Sweet Puppy to Aggressive Psycho - Need Some Help Because Not Sure I Can Do This On My Own

[Ang Onorato]

Hi -

I brought home a 10 week old Goldendoodle on 12/30/12, she is now 17 weeks.   My friend got her "cousin" (different parents) from the same breeder and so far has had a very different experience than I have had.  Nikka is just a gorgeous dog.  Super snuggly but from the first few days and weeks I got her, a very very alpha / dominate / aggressive side has also come out in her.    This is a problem for me for many reasons:

First, because I am single and have a very demanding job and often have to travel, so I have an "army" of caretakers.  I have an overnight house sitter, a day dog walker, my sisters and parents who also help and a neighbor when needed.  I lost my 11 year old BFF pup last April and was able to travel etc with no issues b/c I had all this help but my old dog was also so easy with other dogs, cats, kids, seniors (my parents etc). 

I have taken on a huge financial commitment which I was prepared to do in order to help "build" the new puppy and give her everything she needs to learn and grow - yet be a safe and obedient family member.  I have installed a fence in my back yard, we go to puppy classes and I have a private in home trainer as well.  She goes to day care  2-3 days a week for socialization and loves it!  She does well there.

However, she has had numerous issues going after my sister and friend's dogs, a few dogs at the dog park, lunging and growling and has become extremely aggressive at times with me, my mom - and even the dog trainer, when we attempt to make her "drop it" and take something out of her mouth that she can not have.  I work to train her daily - 100s of time now since I got her to open her mouth, let me put my hands in her mouth etc.. but every once in awhile on a walk she will grab something - often harmful - that I try to take from her and she has gone ape sh&t on me!!!  She runs after me in the house often lunging and biting hard at the back of my legs - not just puppy playing either. I know the difference! 

She growls, shows her teeth, tightens her body, her eyes get crazy, she barks, lunges, bites, grabs on to my cuff of my jacket and wont let go.  She did it 3x to my mom last weekend when my mom was watching her when I had to go away and it really scared my mom!  Mom did what I told her to do - and what the trainer/breeder also advised to do.  Put her in a sit/down - even on her side, be very stern but calm with her, held her until she looks away passively. 

The biggest issues is the unpredictabliity of when she is going to snap at a person or another dog. She had been fine with my cat and now is loud and chasing him semi-aggressively when the cat tries to come downstairs. Now the cat wont go to the basement via his cat door to use the litter box and is going in my bathroom - so now I have a secondary problem resulting from Nikka's bad behavior. 

 It is like she is developing toy, treat and space resource guarding.. EVEN THOUGH I work every day to have her let me take her food, her treats etc. She has never had a guarding issue with humans but with dogs/cats etc. 

My friend's puppy is only a week older and has NEVER had any of these issues outside of normal puppy nipping/teething etc.   So I have been in tears on more than many occassions b/c I dont know what is "wrong" with my dog.  We can't even go to the dog park any more or around my friend's dog.  I have learned their may be some issue she just is not good around and I can make accomodations for that - some of  the little dogs bug her and its not her fault - so I recognize its not all her. But the very very aggressive "attacking' at me and others when removing something from her mouth - or her sudden turn on other dogs when playing is a big concern for me.  I have had the vet check out everything and I am keen to make sure she is not getting TOO much play time and just getting tired and cranky. 

I do not let her on the furniture yet so she can't think she is alpha, I work daily at training to make sure she knows all basic commands (she does) and we work on the alpha things like "leave it, drop it" etc when others things/distractions are around.

Basically I am doing EVERYTHING I can do  - at great cost, time and stress levels.   The problem is.. with her having issues with my sisters' dogs at the  moment, being aggressive with my 70 yr old mom - I hinders where and what I can do when I have to leave her.. and is a major issue especially with my job.  I have lots of help.. but at the moment - very few options b/c its unpredictable what she is going to do. I had to actually board her 2 nights last week b/c she was so agressive on the one day with my mom.  A few days later though..she was a dream for 4 days!!!!

My breeder says "some females are alpha but I have never had an  aggressive dog in 30 years.." Yeah Ok....

