Biting me on walks and other stuff

[Amanda Joyce]

Hi everyone! I just wanted to share, vent, and ask for advice about my goldendoodle pup, Charlie.

The first few months with Charlie were quite difficult. He was incredibly mouthy and never seemed to settle, we couldn’t touch him without him biting at us. He has improved somewhat, but he still goes for my hands. He has not slept near me since the first week he came home at eight weeks and still rarely seems to calm down. He sleeps in the downstairs bathroom because he freaked out in his crate and got diarrhoea every time we put him in it.  

We went through two training cycles of Puppy 1 at Petsmart, but he failed both times because he was too hyper. We had five sessions with a trainer, which helped, but we are still working on jumping, mouthing, chewing etc. The trainer said that he probably won’t calm down until he is about five years old (?!?!).  I used Doggy Dan for a while and have also been going through the steps in ‘The Power of Positive Dog Training’.

He goes to doggie-day care occasionally but that seems to work him up even more. However, the have a video stream so I can watch him and he has never seemed distressed to be there and will even go to sleep at nap-time! We go to the dog-park a few times a week (I always walk him for half an hour beforehand), but we usually only stay 10-minutes because sometimes he keeps trying to play with dogs that don’t want to play with him. He also always seems to find vomit or something else gross to eat. When I tried to pull him away the other day he growled and snapped at me, he has also gone after my husband a few times when trying to take away a stuffed Kong, which is a real concern.

We walk for about an hour every day, but sometimes it is slow going because we are working on loose leash walking.  Recently, he has started biting and humping me on walks (he has been de-sexed). Has anyone else had this problem? Any advice?

[Laura and Angus]

First off, let me just say...I feel for you. We also have a hyper pup who has struggled to calm down. How old is Charlie? We were doing all those things with our puppy Angus (he is now 8 months old) and we really didn't see him start to calm down until around 6 months. This coincided with getting neutered and starting training courses - no puppy classes that teach commands, but training with manners and helping with challenging behaviors. I will also share that long walks never helped us. Angus needs to have the opportunity to run off leash or do other things that he finds exhausting (e.g. going to walk in our downtown area where there's a lot of stimulation, visiting Petsmart and other doggie friendly stores, and taking hikes). 

The other thing I would say is that we started working on "patience" strategies. For example, we have made Angus start to wait longer before receiving treats and we've started to let him try to settle himself down. We then give Angus treats for when he lays down quietly on his own. We're trying to reinforce that he needs to sit quietly or calmly - this has really helped. We also find that "training" sessions can be very tiring. Working on new commands or even playing games that are mentally stimulating - we will hide treats around and let Angus sniff them out or my boyfriend and I will go to different places in the house and call Angus. This makes him run around and use mental energy, so it's a win-win. Another thing that has been incredibly helpful is called "blocking." It's a leadership training activity that we learned from our trainer. We will walk with Angus behind us up and down stairs or in narrow hallways and if he tries to rush past us we will step in front of him and then move away, to show him he needs to wait. The first few times you will probably end up squishing Charlie into the wall by accident (if he's anything like Angus and is very impatient). But Angus learned really quickly that it's not ok to rush past us up/down stairs or through narrow spaces - it's just not safe. We also make Angus sit and wait before going out doorways - we are always the first ones in and out - and we have to say "ok" to release him outside --- even if the door is already open. This goes with mealtimes as well: Angus has to sit and wait until we say "ok" before he can go to eat his food. Our trainer really stressed the importance of leadership training because the dog is not in charge of the household the people are...

Now this is not to say we aren't still working daily on behavior (we are), but we have seen an incredible improvement with our little guy. And it's really made our home a more relaxed place...

[Lucy , Alex and Madison]

I saw a video by cesar Milan about an aggressive dog.

He introduced a tennis racket which got the dogs attention whenever he tried to bite Or started growling at someone.

It took about a week to correct aggresive behavior and if you have to tap them on the nose with the netting on the tennis racket gently you won't hurt your pup.

It can probably work on other bad behaviors, I am going to try it on leash walking as a barrier for pulling.

I will let you know how it works.

My friend used it to stop her greyhound from running out front door when ever they opened it.

