growls

[bobbygeorge]

hi,

bobby is now approx 15 weeks old and is coming along well.....

one main problem we are having is he has begun to growl in certain situations ie if he is on the sofa and we need to get him off, he will growl if he is moved, or if he is asleep and we wake him to go to bed he will growl...

He does not have any food aggression, will allow his bowl to be lifted up throughout his meal, never growls at other people, dogs or cats...

we want to nip in bud
cheers

michelle

[Hnybny]

it sounds like Bobby is trying to be the king of your castle! I'm sure with a firm tone and constant reinforcement he will get the picture. Maybe he's just so comfy he doesn't want to move. Doodles don't like to be yelled at or scolded. They act like you just hurt their little feelings. They know how to use those big brown eyes, too! Sometimes I feel guilty scolding but it is necessary to get the point across. Five minutes later they want to love on you so all will be forgiven! Do you have any pictures of Bobby???

[SamsonsMom]

Originally Posted by Hnybny

Doodles don't like to be yelled at or scolded. They act like you just hurt their little feelings. They know how to use those big brown eyes, too!

THEY SURE DO!!!!

Maybe try clicker training - or a command to get him off the couch, instead of you physically moving him. When he gets bigger, I'm sure you won't want to physically move a tank-a-doodle off the couch. Neither of my dogs growl at me, so I don't have any experience with your exact situation. But both guys know the command 'down' - which means off the couch or chair. It's kind-of hard to move a 65 lbs doodle off a couch. LOL. But teaching him this command with lots of love and treats at the beginning might stop the growling.

Or not allowing sitting on the couch, that would nip it in the bud too.

I have heard of puppies growling when awakened suddenly. Maybe have some treats in hand when you are waking him up - make waking up a 'happy experience', lots of praise and treats when he wakes up and doesn't growl. Growl = no treat, no attention.

I'm a big positive reinforcement person. But I also have very sensitive doodles that seem to respond best by the above forms of correction. You may get some better advice from some more expert owners on here though.

[deepnite10]

i would growl too if someone tried to get me out of bed befor it was time..

not Toby..but, our little mini-pin growled whenever we tried to get him off the bed, chair or couch..
each time he did growl he got a shot from a spray container..first time he was statled and took off..
..the next time i could see him thinking *should I or should nt I*

doodle s are alot smarter and they should get the hint alot faster..

[kirama]

Easiest thing to do is to teach them 'no!' real early- I don't even use 'no' I use 'ah ah' in a real sharp tone of voice- no matter what it is that Beck is doing, that noise instantly interrupts it, then he focuses on being the sweetie that he is 99.99% of the time

[Jac]

My dogs and puppies respond very well to "uh uh!" too...even when they are only a few weeks old, if they are doing something wrong I tell them "uh uh" and they stop...on the flip side...when they stop, you need to praise them for stopping.

My Bayley used to growl like your pup...whenever I picked her up (and she was comfie) or tried to take something from her...and I scolded her and did what I was doing anyway...now that she is older, I have discovered that she only growls when she is in extreme pain and she is afraid that moving her will hurt...but she doesn't intend to follow up the growl, she just does it to let me know she hurts. Bayley is my most obedient dog now...she will do anything for me...but I had to let her know that her growl was not going to scare me off.

[bobbygeorge]

cheers guys,

we use positive reinforcement all the time and it works really well, when he growls it tends to be when he is settled and we have to move him ie to go to bed.... it also seems to be more to me rather than my hubby.

i have taken to lowering my tone and saying uh uh, and carrying on with my task without eye contact, as we were told this is engaging in play, as soon as he settles he gets lots of praise. we are in the kennel club puppy class training so fingers crossed we will get sorted.

on the bright note he loves his crate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :P :P :P

will attempt photo uploads,