Are Goldendoodles Aggressive? (Safety Guide)

Goldendoodles are not an aggressive breed. In fact, they are so well-loved partly because they are one of the sweetest dog breeds that you can own. They have an endless amount of love for their owners.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that your Goldendoodle is going to be sweet and love all the time. All dogs can be aggressive on occasion.

Thankfully, it is often easy to train this aggression out of them. You need to know what is causing it in the first place.

On this page, we want to take a look at why Goldendoodles can be aggressive and give you a few tips on how you can deal with that problem.

Towards Other Dogs 

Surprisingly, Goldendoodles are not that aggressive towards other dogs. Even if another dog seems aggressive towards them, it will take a lot to set the Goldendoodle off. However, they can be triggered on occasion.

Most of the time, when a Goldendoodle is aggressive towards other dogs, it is because the Goldendoodle has never really socialized with dogs in the past.

This is something that they really should be trying to do from a young age; otherwise, it causes tons of issues. As long as you start your Goldendoodle interacting with other pups from a very young age (almost around the time you get them), then they should be fine.

Of course, hindsight is a good thing. If you do not own a time machine (and we are 99.9% sure you do not), then you can’t get your dog socializing with other dogs from a young age since that time will have already passed.

This means that you will need to come up with some other solutions for dealing with the problem.

Desensitize 

We suppose that you could call this ‘exposure therapy.’ This means that you will gradually be introducing your dog to other dogs. You may not want to have your dog running up to meet others right away.

Instead, keep them on a leash and try to keep a distance. Over time, when your dog seems to stop showing those aggressive behaviors, you can increase how close you get to other dogs or increase the number of dogs your pet will meet.

At the same time, you will want to attempt to avoid any situations that could potentially be a high-risk situation for your animal.

For example, if you find that your dog always seems aggressive towards a particular dog, steer clear of them.

If your dog seems to be possessive of a particular area, then steer clear of that. You will start to learn what triggers your dog. 

Positive Reinforcement

As with all dog training, you need to ensure that you only utilize positive reinforcement. 

What does this mean? Suppose your dog is not aggressive in a situation that they would typically be aggressive in. In that case, you will reinforce that behavior positively. This will generally be praise and maybe a few treats.

If they do a negative behavior, you ignore it. You don’t shout at them. Nothing. You just ignore it. Over time, they will start to associate good behavior with rewards and associate the negative behavior with being ignored.

It is crucial to avoid using negative emotions towards your dog when they are being aggressive. The dog, obviously, can’t understand what you are saying. This means that when you scream at them or something, all you are doing is saying, “yes, it is fine to be aggressive.”

It will take time

Now. We are not going to lie to you here. If you have an aggressive Goldendoodle, it will take a while to deal with the problem. There is no overnight solution. You need to be patient and take things step by step.

Do small things at a time. Expect it to take weeks, sometimes months. However, we can assure you that if you do have a Goldendoodle that is aggressive around other dogs, it will be trained out of them eventually.

Can Goldendoodles Be Aggressive Towards Children?

Goldendoodles make fantastic family pets. This is because they do not have a bad bone in their body. Now, obviously, we would not recommend that you leave a Goldendoodle alone with your child.

However, we would say the same about every other dog out there. Dogs are inherently unpredictable, and you shouldn’t really be taking that risk.

However, in normal circumstances, your dog is going to be okay around children. It won’t be aggressive, and it will love to play about with them…to an extent.

However, you do need to remember that a Goldendoodle is a living animal. The same goes for your child. If your child is not taught how to behave around the Goldendoodle and treat them with respect, then there is a strong chance that your child will do something wrong.

For example, they may not spot the warning signs that the Goldendoodle does not like something.

A kid may also try to take a bone or a toy away from the Goldendoodle. In both cases, you really shouldn’t be surprised if the dog snaps at your child. It happens. It isn’t the dog that needs teaching here. It is the child. Thankfully, once you have taught them how to respect the dog, things will become easier.

