Did any of your Doodles display aggression as pups?

[Julie Mison]

I posted this on the Puppy Madness Group but thought I would also post here for you experienced Doodle owners:

Hi...we have had our cute little Chewie for 2 weeks and we are seeing some dominant behavior. We are consulting with a trainer but I was hoping to hear some of your experiences. I know pups are "nippy" and need to learn who is the leader. We are working on all of that. What concerns us is his growling and then his attempts to "snap" or "bite" when he is tired or does not want to be corrected. He only does this when he is sleeping and we try to pick him up to move him into his crate or when we try to correct his behavior. He also plays with other dogs/pups very rough....mounts them, wrestles, nips, etc.

Is this normal...will this agressive behavior improve....? We have two little kids (6) and (8).

Thanks in advance! We had planned on "hard work" just hadn't planned on this

[Adina P]

It is most likely nothing to worry about. My mellow, sweet, loving, teddy bear Rosco who passed his CGC and Therapy Dog test at less than 2 years...USED to be worse than JAWS. He ONLY nipped me but when he did he was ROUGH and barked and sometimes growled and I thought he would one day kill me with a bite on the face or neck. It was rough going, but with obedience training and time...he quit that awful stuff (it took about a YEAR). Most pups grow out of this stuff much quicker... I think trainers are great and obedience classes are great and you can't go wrong setting boundaries and working toward obedience.

[Karol J.]

We have the same situation. Our 7 year old doesn't want anything to do with your 14 wk old puppy because he jumps and nips at her. He has torn her shirts and pants through to the skin. He is also mounting things, his vet said at this age it's not male dominance but that it just feels good. We are planning on getting him neutered soon. And at his puppy classes, wed. the trainer is going over "no jumping" so we will see how it goes.

I think the biggest thing is that we aren't wearing him out enough. I feel your pain.

[1xar0x2rcx0li]

Can I ask how old Chewie was whan you brought him home?

[Julie Mison]

Chewie was 8 weeks old when we brought him home. We went to pick him out from the breeder at 5 weeks and he was VERY passive...(almost too much)...so this is quite the SUPRISE!

The only other piece of information...the mama dog was taken out earlier cuz she was rough with the pups and the breeder was worried one might get hurt. I think she actually nipped really hard at one of the pups (not ours). SHe said she did put mama back in with a muzzle....not sure if this has had an impact. He was wtih his litter until we got him.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Has he been neutered? I've been told that sometimes helps.

[Julie Mison]

Not yet...what is the best age for this>?

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Right now! Some vets think that 6 months is best so that the puppy gets the benefit of the hormones to grow. But many vets agree with early spay neutering. The earlier neutering is done the shorter and easier the recovery. May help with the dominance, crabby issues.

At this stage, a stern word and a hold on the scruff of his neck should stop his growling at you. Make sure that he knows that you are there, before you handle or touch him. You may just be scaring him. There is more growling and posturing from fear than from dominance in the majority of dogs. In other words, you have to wake him up to move him, he needs to go potty anyway before he is crated.

[HANNAH 8/2/07 & HONEY 7/2/08]

It really sounds a lot like dominance, the kind puppies have with litter mates - who is stronger, more dominante, with the puppy wrestling and nipping. I would also discourage the kids from playing with Chewie this way, when they do they have to be clear on their boundaries with Chewie. He has to learn when they say "No more Play" it's no more. Puppies will do that a lot till they learn "NO". Sounds like he has not figured out yet People are not puppies, and we play totally different. He may not have had the experiences of playing with kids to know what is ok and not. When he is sleeping and you pick him up, you might be scaring him out of his sleep, I would be certain he is awake, and maybe offer him a treat as he is being crated. You might also want to put him in his crate earlier when Chewie is starting to show signs of being tired. Obedience classes should help and hope the suggestions do also.

[Sue & Willy Babe]

Wilson use to nip and growl at us especially when he was "over-tired" and we wanted him in his crate at night, We just yelped in a loud high pitch voice which helped and then picked him up and put him in his crate. we also rolled his bottom lip into his mouth so he would bite on that, It didn't last long at all and our trainer said we were doing the right thing, He needed sleep and when he got enough he was a lot better. He is 13/1/2 months old and is doing very well, also if we were playing too hard with him and he stared nipping we would stop the game.

[Laura & Chewie]

I'm going to jump in here. In my introductory post a week - 10 days ago, I explained how my daughter (the original poster in this thread) and I have "joint custody" of Chewie. She wants my granddaughters to grow up knowing the love and affection of a dog, yet works and would find it difficult to devote the time a puppy needs. On the other hand, the girls are with me daily, live 5 minutes away and I am retired...thus our "alternative" dog arrangement. Chewie is at my home especially during the training period.

Anyway, thanks for all the responses, it definitely has eased the anxiety about his behavior. I think he will be fine...he already is responding to training well and is such a joy in every other way.

I hope Julie and I don't confuse anyone with us both posting about the same dog on occasion.

[Stella]

Our older dog, now 18 months, was a monster as a puppy. He was a very persistant biter, would hang off clothing, jump up and bite my arms (note - just me, not my husband!!), he played with other puppies extremely roughly etc etc. It did take a long time and a lot of training, but he is now the most awesome boy. He is so soft mouthed, we let him take treats from tiny children and he only uses his lips to take them. He walks on the leash, with a regular collar, without pulling. He will still play rough (I think it is just his nature) but only when it is appropriate - as in with other dogs who like to play that way too. I don't think you need to worry about aggression as such, it sounds like he may be a bit more of a 'pushy puppy' than others and you may have to work a bit harder to teach him that you guys are in charge, but it will be so worth it in the end.

Is he going to classes? That can help, as can being around an older dog who won't put up with his nonsense and will let him know!!

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Yes. He was mellow in the beginning, horrible between 3-5 months, and now, even though he has not yet been neutered, back to a very mellow puppy.
We do exercise him EVERY day.