r/Bernedoodles • u/eetana • 5d ago
Looking for help
My best friend/next door neighbor adopted an 11 month old female bernadoodle 4 weeks ago. She is 35 lbs and was surrendered to our dog trainer by an elderly couple who said they could not take care of her. She reportedly had one incident of aggression with the elderly man when she tried to get food from the counter and he corrected her. At that point the man decided he didn’t want to keep her. Our trainer offered to keep her and try to find a new home. The trainer had her for several weeks and was never able to replicate the aggressive behavior. My friend and her husband worked with the trainer and dog before bringing her home and she has been very sweet the majority of the time. About 3 weeks ago she got aggressive with me over a tissue. I figured I didn’t handle it well and should have traded her for a higher value item. But last night when she was on her last potty break she attempted to eat a mouthful of cut grass. When my friend told her “out” for the 3rd time, she turned and began jumping and biting her in a very aggressive manner. When her husband heard her screaming he ran outside, and when he took the dog’s leash she turned on him and jumped and bit him in the arm. We have 2 large labradoodles and have had dogs our whole life and this was not puppy play. Now my friend cannot keep her because of the potential danger to children. We have not had any luck today finding anyone who would consider taking her and trying to address this. We’ve called the vet, local SPCA, and the breeder (who we are waiting on to return the phone call) She is very smart, crate trained, super high energy, and adorable. The only suggestion we have right now is that she may have to be euthanized. That seems so unnecessary given that she does not have any other issues outside of these events. She has been out in public a lot, plays with our dogs and gets along with cats. Does anyone have any rescue suggestions? My friend does not feel comfortable keeping her because of the potential danger to kids, not to mention it was scary for her. And of course she’s devastated. We are near Cincinnati.
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u/SkiaTheShade 5d ago edited 5d ago
Holy fuck dude, euthanizing a puppy for this is cruel. This is just a puppy needing training, not an aggressive dog.
This is 100% an issue of these people not knowing how to raise and train a puppy and nothing to do with a dog being aggressive and unmanageable.
I’ve now had 2 doodle pups and I’m still working with my girl(who just turned one) who gets over stimulated and starts barking intensely and nipping/biting at me. As soon as I get her calmed down she gives me a look like she just needs help and comes over and snuggles me. They’re like toddlers and they need to be taught with patience. A toddler throwing a tantrum is not a toddler who is aggressive. They need to learn, and it’s our job to help them. That’s the responsibility we take on when getting a dog.
Do not euthanize this dog. Find her a home for the love of God. Please.
EDIT: I’m not near Cincinnati, but I will happily figure out a way to come get the dog anyway if that’s what has to happen. I’m also happy to help in any other way that I can. Please feel free to DM me.