Potential adoption

[demi]

I am so happy to have found this forum, I have been thinking about getting a doodle for a while, and yesterday one turned up at the local shelter, so I went to see him this morning.

He is very cute, 8 months old, and behaved like a rocket powered kangaroo. He flew around the 'get acquainted' pen, barked at other dogs, ricocheted off the fence. He could sit/stay long enough to get a treat before heading off to the stratosphere again. He jumped, he pawed, he mouthed my hand in a nippy way.

Okay, I am an experienced dog owner, and my take on him is that he is young but also very confused about who should be leader, he is not alpha, just very smart and high energy.

He has been through two homes, the first bought him from a breeder, then about 6 months gave him up to someone else who kept him just 1 1/2 months.

I liked the dog, am up to the challenge, but am wondering what part of this is his personality, do these guys tend to stay high energy and nutty? Someone at the shelter said that they stay that way until they are 4 years old or so.

Since doodles are so trendy I know he will be adopted quickly (they are holding him for 24 hours because they had not done the cat test yet). Unless he gets an experienced and knowledgeable owner he may wind up back at the shelter, with more problems.

My main hesitation is that I have a granddaughter that visits from time to time (he is fine with kids according to the tests), and he is so exuberant. He has been confined at the shelter, but just for a day or two, so I don't think that is a part of the energy source.

What do you guys think? How difficult to settle him down and 'relearn' him?

Thanks!

[lmtoth2]

hmmm...I think it may be possible he is confused, scared and may be like this because of this. Why did the previous owners give him up? Did they spend time exercising him? Dexter will be like a nut if he doesn't get good daily exercise...I think it has to be tough to assess a dog in a shelter. Hopefully others will have some advice for you

P.S. 8 months is also adolescence time - I found Dexter calmed down a bit after a year.

Maya is only 10 mos old so she is still kinda wild. Like Leslie said....if she gets her exercise she is fine.

[blueteal]

Denver is almost two years old(May 24th) and he is so
much calmer then when he was younger.
It will take a lot of training and daily excercise and you are experienced with dogs so you should be able to handle him...........Good luck
and keep us posted ............

[demi]

Thanks for your replies!

Here is his listing:
http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displa ... d=10443144

The last people to own him say that they walked him 1 hour a day, "he is always happy, loves dogs, is shy around kids, likes new people, running, jumping, taking showers, has not been given the run of the house (but has been given rooms), has bitten the owner (did not break the skin) 'when he wants attention', but only the owner". It looks like they had him neutered three weeks ago.

I am trying to be level headed about this guy, I keep my dogs no matter what, for their lifetime.

I get that he has puppy energy, I am just concerned that he has developed some habits that will be hard to change, and that should have been dealt with long ago.

I bet that if he is kept under supervision, given tons of love and consistent training he will be fine in a year or two, but I just don't know the breed. (I have had goldens, and two lab crosses).

[madcity_mike]

oh my gosh hes a big sweetie! If your able to give him ample exercise id say hes for you!!

[madcity_mike]

btw hes only 9 months.. still a pup.. you can work with him!!

This breed is smart. And they love their people and try as hard as they can to please them. While he has some behaviors that may be hard to break you can break them. Maya is allowed to sleep in the bed and be on the furniture at my house....at my BF's house she is not. She has learned in no time what furniture she is allowed on and which she is not. (My BF and I started dating when My was about 8.5mos old)

A one hour walk a day is not enough or Maya. She needs to run....I have a fenced in back yard and we play fetch a lot or I chase her or she chases me. Don't get me wrong Maya gets walks too but her backyard time is what tires her out the most. I also found that she is best when she has a play date at least 3 times a week.

[gene]

What a cutie! Words to live by......"A tired doodle is a good doodle!" Good luck in what ever you decide. Please keep us posted.

[lmtoth2]

I agree with Heather...I could walk Dexter for 3 hrs, but it does nothing compared to him running and playing fetch. I would be mildly concerned with the biting/nipping issue, but he is still young and there's time for correction. Good luck in your decision - let us know what you decide.

[River Rat]

It's so hard to tell whether the behavior you saw was due to his being anxious and penned up, or whether that's the way he is all the time. Chouette does not need that much exercise; we take her for a walk to get the newspaper in the morning, for about ten or fifteen minutes, and play fetch with her outside at some time during the day, and that's fine for her. We also play fetch in the house, or hide a toy and have her find it. It probably helps that whenever she's outside she's off-leash, so she can cover a lot of ground that way. Yesterday she spent a lot of time chasing our tractor and playing in the woods while DH and GD cut up trees, but that level of activity is unusual. On the other hand, she's always been a mellow pup, so they are all different. Some of the doodles on the forum seem to be much higher energy than she is. At 11 months she still wants to be mouthy sometimes, but will switch to a lick if asked. Most of these dogs really do want to please you.

Lots of luck with whatever you decide and do keep us posted.

