Training a naughty labradoodle

[Cloudyyy]

We have a 5 year old labradoodle, he’s generally well behaved and extremely tame/ soft. He is a rescue dog but we’ve had him for 3.5 years now and seems very settled and attached - especially to my husband who takes him to work every day. He is walked daily by my husband and plays in the garden a fair bit at home so he gets plenty of exercise. We now have two young babies and I’m really pleased with how soft he seems around them. I’m having a lot of trouble though with him stealing their toys/ blankets and getting overexcited when anyone knocks on the door. He always goes mad when someone enters the house (not aggressive - just over excited and he’s quite big so it’s very overpowering). He also barks whenever he’s left alone, so every night we go upstairs to bed and he’s left in the kitchen with the TV on and a lovely basket, toys, blankets and water and he still barks for a bit!! This can wake the babies. If we all go out together and my husband leaves (Togo to the toilet for example) he barks crazily too, which upsets babies too. I’m looking for suggestions on how to help him/ train him to calm down and relax a bit please. Many thanks

[MsMustDoBetter]

Sounds as if he's full of love and gets separation upset, especially from your husband.

See if that Channel 5 guy in the cravat can come and help? I'd like to see more of him on tv.

[adaline]

My beagle does the same when he's apart from either of one of us! He's fine if we both go out and leave him but not if one goes and the other stays!

I'd love to know the solution because the whining drives me bonkers!

[missbattenburg]

If you come at it from the principle that dogs do what works, if he's doing something then he is getting something out of it. You figure out what that is and
A) find a more acceptable way for him to get that same thing or something better
B) try and make sure he no longer gets the pay off from the unwanted action

E.g. my guess would be that he is getting attention for stealing the toys. That you look up at him, speak to him, shout at him, walk over to him, chase him, ask him to give you the toy and maybe praise him when he does. So you stealing = attention. If you can, blank him when he steals the toys but try to give him that attention when he is not stealing them. Ideally, any time he is lying down quietly.

A dog that is frequently and randomly given treats or fuss for sitting in his bed is more likely to hang out in his bed, on the off chance he gets the reward.

The doorbell is trickier because the pay off could be

• barking, which can relieve boredom or stress
• the attention he gets for it
• the scary person going away when he barks, as postmen etc always do

In this case you might try to offer him something better for a better behaviour. Eg we have a baby gate halfway along he hallway and battendog is encouraged to wait behind it. There he was given treats and fuss and praise for sitting quietly while the door was opened. The gate held him far enough away that he wasn't frightened enough to bark too much. Over time and repetition he now goes behind the gate voluntarily and waits for you to close it before answering the door. He now just stands and watches rather than react.

Processing such as systematic desensitisation and counter conditioning can also help with this. Combined with regard a drifter by behaviour should help set up a routine that dog knows and is happy with.

[OverFedStanley]

Door bell is the easy one to sort out

Get a mat near the door to start with. Get your DH to ring the doorbell and let your dog see you put the best treats chicken , cheese on the mat let the dog eat the treats.

Do this regularly a few times a day and the dog will go to the mat rather than chase and bark at the door. You Must always reward the dog for going to the mat before you answer the door and to start with get someone to continue rewarding for the dog on the mat .


Barking when left alone you need to practice this and not only at bed times so put him in his be time position and the second he is quiet go back and reward - this may be the millisecond before he barks. Again do this several times a day and he will wait to be rewarded for not barking. At night again do the same so maybe put him to bed a bit earlier so you can get some training in before he goes to sleep.

This is not separation anxiety just he does not want to go to bed