Good Luck

[Remidoodle]

Id definitely try to contact a canine behaviorist or try a class that works specifically on calming techniques. We took a Control Unleashed class, where we learned great tools like massaging Remi's ears to calm him down. The first few class sessions were taught via Skype so that the dogs could focus without the distraction of other dogs. We also used a protocol for relaxation program to help teach him to calm himself. What we thought was excitement/a hyper puppy was actually anxiety for our pup, and we are so grateful to have found a behaviorist who helped us figure out the causes of Remi's behaciors so we could respond in a more appropriate way!

[Amy and Annabelle]

I know how you feel. From about 12 weeks to 5 months Annabelle was a real challenge. After her adult teeth came in and she had her spay surgery at 6 months, she started to settle down a lot. Before that, my hands were covered in bites that broke the skin. She growled at me a lot, she was hyper. We do have a basement that she runs around in to burn off energy, but even that didn't help in the beginning. She is 7.5 months old. Now she goes on 3 mile walks with us at the park, she is very well behaved. We have people stop us to inquire about her. Everyone thinks she is adorable. She is a mini and only weighs 12lbs so that might be part of it.  She will sit with us on the couch and watch an hour of tv before her bedtime. I do give her a toy and antler to help keep her occupied. She still has a ways to go, but she has come so far. She was 20 weeks over Christmas. I would say that was when she peaked on her naughtiness and then started to get better. I work with her a lot. We train all the time. I don't work or have kids at home, so we are pretty much with her all the time. It will get better, and I think if you keep working with him, it won't take 5 years. There will come a turning point before you know it. Good Luck !

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I would not trust a trainer who says it will take 5 years.....LOL.   When you were using the Doggy Dan method did you strickly follow the five "Golden Rules"?

[Kathryn Clark]

We were right where you are with our Dewey so I totally feel for you! This breed is a handful!! I can't tell you how many times the thought went through my head that we were going to send him back to the breeder the first six months. When he attacked me on a walk I came home, cried my eyes out and then got to work fixing the problem. So, we've been through three trainers already. The first told us to back off when he bit (didn't work), the second told us to be forceful and leash check him when he bit (just made him come after us more). I started the Doggie Dan (helped a lot for us) and got him neutered (but so have you it looks like). It was after these two things that we started to see a change in him at 7 months. I also hired a private trainer and started a new training class. (sorry for the long history ..) Our problems were this:

1) Dewey wasn't getting enough off leash time. I was walking him 4x a day for at least 2 hours plus. Just having 50 minutes of off leash time at the dog park did wonders. He certainly annoys the other dogs with his playfulness but he's learned over the past few weeks when to back off. And thankfully, there are a lot of doodles and poodles to play with which are perfect for each other. If he does annoy other dogs, we just start playing fetch to distract him. Keep trying different dog parks or times of day to visit if it's possible. There are different vibes that might be a better match for your dog.

2) Doodles like to work! I discovered at class (which he'd failed before as well!) that he did the tricks with such gusto and intensity that I thought he was pissed off at me for making him do things over and over. Our trainer told us that he's just really into it and wants more brain work. I think why he failed at class before was because the teacher spent more time talking then having us work with our dogs. This new teacher has us more active in the class which is what he needs and there's more space to move around. Perhaps a different class might help. I think the age is easier now than it was when they were younger.

3) Structured walks were always a challenge with our puller. Our trainer has us using a loose leash technique that allows Dewey to walk ahead as long as the leash is loose. And giving him a six foot leash made a big difference allowing him a little more space and freedom. If he pulls, we stop in our tracks. He pulls about one time a walk now. The other big deal is to play games on the walks like 'find it', touch, spin around, etc. with lots of treats. He likes to work. Also, he would jump on dogs and people but having him sit whenever a child or dog walks by us and treating him helped a lot after about a week of this. And we live on a busy street with lots of people and kids so we did a lot of sitting in those first few days.

Hang in there! It took a lot of work but has made a huge difference in our lives now. I think what it takes is to keep trying new techniques, new classes, new trainers until you figure out what works for you and your dog. I felt like a total failure until I found the right trainer. It's like being a parent all over again!

[Laura and Angus]

I just have to say that everyone you said in here is Angus to a T. We have twin puppies ;) All the things you mentioned are the things we've done too...haha. Way to stick it out! It's nice to know you're not alone in your struggles. Thank you DK!

