# Biting/attacking me on walks



## Finney730 (Jun 20, 2018)

Hello, 
My family adpoted a Golden Retriever Last September named Finley. We Started him in puppy classes at our local Petsmart at 11 weeks which he excelled in until around 6 months when he started to ignore any commands from my family or the trainer. As he has gotten older he is behaving better insidw thw house when it comes to basic commands. EXCEPT he has gotten worse with his biting. Since we got him all he has done was bite our feet and hands (he was a shark) When looking for a solution people told us he is going to grow out of it in a couple months. He is 11 months and it has gotten worse. My family has had goldens for years and we understand that they are very mouthy and usually grow out of it. None of our other goldens had this biting problem besides teething. But, he constantly bites us when we are out on walks leaving us covered in bruises and scratches all over our arms. We try to use commands, but it is almost as if he is crazed and can’t control himself. He has never bitten any of us out of aggression only play/ over stimulation. Some days we go on walks with no problem and others he won’t even let us get out the the yard to even walk. We did notice he almost throws a trantrum if we cut a walk short, or if he doesn’t want to come back in the house. On long walks if we pass another dog he didn’t get to meet he will bite us. There really isn’t a consistant pattern of the behavior. He doesn’t do this to anyone outside of our family. we just want some advice on how to get him to stop this bad behavior. We tried walking with a toy in his mouth, but even this doesn’t work. Please any advice would help


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## cwag (Apr 25, 2017)

Does he get a chance to go out and really run around and get worn out everyday?


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

Something tells me that you could have been a little more proactive on this issue. It is obvious to me that for one reason or another the dog has not developed bite inhibition. I recommend dealing with this immediately. You don't want this to be an established behavior in an adult dog.


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## Finney730 (Jun 20, 2018)

I probably should have added this info i the inital post. We have been told this information before, and he does know bite inhibition. This was one of the first things we learned and used in the beginning of puppy training. He never hurts when he is playing, but this problem is almost like a toddler having a tantrum in certain situations, or he is just too over stimulated. My family takes him on 3 long walks a day. We also have a fenced in yard that he plays with our other dog in. Since he has gotten older we have increased his exercise to try to tire him out to try to calm him down and stop this behavior. We also have tried chnaging him to a shorter leash to keep him more under control, and a again trying to train him to walk with his favorite toy in his mouth and when he drops he trying to keep his attention on it when he drops it, so he is not focused on biting.


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## cwag (Apr 25, 2017)

It sounds like you are doing a lot of good things. Maybe it's time for a consult with a trainer (maybe not from Petsmart) or a more advanced class from a training facility.


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## ceegee (Mar 26, 2015)

It sounds like he's being bratty because he can, which suggests a lack of training. Having him carry a toy is a good idea, but it's clearly not working because he's still biting you. And he may have learned bite inhibition in other situations, but he hasn't learned it in the particular situation of walks (dogs don't generalize well). I agree with gdgli that this needs to be addressed proactively and quickly before it become established behaviour.


If your dog were mine, walks would become mobile training sessions. I'd feed him his meals like this, morning and night. Pockets full of kibble, walk a few steps at a good pace, stop, have him do a series of sit, lie down, stand, etc., rewarding each action with a piece of kibble. Another few steps at a good pace, do a u-turn, reward when he follows, stop, do another series of commands, rewarding each time. Keep a supply of very high-value treats with you (cheese, chicken), and if you see another dog coming, get out the high-value treats and have your dog focus on you by giving a series of commands and rewarding. If he bites or tries to bite you at any time, order him to lie down and keep him down for a short while by putting your foot on the leash so that he physically can't get up.



The key is to keep things interesting, upbeat and fairly fast-paced. After half an hour or so of this, he will be exhausted, even if you never leave your driveway.


If he bites you before the walk, put him straight into his crate and leave him there for a few minutes, then try again. Repeat until you're able to leave the house with him, without being bitten.


The biting always has to have a consequence for him - either crate time if he bites you before setting off, or an enforced "down" if he does it while you're walking. You have to be very consistent.



