6 month old biting, lunging, attacking on walks

[BreathlessCommotion]

We thought things had improved from the puppy biting phase. We worked with a trainer, who was excellent and we made some real progress.

But in the last few weeks she has got so much worse. Whenever we take her for a walk, both on and off lead, she will suddenly turn and jump, bite, pull and lunge at us biting. If we fold arms and turn our backs she bites bums and legs! Now she has adult teeth it is really painful. I am covered in bruises and she has drawn blood a few times.

She looks like a police dog hanging off our arms. The distraction and calming techniques-throwing treats on floor for her to sniff and find, isn't working.

Today I had to call DH to come and fetch us as I couldn't get anywhere, she was constantly jumping, biting, lunging.

We play games with her, do enrichment, but it doesn't seem to help.

Any suggestions?

It's a reason. Not the main one. Behaviour like that is often multifactorial in cause.

Oh, absolutely there are other factors, but a lack of exercise really won't be helping. Poodles are working dogs - they were bred to run and swim, not to be stuck at the end of a Flexi-lead.

I do sympathise, when my beagle was younger he had shocking recall and we couldn't exercise him properly, and his behaviour was poor as a result. Now we've worked at recall, I can let him off to run and play with other dogs and life is so, so much easier (and walks are a hell of a lot less stressful!).

For sure it will help. It just might not be a total 'cure' and I wouldn't want pp getting despondent if it isn't.

because it's not easy having a reactive dog but the main reason for poor behaviour like that is a lack of exercise
Not necessarily.
My dog can be reactive, more exercise made her worse, not better.

Partly because she is uncomfortable around other dogs and obviously seeing them on every walk wasn't too good.

But also because she is so very easy to get overly hyped up/excited/stimulated.

A really really long walk with loads of free running and jumping and playing with a ball would result in her coming home and pacing and whining for quite some time.

She does so, so much better with less walks and much less highly stimulating activities like ball throwing.
Much calmer, much happier.

Dogs need to get off and run. You have a working breed who is bred to run and swim
Mines a working breed from working lines.

A really really long walk with loads of free running and jumping and playing with a ball would result in her coming home and pacing and whining for quite some time.

But PP hasn't ever tried that, so she doesn't know whether it will work or not. She needs to try it first - if it doesn't work or make a difference, fine, then try something else instead. But giving it a go for a week or two won't do any harm.

Mine is reactive (only when he's on lead) and the best thing for him is to be allowed off to explore without the restrictiveness of a lead. We often walk and never see another dog so it's not necessarily the socialisation or even the running about that he craves, he just doesn't get enough space or freedom to "do his thing" if he's attached to me all the time.

I'd put her in a dogmatic headcollar. This let's you control her head. What I do with my mam's (big) Jack Russell is turn towards him if he starts jumping so it puts him off balance and he needs all four paws on the floor! I use a double ended training lead with one end clipped to the dogmatic and one to his flat collar. If he starts jumping I shorten the end clipped to his head and redirect him.

He also has a sixty foot long line because he has no recall at all. (working on it!) it's long enough that he gets a good run but can't physically get away from me.

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Long-Lead-Dog-Horse-Training-Tracking-Lunge-5ft-to-200ft-Any-Size-ALL-Colours-/290926016445?nav=SEARCH

I'd at least give a headcollar a try as it will give you more control and confidence. I personally don't rate halti as they can creep up into the dog's eyes.

How do people know how their dog will behave off lead if they have never let them off lead?

Yesterday I took my dog and my brothers dog for a walk across some fields (public footpath). Two small dogs ran over to us, owner running, panting behind them. She kept screaming, “Put your dogs on a lead. Don’t let my dogs near them”. In the meantime all 4 dogs were running round, chasing each other and having fun. The owner was gobsmacked and said, “OMG! They are rescue dogs. I have never let them off lead around other dogs because they have always barked and snapped at other dogs. I always thought they were reactive”.

They dogs had a further 10 minute run around together. There was no problem, whatsoever.

The same as when people say they have never let their dog off lead, “Because it will run and run and won’t come back”. How do they know if they have never let the dog off lead? 🤔

Duvet your dog could be reactive on lead because she is frustrated at not being allowed to run free and let off energy. She may be reactive because she hasn’t been properly socialised. There are many reasons. Without knowing your dog nobody can advise you. You are better off using a behaviourist to work with you and your dog, especially as you say she bites.

I know mine won't come back because he's an escape artist and pisses off over the horizon at the first chance.

I know mine won't come back because he's an escape artist and pisses off over the horizon at the first chance.

Mine was like that too when he was younger. Months on a longline with training and high value treats and is recall is near enough perfect. The vast majority of dogs can be let off the lead with the right training.