[Amy and Annabelle]

If I had said the word 3 or 4 months ago to take her back to the breeder, my husband would have been in the car waiting for us. Now he loves her death and they are buddies. He wouldn't give her up now. As a matter of fact we are kind of tossing around getting her a brother. It would be a full brother the next time her parents have babies. Probably not until late fall. But we want to get Annabelle a little older first, go through the summer and more training.

[Susan and Bentley]

How old is Charlie?  Bentley also started to calm down after he turned 6 months old.  He is almost 2 now, and still gets into mischief but nothing so terrible anymore.  I agree with Laura that they LOVE to play games and use their minds.  We play hide and go seek too, my daughter hides and we tell Bentley to "find" her.  He loves it!  We also call him back and forth between rooms, which is also great practice for "come" and he gets a treat when he does.  He loves that game also.  I always give him a treat in something - like a treat ball.  He'd rather work for it then just take it off the floor or out of my hand.  He prefers to eat his kibble that way too, rather than out of the bowl!  As far as the walking, we were taught loose leash walking with him next to us,  Takes a LOT of patience and time.  He's really good at it but if he does walk ahead of me I say "wait" and he sits down and waits for me.  If he doesn't stop, I stop walking and wait until he sits and then we start again.  As far as the Kong, and the vomit?  That is dominance guarding, not aggression.  Bentley is so possessive of his vomit (I know it's gross).  I actually know if he's feeling ok but he eats it (also gross) but that's how their mommy's feed them when they are babies.   Bentley is not good with dominance guarding and we have been working with a trainer - the worst thing you can do is pull something away from him.  Bentley is better but still not good.  It's a work in progress.  Good luck and there is a light at the end of the tunnel!!!

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

Winnie used to do a LOT of the things that you mentioned, so I feel for you! We did most of the things that the others have mentioned, and with persistence, they worked like a charm. She is now a little over a year old, and other than some excitability when people come over, she is fairly calm.

The biggest thing for us is making making sure that Winnie gets enough exercise. She goes to doggy daycare 3 days a week, and on the other days I make sure she gets a lot of off leash running in. She is great with loose leash walking, but it does NOTHING for getting rid of her energy. I could walk her for 3-4 miles every day, and she would just come home energized! So, now I take her to a local nature park and let her run. I'm still walking 3-4 miles, but she is racking up twice that mileage by running back and forth! :-) Winnie is very good at following me and coming when called, though, so safety is not a concern. So if your pup is not yet to that stage, I would find a place where there is absolutely no traffic and it is safe to just run. 

But, I do have to say that I disagree with Lucy's advice to use a tennis racket. Aggression is different from normal (but challenging!) puppy behavior. And, even with an aggressive dog, I'm pretty sure that I would never carry around a tennis racket. Objects do have their place in getting attention- for example a "shake can" can be used to startle a pup into stopping naughty behavior. But I would be afraid that with a tennis racket a person would be teaching the dog to fear the racket instead of respect the owner. But, that is just my opinion. "Resource Guarding," like Amanda was describing with her pup growling when something is taken away from him, IS problematic and needs to be addressed. But, that is a whole lot different than dealing with an "aggressive" dog.

[Jessica, Loki and Moose]

Five years seems very very long to me, Loki has always seemed to have his own agenda- in his special way but pulling and being a complete spaz on the leash have been problems since day one. He stopped the mouthing eventually too! He is just over a year old now though and it's like we have a completely different dog, I would say he was crazy and acted like he knew nothing every time people were around from 5-8 months, a big spaz who didn't know his own size and strength from 9-10 months and around 11 months he started to chill out a lot and walking is finally fun! When he was biting a lot I made him take treats from my hand and if he wasn't gentle the he didn't get the treat so after a while he would just nose my hand and I would say "ok" and give him his treat. For walking someone on here suggested an easy walk harness and this was the best thing that ever happened to us and when he felt the tugging he would look up at me which also got his attention and helped with him focusing. Someone in another discussion said that their puppy was so crazy on walks that they would step on the leash fairly close to where it connects with the puppy to force them to lay down and calm down, we only had to do that a couple times when he was biting my ankles or going crazy trying to meet and greet but it works. Good luck! Things will get better I promise :)