Just Making Sure Jack is Going to be Okay

[Eric]

Hello surely very helpful Goldendoodle forum people!

I have raised a Pitbull before from 9 weeks till around 1.5 years.  A divorce forced me away from that dog.

Fast forward four years, and I have recently decided to plunge into dog ownership again, this time nothing will separate me from my K-9 Friend!

Jack is a 10 week old Goldendoodle, picture below.  Picture taken at about 8.5 weeks, we got him at 7 weeks (which I now know was bad...should have been 8)

My spouse and I both work 9-5 type jobs, however we usually leave the house by 8am, and I usually get home by 4-5pm.  Perks of being a software developer. He is home about 7-8 hours not ever more.

Within the last week, he has become a little demon puppy.

We have three primary problems and I am hoping I can get advice, and criticism on my current methods.

In the morning, he gets a good 20-30 minute play session, ten minutes specifically with the flirt pole and lure.  Learning drop-it, sit, stay, and get-it.  

In the evening when I get home, we go straight outside, he tinkles and we again play with the flirt pole a little more vigorously than in the morning.  

We go inside, I feed him, and the nightmare begins.

Jack cannot simply get enough attention.  Our entire evening must be spent entertaining him, one of us, or it is a recipe for disaster.  I have tried to take him back out for more exercise, but that does not work, when we come back inside...Play time is not over.

This aspect is me as an owner whining, and is my first (but really second) question.  How long will this last?  There must be a way to tucker him out and/or give him something specific to make him happy?

As the largest problem is puppy biting.  We use firm NO when he puppy bites, which ceases the behavior for about five seconds.  

Then we put him in time-out.  However, we have been using this incorrectly as recent research has shown this needs to be done about 10,000 times in 10 second intervals.  

We pretty much alternate between NO, and shoving a toy in the way of our hands and legs, and time-outs.  

Starting today we'll begin simply applying the ten-second time out any time he bites at our legs and pants.  Without NOs, and no longer than ten-seconds (we had been doing 1-3 minutes)

So that was my first question/problem.  How do we stop this puppy biting and 'growling' when he gets frustrated that we don't allow him to continuously bite our ankles.

I have a varied amount of chews available for him.  But he obviously doesn't care to find them; and any one of them when given to him, entertains him for ten seconds.  Soft plushes, rigged and stiffer cloth plush, a rope tug you, a squeaker plush, a monkey plush, a Kong puppy soft bone, and Bulley sticks.

NONE of them entertain him.  The only thing that captivates his attention is the daily dental chew, which we use at dinner time...Because this guy is a beggar (despite never getting people food once!!)

Is there something I am missing with the play toys I provide for him?  He sometimes chews bad stuff but he understands the No when chewing on a part of a chair, or wall.  He does not understand NO when it comes to biting our legs and hands.

And third is potty training. 

We have a timer set when we are at home to take him out every hour for tinkles.  Accidents have been reduced, but I feel like we are not teaching him to pee outside.  Occasionally he still trots off and attempts to pee, we pick him up and take him outside...But he is making no effort to let us know he needs to use the restroom.

I apologize in advance if I am lacking vital information.  I will answer anything needed.

[Carol and Truffle]

Mary Ann - this is fantastic - thanks so much for all your time. I expect to get my first Australian Multi-gen labradoodle puppy mid-May (previously have had Golden Retrievers, Scotties, & Mini-Dachsunds - but have not had a puppy in 14+ years!). I am a 64-year-old overweight lady with back & knee problems, so it's great to hear that I too will be able to pull this off!

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

To Carol G.   You are welcome.  I was a bit anxious myself, the body not being as willing as the mind.  But really it has been okay.  I don’t go dancing at the end of the day, I will tell you.  I am tired but happy.  Puppies are so sweet and fun.

[Eric]

Thank you so much for the reply Maryann

I find it really calming and interesting how Kali and I are mostly on the right track.  Yet just reading these replies, invigorates myself to keep striving to be a better puppy pappa.

I have fully digested your seven points, and the pretext and post-text.

I have one thing I'd like to ask or disagree with.  That is Number 3.

The flirt pole is used for 5-10 minutes at a time.  Jack is told to sit.  At which point I allow the lure to hit the ground a distance away from him.  This is corresponded with "Stay".

The lure is drifted away from him, until I say "Get-it!"  at which point he launches towards the lure and chases until he catches it.

After he does his little "I'm gonna shake this thing to death with my puppy neck muscles" I approach the lure and grab close to where it remains in his mouth.

"Drop it"

*Growl, growl, attempts to tug, attempts to tug*

*Eric waits*

*Playful growl*

"Drop it"

Eventually he does get bored of the lifeless non-moving (not tugging, ever) lure in his mouth and he drops it.  

