelping when he was little...didnt stop him AT ALL.. then we tried no! and leaving the room and ignoring him only to be attacked when we came back in..we tried the water bottle spray in the face..which he ended up liking!..we tried a can of pennies..he thought it was a toy..  then my trainer had us stick our finger down his throat a little bit (i didnt really try that one too much cuz i dont lie the idea..but even still it didnt stop him) honestly.. when he is in the car on our way to the dog run he starts biting me so bad that i literally cannot get away.. its literally like a pitbull in a fighting ring coming at u.. lips curled and all.. and i know he is playing it isnt aggression but it is sooo annoying.. if we lay in bed and pet him.. his mouth is like a magnet to our arms and hands and he starts biting.. its not like it used to be where i would sit on my couch and get attacked for no reason..but its now like u cant even touch him without him mouthing u..i used the bitter apple spray and it works good..but i literally have to carry it around everywhere and it stinks cuz when i show him the bottle he walks away..and i want to play with him and pet him and hug and kiss him but i just cant without getting bit... has anyone else experienced this to this extreme? he literally doesnt care what u do to him..yell..yank his collar.. pin him down.. NOTHING stops him.. someone please tell me this will end?!? :(

[Shannon & Lily]

Oh, no!  I don't have any advice but I hope that others do & I'll be following it.  For the first week, our Lily did not nip at all. But now (9 weeks) she's getting much more aggressive with it and we're trying the yelping and leaving the room.  And giving her a chew toy instead.  Hoping that you can get this worked out -- that's not fun at all.

[Chels*Claud*Midas]

and aside from the biting he is such a good boy...NEVER pooped in my house.. house broken really fast! crate trained beautifully.. sleeps the night through.. when we eat dinner and he is in the living room with a gate preventing him from getting in the kitchen he just sits there with his paws under his head and doesnt make a peep...its just this biting thing!! :(

[Diane, Hurley and Sidney]

Hurley's trainer (Phase 2) has us using an e-collar to help change some unwanted behavior that has not worked using other means.  I don't know if there is an age a puppy should be before using one and I would never have put one on Hurley without a trainer being involved to ensure we use it correctly.  Anyway, just a thought.

[Chels*Claud*Midas]

thank u...i will ask my trainer about this... they recommended one of those collars that has like the prongs in it...but i feel bad.. (that is also part of my problem, that i always feel bad like yelling at him or anything lol) the trainer said "do u think he feels bad when hes gnawing off ur fingers?? NO!" lol

[Adina P]

Rosco was a horrible nipper. I called him JAWS.  He also would growl and bark and sound all ferocious.  He was also 50 lbs at 5 months and tall so he could reach high when he jumped to nip.  He bit me in the belly once and left a bruise.  He broke skin a couple times.  He was awful.  And he ONLY did it to me (not to other people).  He quit at about a year old...after some serious obedience training.  Not obedience training directed at the biting itself, but just obedience training that was serious about getting obedience and correcting ANY naughty behavior.  It worked very well. 

[Chels*Claud*Midas]

thanks everyone!... yea we call Midas a shark..and an alligator lol i literally hear his jaws snap lol.. well its not really funny lol... we just started puppy kindergarten and we plan on continuing the classes as he gets older and graduates on lol.. Adina..what do u mean by serious obedience training? like classes or a private trainer? and yes midas is very tall too so he once bit my boob! and left a mark for a few weeks!.. everyone that met him in puppy class said he is calm for a puppy.. but its all an act lol.. he is VERY smart and i think thats part of the problem because he works me lol.. at 7 1/2 weeks he knew sit down and paw.. and i have no other problems except this..i just hope it eventually goes away... Rosco is adorable by the way...how much does he weight now?

[Adina P]

By serious training I mean training that has a definite purpose of reliable obedience.  I didn't train tricks, or only work on obedience in my home.  I took my dog everywhere dogs are allowed and worked him everywhere, around distractions, etc.  I also followed a very precise training method and didn't 'wing it.'  You can find a good method by taking classes or finding a trainer--the key is finding either classes or a trainer that is serious about obedience and about results.  That's what I mean by 'serious' -- I followed a results oriented training program rather than a 'just for fun' kind of training program.  And I worked my butt off...that's another part of the 'serious.' 

Smart dogs learn words fast.  So smart dogs can learn to sit, down, etc...all on command as pups.  That doesn't mean they are trained or that they will be reliable.  Only that they learn words quickly.  People often think they have trained their dog once they respond to sit or down in the house. 

[Chels*Claud*Midas]

thank you very useful info.. i plan on continuing the obedience classes and all that...i just want to shake this biting thing asap..and i dont know how...also because he doesnt really bite to much when the trainer is in my house! little sneak! lol

[Adina P]

Well when he gets into his biting mood, I would put him in his crate.  It won't 'teach' him anything but you know that he's in a mood and that will at least interrupt it temporarily.  Also as he learns obedience and gets more and more reliable you can give him a command to do something else. 

[Diane, Hurley and Sidney]

The pronged collar Hurley's trainer recommended is a German one. You will pay a little more for it but the prongs are not sharp.   It does work well when used correctly.  Three strong jerks and 'no, no, no' has worked in most cases for us.  Anyway, it is an option.

[Shannon and Finn]

This is probably really frustrating for you! I agree with Adina on serious training. Sounds like he isn't taking you seriously yet. If you feel bad or are inconsistent with it at all they will walk (nip) all over you. Learning to be the alpha will be helpful. I found a couple of things worked well for establishing myself as in charge. First, I walked through all doors and up stairs etc first, never allowing Finn to be ahead. Second, I would feed him and make him wait before coming to the bowl. I also was consistent with basic commands in public and at home, like sitting before being pet or snuggle or sitting before putting on the leash or going out the door. For nipping, I didn't tolerate it and would at times hold him down until he settled. Not hard or aggressively, just held him until he stopped and then would have him sit before I loved on him after. I alao gave him a toy to chew if he tried nipping.I think these might help you if you're consistent. Finn is a great pup at 7 months and a total love bug. He never nips me or plays aggressively with me. I used a prong for walking because Finn has a sensitive neck and chokes or coughs with any collar pressure. It's not mean and can be tremendous for training an excited pup. Good luck, it gets better when you find a system that you feel good about.

[Sandy Aicher and Bailey]

Buy some (odor-free) bully sticks for him to chew.  When you try to pet Midas hold one in your hand and offer it to him but keep holding on to one end.  Let him chew on one end while you pet, brush him, etc...It gives them something to chew and keeps them busy.  I used this all the time when Bailey was young and wanted to "mouth" everything!  Don't give it to him completely.  Put it away when you are done and when you pull it out next time he will be excited to see it again and will want to chew it and not YOU.   Good Luck!