Dog has me at my wits end.

Those aren't what I describe as long walks tbh - are they on or off lead? My 3 years old Lab x isn't particularly tired after our Sunday morning 6.5 mile off lead walk and that's me walking very briskly indeed! She regularly gets 4-6 miles a day across 3 walks of which only the middle one is mostly on lead.

Also, have you experimented with feeding different food? Some brands have all sorts of additives in which may contribute to the hyper behaviour.

rehome an

Apologies my phone has a mind of its own.

Where and how are you going to remove and eight year old dog?

Have you had her for 8 years (or is this just another wind up)?

Definitely need more information about the walks before anything.
On/off lead? Tarmac, field, woodland?
What have you tried already, how long for, were there any blockers? (Kids, time, environment etc)

Depends on the breeder, my dog's breeder recently took a 14yo dog back and kept the dog for the rest of it's life.

Actually, decent breeders commit to having them back at any stage in their lives. We have a contract with ours to say that if we can no longer keep him then we’re to return him to the breeder.

Very unlikely to be the case with a cavapoo though!

I don’t think breeders have them back at 8 years old 😂

Who is going to want an 8 year old destructive, anxious barky dog that medication or behavioural advice has not helped?

Op, she is your commitment and responsibility, don't just try and palm her off on someone or somewhere else

Get another behaviourist to work 1:1 for as long as it is needed.

I've never met a poodle cross that wasn't deranged in some way people should really research breeds before buying a dog . Have you tried a vibration collar for the barking ? Treat balls snuffle mats etc walks need to be longer aswell

Do not send to a dogs home. They will sue any excuse to put a dog down. You can't give away a dog you've had for 8 years!!

Have you tried arsenic ?

Classical music for dogs...courtesy of Alexa of course and Trazadone x

Dogs are only destructive when their needs arent being met.

Cavapoos are hardworking. Im a dog trainer and personally i wouldn't want one.

If you've had her from a pup - shes a product of what you did/didnt do.

Get a good force free trainer - do everything they say. You have to all commit to working with your dog. She needs training, exercise, games that will mentally challenge her.

You are not meeting her needs and until you do her behaviour will not / cannot change.

I was going to same exactly the same.

I have a rescue poodle who came to us with extreme separation anxiety, would bark at pretty much anything and just didn’t ever settle. We put in a LOT of hard work - I didn’t actually spend huge amounts on trainers but did do my research and committed to it. I’d say the separation anxiety took about 6-9 months of very consistent daily work (look up Be Right Back dog training) and introduced lots of games and play plus incorporated ‘settle’ & ’place’ commands. He only gets about an hour walk most days but once or twice a week we do a long explore with plenty of sniffing and off lead and at home we have enrichment toys, sniffle mats and chews.

ours is an absolute joy now - still barks at the doorbell (keep saying one day I’ll tackle that!) but can be left for a couple of hours, settles in his bed or on the sofa and is just lovely. I don’t believe there is anything wrong with the dog but I do think if you can’t or won’t invest time and effort into training you should look to rehome.

Check out the frida protocol, supposed to work wonders with separation anxiety.. Susan garrett has a podcast about it. Tjinknits episode 200.

I like your suggestions about the sniffing which is a real mental workout for them. Maybe all day doggy day care would be good though - out of the house with constant stimulation might make it tired in the evening and no barking in the day. I know a few cockerpoos and they are also constantly barking and whining for attention.

Its a well known behaviour of the breed. We get loads at work.... They are "needy".

Itv ? Dog whisperer - contact them

I don’t understand why people have dogs that cause them nothing but stress and upheaval. It’s not a baby. It’s a dog. It’s not compulsory to have it ruin your life or make it exceptionally difficult.

Unfortunately, that’s what happens when back yard breeders create this type of dog. Two very high needs dogs, very different high needs too, and you get this.

The only reason they become popular is because they’re cute as puppies.

I presume you’ve not had the dog 8 years? Poor thing has already been passed around so no wonder it has issues. You need a behaviourist or you’re just passing the problem on to someone else and who knows what they’d do.

Look over at Dog Training Advice and Support: https://fbdtas.com/articles-guides

What did the behaviourist say?

This dog is not feeling emotionally safe. They are overwhelmed and these are all coping strategies - just like people fidget, scroll, clean excessively, exercise obsessively, comfort eat and binge watch old shows. Most people can't switch their mind off - neither can this dog - and it's not the OP's fault, they've likely followed lots of training advice and as they say, seen a behaviourist and vets to try and help. They are trying to do everything right but the information is often lacking crucial information.

The dog doesn't need more walks or more mental stimulation - this is feeding into the coping mechanisms. They need more understanding, compassion and for the OP to understand that the dog, while being 8 years old, is developmentally very young. They likely need some changes to the walk but not necessarily longer/more of it. Likely, less walks. They need to build a closer bond built on empathy, safety and curiosity. It can be done with a dog of any age but takes time. The dogs' social character plays into this too.

There's a lot to unpack, but comments of 'walk it more' and 'more mental stimulation' are feeding into these dogs who desperately need quiet and emotional safety, and causing well meaning loving guardians more problems.

Reading this and some of the comments has made me really angry. Why did you get this dog? Did you look into the breeds in any way? You have a dog that’s high energy and high anxiety/need because of the breeds. Didn’t you consider that? And people suggesting looking into re homing. What?? Dog charities are inundated with strays let alone people giving up dogs they didn’t research properly before buying. A dog is a lifelong responsibility. If more people adopted rather than buying maybe the situation wouldn’t be like it is now.

You know you're not rehoming her. I know you wouldn't do that to her or your DCs.
But I get it. I have a difficult rescue dog, not difficult in the home to be fair, but reactive when she is out and about. It's so stressful, but ultimately I love her, so we're in it for the long haul. I go for walks in very isolated places preferably at night and hope to god she'll protect me if she has to. It's not ideal.

While 8 is technically senior, cavapoos can live to about 15, so we're not talking about a dog in the final years of its' life. An 8yo, healthy dog should easily be able to manage several hours of exercise without too much build-up.