[jzacknae]

This is my first time posting. I have been reading since getting my baby. She is now 4 1/2 months old. She is very picky with her food. I can't get her to eat hardly any dry dog food. I haven't tried that many, but alpo (which is what the breeder started her on) , kibbles and bits homestyle and a special brand that a dog shop here makes. She hates them all. She will go a day without eating then she will eat somewhat. I am not sure how the f1 or f2 thing goes but she is a second generation of doodle. Her mom was a doodle and dad was poodle. She looks like a regular lab though. I ended up getting a short hair cutie. My question is what do you feed your doodle that they actually love to eat?

Also she gets really aggressive when she is hungry.... Ends up biting the kids or trying to steal their food off their plates.

She is a handful though. Wild as she wants to be.....

 

[kim26]

It sounds like your doodle thinks she is dominant over the kids (possibly you too) with her aggressiveness. I'm sorry to say that if you don't deal with it now, it will only get worse. Does she get alot of people food? That could be why she's refusing her dog food. There are many high quality dog foods you can get from stores like Petco or Petsmart. There are alot of things you can do to deal with dominance issues. I would highly recommend enrolling her right away in puppy/obedience class. I'm certainly no expert and I'm sure there are alot of people on here that are more qualified to answer your questions.

 

[jzacknae]

I didn't think a puppy would think themselves dominate. I figured she was just being a puppy and acting out. She is sent to her crate when she is being bad. That is about all I can think of that would make her think about it. She has gotten somewhat of a wild one, trying to bark at me when I am coming up the stairs (from the basement). I have to find somewhere that does the obedience training thing. I am new to being a pet owner and I don't exactly know a great deal of where to go and such.

Thanks for your reply....

 

[kim26]

You are welcome. I wish I could be of more help. I sincerely hope you find a class soon because I know I needed it with my doodle. I've raised a Boxer, Standard Poodle, Bichon Frise and a Toy poodle around very young children and they were naturally easy and did not have dominance issues. My doodle is my first puppy where I felt the need to read training books and I am in my second obedience class right now. Every issue can be worked out but it is very important to start young. Puppies start finding their order in the pack even before they leave the breeders so, yes, puppies can display dominance. Since you are a first time owner and have young children, please get help. I don't feel qualified to give you details about what you should do. I would also recommend getting some training books. I read a couple books by the Monks of New Skete who train German Shepherds and also help people with their problem dogs. I got them from the local library and got some good information from them. You can also find good articles on the internet by googling some key words that you are needing help with. You can look on Amazon.com for dog training books, read their descriptions and find one or two that sound good to you. Their prices are very reasonable. Please keep us updated on how things are going and I hope more people on here can give you some more advice. I know your puppy can be wonderful if you get the tools you need to train her. Good luck.

 

[Jac]

Hello and welcome...Kim has been giving you some really good suggestions and I totally agree that you need to get a handle on the training issues right away.
4 and 1/2 months is not an age where I would be too concerned over these antics, however, you do need to find a way to teach your puppy that you and your family are top dog.
I hesitate to add this, but I feel that it is important...a crate should be a place of comfort for your puppy and not one of punishment...so looks like you do have your work cut out for you.
I agree that puppy kindergarten is the first step. Contact your local humane society or animal selter or even vet offices to find a good program. The key is to follow through with the training.
Never allow your puppy to play tug of war games with you or your children and don't let the children play too roughly with the pup either.
I am afraid that the most important factor in selecting a puppy may have already passed in this situation...a breeder should always carefully select breeding stock for temperament...if the breeding stock have agression issues, it is likely that the puppies will too.
Usually Labradooles are docile and loving...when there is an aggression factor, I always look to the breeder first. Not that this will cure the problem, but I hope that others will learn to check for this when buying a puppy.
Now, the situation is that you do have a puppy, you do love your puppy and you are doing everything that you know how to do....so what you need is some good advice and help.
As Kim has said, finding a trainer and teaching your puppy is the most important factor...proper playtime is too.
I would suggest that you look through this site, they have a LOT of good articles about all sorts of behavior:
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/
And this one is good too:
http://www.inch.com/~dogs/cratetraining.html
Please don't be discouraged...it is a daily learning process for all of us. I am still learning a lot of important lessons about raising my puppies. Take heart, your pup will be fine...he just needs some consistent direction from you and you may need some help from a trainer to get there...but you will get there!
Good luck...please don't hesitate to check in and ask questions. That's how we all learn!

 

[Jac]

Oh, I meant to address the food issue too...the brands mentioned are really not very good ones for your pup...but even the best quality food is not something my dogs like. I have found that my dogs are very picky eaters.
I keep trying new food too...which is a mistake, I think. I'd find a good quality dry kibble, begin to mix it a little with some good canned food and then feed only that to your dog...when he is hungry enough, he will eat.
Keep an eye on his weight and his bowels...see if he is vomiting or anything too...if you have problems, you might need the help of a vet.
But when you change food, do it a little at a time, mix the new food with the old until he gets used to the new brand.

I also wanted to mention that if you exercise your dog well, you may find that he is better socialized and also better behaved...so I'd take him on lots of walks (keep in mind his age and the heat...keep the walks short until he is much older) and maybe go to dog parks...but be sure that he has had all of his shots first.

 

[jzacknae]

Thanks... I knew I would get some good advice here. I would walk her but I am afraid of parvo. I had a puppy die from parvo last year. She was only 3 weeks old. My mistake was taking her out. When I got buttercup she was taken to the vet for shots prior to even entering my home. I couldn't go through that again. I read so much on the disease that even though you get shots and all it is still possible for them to catch it. It is a horrible and painful disease that will hurt your heart watching and being helpless to help out your puppy. I am totally lost on the food thing. I will try your tips though. I did try mixing the dry with the canned but she would only lick it (the gravyish stuff) and leave the rest to dry out in her bowl. I am going to call around on monday and see what I can come up with for training.

 

[jzacknae]

I wanted to add that I also read that crate training is supposed to be a comfort place, but I was hopeless with her. I refuse to hit her and I just don't know what else to try. I am going to read the sites you listed and check out some books.

THANKS

 

[Jac]

I totally understand what you are saying...and I think that when you get to your rope's end with these guys (and we all do at times) it is far better to crate them than to do anything else...but if you can (I know it is hard when you are upset) try to make it sound fun...using a happy voice and treats...

About Parvo...I breed dogs so I asked my vet to give Parvo shots earlier, because I am afraid of it too...it is a horrific disease...my vet said that even though they have all of the shots they are not fully protected from Parvo...until they are 4 months of age. She said that when they are 4 months old, their natural immune system kicks in and takes over.

Still, if you are concerned, you could get something from your vet to wipe his feet with when you get home (and wipe your shoes with too.)

The thing about Parvo is that it can be tracked in on shoes from outside no matter where you or your visitors have been...I agree with you it is a terrible disease. But I think that my vet is correct about the natural immunity...you might want to talk that over with your vet. Be sure that your pup has all of his shots though.

The one mistake we made with our dogs is to not take them out to enough different places. We wish that we would have taken them to grocery stores and places with a lot of noise and people of different types. We had trouble with our dog barking out of fear and I think that this would have helped.

I was as clueless as anyone about dogs, when we got ours...and I read everything I could...and this (and other) forums really helped. So I am glad you are here...I hope that we can help you along, when you need it.