Having a bad day and need advice!

[Holly Doodle]

Hi everyone! I posted this on one of my old discussions too but wasn't sure if it would get read. It's been a bad day and I am needing more support to deal with Holly's crazy behavior!! She's now almost 5 1/2 months old. Consistently, every time we let her out of her crate to play, after 5 or 10 minutes she gets very frantic for one reason or another and starts trying to bite us while growling, barking, and charging us. We have a large open kitchen/dining room that she loves to play fetch or tug in. Sometimes I'll be doing dishes or cleaning up and she'll play on her own. Either way, she somehow becomes crazy and I have to put her in her crate after only a few minutes of being out. It can be triggered by me telling her no if she's attempting to bite the table legs or jump on the counter, or while we're playing fetch or tug, but most of the time it's for no apparent reason.

She has graduated from beginner obedience with flying colors, but once she's to this point it doesn't work to tell her to sit or lie down. I work from 9 to 2 each day, and my husband comes home every day around 11 or 12 and lets her out to go potty and play. We take her for a 45 min walk each afternoon or evening. I would love to have her out of her crate from 2 until bedtime but it's impossible with her freakouts. I feel like she's in her crate way more than out because of this, and that's not fair to us or her. Everyday I take her out to play and put her back in over and over. I've tried to deal with her behavior in other ways besides putting her in her crate but she gets really aggressive and bites, and once she's doing this she will not settle down until I put her in her crate.

Any suggestions would be great. I keep hoping this will pass like most of her other little behavior issues did, but it's been going on for so long now and it only seems to be getting worse. If not suggestions, I just need to hear that it will get better!

[Melissa & Porter]

It sounds like she has a great exercise and potty routine, and you are handling her freak-outs well. I think this will pass. My only question/advice would be to ask if she is getting time with other dogs and maybe she needs more time to play as a dog with dogs...the freakouts seem like she is getting her dog on, you know?

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

We do doggie day care once a week and it really helps. Guinness comes home exhausted and he even seems tired the next day. He loves running and playing with the other dogs, and it's been great for his socialization. It may be worth a try.

[Holly Doodle]

That's a great idea! We actually have a meeting set up Monday afternoon to see if she's "appropriate" for doggie daycare. We only have one daycare in our town so hopefully she meets their standards :). I definitely think you guys are right about her needing more "dog" time. We've been scared to take her to dog parks because she pounces on other dogs and tries to bite their ears, so I was afraid she would make the wrong dog mad and get attacked. Thanks for the advice, I'll keep you posted on the daycare situation!

[Diane Denney]

I started taking Lincoln to Doggie Day Care a couple of times a week. Believe it or not I had and still have from time to time the exact same problem as you. For no reason whatsoever he just gets uber excited, and starts grabbing at us, but he knows now that it's not okay and that he'll be put in a time out so now the game is grab my clothes, don't pull enough to rip them, but just enough to get our attention, and then run away and hope they chase me. It's all a game out of boredom I think. I figure he'll calm down when he gets older. Thankfully the Doggie Daycare I take him to didn't require an interview. It's the same place we take our dogs to stay overnight. I asked them for a report card the last time because I wanted to know how he played with others and what his behavior was like. They keep telling me he's doing fine!!! It's only $ 12.00 a day, and they have a dog park to that you can join annually. Good luck.

[Holly Doodle]

Holly's interview at Doggie Daycare went perfect!! The owner was so impressed with how well she did with all of the other dogs. She said she was very respectful and asked them to play, and if they didn't want to she would leave them alone. It was so great!! They don't currently have any permanent openings but they said they will call whenever they have cancellations. I think it's really going to help her behavior, even after only playing with the dogs for an hour while we did the interview, she was zonked! Thanks for all the advice everyone!