You may need to keep up this system on a daily basis for quite a while - certainly for several weeks. The advantage is that it will reinforce his basic training, and it will also change the nature of his relationship with you, putting you in charge. Right now, it sounds like he's in charge and is basically deciding what he wants to do and when he wants to do it.


Best of luck, hope things work out!


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## CedarFurbaby (Jun 6, 2016)

I absolutely understand how difficult this is to deal with, having gone through it myself. There are many goldens who do not exhibit this level of brattiness, and more experienced dog owners are probably better at nipping this behavior in the bud when the puppy is young. The rest of us just figure it out as we go! It’s REALLY tough to be dealing with this so kudos to you on sticking through with it. Experienced trainers have underestimated what Cedar is capable of, and no one really understands this 'overarousal biting'/random biting until they have to deal with it, so my first advice is to trust your understanding of your dog. 

Several things have helped me, and my dog has COMPLETELY stopped his random tantrums and overarousal biting. 

1) Plan your routine, and make sure he gets enough exercise but NOT TOO MUCH. I once found that going to the park every day was worse than going to the park alternate days. The non park days could be as short as 2 x 30 min walks only, no more than that. I also had something I called 'quiet time'. Immediately after a walk, he is overexcited/stressed/anxious/whatever, and he needs to lie down quietly and chew something, or just lie down. No playing and amping him up. In the same way, I plan for Cedar to have enough sleep. If we had a long outing, I make sure he has a quiet space to sleep after that. If there are people going in and out he will not sleep and he will be more bitey. Walks are no longer than 40min or so. 

2) Treat anything exciting or scary as a stimulating event. For example, if we had people visit in the evening, then we will not have any more walks in the evening, because he's already got his stimulating activity sorted for the evening. Construction noises one day were pretty scary for him, so it was better to stay home and chew something quietly.

3) I would not be carrying high value treats on walks and making Cedar concentrate on me. Because he has a very high level of focus, its basically too difficult to sustain, and he breaks down from it. High value food also increased arousal for us, and the goal was always to keep him calm so i carried kibble instead. And I scatter them on the floor to get him to keep walking with me. If he looked like he was going crazy, I could ask for a sit before the biting happens and that all goes well, but if I waited too late and he started, he just would not listen to anything, so I threw treats on the ground to interrupt the behavior. Then I asked for sit and so on. A squeaky ball might well do the trick of interrupting the behavior as well. The goal here is to snap him out of the crazy state, and once he's calmed down he will actually be more reasonable, and will listen to commands. An example would be if a dog walks past, and he wants to play and you know he's going to be frustrated not being allowed to play, as soon as the dog leaves, call his name and feed him or just chuck treats on the floor and tell him 'get it'. This is a way of management but its actually NOT a solution for us. Cedar continued to throw the random one once every few months. 

4) Encourage other ways of disagreeing with you. He has to have some outlet of communication. For example, when Cedar doesn't want to leave the park, he rolls on the ground and lies down. This is MUCH better than biting, so I encourage this. I sit down and cuddle him and I tell him "Oh aren't you a naughty pup!!", and after a while, I try to leave again and he usually comes with me. Also, because I know he is prone to overarousal, every time he does something that releases that tension, I praise him. So every time he shakes himself or yawn, I would praise him. Overtime, he did this more often, and he was able to regulate his stress/excitement.

5) Build your bond with him in other ways. Cedar was like yours when he was young (just look for all our threads I was super stressed out!) but he was throwing the odd tantrum up to a bit before 2 years old. By then we were always having fun, his recall was great and we would go out off leash playing hide and seek and ball and just running around. Some people will disagree, but I would feed him my food while eating or cooking, and he sleeps with me on my bed. These are things that build bond, which is particularly important when you have a dog that just wants to do his own thing more than listen to you. So these days, Cedar and I compromise. Sometimes we would go the direction he wants, and sometimes we go the direction I want. He used to do all those things just like yours, tantrum about not going the direction he wants, not allowed to greet another dog or person, leaving the park, not wanting to head home etc. 

