Extra special surprise for DK members!!!!

[Jess & Stewart]

Boy do I have treat for all of you! I was able to get a video of Stew's guarding. The dog butt hook I have his leash hanging on fell to the ground & of course our lovely Stew couldn't resist guarding it.

Ironically, it actually wasn't too bad. I ended up able to redirect him into a sit, he dropped it, then went nuts over it again. Was able to redirect him again away from it & out to go for a walk.

Will post the video when I am back at my computer.

[Jessica, Loki and Moose]

Similar to what others have said I think you really need to not be afraid of him and if that's something you find you cannot do then I think you two need to part ways. However if your willing to try to get over this fear I can offer some tips with what I do with my very large doodles. If I remember correctly Stew is a mini so he's not going to kill you...

What I have done ever since my boys were pups and I stil do even now is I routinely stick my hand in their mouths. Sometimes I just put it there and other times I even touch their tongues, neither has ever bitten me and even the puppy who is teething if he starts to bit down I yelp and he immediately lets up. Doodles are not violent dogs by nature. To me your video is not showing stew being violent it's showing him being stubborn and enjoying the fact that you are afraid of him. I also think he's feeding off of your energy and effort your putting in. Not that I'm suggesting when he's guarding something for you to pick that time to grab his tongue but n general even if you start just grabbing his nose to look at his fur or grabbing his face to get eye goobers out. I think that could maybe help you get over your fear.

I'm kind of in the same camp as Adina as far as if my dogs have something they shouldn't I step in immediately and either they are dropping it on the first time I say " Loki/Moose drop it" or I'm taking it out of their mouth/away from them no questions asked. I am confident that if even once I asked them or backed away from them neither of them would respect me or listen to me.

I think you need to realize Stew is not a bad dog and he does not have "behavioral issues" he just knows he's the boss because you let him be the boss and he is acting as any dog would who was in the alpha position. I'm typing this from the dog park and Loki is currently running around putting Moose in his place by behaving just as you describe stew sometimes but the difference is that if I step in Loki would immediately submit to me and listen. I think you've got two choices:
1- rehome Stew, it sounds like you don't want to and I can't blame you its an incredibly hard thing to do. I mentioned before I had to re home a cat and it really upset me for a long time.
Or...
2- get over this fear of this little dog! I don't mean for that to sound mean but even if he did bite you, you could lay on him and have him under control- and be alive and well! I am not at all suggesting that! Just trying to hit the point home that you don't own a 100lb rottie with aggression issues who has previously attacked people were a fear is justified. I think you need to mentally tell yourself that "I'm the boss, I'm in charge and he will listen to me or I will make him" and I think the first time you no questions asked pick up that hanger (btw I have the same ones-so cute!) or pull him off your bed you will be surprised that a) he doesn't harm you and b) he will start to see he needs to listen.

Please do not take this in a mean or hurtful way! I just wanted to offer up somethings that have helped me and my thoughts.

Jess,Loki and Moose

[Jess & Stewart]

I don't take that mean or hurtful at all. 

I know Stew is not a bad dog at all. He settles great after play and in the evenings, he's gotten much much better about being left alone after adjusting to my going back to work and seems adjusted now after the maintenance workers issue, he actually does listen very well. He does know all his commands, sit, down, stay, off, drop it, leave it, rollover, crawl, high five, left/right paws, speak etc. He sits before we exit doors, sits at stoplights, sits before I feed him, lets me take his food and water bowls up without guarding them, plays fetch really well, he starting to get a bit better greeting people, his alarm barking has seemingly stopped, he walks on a loose leash next to me, he's getting better at body handling and letting me brush him. 

I can grab his nose and by his eyes for eye goobers and when he puts his mouth on me, he likes to try to get my fingers or wrist in his mouth when he'd sit next to me. I've taken his mouth off me & put my finger on his tongue. I have in the past grabbed one end of something he has in his mouth and made him drop it. Just this morning I grabbed one end of a stick and he dropped it when I said. And he will drop the toys we play fetch with, then sit and I gave him a wait and pick up the toy before giving me a treat. That one is a ridiculously big deal because he used to swoop back in and grab it. 

He just gets SO stubborn when he is guarding that it DOES scare me & he doesn't respond to any command no matter how I say them or what I've tried so far. The guarding incidents aren't too frequent, its not like he guard something every day or night. He really was perfect for the 2 months or so that he had access to my bedroom until he started guarding it. The incident I spoke of being stuck in my apartment, he was crazy, sitting in the middle of my apartment just growling. When I realized my phone was on the other side of the room my first reaction was crap! that I was stuck and couldn't call my neighbor or someone who could get him attention of the growling/guarding but I didn't actually fear for my life. He did stare at me after I ended up getting it away from him and sat back on the couch until he finally visably relaxed like an hour later, which totally freaked me out. And I just freeze and DON'T know what to do in those situations. That's where the fear comes in. 

