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Peggy LOVES to retrieve, and she especially loves playing frisbee with my husband. But she's developing a new habit that we do not like.
Like a lot of young dogs, she'll sometimes play-growl and want to tug the frisbee. But we can typically redirect this excitement into intense focus on our next throw, sometimes asking for a sit, sometimes giving her a cue to start running. She really gets into it.
Twice in the past week, though, she's gotten over-aroused, growled, and lunged at our hands as we reach for the frisbee on the ground. She didn't bite to break skin or anything. But she definitely put her teeth on us both times—once with me, and once with my husband.
I've had similar interactions with mouthy GSDs.
My instinct is that if this ever happens again, we should turn and walk away. No theatrics. Just game over. At this age, I feel we should be enforcing a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to teeth, regardless of how gentle she is with them.
But before asking my husband to get on the same page, I just want to know if anyone else's poodle gets riled up during fetch and if this is an appropriate solution.
Our mini mix did something similar, but it was more like she was demanding that we throw her toy. It was pushy behaviour, for sure, but also pretty funny from such a small dog. And she'd bark more than growl.
(Note: Peggy's currently in week three of her first heat cycle. I suspect there could be a connection, but don't want to assume the behaviour will simply go away when her hormones level out. Other than this, she's been such a dreamy, mature poodle lately. I love when she stands to have her diaper put on.)
Like a lot of young dogs, she'll sometimes play-growl and want to tug the frisbee. But we can typically redirect this excitement into intense focus on our next throw, sometimes asking for a sit, sometimes giving her a cue to start running. She really gets into it.
Twice in the past week, though, she's gotten over-aroused, growled, and lunged at our hands as we reach for the frisbee on the ground. She didn't bite to break skin or anything. But she definitely put her teeth on us both times—once with me, and once with my husband.
I've had similar interactions with mouthy GSDs.
My instinct is that if this ever happens again, we should turn and walk away. No theatrics. Just game over. At this age, I feel we should be enforcing a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to teeth, regardless of how gentle she is with them.
But before asking my husband to get on the same page, I just want to know if anyone else's poodle gets riled up during fetch and if this is an appropriate solution.
Our mini mix did something similar, but it was more like she was demanding that we throw her toy. It was pushy behaviour, for sure, but also pretty funny from such a small dog. And she'd bark more than growl.
(Note: Peggy's currently in week three of her first heat cycle. I suspect there could be a connection, but don't want to assume the behaviour will simply go away when her hormones level out. Other than this, she's been such a dreamy, mature poodle lately. I love when she stands to have her diaper put on.)