I was reading the other posts here and read some folks have experienced the same things - esp between the ages of 10-20 weeks. Which gave me SOME HOPE!!     I am HOPING she will grow out of this.. but if not.. and if she is this difficult and alpha and unpredictable - I may not be able to continue to provide her all the 24x7 strict training and etc she will need.  I only have 2 hands and 1 wallet and I am running out of options .. and time, energy and money. I can't conceive of finding a new home for her - but maybe a family that has more people to work harder with her is best, because at the moment I am just a huge stress ball and its effecting my job very bad, which I can't afford to get in trouble or lost my job ..b/c I KNOW what an awesome dog she is. She is SO smart and adorable and cuddly.. but I am at my wits end.

She has some great days in a row and then 1 or 2 horrible ones!  It IS getting better, I just dont' know how much more I can do on my own.  I just need some help...or some future reassurance this dog WILL grow out of it and I have not just adopted Cujo!!????

Any help is GREATLY appreciated!

 

P.S. I live in Philly so if there are any local folks who may be able to connect, I would love to meet some local Doodle owners too!

 

Thank you,

Angie

 

[Ang Onorato]

She does great a day care..  high marks every day. Say she is appropriately playful - and good.  She had an issue, ironically though, with 2 dogs when leaving.   Each dog gets their own treat, separate from each other, but she saw it across the room and went barking and lunging and showing her teeth at the dog.  I understand a treat was involved, but she has no ideas with food and me - but has some resource guarding around other dogs which I dont know where it comes from.  My trainer says its b/c she is alpha and dominate and even if she learns in the house with me, she can do it trying to be the alpha in the pack. She may just always be a dominate dog, I get that, but the unpredictablity of when she will go off is just hard.  But otherwise she is really great at day care.

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

What if you try taking her to an open place (park, parking lot, etc) and have your sister bring her dog.  Stand far away and keep Nikka focused on you while your sister gives her dog a treat.  If Nikka can look at that and not react reward her and then move a little closer and repeat.  Don't get close enough where she can lunge at your sister's dog but work on getting her comfortable around another dog that is eating and teach her to focus more on you instead of reacting.  Just a thought.

[BG and Gavin]

I think it sounds like you are working really hard to address all of the different issues.  I like Joanne's suggestion of exercising the dickens out of her before doing the obedience work.  I remember my guy as a pup would be just too energetic to focus unless he was properly worn out - wild eyes and all.  Is she spayed yet?  I wonder if that will help.  It may be a bit too early to tell if it is amped up puppy mode or true aggression.  Like kids I know that nature plays a huge part and some kids and dogs are more difficult to raise.  However the difficult ones often turn into the most loyal, bonded and smartest in the end.  Keep doing what you are doing.  Maybe Jane will pop in on this discussion.  She has an aggressive dog and controls him with a strict program of mega-exercise and training. 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Yes, I've spent the past two and a half years working with our Doodle who began to show aggressive behaviors almost from the day we brought him home.  As a real young puppy I would describe him as "pushy" and dominant...he wanted what he wanted and was convinced that he should be in charge of the world.  On my first Vet visit he bit me as I held his head so she could look in his ears...when she saw the WAY that he bit me she said "get yourself a really strong trainer who has dealt with aggression because you'll need it".  I thought that was "overkill" and signed him up for puppy Kindergarten.  Well things kept getting more and more difficult with him.  It's a real long story, but several months ago we put him on a very structured program...lots of aerobic exercise, lots of disciplined on-leash walking in many different places with all kinds of distractions, training drills several times a day, a "nothing in life is free" program, fully structured day, and anti-anxiety meds.  He is now a balanced, well behaved guy who is living the life every Doodle deserves.  I should add that we had an amazing trainer with us through this process and also a Behaviorist who helped us to understand what was going on with him.  It is possible to turn this around....but it takes patience and work.  Joanne is so right about the exercise...that's critical.  If the weather doesn't permit us to give Murph the exercise he needs we run him on a treadmill.  I'd encourage you to open a discussion in the Training Group and let us know exactly what type of training you're doing.  We'll do our best to try to help you based on our own experiences.