6) Finally at almost 2 years old, one of the trainers at our obedience club (we go all the time and he's super smart when he wants to be) said to me to growl at him when he bites. I was skeptical because I was pretty sure I tried that when he was young. But I ended up giving it a go, gave him a growl and a lip curl, and it worked probably because I did it right. It wasn't loud but it was low. It was just the 'language' he knew. I did this the next 5 times and he completely gave up biting me after that. Others have mentioned about being able to 'effectively' stop him, either physically, or enforcing him to be in a down position. If you can achieve that, I think it will work too. But for us, stepping on the leash wasn't much help. He rolled on his back and bit whatever was in front of him, could be leash, could be my shoelace, could be a stick nearby, this biting is SELF-REWARDING because he loves chewing stuff, it was stress relief AND he got what he wanted which was being able to not go home. The other thing that helped is also that he was older, better able to regulate his emotions and arousal levels. Had I done this earlier, it may not have worked. 

7) Also make sure to evaluate what other people tell you, even if they are experienced trainers! I have had things go out of control because I listened to other people who didn't fully understand Cedar. Also I'm prepared to leave the class if that's what Cedar needs. 

Today I have an awesome relationship with Cedar and sometimes he disagrees with me but he gives in anyway and we have much better trust between us. I also met one other dog that does tantrums like Cedar, and they are both high drive, very smart and they just know how to effectively get what they want. Both are notorious in their respective dog clubs, known for being absolutely bonkers! Best of luck to you, and please feel free to PM me even if you have any more questions.


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

CedarFurbaby


Always good to hear from experienced people.


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## lloyddobler (Nov 30, 2014)

Hi there! There are quite a few of us who have been through this with our pups. There was an entire thread dedicated it a couple of years ago, called overarousal biting in puppies: a support group. A quick search should bring that up and give you many good ideas.

I know the folks I was most closely connected to on that forum all saw the behavior go away with time. I know how awful it is as I went through it. It was world from about 9 months to a year. We did many things to combat it and truly believe it has nothing to do with exercise, training, etc. For me, I know my dog is just wired differently. For me, I think the introduction of the gentle leader head harness is what helped us the most. Others on the thread I mentioned found other things that worked for them as every dog is diffident. I hope that thread gives you some ideas on things you can try and hope on or more helps you! 

Just know it will get better. I know it certainly does not feel like it now, but one day you will realize your pup has done these annoying behaviors in a while!


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## ken71 (Jun 15, 2018)

CedarFurbaby said:


> I absolutely understand how difficult this is to deal with, having gone through it myself. There are many goldens who do not exhibit this level of brattiness, and more experienced dog owners are probably better at nipping this behavior in the bud when the puppy is young. The rest of us just figure it out as we go! It’s REALLY tough to be dealing with this so kudos to you on sticking through with it. Experienced trainers have underestimated what Cedar is capable of, and no one really understands this 'overarousal biting'/random biting until they have to deal with it, so my first advice is to trust your understanding of your dog.
> 
> Several things have helped me, and my dog has COMPLETELY stopped his random tantrums and overarousal biting.
> 
> ...




What a great, and very useful post 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

The biting was never a huge deal with either of my dogs. Gypsy was a worse puppy than Bear but even she didn't like rip clothes or break skin. But she was absolutely obsessed with chewing on my arms and legs. Or jumping up and trying to nip my face when I come home. 

Dogs may have bite inhibition (aka learning to not bite HARD) but for many puppies who've hit the teenage stage, their bodies are going through a bunch of changes. They want to go out and see the world. Their exercise needs often times ramp up and the current exercise regimen won't be enough to burn off that reserve. So add that excess energy plus a mentally immature dog in a physically mature body and you end up with a dog that can push its weight around, acting a fool, and not listening.... kinda like teenagers. LOL! 

In this specific case, it sounds like the biting is actually an arousal coping mechanism. He sees a dog he wants to play with, but is unable to, so it builds this frustration and he copes by mouthing on you. He gets excited for a walk, but instead of a walk, it was only down the street and back and now he's stimulated and ready to go but has no outlet for that, so he mouths on you. 

