reactive mature goldendoodle

[fran gunner]

Over the last 18-24 months, our goldendoodle, 5 in February, started being reactive to random dogs.  We have a seocnd home on a beach island where there are many dog lovers.  People walk their dogs all the time, so there is a lot of contact.  Our goldendoodle got along well with all the other dogs for a long time, but in the last year or two he has become reactive to dogs with no common denominator.  When he reacts, he barks loudly and ferociously and lunges.  Sometimes he won't react and other times, he will.  Since he now has begun to growl when approached by some children and some adults, I have recently trained him with the shaker.  He does respond, but the other day, he continually growled at a man even though he heard the shaker.  He has never attacked or bitten, but his reaction is a concern because many pet owners have young children.  Our goldendoodle, Dylan, is very large and it is very upsetting to other pet owners (which I totally understand).  I am afraid his behavior will continue to escalate, in which case, he will not be allowed to walk around the island.  Right now I am limiting his time away from home to times of the day when it is less busy.  Can anyone offer some advice for me on this issue?  I am considering an intense intervention training session to stop him from this behavior. 

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

I would say get a good trainer with a proven track record sooner rather than later.

[Christine & Camus]

I would also recommend a checkup at the vet that includes a thyroid panel.

[fran gunner]

Thank you...I am contacting the vet tomorrow to discuss a better flea prevention regimen anyway, so the opportunity will be there for a thyroid panel. Thanks so much, Fran (and Dylan)

[Sally S Miles]

I agree with both responses - get a good trainer and get a medical work up, no waiting. 

[Cathy, Fozzie & Shaggy]

Fozzie (4) has been a little snarky to strange dogs lately, too. I talked to a trainer who reminded me to be careful about correcting the behavior when it happens. She explained that Fozzie will associate strange dogs with correction so the strange dog becomes the reason for the correction not his grumbles. So the next time a strange dog appears, Fozzie will feel he must "get that dog before the dog can "get" him (my correction) like the last dog"

This is what she recommended -

Be proactive! When a strange dog is coming up to him, turn Fozzie away from the dog snd put him in a sit stay then do focus work. When Fozzie looks at me, mark it with a simple "yes" and a treat. It's OK for him to look around and look at the dog but each time he looks back to me (even just a tiny glance at first), mark it with a "yes" and a treat. Then the strange dog becomes an OK thing to look at but isn't a scary danger to kill before it kills him (Fozzie).

Her explanation was harder to type out than is was to listen to :-/) I hope this makes some sense and helps. Good luck!!

I hadn't thought about thyroid problems as a possible cause for the behavior change. I will be checking that out with my vet very soon - thanks for that suggestion Christine.

[Jen W]

This is exactly what my trainer suggested, too, though I am working with a 9 month old puppy.  When my puppy looks at an approaching dog without reacting, I click or say "yes" and treat.  Every time my puppy looks back at the other dog w/o reacting I click/yes and treat.  I start when the other dog is still pretty far away b/c if I wait too long and the dog gets too close Dory will bark and jump and I will have lost my chance to reward her for not reacting.  

We used this same approach with bicycles which used to cause Dory to lose her mind but now when she sees a bicycle she almost immediately sits and looks at me, ready for her treat.

 

[fran gunner]

Thank you so much. I am putting all of the training techniques and the medical suggestion to use right away.

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

I agree with the advice of the others. You should seek the help of a trainer that deals with behavioral issues, and also the bloodwork! good luck

[Heather & Brinkley]