You may need to ensure that your Goldendoodle is familiar with children and used to their unpredictability. This is important if you have a new child in the household. You can use the same exposure therapy that we mentioned previously.

Aggressiveness Around Food

We are not going to lie here. This is the one area that you may find serious issues with your Goldendoodle. The same applies to all dogs. Remember, dogs have been bred from wild animals.

This means that they still have that inherent desire to be possessive of their food. This means that you will likely need to take care of when your dog is eating.

If the dog does seem to be a bit aggressive around food, then the following tips and tricks have been proven to work:

• Ensure that your dog is eating enough
• Do not allow the dog to eat until you say so. For example, you may want to ask them to sit before placing the bowl on the floor. They cannot move unless you let them move.
• If the dog is aggressive when you touch their bowl, do not back away. Keep taking that bowl. They will learn. You do not want to reward them for their aggressive behavior, right?

What Are the Most Common Causes of Goldendoodle Aggression?

There are several reasons why your Goldendoodle may turn aggressive. We want to go through some of the more common of them. By understanding why your Goldendoodle is aggressive, it becomes a lot easier to deal with the problem.

Fear

If a dog feels that it is scared or under threat, then it will be aggressive. It is only natural for the dog. It wants to protect itself and you, the pack leader.

Confusion

Goldendoodles can become confused when they are in unfamiliar surroundings, and something unexpected happens. This could be fireworks.

A knock on the door. Something that doesn’t usually happen. The same may occur if somebody comes into your home that the dog has not met before.

Are Goldendoodles Aggressive while on the leash?

Goldendoodles who have not been taught how to walk with a leash can be a bit more prone to being aggressive. They may start to pull on the leash, or they may growl or bark when on it.

They may be aggressive towards other dogs. This is why it is so crucial that you work on the leash bits and pieces from a young age.

Anxiety

Goldendoodles can be aggressive if they are suffering from anxiety. For example, if they have separation anxiety or they are in an unfamiliar situation. This can overlap with the confusion and fear causes that we just discussed.

Resource Guarding

Remember what we said earlier about how dogs may become aggressive around food? Well, this is known as resource guarding. It can also happen with toys.

Whenever the dog has something that they feel is important to their wellbeing, they will protect it.

This will often be in an aggressive manner. You need to train this behavior out of them.

Pain or Illness

This is rare. However, many dogs, when they are sick, will become aggressive. If there seems to be no other cause, then a trip to the vets would be a safe bet for you.

More Tips For Reducing Aggression

Let’s wrap up with a few quick tips that you can really use to stamp out that aggression.

Never raise your voice around your dog

You must try to avoid raising your voice around your dog. This applies even if you are not yelling at your dog directly. By yelling, you are creating a scary situation for your animal.

Only ever use positive reinforcement

We did mention this earlier, but we really want to drill the point home. It is important that you only ever use positive reinforcement around your dog. Never punish them for anything (outside of ignoring them). Otherwise, you will just be installing a sense of aggression in them. The most aggressive dogs will be the ones that have been treated aggressively, to begin with.

Mental Stimulation

A lot of Goldendoodles only feel aggressive because they are not mentally stimulated enough. So, get your dog some puzzle toys or a selection of different toys. It will really help them out. Regular training can also go a long way towards stimulating their mind too.

Regular exercise

If your dog is not getting enough exercise, then this could result in aggressive behaviors. So, take your dog for multiple walks per day. This will help to tire them out, and, ultimately, this will result in them being nowhere near as aggressive. 

Remember, Goldendoodles are not naturally aggressive. If they have an aggressive streak, then this could indicate that there is something wrong. Try to stamp out the behavior as fast as you can.

However, do remember that it will likely take weeks, and sometimes months, of regular training before you really start to see your dog’s aggressive behaviors disappear. We promise you, though. They will go eventually.