So, if this were me, instead of addressing the biting problem. I'd address the underlying issue.... which is impulse control and over arousal. Search out coping tools/games to help your dog find a way to deal with the over arousal in other ways and I can bet the biting will go away. 

I'm currently reading "Control Unleashed, the Puppy Program" in anticipation of my puppy coming home this month. It has a bunch of owner/dog games in it to help you teach your dog how to deal with stimulation and arousal. Since your dog isn't a puppy (per se), you might get more out of the original book "Control Unleashed" 

https://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm/product/1328/control-unleashed.htm 

You might also want to look into trainers or training examples dealing with impulse control, arousal mitigation, and encourage owner reconnection. Here's some examples I've found online. Look them over and give it a try and see if it helps. Remember it'll take time and you'll have to start when the dog ISN'T over his threshold to establish the routine before you put him in a situation where he will be at the top of his threshold.... and you don't want to push him over his threshold... so it'll take keen observation on your end to figure out where his threshold is. 
https://www.choosepositivedogtraini...-of-SelfInterruption-The-EngageDisengage-Game 




Chill Out! Dealing with the Overly Aroused Dog | Pia Silvani, Canine and Feline Behaviorist and Trainer 
https://journeydogtraining.com/blog/9-games-to-teach-your-dog-impulse-control/ 





Lastly, I would ramp up his exercise. If you have a fenced yard, I would recommend 10-20 minutes of fetch BEFORE the walk. If you have access to a pool, EVEN BETTER (cause it's low impact for growing joints). If you have access to a beach, JACKPOT! The sand will help the running be low impact plus it'll wear the dog out faster PLUS fetch in the ocean is a win win, swimming plus fetch where you don't have to worry about so much jumping and twisting like fetch on land.  

This too will pass. I know it doesn't feel like it now. But you guys are a team and can and will get through this hurdle.


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## lloyddobler (Nov 30, 2014)

Here is a link to the thread on over arousal biting in puppies that may be helpful to you: 

https://www.goldenretrieverforum.co...ver-arousal-biting-puppies-support-group.html

Many in this group saw a correlation to more exercise = more over arousal biting. Initially when my pup started acting out this way, I tried ramping up his exercise by going on more walks, more dogs parks, more play dates, more fetch. That made him a monster. I think the mental stimulation and training him to focus, along with the gentle leader head harness were really the keys for us. What worked for us won't work for everyone, but I learned the hard way to listen to my gut as I knew my dog best. I got so much great advice along the way, but had to figure out what made the most sense for my dog. We also saw a vet behaviorist (a vet who also has a doctorate in psychiatry). She was able to help me understand that my dog isn't being aggressive, but is having the biting episodes to manage his severe anxiety.

Most of the people on the forum didn't have dogs that were anxious and their dogs were behaving in that way for different reasons. It's just important to do what you can to understand why your dog is acting out in that way so you can then start to manage it in a way that works for him! 

I was a wreck during this time as I thought I had an aggressive dog and it was never going to get better. I completely understand it is very overwhelming and disheartening to have your clothes torn and bruises all over your legs and arms! Many of us have gone through it and now have amazing dogs that we wouldn't trade for the world. I believe I am closest to my current dog than any other pup I've had because of what we've gone through. I know him at a different level than I did my other dogs and it's a bond I wouldn't trade for the world. I never would have believed I would have been typing this 2 years ago, it seemed impossible. It was a difficult journey, but was worth it!

I truly hope you find things to help you soon. We're here for support and advice! This forum really did get me through some really tough moments!


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## GoldensGirl (Aug 2, 2010)

Have you tried a medication like Trazodone? It's an anti-anxiety med that has worked wonders for my Golden girls. Because it goes right to the heart of the problem - anxiety caused by over-stimulation - it can help a dog be a better companion almost immediately, while other methods are employed to help over time.