"Good boy! (sometimes with food treat) pause pause.  Okay Sit"

And the fun continues.

Couldn't it be argued he is "retrieving" the lure as he chases it?

I've used it about a dozen times, and he does seem to love it.  And he responds to training with it.

I also enjoy playing with this toy with him.

Do we really have to get rid of it? :-(

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm a big fan of fetch, and while I initially spoke to Jack's lack of interest in chasing the ball if it went too far or fast, he has changed his tune quite a bit of course in the 24 hours since I typed that.  Last evening we were running the two ball game and he would chase it quite far.  So we'll begin to train this and make it the primary form of exercise.

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Awesome that you and Jack had a good day,  it is such a good feeling and keeps us committed to raising a 

puppy to bea good dog.  

It is your decision of course to use the flirting Pole or line. It was originally designed to generate excitement in fighting dogs and racing dogs.   they came to associate the movement with high energy so that they came to  The race or fight with lots of excitement and energy going personally I just don’t see that it is helpful with retrievers. Some clever business person has rebranded it  as a toy or teaching tool. I’m just not buying it.

Keep on  with patience and time and lots of training you will grow a wonderful dog

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

That's exactly what I read about the flirt poles, MaryAnn. They are synonymous with fighting dogs to the point that people just assume that if you're using one, you own a pit. 

[Stella]

I know people with other breeds that use flirt poles. But, this pup is way to young to be exercised with one - much too hard on those developing joints and muscles. 

[Eric]

Alright.  The resounding and mounting negative evidence, we'll cease flirt pole play for now.

He's taking to the balls well enough, but loves the pole, so we'll focus on fetch specifically. That sentence sounded horrible ;-D

I tend to believe the play we do with the FP is fine, from a temperament perspective. But I don't want to hurt those muscles and joints for future play.

I've seen a few YouTube flirt pole tricks owners can teach pups.  

I wouldn't mind continuing to discuss fact and theory on why it is used on fighting dogs though, that's curious.  Simply because excitement can be funneled into...other things?

[Amy and Annabelle]

We got Annabelle at 10 weeks old. I was her favorite chew toy for what seemed like forever, but in reality was more like 2-3 months. Plus she loved pant legs, my leather purse, blankets, you name it, she chewed it. I am surprised and very lucky we didn't have a big vet bill because of her bad habits. My husband was ready to send her back to the breeder, he was so over her and her constant biting, chewing, jumping on everyone and all around crankiness. I was in tears most of the time, wondering if I made a big mistake getting her. She was not the sweet little puppy I envisioned. I wanted a sweet little lap puppy, but that was the least of my problems with all the other ones going on. In spite of all her issues she was easy to potty train and sleep through the night. Her 2 accidents after she was trained was because my husband wasn't paying attention to her signals to go out. By the time she was a year, she had outgrown most of her bad habits. Annabelle wasn't my first puppy, but she was the only one with behavior problems. I got my mini schnauzer 35 years ago when he was 6 weeks old. He was a little angel as a puppy, which was surprising, considering how young he was when he left his litter. My husband kept comparing the 2, how one was so sweet and easy going and the other one needed an exorcist. I had a private trainer come to the house within a month of bringing her home. Then we started group classes at 8 months old after the winter weather was over with. Training is crucial, it played a huge role in getting where she is today. Some of it was age and she had to grow out of it. But most of it was behavior. Today she is 3.5 years old and is everything we hoped she would be. She is even happy sitting on my lap. She is a 17 lb mini, so that is ok. We do have an acre fenced in for her to run around in. Most every morning when I let her out to do her business she does several laps around the yard just as fast as she can go. She needs that morning run, I guess. But she only runs when she wants to, not when I am playing with her or any other time. She loves to chase after and catch the frisbee, but not balls. She plays with balls, but she prefers to play with them by herself and not with anyone. 

[Kate C Pappas]

Given what you've said, I think he has too much freedom around your house which hasn't been earned. Its fine to have toys for them but they're not like children who will choose to go play with their Legos etc. Dogs, especially Doodles LOVE their peeps and really want to please them. I would introduce a crate and never use or see the 'time out' as punishment. They just don't get it. I leashed my Doodle girls when she arrived, to my waist or onto a piece of furniture when I was relaxing. She had to opportunity to fail.  Since you have a yard, a leashed walk around your yard is more dedicated to tiring him you. This too shall pass as he matures. Biting in my house was met with a gentle hold around her muzzle and I would yelp and walk away. They WANT to be with you and when they see YOU leave immediately, they begin to associate that with their behavior.

Good luck to you. :)