Schnoodle and has become very aggressive. Horrible choice

[bottleopener8]

Our 1 year old schnoodle has become very aggressive over the past 4 months. We've worked with a behaviourist, been to the vets, tried daily training at home. The schnoodle hasn't attacked our 4 year old, but it has been very aggressive to my husband and doggy daycare will no longer have him. The only solution feels like we have to give him up. I feel awful but leaving the dog at home alone is only making him more aggressive. My husband and I are working at home more, but this really isn't sustainable. I feel like we have to re-home him. No-one we've spoken to has offered light at the end of the tunnel. It's been the worst month. Anyone been in the same situation?

Has he had a proper vet check? Any indication at all of any pain? Even if it's only happened once?

Our girl became lead reactive and then aggressive - she has a very intermittent limp on her front left leg. Turns out (after £500 of tests and xrays) she has arthritis in her front left wrist and hip dysplasia on both sides.

We're about 7 weeks into a long term course of Metacam and she's like a new dog - her old idiot, happy self.

Not been in this situation, but sympathies to you this sounds really difficult. What did the behaviourist say? Is the dog more aggressive with your husband than you/more in a particular situation? Maybe the dog would be happier in a different setting/with no children around? Is he ever happy/calm?

We've been to the vets and nothing came up.

The dog is happy when we are at home all day. But we can't give up work to be at home with the dog, although we are both working at home more temporarily for the dogs sake.

I just feel like the absolute worst. What will I tell the kids?

Have you tried this? It takes proper daily commitment, but I've seen success after success story on there from genuine people. It works. Absolutely. But requires dedication.

southenddogtraining.co.uk/

That's why designer breeds shouldn't be bred I'm afraid. Good old fashioned random mutts are fine but there's crosses bring crossed for looks rather than nature. Schnauzers see one breed that shouldn't be crossed with anything else.

What does the behaviourist say is the root cause? It’s only been a month. That’s not long to change behaviour at all.

When did you start working with a behaviourist?
Is your dog neutered?

At a year old, your dog is bang in the middle of adolescence and that makes all their behaviour so much more exaggerated, IMO.

First off, I would ask for a very thorough vet check to make sure he's not in any pain - I'd want the vet to check ears, eyes, all joints, paws/claws, mouth and teeth for pain and to make sure there aren't any physical issues causing him to act out.

However, the fact that he's worse when he's home alone makes me think it's more anxiety based than anything else. If that's the case, have you considered putting him on some kind of medication?

So the behaviourist thought he was getting frustrated due to being home alone (after not being able to go to daycare). The dog is truly lovely and I believe wouldnt be a problem with someone at home with him full time, we just can't be.

If the dog would be happy and safe in a different home, then that's your solution right there. Kids will be upset, but you just explain that the dog is clearly not happy, and that it's not fair on him.

FWIW I know I'm probably in a minority, but I wouldn't judge you for having him euthanised. If he has displayed aggressive enough behaviour to get kicked out by the dog minder, then I would be very anxious that that behaviour could escalate. It's quite a gamble assuming he'd be happier/calmer with someone else, and quite a weight of responsibility on your shoulders.

Being home does not cause aggression.
There must be more to it than that.

Under what circumstances is the aggression displayed?

If you can’t keep your dog because it’s aggressive then why do you think it’s fair to put someone else in a potentially dangerous situation?

Was your dog being possessive or guarding something when it was aggressive to your husband - it's pretty common with schnoodles. And of course it's going to be extremely unhappy being left home alone, dogs are pack animals.
This article may be helpful.
www.knowyourdoodles.com/are-schnoodles-aggressive/

Friends of ours used these to great success. A bit like Southend dog training

obsidiank9.com

what exactly was he doing at daycare to get expelled and have you tried a different daycare .

DD2's schnauzer has suddenly become aggressive too. She is about 14 months, already spayed. She got banned from the groomer that we have used for over 20 years because she fought back, drew blood, and could not be settled. Now gets groomed at the vet, but has to be tranquilized before the grooming. Vet said she sees it in schnauzers sometimes -- they develop a kind of "rage" as adults and bond to only one member of the family.

Not sure about the behaviourist TBH. Dogs don’t tend to process things as we do. Ie can’t go to daycare so …..
A decent behaviourist would look at specific triggers.
Plus what got him kicked out of daycare?

Lots of dogs aren't suited to daycare, that doesn't mean they should be euthanised. Talk about an overreaction!

You need a new behaviourist. That’s ridiculous.

Are there triggers for the aggression with your husband and what did he do to get kicked out of daycare?

please, I beg you, if you decide you do need to part with him do NOT under any circumstances advertise him on social media and DO be completely honest and upfront about his issues. Your first call should always be to the breeder. If that isn’t an option, then please go through a recognised rescue.

What kind of aggressive behaviour is he displaying? When did it start? What does your daily training consist of?

I don't mean to interrogate you! Just trying to get a clearer picture of what is going on.

I don't think it's an over reaction at all. The dog wouldn't know anything about it, and it could potentially save a child. I would rather euthanise 100 dogs that would never have actually seriously hurt anyone than leave one dog that goes on to kill a child.

Also, I didn't recommend that it's the only course of action here. I just said that I wouldn't judge her if she felt it were the right thing to do.

How much walking is the dog getting?

A qualified behaviourist would give you a detailed report on findings reaons and they way forward. What written plan of action where you given?

Frustration is not a "reason" for aggression and would not be given as a single reason orf if it were there would be a detailed plan of action to follow that was suitable for your household

Get a qualified behaurist in and follow their detailed plan

To echo a pp, how much exercise is the dog getting? How long is it being left? Where do you put it when you leave it alone?
From the brief details you given it sounds more like a bored and hyped adolescent dog, but you really haven't given much detail to go on.

Same here, our mini schnauzer is the same, needs to be fully put under and a mobile groomer goes in and just does a basic shave all over.

She is also very anxious and reactive, we seriously thought about re-homing her a few years back, but with some training (of us mainly) we learnt how to handle her a lot better, and she's now the softest thing ever. Only with us though, she still hates everyone else but we're now able to keep control of her properly and manage her anxiety better.