[Amy and Annabelle]

I know right, if I wasn't constantly looking in Annabelle's mouth to dig stuff out of there she shouldn't have or cleaning goobers out of her eye's she would wonder what I did with her real mom.

[Jess & Stewart]

Stew had an eye infection last week and it was hell trying to get the drops in his eyes. I only managed to get them in once a day, when I had him next to me and sort of held open his eye from the side or behind and dropped a drop in the pocket that forms when you hold it open. 

It seems to have cleared up though, thankfully because the goop was gross. 

[Amy and Annabelle]

You know Jess, my trainer told the class in cases like this where there are authority issues, you sometimes have to take the dog back to puppyhood so to speak and start the whole thing over. This time making it clear you are the master not him, he does things your way. That type of training would be done with a qualified trainer that knew what they were doing. But first you have to get over your fear of him before anything else can be accomplished. I would hate to feel like a prisoner in my own home because I was afraid of my dog. I am surprised it has gone one this long.

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Jess ~ your posts are extremely frustrating for some of us that have no fear issues of dogs.  I cannot imagine what goes through your mind and how you feel, but I guarantee you that if you lived next door to me that I could show you how to redirect your dog from the leash handle that fell to the floor in about one second!  I do not believe for one moment that Stew needs a prong collar or heavy handed training!  If you can learn to control yourself, you will be able to control him in a heartbeat! Someone suggested rehoming Stew and you replied that you could not do that because you have made him insecure, etc etc etc.  And that his guarding is so ingrained - on that note you are really kidding yourself.  I have watched all your videos of Stew - he is a good  boy and yes, he does have a couple of bad habits but through no fault of his own and it is nothing that cannot be fixed.  I wish you well Jess, I hope you an find someone to help you.

[Jess & Stewart]

I wouldn't want to use a prong on him either-was just responding to the posts about collars. If I ever did use a prong or e collar or any device like that, I'd do so with the help of a trainer who had worked with them before.

[Stella]

Are you able to get a new trainer? I really don't think your current one is helping you. Despite the name 'dog trainer', they are not there to train the dog, they are there to train you how to train your dog. Your sessions shouldn't be talking and the trainer doing things with Stew. They should all be you doing things with Stew and the trainer observing, giving help. You cannot go on living in fear of your dog, this is ridiculous. Something has to change. He lives in your house and it should be by your rules, when you are there keep a leash on him, tell him 'off' and expect him to comply, use the leash to drag him off if you have to. Don't hold out a treat to try and get him to get down and come to you, that is bribery not reward and will not help either of you. The only time I might offer a treat is to 'exchange' or 'trade-up' when you want him to drop something / stop guarding it. The long term goal is that you should be able to take things from him / out of his mouth, but he needs to learn initially that giving up something doesn't always mean you are left with nothing - this is where the 'trade, game comes in. If you are worried about him attacking your legs, wear rubber boots for a while in the house if you need to, anything to make you feel more confidant around him. If your mind set changes, his behaviour will begin to change to. He is taking advantage of you and being a brat.

My older doodle - a 75lb F1 was a horrible young dog. He challenged me a lot, and would actually throw temper tantrums in the street. I mean full on throw himself on the floor and thrash around - this would be if we went for a walk and didn't go the way he wanted to. He also would jump up and bite/ mouth at my arms all the time when we were walking. I went to work in the summer in long sleeves because my arms were covered in bruises! He bit and hung off my pant legs and socks. He wanted attention all the time and I was terrified he was growing up to be an aggressive dog, especially as I knew he was going to be large. He was a typical strong willed, bratty, teenage dog that was full of piss and vinegar with energy to burn! He was my first dog and he quickly realized that I didn't really know what I was doing, he took full advantage of that. I kept my temper (most of the time), kept everything consistent, did lots of repetition of commands and expectations, kept going to training classes so I had morale support, and exercised the heck out of him. I also sprayed my arms and legs with Bitter Apple several times a day, even carried the bottle with me on our walks when he was at his worst! I am telling you this because here is hope! He is the most awesome dog, he is my heart dog! For me the turn around came when he was about 14 months old, it's like he realized that things weren't going to change, I was always going to be the one in charge, and he was never going to get away with his crappy behaviour. Almost overnight he gave up the fight, stepped in to line and has been the most awesome dog ever since.

If you are prepared to go the long haul with Stew you have to be consistent and get things under control, it can be done and you will be able to enjoy many happy years together. But, if you can't get the right training help you need, or don't feel you can get over your fear of him, then you might have to make the difficult decision to give him up - for the sake of both of your happiness. In a different environment, in the hands of someone more experienced and confident he would probably be a totally different dog. He could be that dog for you too, but it might be a bit of a rough road.