New Doodle! All is great, but...

[Auto]

Hi everybody. I hate to open my fist post with a problem, but that is what I'm going to do.

My girlfriend and I just bought a 6 month old Labradoodle boy (his dad is a Labradoodle, his mom is a standard Poodle) from a breeder. At the breeder's home he was a very friendly dog, he would not bound right up to you and jump on you but if you approached him he would meet you tail wagging and let you pet him, check out his paws, scruffle his ears, anything I tried he was perfectly happy with. He actually seemed to take to my girlfriend more quickly to me, favoring her but not avoiding me or anything.

On the car ride (2.5 hours) home he was the most amazing young dog ever. Curious about what was going on outside, but remaining calm and happy to go to sleep.

The first night (Sunday) he was absolutely fine. He remained in his kennel all night, never once crying, and when I took him out in the morning he had not messed at all! So I took him for a short walk in my front yard, then into the back yard to show him his home. All great, we even played some fetch, which he does very well, tail wagging all over the place.

AND THEN, my girlfriend opened the door to come out and he let loose with I don't know how many barks and even a snarl, from about 15 feet. The same woman whose feet he had been sleeping on the night before. It was a light switch effect, goofy dog playing fetch with me to scary guard dog. We had not seen anything like that at all: Absolutely no aggressive or scared behavior.

Sometimes when she comes home during the day and I am not there he barks and snarls through the door at her. She tried talking to him to let him know who she was, but she was understandably afraid to open the door. Once I got there he stopped.

I can pick him up, play with his paws, scruffle him, do anything with no reaction, no tensing up or anything bad, just a happy dog. She was able to do the same tonight too, so that is promising.

I know it has only been a few days, but when anybody else comes to visit he turns into a barking guard dog. We have tried letting him approach the new person, and he will walk within 3 feet and begin a low growl, which turns into barking and bared teeth if allowed to continue. Any motion from the new person creates the same barking reaction. He actually air bit at my mom.

When he begins the barking or aggression towards people, a firm NO from me stops him instantly and he backs off, but he ignores my girlfriend.


I think it is clear that he sees me as the Alpha male. I can take his food away from him and put my hand in his bowl with no aggression.
I must also mention how perfect of a dog he has been otherwise. He has not messed in the house, nor has he torn anything but his chew toy up.


The problem is that we are social people, and we need a dog who can be friendly towards new people in our home. My family also has a few ranches in different towns that we often go visit, and we need a dog who can go with us and not become stressed or aggressive.

The breeder says we have until maybe Sunday if we want to return him. I have to leave on Friday for a trip and I am not comfortable leaving him with my girlfriend if he is even sometimes aggressive towards her, so unfortunately we have a bit of a time crunch. We did not fathom that the dog we had played with was even capable of this type of behavior.

I spoke to her about the option of taking him back on Thursday night and picking him up again on Tuesday, and she was open to that.

I guess I am just hoping for (unrealistic, I know) a magic, quick solution to his distrust of other people. With animals nothing is certain, but I believe he can get over it with our love and help, and we will certainly work hard at that and seek a good dog trainer. BUT, we can not keep a dog that is aggressive.

So, do we take the chance and keep him, or do we insist that the breeder take him back?

Thanks,

Auto

[deepnite10]

i won t recommend returning your doodle..that would have to be your decision..

i ve found that continual interaction with dogs and people will help balance a dog s behavior..

first id discontinue any rough housing..and enter him into obedience class where he can be around other people and dogs in a control d enviorment..
and rather than teaching tricks..concentrate on obedience..

[Nikkiey]

Practice.

Have your girlfriend come and go from the front door multiple times while you give your dog treats near by (all the while distracting him). If he stops taking treats and starts barking put the dog in a kennel (time out) and certainly stop giving him treats. Repeat this multiple times so that your girlfriend can walk in and out of the door without so much as a reaction. Once he accomplishes this, up the anti, have her knock on the door before coming in or ringing the doorbell. And when that is finally mastered enlist the help of some friends. Have them come and go, knock or ring the doorbell.

My dog used to think the most important thing when someone was at our door was for him to get to them and bark. It took a few weeks, but we managed to teach him that when someone knocks or rings the door bell he must go straight to the landing (at the stairs) and stay there until we tell him otherwise.

This type of training worked well for us, but keep in mind it took a lot of patience and repetition. If your girlfriend is afraid of your new dog then maybe bring in a professional obedience trainer to help with the transition.

[Riverkatie]

I think I would suggest a professional dog trainer. Also what training/socialisation has he had?

I am reading a book by Ian Dunbar and he suggests that your puppy meet 100 people before they are 12 weeks old, all sorts of people, old, young, with and without hats, on skateboards and scooters etc etc. Obviously there is a conflict with vaccinations here, so this takes planning (ie you have to invite them into your home.)


This is so they meet all sorts when young so they will be happy with everybody. Obviously it is too late for you, but you can follow the principle now. Meet as many people as possible, in all sorts of situations. Don't keep the puppy at home as matters will get worse.

I think I would use supertreats whilst you are waiting for your trainer to have an appointment.

Don't put food in a bowl, weight it out for the day and feed by hand. Puppy sit. Feed kibble. Puppy down, feed kibble. You do it with kibble, the girlfriend does it with dried liver! Person at door. Puppy sit. Feed kibble. Get the girlfriend to feed by hand as much as possible, and more than you. Dog barks at person. Puppy sit, kibble when quiet.

And follow your heart. Is this the right dog for you? Only you can answer this. My first labradoodle lived to be 15. You need to be able live happily with this dog for a long time.

Katie.

[Auto]

What a difference a day can make!

Thanks for the encouragement and help everybody.

This morning my girlfriend woke him up and took him out and for a short walk. He followed her and minded perfectly, and met her with a happy wagging tail.

She came home at lunch and had the same perfect behavior.

Once I got home from work I took him for a short walk, and then we loaded up in the car and went to my parents house. At my parents house are a border collie, who is about 7 years old and is the most laid back dog ever (unless you are a cow, then look out.), and my old Pug, who is going on 15 years old. The pug is blind and deaf, but very friendly and sees by his nose. My Doodle did not like the pug at all, because Max would just keep advancing on him trying to get a good smell of the new guy (and a pug does not much resemble a Doodle). He accepted Dexter the collie with the usual butt-sniffing and they got along fine.

Then I had my mom come out. He has not reacted well to my mom in the previous two encounters, but after 10 minutes of just allowing Pete to wander around in the yard, he took a treat out of her hand, and a few more minutes she was walking him by his leash and petting him!


I am finding out that Pete needs a couple tries at an experience, and then he is good. The car ride there in my truck was not comfortable, with him hiding his head and being tense. The ride home, you would have thought he had been riding in cars for years!

I got the number for a trainer who is supposed to be a miracle worker, and we will be working with her too. But I am confident that Pete is and will be a great dog.

Sorry for the long post, I'm just very happy

[Riverkatie]

oh, I am so glad to hear things are going better. Keep us posted about how Pete progresses.

[deepnite10]

as you just noticed from Pete..he s adapting alot faster than hoped for..
just be patient..sometimes they ll learn quickly other times it ll take a few more reps..

but, they do learn alot faster than children dogs obey to make you happy..where children want you to obey to make them happy..