DoodleKisses.com

Labradoodle & Goldendoodle Forum

I wonder if anyone has ideas on how to solve my problem. My daughter is staying with us for a week. She has a one year old 67# Golden Doodle. High energy, very sweet.
Maci growls and snaps at him when he comes near us. She will even try to protect her older brother, Yogi. She also guards her toys. I tell her to leave it, and it works, a lot. My problem is I don't always catch it in time.
She has always been more reactive around other dogs which usually is not a problem because we can just avoid and control the situation.
I feel bad for both doodles. I know it's not fair to my daughters dog, nor Maci to feel she has to protect us. How can I help her to know "we've got it".
Any experiences?

Views: 149

Replies to This Discussion

Pick up everything Maci considers high value.  Do not let her guard you. Stand up if you are sitting; calmly give her time outs, ignore her or gate her away from the rest of you - kind of like when she was a puppy and displeased you. I know Jane will chime in with the best advice.

I agree with Nancy's advice.  Maci is guarding you because she feels that she has to.  She has put herself in a leadership position and now there's someone new that she see's as a potential threat to the "pack".  Now it will be important to place yourself in the leadership role.  Definitely pick up all of the toys.  When you feel that it's time to play (and you will be there to supervise) you can give a to to each of the dogs.  When you feel play is over, you should pick them up and put them away.  If there is any sign that Maci is "guarding" during this play time, pick up the toys and stop the interaction.  You are going to need to carefully control all resources, and you are considered one of those resources...probably the most valuable one.  Look for any signs of guarding and stop it when it's just at the body language stage.  Is Maci allowed on the bed or furniture...how about your daughter's dog?  That is usually a problem area, so you would have to control this.  Be careful with feedings....you give the food to each dog and take it away as soon as they stop eating.  Don't let Maci try to get between you and your daughter's dog...walk right into Maci and move her out of the way if she tries this.  Lastly, I would keep them separated whenever you aren't able to manage the behaviors.  This is all doable since it's only one week.  We go through this each year when my brother is at the beach house with his lab on our Summer vacation....it just takes lots of leadership, but we have avoided any serious confrontations.

Thanks Nancy and Jane. We are getting better. Not perfect, but mostly manageable. I think part of our challenge is we are full time RV'ers now. Our home is a 40' fifth wheel, so the dogs are just pretty close together. I'm sure it would be easier if we had a little more real estate. Plus Kona is still very much a puppy, not always knowing boundaries.

Worth every minute though, love having my daughter, her hubby and doodle here with us :-)

Are you enjoying full-time?  It is harder and easier in an RV - less overall space, but much easier to watch, supervise and control.  I also suggest lots of side by side walks and change up who holds the leash.

Hi Nancy,
Yes we are loving the lifestyle. Started last September on the road. So far we've stayed in Tennessee, Rockport, Texas, and now in West Virginia. Plans made for Georgia, Florida, and Arizona this year.
West coast next year. Would love it if we can meet up :-)

We are definitely looking forward to meeting up with you, either in our RV or car.  We will set a romp up for you in southern California.

RSS

 

 Support Doodle Kisses 


 

DK - Amazon Search Widget

© 2026   Created by Adina P.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service