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......

[Gail and Bailey]

Hi Cynthia and Welcome to Doodle Kisses!! 

You have gotten some good advice here from some very experienced smart ladies!  Charlie is a handsome doodle and I applaud your efforts in rescuing him and trying to make him the best boy he can be!  Please let us know how he does and post some more pictures of this beautiful boy! 

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

My Spud did this at the same age or at least this is what it sounds like you are describing. He is not aggressive at all. Still, when I go to the basement, get in a shower, or start a lawn mower he jumps and barks.
He is put in a sit! I take a breathe, and we start again. Quiet and gently. With the basement, I give him a sock or toy to take down the steps. If that's done, no objections.
if he goes down stairs with me and no sock, he barks and jumps at me at the bottom. With Frisbees outside, occasionally, he gets jumpy and excited- barking. I stop- give a command.
It's like a kid who gets too tired.
Without seeing your dog, my thoughts are that this is a puppy in a big body.
Get more training, and establish some rules- most of our problems can be solved from the 10 basic obiedience commands! I believe, with a second round of training, and a 10 minute practice a day, you'll have a happier dog- and you will be too

[Hunter]

Sounds a lot like my puppy who is now 10 months old.  He behaved exactly the same way around 7-8 months.  He would run and jump up to nip at elbows and hands, tug and latch onto shirts or jackets and all the while he was growling while doing this.  He would grab and bite his leash.  He never behaved this way in the house, on our deck or even when we took him to the park.  He never behaved this way with strangers at the park or visitors to the house.  It was only in our yard, and only with me and our two boys ages 8 and 7 and mostly when there was moderate to high activity going on outside (for example, when we run or walk quickly or there was some other stimulation going on such as a neighbor mowing the grass.)  It seemed as though he got too excited and couldn’t control himself and that is how he released the energy.  Outside of those situations he was the biggest teddy bear ever.  Maybe Charlie gets overexcited when outside (or something else he sees or hears is stimulating him) and is just releasing pent up energy and doesn’t know the correct way to release it. 

Because of the growling, I too was concerned about aggression issues.  I spoke to several obedience trainers - who actually declined to come to our house and take my money for nothing because they said it sounded exactly like typical puppy behavior.  They said the best thing was constant and reliable training. They also mentioned to keep stimulation at a minimum while he “outgrew” some of these puppy issues.  I worked with him a lot - stepping on the leash when he jumped up to nip me (gave him about 3 inches off the ground and he didn’t like it one bit), put him in time outs, and ignored him when he was being a brat.  When he was calm outside, I would give him lots of comforting pets to relax him in that situation and reinforce the good behavior.  We also took him to doggy day care 2-3 times per week during this phase.  It was expensive but let me tell you – having an otherwise active and hyper puppy just lay there completely exhausted at the end of the day was a sanity saver during that period.  Then - one day the problem was gone - with no indication that he was ever such a brat.  I think we tend to forget that dogs– much like children – go through phases, will test limits and need constant reinforcement of good behavior and what we expect from them.  Dogs need a lot of repetition with their training – they don’t always “get it” the first time or even the first 30 tries.  Of course, if Charlie does not respond or gets more hyper and bites more, you should definitely consult an obedience trainer.  You may just be overlooking something that could mean the difference between Charlie getting on board with the training or not.  I wish you the best of luck and I would love to know what works for you!

[Cynthia Forget]

Charlie and I are doing much better.  He has no free time in the backyard on his own.  He is always on his lead.  So I am letting him know that he is not the boss in the backyard.  I think with a little more time we both will be happier. Thanks for all your comments and helpful advice.

[GBK]

That is great to hear Cythia!  A little work, a lot of love, and you are on your way to a wonderful relationship.  You will barely remember these troubles by the time Charlie is 2 and a perfect gentleman :)  Look forward to your updates as Charlie get's older.

 

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Just saw your discussion and wanted to say bravo to you for not giving up on him, but hanging in there and showing Charlie who is the leader.  It sounds like you are making great strides!  Your Charlie is a very handsome doodle.  We have a Charlie too, but he is chocolate medium.  As we all know, obedience is an ongoing thing!

[BG and Gavin]

WTG Cynthia!  Keep the faith and Charlie will be a well-behaved dood indoors and out!