Aggression

[Cynthia Forget]

I have a 9 month old goldendoodle named Charlie, he is a rescue.  He is very good inside the house, no accidents does not chew.  My problem is outside the house.  He barks and growls and starts to jump on anyone who is in the backyard including me.  If I go outside to water flowers he bites me,if I throw the frisbee he will fetch a few times then gets aggressive by trying to bite and grabs a hold of my shorts. He loves to swim which is nice he will have fun until he starts biting your chest and back and biting your bathing suit.  Even if I am just sitting quitly trying to read he comes over growling and barking.  Trying to walk him is a chore as he barks and rolls on the ground biting at the leash.  I can't take much more and do not know what to do.  We have a 17 month old grandson that he trys to bite.  Charlie is missing out on a lot of activities with the family /guests because he always has to be removed.  We do try to include him until it drives everybody crazy..Any suggestions......

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Hi Cynthia,

From what rescue group did you adopt Charlie? Did they know his background or evaluate his temperament before placing him with you?

You need to consult a good trainer and begin working with Charlie on these issues. These are not the kinds of things you can fix with suggestions in an on-line forum. Biting is serious, even in a young dog, and it is going to take a structured training program and daily consistent work to overcome these issues.

In the meantime, you must keep him away from children. How much real exercise is he getting? A good 30 minutes twice a day of good hard running offleash might help him get rid of some of that excess energy. But putting his teeth on humans is not acceptable ever, and you need to get a handle on this now. Ask your vet or the rescue group for referrals to trainers who are experienced in dealing with these kinds of issues.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Excellent advice. I was going to suggest a trainer ASAP.

[Ginny Nightingale]

I can't really tell from your description, but I am guessing that what you have there is a nippy, playful UNTRAINED dog--when he was younger he was not properly taught to keep his teeth to himself--the fact that he is a rescue makes me think that someone gave him up because of his behavior and the fact that they were not willing to do the hard work that it would take to get him to respect his owner--he may just be nipping in play and the growling may not be aggressive growling, but a "let's get rowdy" growl! It is not aggression! But left unchecked, it could be dangerous as he gets older. 

My suggestion is this--get him to a trainer NOW!!! You need to learn how to be his master so that he respects your boundaries and keeps those teeth away from others--It would take days to tell you about all the things you need to do here--but you can look on the forum for other discussions about this topic and do some preliminary research. That is a start, but the real need is for a training class starting with basic obedience. Start right now by putting a leash on him and letting him drag it around and get used to it--use a cheap one if you think he will chew it to bits and get a bunch of them--or use a chain leash. When he jumps or tries to bite-grab that leash and pull him down and say NO! With a sharp leash correction. When walking him, get a "gentle leader harness" that goes around the muzzle and the leash hooks below the chin--he will hate it, but just keep walking until he gives up--YOU ARE THE BOSS and he needs to learn that now. Lots more I could say, but I will hope that you will contact a good positive reinforcement trainer and get him under control--good luck and have confidence!!

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

I would look into a trainer that specializes in Behavioral issues..not just basic commands..

[Cynthia Forget]

Thank you Jill.  I have taken him to the 6 obedience classes and he did very well.  The classes were indooors.  He had no aggresssion towards the other dogs.  It is only in our yard it seems when he is the worst.  He does everything he is asked to do in the house and he is so gentle even when eating....that is why I don"t understand his aggression outside.  If he is barking away and nipping me as I walk in the house he follows me in then he is a diifferent dog again....???/

Why would he listen well inside but not outside???

[Ginny Nightingale]

6 obedience classes are probably just the basics--you need more time to work with him on his issues--if you can swing it financially, you can sometimes get a trainer to come to your house for a personal session--maybe a vet can recommend someone? Then the trainer can see exactly what you are dealing with.

[GBK]

It's funny, and I don't know why, but my Buddy used to do this too. Maybe he thinks the territory of the yard is his, or maybe because it's a larger place he decides he wants to "play". I agree with Ginny, it seems it is more a puppy issue than aggression, we used many, many time outs to get Buddy to stop the jumping, nipping, and barking at us. Please call a trainer, and please make it positive training. Harshness begets harshness, and that has been my experience, Buddy needed positive reinforcment, ttouch, and calm handling.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Ditto! And GBK you have told me Buddy and Spud are a lot alike. Cynthia, keep in mind, GBK's dog is a certified therapy dog. Gentle ( lots of puppy behavior) with lots of training.
Really, I think you have an untrained big pup on your hands. Easy to fix, and a lifetime of joy to come

[Katie and Sophie]

Sounds a lot like my last foster.  He wasn't doing it out of aggression, but excitement and it stemmed from a serious lack of training.  It takes a lot of time, effort, and a strong leader to correct these problems, but its definitely possible. He needs to respect you, and clearly that isn't happening right now.  I would get in contact with a good trainer asap (and not just a puppy class trainer) to teach you how to display leadership to your pup.  He's still a baby and if he doesn't have someone else showing him what to do hes going to try to take control himself.

[Adina P]

It sounds like you just need a different trainer or different obedience class.  One that focuses on reliable obedience and the end goal of which is a dog that respects you and obeys on and off leash.  Dogs don't generalize.  Teach 'sit stay' in your living room and practice there and your dog will only sit stay in the house.  So any obedience class that 'merely' teaches you how to teach your dogs words like "sit stay" and doesn't teach you the big picture of how to gain control over your dog in ALL circumstances is a worthless obedience class, in my opinion. 

However, a GOOD obedience class teaches you how to turn the basic commands into something you can count on...inside, outside, at the park, at the front door, down the street, etc.  Of course doing this means training has to happen in those places.  Otherwise obedience is nothing more than a living room trick your dog can do.  In order for a dog to generalize training in all circumstances you have to replicate those circumstances in training.  A good obedience class will train YOU in how to do this.  I would shop around for another trainer or class. 

Think about it.  If your dog would obey reliably then when he gets into one of his moods, you could tell him to lie down and stay down and he would...until you released him.  That solves all sorts of problems.  You could also tell him to go lay down on his bed until you release him and he would.  But that only comes with a good program to follow that helps you know how to do this and cares about the end result being a super reliable dog.  Plus in the process of doing this hard work...you and the dog develop a bond and trust that makes him more responsive to you in general.

[BG and Gavin]

Dogs are really situational learners.  I think getting a trainer to do some private sessions with you in the back yard to evaluate him is the best idea for now.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I agree.  Clearly the six classes didn't help you to deal with the "real life" behavior problems.  I would definitely get a trainer to work with you in the yard and on your walks.  I'd look for a trainer who has proven experience.  Perhaps your Vet can help with a referral.