[Ang Onorato]

Thank you Jane.. I appreciate all this. I will get into the training room too.  I has written to someone in a private message earlier, but here is a summary of everything I am doing on a daily basis to train her.  I am learning that I have been doing/trying just about every suggestion.. I think the thing is I just need more patience and faith it will work its way out of her. 

DAY IN THE LIFE OF NIKKA AND EXERCISE:  (exercise I provide her, not others)

- She started going to puppy school since she was 11-12  weeks old, I started early but not over doing it

- Supervised play time with family and neighbor dogs in home, in the yard and dog park

- Goes to day care 2-3 times a day for socialization and exercise

- We go for a 2 mile walk every morning and 25 min walk each evening

- She now goes swimming a few days a week and an indoor pool

- Every night we go to the basement and play fetch by tossing tennis ball against basement wall

- Aware of "normal puppy biting and teething" and I make sure she has ice cubes, frozen carrots and frozen dish towels in the shape of a pretzel for her to chew on so she is not being bad with household items.  I know teething can effect behavior as well.

- I make a special effort to walk her in places that have lots of distractions, noises and she has met people of all sizes, genders, ages and ethnic background.  We practice those commands in these distracted areas too.  

- When she does act up with "normal puppy' stuff, I maintain a calm presence around her, but ensure that she knows the correct action and that I am in charge, not her.  

- We have daily training sessions of all basic commands, she knows Sit/stay/down and learning leave it/drop it/come. 

- She sits and stays before getting her food, and before going in and out of the door - each every time to teach her good manners.  She never gets a treat without doing something to earn it.

- She is being trained to not jump on anyone when she greets people

- She is not allowed on furniture or beds yet to be sure she does not get any further sense of her being "alpha"

- We have done leash training and practice it every day. She is actually fantastic on the leash.

- She is not much of a barker, she has no separation anxiety, she is  not destructive, she is not bounce of the walls hyper dog. 

- She is crate trained, about 90% potty trained - even learning to ring a bell to go outside.   She goes into her crate on her own and when she is tired.  She is a dream with this.

- If she is doing something wrong, she responds well to correction and re-direction almost always, like I said except in the moments I mentioend in my post where she goes nuts b/c she wants to keep the valuable item. 

 

THANK YOU ALL...looking forward to trying even more ideas!  And fingers crossed it is all just her age. 

 

[Oliver & Elizabeth]

Honestly, it sounds like you're doing a lot of really great things to socialize and train Nikka! It's awesome that she has such a dedicated mom. I have a 10 month old labradoodle and some issues do get better with time but there are others I wish I had been more proactive about because they seem to get worse (e.g. recall and jumping up).

Getting valuable items back for us is also a work in progress, Oliver likes to play keep away with our items. What's your current training method for getting valuable items back?

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Well you're certainly doing a lot to help Nikka through this and everything sounds like the right approach.  For now I'd keep her away from the Dog Park...that's a tough situation for many dogs and with her current issues, I'm not sure she's ready for that temptation.  Daycare can be great if it's closely supervised by the staff, but Dog Parks can be "free for alls".  It sounds like you're already doing the "nothing in life is free" program....you might need to extend it to include all affection.  It's going to be critical for you to recognize the "signs" (body language) that she's about to have a "meltdown" and correct the state of mind BEFORE the behavior occurs.  When she's around other dogs or cats you're going to have to closely supervise for a while...and I would not let her have any access to toys or treats in that situation unless you're right there supervising.  At the first sign of any guarding behavior, the toy gets calmly taken and put away and she gets crated to calm down.  You may need to tether her to you in the house for a few weeks.  She will get to make no decisions for herself this way....where you go she goes.  That can help with both respect and bonding.  Most of all don't allow her to "practice" these excited (possibly aggressive) behaviors.  Recognize the "warning signals" and prevent the escalation by exercising, crating, or training.  Good luck and please continue to keep us posted.