Leslie

Sounds like my Bella. She is alpha, and it is definitely something to deal with but as you know, with training it is fine.
The 'bite the owner' part might be worrisome, but if it was an attention getting-last resort- nip type bite, then I would not be as concerned. Since the skin was not broken, maybe it was playful 'pulling'? I would love to know more about the circumstances... (Maybe resource guarding a bone?)
Bella is almost two and calmed down considerably around 14 months. She was a high energy ball of lightning. Now she is a typical dog, just lays around all day, is exuberant for walks and visitors, likes to chase squirrels in the yard but knows not to chase anything when being walked.
They are VERY intelligent, so training can be easy (except if they are alpha and are not interested in being commanded ) Bella listens, although sometimes it's reluctanttly I love her down stays where she tries to keep her butt up just a teeny smidge

I would say you sound perfect for her.

Bella is very loyal and actually seems to go into 'mourning' when my DH is away. (he wasn't sure he wanted a dog and now he does not want to leave her when we go on vacation ).

[MaxandMe]

okay 9mos ...he's still a big puppy

With some Obedience training and relearning which can take time , try your patience and sense of humor...these Dogs can also respond well to training and in beginning it has to be daily even if only for a short 10min session.

I have 3 ...Peanut the cream one OMG she was a ricochet rabbit for 10 full months and BAM she hit 11mos old and settled down so much, then showed us all the training we did was worth the effort
and she's extremely calm around kids though since day 1

Beau the red guy, he's 8mos and let me tell you regardless of how laid back he is and sweet
it's like being back to square one on obedience training again hahhahaa
he's trying our patience daily again, full of energy

I will say this: when i train almost daily wow the results are amazing
when i get sick for almost a month and can't train, they need a refresher and life gets better again.

MOST doodles will start to mature a bit around 12mos old or so
but like a child they can't raise themself.....so maybe YOU can make a difference DEMI
as these doodles are very intelligent, sweet, loving and comical

they just need someone who can exercise them both physically and mentally with love and patience

[Tink]

Snuggles is 7 months old... an f1 doodle. I got her back from a girl who bought her as a pup because a landlord decided she was too rowdy and large to be in his apartment. I put her in a large run with a standard poodle pup her own age to make sure she gets plenty of exercise. They play and play and play... but now when she comes in the house she's not the hyper jumping psycho dog she was acting like prior to getting all this exercise. That I know of, she is by far the most active pup from my litter of 12... most took after their poodle dad in that respect and are far more laid back. She absolutely NEEDS that exercise to not bounce off the walls; but when she gets it, she's a very happy more easily handled dog.

This past weekend when my8 and 2 yr old granddaughters were here, Snuggles was their favorite to play with. She retrieves a ball like a pro and when she brings it back she sits directly in front of the kids and drops it right into their outstretched hand. She stays sitting till they throw the ball then is off like a rocket. So the high energy is still there, she's just learning to focus it and burns it off in play.

IF you decide to get this pup please be sure you have the time and space to exercise him so you're both happy. That level of energy can be very destructive and frustrating for you and the dog if they can't burn it off. I'd hate to see you or anyone else get him and try to deal with him if he can't get out and RUN. There are sure to be many more laid back doodles to be found... it just depends on your situation whether he's the one for you.

He's definitely a cutie! Good luck... now's the time to be absolutely honest with yourself as to whether you can appreciate his high energy personality or would be better off to keep looking.

[demi]

Thank you all again, your dogs are all so adorable and your experiences with them warm my heart, I do terribly miss having a dog again (it took me since last June to be ready, and suddenly it seems to occupy my mind fully!).

Having had one crazy alpha lovable lab cross (we think the dad must have been wily coyote), who would jump out of a second story window to go after the kid's fireworks, so alpha that he went through two dog trainers, the second one could get him to lay on command, except he refused to let his belly touch the ground and perched on his feet - but he let the kids do anything to him...well I certainly went through dog boot camp.

But I really do think the biting on this doodle is worrisome because it is so deliberate and passive about it. He circles around behind and tries to jump on your back, circles, and grabs at your hand. Once he nipped my hand after circling around once, then running off. He lays on his back and acts obsequious, gets up, flies around, then tries to dominate with the jumping and nipping.

The nips are gentle, in line with puppy play. That is his problem, he has no idea where he fits in the pecking order, I think he is more dominant than some, but not alpha, and he is very friendly. He probably intimidated his other owners, and didn't want to, but someone has to be in charge. He is confused and I agree with you posters that he can be trained out of it, but those behaviors never are forgotten.

One of my horses was like that, somewhat schizy, and each and every person that rode him (or led him for that matter) was constantly tested until the horse went through all this tricks. My husband never figured this out and consequently the horse always stepped on my husband's feet, and only his.

Hmmm, if I am honest with myself as Tink suggested, it will be introducing more problems than I am prepared for right now to take this guy. It is hard to accept because I know I could succeed with him, but my daughter is already freaking out a bit because he is listed as unsuitable for little kids and my granddaughter is less than 2.

Thanks for all your advice, I can see now that the timing is not right.