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## murphy1 (Jun 21, 2012)

Murphy would jump and bite when walking him. At eight months, he was a big dog. He ripped my clothing and I'd have blood running down my arm after a walk. Don't get me wrong, he was a sweet loving dog (still is), just a young holy terror. Here is where I'll be judged. Someone suggested white vinegar in a spray bottle. I had a small bottle that fit in my pocket. On a few occasions he got a good taste of it. Always careful of the eyes. After a few times when I saw his routing winding up, I just had to take that bottle out of my pocket. It didn't cost me a behaviorist fee or the fear of medications. It worked! We continued walking two miles thru the neighborhood on a lovely relaxed stroll. Good luck!


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## Anele (Dec 12, 2014)

I have a few things to add to the words of wisdom from the people here!

1. Don't freak out. This is not uncommon.

2. In my case, it was "user-error." I am 99.999999% sure my dog would not have done this with even a slightly more experienced owner. (In fact, I know this because he never did it with anyone who was experienced... only us.)

3. I think my dog needed way more naps than I realized. NAPS. Not more exercise or training. Naps. My 2nd dog hasn't had this behavior, but he has other ways of showing me he is done... needs downtime. Off for a nap he goes!

4. I agree with the poster who suggested bring a spray bottle of something icky for an emergency. DO NOT spray your dog. Spray yourself. But still continue to work on a soft mouth in different circumstances. This is only for emergencies. (I never tried this.)

5. My dog who did this as an adolescent would never dream of doing it now. (I finally got through to him by teaching him to jump on me on cue... but no mouth... he never did it again.) He has the most gentle soul with the softest mouth. We love him so much that we got his nephew as our 2nd dog.


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## murphy1 (Jun 21, 2012)

I did spray my hands and arms and it didn't faze him. He tasted it a few times and the problem was cured. I would never do anything to harm my dog, I love him! Even at home while sitting on a sofa he'd jump and nip at me. I left the bottle on the end table....once again problem over. He's now 6 yrs old and the problem is over long ago...he's a perfect gentleman.


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## GoldenPuppyDad (Jan 15, 2021)

Finney730 said:


> Hello,
> My family adpoted a Golden Retriever Last September named Finley. We Started him in puppy classes at our local Petsmart at 11 weeks which he excelled in until around 6 months when he started to ignore any commands from my family or the trainer. As he has gotten older he is behaving better insidw thw house when it comes to basic commands. EXCEPT he has gotten worse with his biting. Since we got him all he has done was bite our feet and hands (he was a shark) When looking for a solution people told us he is going to grow out of it in a couple months. He is 11 months and it has gotten worse. My family has had goldens for years and we understand that they are very mouthy and usually grow out of it. None of our other goldens had this biting problem besides teething. But, he constantly bites us when we are out on walks leaving us covered in bruises and scratches all over our arms. We try to use commands, but it is almost as if he is crazed and can’t control himself. He has never bitten any of us out of aggression only play/ over stimulation. Some days we go on walks with no problem and others he won’t even let us get out the the yard to even walk. We did notice he almost throws a trantrum if we cut a walk short, or if he doesn’t want to come back in the house. On long walks if we pass another dog he didn’t get to meet he will bite us. There really isn’t a consistant pattern of the behavior. He doesn’t do this to anyone outside of our family. we just want some advice on how to get him to stop this bad behavior. We tried walking with a toy in his mouth, but even this doesn’t work. Please any advice would help


Hi there!

I am the dad of a golden retriever puppy, Cooper, who just turned 13 months. He is a sweet and friendly dog, but is showing IDENTICAL behavior to what you described with your dog Finley back on your posts in 2018 (turns on whoever is walking him out of nowhere, jumps and bites uncontrollably, and won't calm down for 3-5+ minutes). I have no doubt you know the exact frustration I am feeling - it is to the point that I am reaching out to you to inquire about a post from over 2 years ago!!

I am desperate to know if you found any tricks that worked to stop Finley from attacking you on walks (what you described is truly identical to what we are experiencing...). The posts from others do seem helpful, but I am curious if the tricks actually worked for you, or if you solved it some other way?