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

This is similar to what our trainer said, as far as with the "warning signals" We were told that the second we see "that look" in his eyes, to correct him.. he compared his behavior to a wildfire, (if you let it get out of control), and to basically "put the fire out before it starts".  Once they are in that nipping, biting, lunging mode, there is almost no stopping them until they get it out of their system..which is not good...it is literally heartbreaking..  We also kept Woody on a leash for a while while we were home..and that really does work.

[BG and Gavin]

Angie - check out this discussion in the training group about Jane's aggressive doodle and see what is possible.  I dare you to watch her videos and identify the "problem child."  http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/trainingmindsets/forum/topic/show... 

[Ang Onorato]

Ok.. this is just beyond amazing.  I would NEVER have thought either dog ever had issue.  Wow.. that is inspiring and lots of faith it will all work out with my pup.  I beileve it will be... :)

[Enid Ferner]

After reading your original post the first thing that came to my mind was "chaos".... Having so many things going on in a young puppy's life must be total overload for it. At this point, simpler is better.
This pup needs LOTS of daily exercise, including a good romp with other dogs (if possible), Being in a pack situation would be great. Next it needs you to be it's consistent pack leader, it needs to know that YOU are the boss, not it. Those are the two most important things right now and if you don't address these at this point then you are going to create a very unmanageable dog and that would be a shame. Too many people are in this pups life right now, all with different energies.

Sorry but I can't imagine a dog so young needing an in home trainer - aren't puppy classes enough?
I also don't think a dog at that age is showing true aggression, it's just letting loose pent up energy and is also showing you an extreme lack of respect.
Also, your current situation (job wise, stress wise) makes it sound as If the last thing you needed right now was an energetic puppy. You sounded in your post like you realize that finding her a more appropriate home for her might be better, I must say I agree with this. There are lots of older "mellower" dogs out there that need good homes and you might be better off going that route, at this point in your life.

I'm not meaning to be harsh, just truthful. I wish you the best in whatever path you choose with your puppy. I honestly don't think you have a monster, just a very confused little puppy.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

One thing that bothers me is some of the responses that state the puppy is so confused.  About What?   We tell new members all the time to get those puppies out and socialize.  Sounds to me, she is doing just that.  Leaving a puppy 3 times, overnight, in 7 weeks will not confuse the puppy.  Being with family members who are consistent with the pups training, will not confuse this puppy.  We have all done this. We are socializing the puppy.

My family and neighbors were in and out of my house all the time. We actually lived in two houses when we got Spud. My husband left for a week at a time every other week. 

I think many focused on those issues and did not see what she was actually saying.  Her trainer has told her she is seeing an aggressive streak in a very young dog.  There are red flags. 

 

My first impressions are that this is a classic case a crazy, energetic, blazing-eyed puppy who needs exercised as soon as the craziness begins. Run outside with the ball. Run outside to play just as you would if you were potty training.  If she even looks crazy, grab a ball and head to the yard.

 

99.9999% percent of the people who come here and have the same complaint have a normal healthy obnoxious puppy. Unbearable to live with for a few weeks and it certainly has changed the mind of many new owners. They question why they got themselves into this mess.  Post after post after post~ every month.  Same thing a biting puppy.   I did notice she got this puppy at 10 WEEKS.  Great. So many having these problems are because the pups are leaving the litter too soon.  This pup did not leave at 6-7 weeks, it left the litter at 10

 

 

I too, have seen red flags in a very young puppy.  Sure, it does not happen very often but it happens.  Just ask me.  Ask a few others who own and love a challenging doodle.

 

My suggestion, and it is what I had to do, is start interviewing trainers.Reach out to a handful and have this pup evaluated. Interview them as if you were going to give them a job. Because you are.  And your next 12 years with your dog depends early intervention.  Ask each of them what they think.  Tell them what you are going through.Get an opinion other than the one you are getting here and from your current trainer. 

If so many are seeing red flags~ seek help early and Now! 

My suggestion is to find a trainer who combines positive reinforcement and corrective training methods.

Please join us in the Training Group.  Jane is awesome. She too, has a challenging doodle and I would love if she read through this post.

 

Join the Puppy Madness Group. Be with others who are going through the same thing. See if your girl sounds like what others are experiencing.