Brinkley developed a reactive behavior on our walks about a year ago.  I never understood it because he loved to play with any and every dog (except huskies-- he's always had an issue with that breed).  He also goes to daycare without a problem. I noticed more-so when he was leashed.  It's been a long haul but he has gotten a lot better.  I got special treats JUST for his walks.  Every time we'd spot a dog and I'd see him spot the dog, I'd say "Brinkley, right here" getting him to acknowledge me instead of the dog and heel.  As soon as he made eye contact with me, he got a treat.  If Brinkley would spot the dog before me and I could tell that his body was tensing I'd say "Brinkley, leave it" and the continue with "Brinkley, right here."  I say this over and over as we pass the other dogs-- he got a treat EVERY time he looked at me.   I also shorten the leash so he can't make contact with another dog but not so tight that it's a cue that something is wrong.   You have to be on guard for the walks at first because it's really hard to bring them back down if they spot the dog first and lose their cool.  Brinkley now looks at me when he spots a dog. I'm still treating him on walks and giving him commands but now the treats come at random times-- he doesn't get them all of the time; but he now sees other dogs passing as a good thing because he gets his high value treats on walks when another dog walks by.  I also had to make sure that everyone that walks him was on board.  My mom wasn't doing it at first.  She felt like it was too hard to grab treats when she was worried about an approaching dog.  Her feelings changed once 1) he dislocated her finger; 2) and she saw it working for me.  

Also, when we first started, if there was room on the path for us to "pull over" so the others could pass, we'd get as far over as possible and I'd make him sit.  I'd use the same commands and he'd get treats over and over as he obeyed.  This was good for us at first because he learned the commands and I had more control over him.  Now we walk by the dogs with our commands and treats. 

We've still have our moments and it's something I know I have to work on BUT he now approaches dogs on leash in the neighborhood that he would lunge at a year ago.  We are getting much much better. Good luck.  It's not easy. 

[fran gunner]

I have had so many great responses and all very similar in nature. We will get to work right away. Thank you for your kind words and support. We will keep you up-to-date on our progress. Thank you again...Fran (and Dylan)

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

  This is not at all unusual, dogs can and do mature and change at any age.  Many of us have been stunned when our wonderful dog suddenly became protective, push, disobedient, etc.  It's sort of the doggy teen-age years.

I would get a really good trainer now.  In the meantime, reinforce sit, stay and down, stay and watch me, several times a day in many different situations.  Dont' go back to treating though unless you have to and then dole very high value treats slowly from a closed fist in difficult situations.   This kind of treating is similar to the shaker - an attention getter, rather than training - but he only gets it when he is paying attention to you  timing is everything.  Mostly at home  just lots of praise when it is right.  Basically go back to treating him as a very large puppy in training.  The shaker is done for, it is a distraction to get his attention so he will listen and obey you as in "down stay quiet".  These commands have to be really firmly in place though, for the shaker to work.

Roo is the only dog I have had that has been so difficult in this area.  He is close to perfect now, but he is five and this started at about 4 months.  For Roo down stay was easier for him to finally relax than sit stay with me at first standing sideways between him and the dog, etc.  Sideways let me maintain eye contact.  Over time I was able to just have him down stay at my side, the sit stay with my hand on his chest ( not petting) and then proceed to continuing to move forward with "watch me".  I do use prong collars on both my dogs, as I think they are a good training tool, although not everyone on her agrees with me.

IMO it has just occurred to Dylan that perhaps he should protect you, after he is big and "grown up" ( This only occurred to Tigger when he was about four, but a couple of lessons with a quick reminder from the collar and putting him in a down stay with me in front were enough for him - he's easy)

Keep your attitude calm, firm and self possessed.  If you see "trouble" coming step away from the path, sidewalk, etc and immediately put Dylan in a down stay with you in front to show him physically that all is well and you are the leader who will meet this "challenge" calmly.  Don't initiate any interaction with the "trouble" but keep your eye contact with Dylan, as it passes until this action is perfect, then do it with ocassional eye contact etc.  You may feel that you look like a nut - I did and do - but you will see from people's reactions that they think you are either very polite or a really polished trainer HaHa.

Start now! Let us know how it goes.

 

[fran gunner]

SOOOO nice. Thank you so much. Your comments about the shaker were very interesting and it makes sense to me that it is merely an attention-getter. I am going to get to work right away. I will let you know our progress. Thanks.....Fran (and Dylan!)