[sarahann]

Today I gave the doodles a break from the walk and let them sniff around by the river. They both got very intense and seemed to be on high alert all of a sudden... to the point where when I made a loud noise with my foot they both jumped and barked! I think there must have been a coyote smell around.

After this we met a calm golden retriever on a walk with his owner on-leash. My dogs were also on leash but they would not stop focusing on him. I decided to stop on the side and let them pass... BAD IDEA! Manchego started barking and freaking and since he couldn't get to the dog he would nip at Brie

Has anyone else experienced this? Where a smell totally changed the state of mind that your doodle was in? I'm thinking you would call this fear aggressive, but I'm no expert. Any ideas how to get them back to calm submissive? (I did make them lay down and gave them a treat to relax them before the golden encounter but it didn't work).

Thanks,
Sarah

 

[deepnite10]

most dog s have very sensitive sense of smell..and can pick up fear and agression in other dogs..even humans..

ive seen several time s a dog will come into the dog park and just about all the dog s will go nuts..either getting hyper-active or getting aggressive
with other dog s whom they were just playing..

 

[lmtoth2]

I have found their senses to be incredible. I have taken Dex hiking in the woods and a few times he plants his feet and refuses to move...like he was really afraid of something. He never normally does this so I took it as a sign he smelled/sensed something bad and instead we turned around and hiked the other way.

I'm sure Manchego was dying to play w/the other dog Dex will occasionally throw a "tantrum" (that's what I like to call it) when he sees something he is dying to play with and isn't getting his way.

 

[dudlmom]

I am so glad to see this discussion. Max the large doodle (80lbs) has become much more aggressive when walking on a leash. I don't begin to understand what sets him off. Some dogs he is fine with, and others, he turns into Cujo . I am at a loss. He even does this to other dogs that walk in front of our home. I am becoming afraid to take him to situations where there are lots of other dogs. When he is off leash at dog parks and such, it is not as bad, but he still has his moments. He has been trained professionally and knows how to walk and stay focused. He must be going through something, I just don't know what. :? :?: I have called another trainer, still waiting on a phone call back. Any suggestions? I really want to stop this upsetting behavior before he gets a really bad reputation in our neighborhood. Oh, he is turning 3 this month and should know better. I did notice that his behavior changed after we got the 2nd doodle. Rocky is now 16 months old and he is a mess :lol: Max was much more mellow before Rocky came along.

 

[emilee]

we routinely take our dogs to a local park that has a 3-mile paved biking/walking/rollerblading path. we usually try to go on a weekend when the park is busy, precisely so that we can work on polite leash behavior. we pass all kinds of people and dogs on that path, every couple of minutes -- it is frankly exhausting for us, but what teaching opportunities! we carry liver treats with us, and are on constant alert for someone approaching from either direction. when somebody is coming, we either step off to the side of the path and have the dogs sit, and treat them for focusing on us. or, lately we've been working on "heel" with a yummy treat as the "carrot". kumo and ursus are usually so focused on the liver treat they don't even turn their heads to look at the oncoming biker, walker, etc. the practice has been really great, we've seen a lot of improvement with ursus (the new pup) in just a few weeks. we also use a prong collar on these walks, to help reinforce the "no pulling" rule.

-em

 

[dudlmom]

We do take them to parks and stuff where other dogs are, but lately, I've shied away from large groups because of the aggressive behavior. I get so embarrassed and frustrated trying to control the situation. Doodles have such a great temperament for the most part, I'm beginning to think it is something we have done that caused this change in Max.

 

[MaxandMe]

maybe i am being too simple here but when any dog starts to mature they go thru stages where they lose fear and become more protective in ways of their master, family, house, yard etc

not all dogs will do this nor to the same degree of those that do.

you can try to train them to stop ...but if you are fearful or apprehensive in any way when walking your dog , well they SENSE emotions easily and sometimes act accordingly.
just like when a dog snifs a human or other dog , they've already sized up their personality etc. along with being acute to body language.

I'm with Vanessa ...training is key


in my own yard none of my doodles pull on leash as when they were younger i would stop and stand there doing nothing but ignore them.
if they continued then i'd walk right back inside the house.
they stopped pulling totally within a few days.
NOW with Max outside our home/yard Max has a prong collar which has him acting like the perfect dog in public places