My Dh’s family had a spaniel that used to piss off the first chance it got. If it got out of the door and wasn’t on a lead it would be gone. My poor dh as a lad used to have to chase down the driveway and across the field after it, usually in his slippers apparently.

We're working on it, which is why he stays on the 60ft line.

I would avoid old fashioned methods eg dog whisperer. There methods have been widely debunked for a while.

I would strongly recommend joining the Facebook group Dog Training Advice and Support. It is run by a group of accredited behaviourists who only use positive and force free methods.

I would be tempted to muzzle train her so you at least have some control over the unwanted behaviour whilst you work out the best way to deal with it.
I can't help feeling she wants something from you when she does this behaviour, not to excuse it because it does need dealing with. My old dog was prone to a bit of arse nipping when he wanted to be chased around the garden. He was a lot more full on initially ( body slams with mouth wide open, grabbing ) when we first got him at a year old , I wouldn't go into the garden without a rolled up newspaper to bat off his more exuberant advances, sorry I know that was probably a bad thing to do but I was a novice dog owner . He was a hunting breed and loved to be chased and chase others. Walks became a lot calmer when he had a bunch of dogs to socialise and hurtle round with, they also taught him very important dog boundaries.

Have you watched the programme on Channel 5 called 'Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly'?
Series 2 is on now, but I watched Series 1 on catch up. There is an episode with a dog with a similar problem to you. May be worth a watch? In the show the dogs tend to feed off the owners anxiety in situations, so he helps with techniques to make the owners more confident handlers & that it is okay to say no to the dog, to stop the same cycle happening daily on walks. Once the owners body language changed, the dogs tended to be calmer & listen to instruction.

@MarleyMooChick not a good place to go for advice.

Wolfiefan no different from the written advice people have given above. Neither is this forum a good place to go for advice on this dogs behavioural problems.

@MarleyMooChick so why suggest it then?

Like so many things, there are parts of that programme that are false and parts that are really helpful.

For example, he is absolutely correct that dogs are sensitive to their owners emotions and this can impact negatively on their behaviour.

Yes the OP needs professional help, as do all the posters who post on her regarding aggression.

That doesn’t stop you or me or anyone else responding with your/mine/their thoughts though

Bit of an update. She's been a bit better in some ways, but still have these sudden out bursts where goes crackers, running backwards and forwards or in circles attacking us.

I have been noting the timing etc, and it does seem to be a sudden over excitement. So often it will happen when we first take her off the lead, she runs round and round excited and then comes at us. It does look playful (when I am observing) she jumps, bites, runs away, or bites and tugs, like your arm is a toy.

Other times are part way into a walk, we've managed to sort out frustrated greeter and she doesn't do it then anymore. Yesterday we walled a muddy track and she was bouncing in puddles, and in hedges, and mud and it seemed to just overwhelm her.

I don't know if any of that makes sense.

I don't why that post was picked out over the other multitude of posts. So many ideas - muzzle to break the habit, exercise, downtime, overtired, phase, highly strung, neurotic, too many walks, chews, longs, long line, treats...

There are a few members who tend to lord over this dog forum. If they think they know best above everyone else on this site I would like to know if they have have the correct qualifications in dog behaviour & training to do so & hence put other posts & suggestions down.

I don't why that post was picked out over the other multitude of posts. So many ideas - muzzle to break the habit, exercise, downtime, overtired, phase, highly strung, neurotic, too many walks, chews, longs, long line, treats...
There are a few members who tend to lord over this dog forum. If they think they know best above everyone else on this site I would like to know if they have have the correct qualifications in dog behaviour & training to do so & hence put other posts & suggestions down

Who are you referring to exactly with ‘that post’..?

Because if that is aimed at me, I have always made it very clear that I am a dog owner.
Not a behaviourist, not a trainer, not a professional.

I have always made it clear that any suggestions I give are my personal experience and what has and hasn’t worked personally for me.

My dog is high strung, high energy, working breed, working lines, she will go as OP described if overexcited/overwhelmed, I offered advice based on my personal observations and experiences with my own dog hoping it would be helpful to the OP.

And I imagine everyone else who gave advice presumably did do hoping to be helpful too.

I don’t ‘lord over’ the forum.
Not do I think I ‘know best over everyone else’

I offer my experience and advice as does every other poster!

frostedviolets so so sorry. Not aimed at you at all. You voiced it well about dogs responding to owners emotions. A calm owner can yield a calm dog. But with everything dog related there are always exceptions.
It was Wolfiefans comment about the post MarleyMooChick made about the TV show. I didn't see it as any more harmful than all the other comments posted.

Ah.
Well, that’s a little embarrassing.
Sorry for that massive rant there!

This thread has been a real eye opener. Only had dogs as a kid I sure they weren’t so much trouble then. Puppies sound harder than kids.
Any way good luck to you all with your dogs, you are all more patient than me.