And if nothing else, PLEASE tell me there is hope in sight and that Finley perhaps naturally outgrew this behavior after a few more months??  We are on the verge of feeling the need to sign up for intensive training, but would REALLY rather not pay upwards of $2,000 for this kind of assistance...

Thanks so much for any words of wisdom you can provide, from one golden puppy parent to another!!


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

GoldenPuppyDad said:


> PLEASE tell me there is hope in sight and that Finley perhaps naturally outgrew this behavior after a few more months??  We are on the verge of feeling the need to sign up for intensive training, but would REALLY rather not pay upwards of $2,000 for this kind of assistance..


You do not need $2000 worth of intensive training - your dog needs obedience work WITH you. Sign up for a class and start practicing on leash every day. Local or regional Golden Retriever club or AKC obedience/dog training club will have suggestions on good places to take lessons or if lessons aren't offered now, you can get a referral to someone good with Goldens for a few private lessons to get you started. Goldens need to be obedience trained from the first week home and need to be given sufficient aerobic exercise and parameters. Your Golden is overflowing with energy an good spirits and is letting it out in the only way he knows how. Give him other outlets and teach him that it's not acceptable to jump and bite. 

The ideas on this page actually DO WORK, that's how these people knew to give them as suggestions. Remember it's taken you months to get to this place and it will not be solved overnight. Get yourself a notebook and make a list of the ideas that you want to try and start today. Train obedience at mealtimes to help you remember. Practice things he already knows. Well trained dogs take some time and effort, if it was easy everyone would have a well trained dog. It's worth making this project a priority over the next year or so - the pay off is 10 years of a dog who is a joy to live with.

He needs 30 minutes of hard aerobic exercise every day. A supervised play date with a nice young dog of a similar breed would be ideal a couple of times a week. This goes a long way to taking the edge off. Swimming, retrieving, chasing a soccer ball while you kick it or a frisbee etc. will get his heart rate up. 30 minutes minimum. Practice down / stay while you fix his meals and work up to him not moving until you release him to eat his food after you set the bowl down. Practice "settle" on leash while you watch a show. Start with 5 minutes and work up to 20 minutes. Give him appropriate chew toys, frozen kong, frozen raw beef shank etc. He needs obedience, structured discipline and daily exercise.


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## Tuck730 (Mar 2, 2021)

GoldenPuppyDad said:


> Hi there!
> 
> I am the dad of a golden retriever puppy, Cooper, who just turned 13 months. He is a sweet and friendly dog, but is showing IDENTICAL behavior to what you described with your dog Finley back on your posts in 2018 (turns on whoever is walking him out of nowhere, jumps and bites uncontrollably, and won't calm down for 3-5+ minutes). I have no doubt you know the exact frustration I am feeling - it is to the point that I am reaching out to you to inquire about a post from over 2 years ago!!
> 
> ...


I just wanted to reach out and say you’re not alone. We’ve got an 8 month old male who has turned into a monster from hell on walks. We’ve tried almost everything, which is why I’m sleepless after another attack and on this forum in the middle of the night! After everything I’ve read I think it’s about trying all of it - and giving it a real shot, doing it right and consistently before moving on to another tactic - and seeing what works for your dog. Exhausting yet necessary, plus what other choice do we have? Tucker has gone through phases where I thought it was getting better, then it comes back full force. We have to keep figuring out what works.

For the record, I've been taking Tuck to weekly obedience classes ever since he got his 2nd round of shots as a pup. It’s puzzling to me that many on this forum are suggesting this is the fix. He is an angel in class and out of class when we do training at home, even during majority of a walk - but as soon he gets it in his head that he wants to attack you now, he will. No amount of training has affected that. And I say that as someone whose current full-time job is exercising and training the pup!

