u/InstructionPrudent79

Hallo,

wir haben leider bei unserem 9 Monate alten Junghund massiv Probleme mit Ressourcenverteidigung. Tatsächlich lässt er sich während Spaziergängen ins Maul greifen, wenn er mal was aufnimmt was gefährlich für ihn sein könnte. Auch sein Futternapf verteidigt er nicht. Es passiert eher bei hochwertigen Kauartikeln, Teppichkanten/ Decken in die er beißen möchte, Liegeplätze an denen er schneller war als wir und nicht gehen möchte oder gestern neu: ein abgeschnittenes Haarbüschel was er aggressiv für sich beanspruchen wollte. Wir arbeiten schon an Desensibilisierung aber möchten gerne mit einem gut qualifizierten online Trainer mit Nachbetreuung intensiver daran arbeiten. Hat jemand Erfahrungen und eine gute Adresse?

Hi everyone,

we’re looking for experiences and advice.

We have an 8.25-month-old male Goldendoodle (F1B, expected size between mini and medium). He’s very intelligent and strong-willed. Living with him has been challenging since we brought him home at 8 weeks.

From the beginning, he was extremely mouthy and bit us hard (hands, arms, legs). We’ve worked consistently on this with different approaches (redirecting, reverse time-outs, calm training, using tricks like touch etc.), plus a trainer at home and regular dog school. Unfortunately, it didn’t improve after teething.

About 2.5 weeks ago, we brought in a new trainer. Her approach is much more consistent: we are supposed to clearly and directly work through conflicts with him and set very firm boundaries around our personal space. We also have 24/7 WhatsApp support.

My partner is already seeing progress. For me, it is unfortunately still very difficult. Our dog often targets me specifically, (clothing, hands) and the barking discussions take up to 20 minutes before he stops and shake the stress off and goes away.

We’re also dealing with resource guarding:

- He refuses to give up high-value food, even in exchange, and growls aggressively and would bite

- At times, he guards items he shouldn’t have (e.g., the carpet)

- There has already been an incident where blood was drawn

What’s confusing: outside, he lets us take things from his mouth without issues.

A particularly concerning incident: He bit my mother-in-law’s finger hard enough to draw blood when she stroked his paw.

We’ve reached a point where we’re seriously questioning if we should rehome him. But thinking or talking about it is very heartbreaking for us.

Another issue:

He can barely stay home alone so far, even though we’ve been training it gradually.

Does anyone have experience with strong-willed, impulsive adolescent dogs that have shown both playful and serious biting?

In your experience, does this improve significantly with consistent training and the end of adolescence, or are these signs of a longer-term issue?

Important medical background: At 13 weeks, he had epileptic seizures after a tick treatment from our vet and has been on phenobarbital ever since. He has been seizure-free, and his blood level is relatively low (>10).

However, we notice clear behavioral changes when the dosage is increased:

- reduced impulse control,

- lower frustration tolerance,

- at times a significantly increased appetite.

Sleep has also changed: before medication he could sleep up to 3 hours at a time, now it’s shorter stretches (currently ~15 hours total per day).

We’ve also consulted a veterinary behaviorist. Sedative medications have a paradoxical effect on him (increased restlessness and more biting behavior).

We’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences with similar dogs—especially in relation to adolescence and how things developed for you over time.