[Debbie and Thomas]

I would call what happens to her the "zoomies". Our Goldendood Thomas became like this every evening at about 5-6 pm. We called it the "wild time". He just acted a bit looney and I would tie him up on a long leash so he was with us but he could not reach us in his attack mode. I was a my wits end!! It seemed that every evening someone in the family was screaming "ouch"!. By the time he was 6 mths old though-he settled down a lot, and now at 13 mths-he is really great. Once in a while though-we still go thru the "wild time". It sounds like Holly is "high energy" like Thomas and honestly a 45 minute walk IS NOT ENUF although believe me I know that this is the best that you can do. These dogs need to RUN and be with other dogs. Ours goes on a group dog run(up to 10 dogs in his group) for 2 hrs Monday to Friday with a dog walker. They go to an off leash dog park in a conservation area and run in a pack. He then comes home so tired and rests for the rest of the day. In the evening he is quite mellow after this. This has been the best thing we have ever done; for us and the dog. Holly is still young and will grow into the best dog ever but for the time being maybe you could look into some kind of outdoor activity for her before she drives you nuts. Then you will see that she will behave much more mellow at home. It's almost like this other activity gives them a purpose-and becasue of this they don't think it is their "purpose" to bite and terrorize their family.

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

Some dogs just need time to get out their energy....great time to do the dog park...or play outside...go for a long walk...get her involved in fetching ...if she was older you could set up your own agility course to get her energy out, but you could do the tunnel...weave poles...A frame, things where she wouldn't be jumping yet, and than go back and teach the jumps when she is old enough....or get involved with RallyO something to make her work. She might even miss obedience classes and you could do more obedience also.

[Holly Doodle]

Agility is a good idea, we'll have to try some of that when she gets older. We for sure need to fence in our yard, thanks!

[Sandy]

Not having a fenced yard is rough. I don't go to dog parks anymore, only because Toby is not a dominant dog, and always gets picked on and was attacked by a doberman one time. But....we have a fenced yard, and can play fetch to our hearts content. Also, he runs zoomies around the entired perimeter of the yard - around the shed, onto the porch, around, and around, to impress the neighbour's dog. :) So he does work out his energy. When he is having a busy evening, I try to have smoked bones in the house and give him one to gnaw on. That keeps him busy for a long time. Also, try stuffing a Kong.

[Phoebe's Mom]

I truly feel your pain both literally and figuratively. Our Phoebe, now 9.5 months old, still has bouts of this especially with my oldest son. She did extremely well in training classes as well but it does seem for us, as with you, she does not 'hear' the commands when she is in her frenzied state. I use an ex-pen for time outs for her. Interestingly, I had thought that she was not getting enough exercise--we take multiple walks per day--so we fenced our backyard. I take her out and she runs for about 15 minutes and then she is zonked, HOWEVER, if my son comes home, she will still exhibit the same nippy/barking behavior. I consulted a private trainer who came to our home to a**** and observe the behavior and she said that she felt it was still puppy mouthing behavior and she felt Phoebe was particularly mouthy for a puppy her age. She suggested we continue to isolate her from the fun when she acts up and to continue with the exercise, more as she matures. We have become very consistent with her and it is changing very very slowly. I know I was probably not much help to you but at least you know other puppies exhibit the same behavior...you are not alone. Hang in there!

[Michele, Biscuit & Mo]

Doggie daycare might be the next option you'd want to try, Laci. Some doodles have an extreme need to expend energy, and hanging out (and moving) with dogs really does the trick. You might even try a half-day in the beginning. It's also a great way for Holly to learn social behavior and pack mentality. Good luck!

[Laura & Chewie]

Chewie is the same age, 5-1/2 months and also does this exact same thing...growling, barking, biting at us. It doesn't sound like he does it as frequently as Holly and I usually can get him calmed down after a few minutes. I think he does it when he wants attention and thinks this is the way to get it. We keep a leash on him in the house so when his behavior escalates, we can grab the leash and usually get him under control. This used to happen more often, but now only once or twice daily. It is definitely a puppy behavior I will be glad to see him outgrow! Hang in there.