I hope it gets better for both of us. Thanks to everyone who has posted suggestions, it’s extremely helpful and validating to know we’re not alone.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Tuck730 said:


> .... I've been taking Tuck to weekly obedience classes ever since he got his 2nd round of shots as a pup. It’s puzzling to me that many on this forum are suggesting this is the fix. He is an angel in class and out of class when we do training at home, even during majority of a walk - but as soon he gets it in his head that he wants to attack you now, he will. No amount of training has affected that. And I say that as someone whose current full-time job is exercising and training the pup...


It does help to know it's a very common issue, although I'm surprised that if he's (be honest with yourself) getting aerobic exercise (off leash) and daily training that he is still doing this. If that's the case and it's still happening it indicates that he just gets more excited and ramped up on his walks (he is able to control himself in class and feels less compelled out walking) and/or still doesn't understand that 'attacking, jumping, putting teeth on you is not allowed - then the other piece of the puzzle is that he needs a stronger negative response from you that this is unacceptable behavior.

Young dogs jump and bite on the end of the leash because of high spirits, excited, happy and overflowing energy. They have to learn it's not acceptable. If you've done step 1 - which is teach him patiently with obedience training (this is why we all emphasized obedience) what is expected for good behavior and you also do step 2 - which is make sure he's getting adequate exercise (leash walks do not count for this) then it's time for step 3: give him a consequence for the bad behavior. I assume you've been stern and told him off verbally in no uncertain terms that you are angry with his behavior? Next time it starts let part of the leash hit the ground and step on it - then slowly pull up on the leash so he has no more slack to jump and can't really move. Hold him there till he calms down. THen praise him for being calm and release. Repeat if necessary.

After that if he's not respecting you (and this is what it's about) take a tiny squirt bottle of water (target sells tiny ones in makeup section) and squirt him in the face when he does it. If it comes to this, I recommend you look at "Nothing IN Life Is Free" training/management protocol because he is not respecting your authority.


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## SRW (Dec 21, 2018)

Have you tried reprimanding him for bad behavior? (Assuming you have taught him what behavior is bad)

Unless medical attention and stitches were required, you were not attacked. Your dog has energy and he wants to use it. It is typical for a dog, especially a retriever, to "bite" when excited. It isn't an attack, your dog wants to do something and walking on lead is nothing to a young energetic retriever.


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## CCoopz (Jun 2, 2020)

Hi,
We adopted a male golden retriever at 18 months that had the same behaviour re on lead, also some fear based aggression of aggressively mouthing us (not biting never drew blood or left a Mark) jumping up at us and nipping our clothes when he wasn’t getting his way.
Obviously slightly different as he was new to us and us to him!

I consulted a dog behaviourist via telephone. We followed her advice and I would say it took 5 months to sort out the problems.

Firstly with the walking our dog therapist felt Teddy had fear from new experiences/stimulation. Possible bad experiences from previous owners.
So we took it slow, gave him time to sniff/explore, be patient and not hurry him. But reward him every time he came to our sides (eg in park, on beach, field) or stuck to our side walking on the sidewalk (he was on an extendable lead).

To give him a little time to process our commands and make the choice to follow the command rather than expecting him to instantly do the thing. As he was learning.

To learn the pre-tantrums signs and throw 2 or 3 high value treats on the floor to re-direct him.

If I missed the signs and he still had a tantrum then to drop the lead and stand on it and if possible stand on it turned away from him or at least side ways with arms folded, no eye contact. When he calms down command him to sit or even lie down. So he calms down another notch. Then give eye contact and if he moves on a treat.
Then walk on giving him a couple treats for following/walking nicely on lead.

Using these strategies worked for us but change was incremental over about 6 months. For a while between 3-6 months you’d think all sorted then he would do the bad behaviour occasionally, but with less energy, no aggression and quicker to stop, we would just do the same strategies.

We had the balancing act of trying to build an attachment bond with Teddy, becoming his trusted safe people, while also training him. So you may be able to be more stern or there be mild consequences/reprimands.

FYI back then he was also getting 2 x 45mins off lead, 2 x 15 minute training sessions, probably 40-60 mins broken up in short bursts of indoor and garden play with us with his toys.


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