# My 12week golden is doing well with training generally but.......



## inge (Sep 20, 2009)

Hi and welcome to the forum...I can't say very much about your problem as my experiences don't go further than a 19 week old pup, but a few things come to mind...First of all: thank you for picking him out of that shop, and secondly: a lot of your problems start there probably, too. He may have been taken away from his mother and littlermates at a very early age, and thus missed out on important things like bite inhibition and sharing. 
Did your husband offer him something in exchange to the thing he wanted to take from his mouth? With my puppy, if it is something she really values very high, I have to have a treat for her to exchange it with, I cannot take it from her mouth like that. I am ok with that. With a treat there is no problem at all. 
About the mobile and so on: sure he wants to take things he sees you playing with...my pup is very fond of the soccer socks my son puts on every day. She likes to takes them and chew on them big time. It's a question of making sure he can't get to those things.
About the genetic thing: as you don't know anything about him there's nothing sensible I can say about that. Take him to puppy and obedience classes as soon as possible, that really helps to stamp out unwanted behaviour.

Please post pictures of your little guy!


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## C's Mom (Dec 7, 2009)

"He was sitting very timidly in a small cage with a husky trying to take pieces out of him". I bet this didn't help matters either - poor puppers. He probably had to fight for every bit of food/water he got. 
Inge has some great advice. Looks like you've both been successful in stopping other unwanted behaviors. Keep working with your boy on this and I'm sure the behavior will stop. He looks adorable in your avatar and I look forward to seeing more pics of him.


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## tillytay1 (Feb 22, 2010)

Thanks Inge for the warm welcome and the advice. Looking back, no I actually don't think my husband offered and alternative that time. When treats are offered, sure, he gives up whatever treasure he has no problem, he's a greedy nose  Will this mean thought that I will always have to give him something of a treat in return when he takes or do you think eventually he will lose interest as he grows? BTW, since I have named and shamed the little monkey on this golden forum, I've now posted some pics of the wee man in question )


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## tillytay1 (Feb 22, 2010)

Thankyou C's mom. I will definitely keep working hard with him, he is lovely natured the majority of the time, it's just I don't like this possessive thing he's demonstrated. I know he's only 12 weeks but I want to stop it now. BTW, Cocasse is a beauty  I can't wait to find out what colour Dantes is going to be when he gets bigger, he's very creamy at the minute but a bit of colour coming through.

You know what, I hate this petshop thing...Back at home in the UK, we don't sell cats and dogs in petshops anymore. It upsets me to see animals being sold in this way. I lived in Australia as well as Turkey, and in Australia it was just the same, dogs and cats for sale in the front shop windows  Can't wait to see a ban on it.


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## Muddypaws (Apr 20, 2009)

Welcome!

Both of mine came from a breeder at 7 weeks and both were very "mouthy". To teach them "No Bite" you have to be firm and consistant but they will get it. As soon as he puts his mouth on you shout NO BITE and stop playing. It will startle him, then go back to playing, when he does it again, shout again. He should learn pretty quick. If he still does it give him a time out. Shout NO BITE and quietly and calmly walk him to his crate, put him in for 15 - 30 seconds walk away. After 30 seconds come back quietly let him out start to play, when he does it again repeat. He will get it fast.

If you want him to give you something teach him "Drop It". Use really good treats. Give him his favorite toy let him play a little offer a treat and when he drops the toy to take the treat say "drop it". After a while tell him to "Drop It" and point to the floor, when he drops the toy give him the treat. Once he gets the association of the command, action then treat. Tell him to "drop it" when he does say "yes" and then give him the treat. Don't show the treat until after you say "yes". He will learn to associate the word "yes" with the reward that will follow. Use the "yes" as a reward marker it will become very useful with all future training.

He isn't that different from any other puppy - he is going to test the limits. Have fun and when you start to get frustrated "stop". Always keep it positive and fun. Good-luck and thank you so much for rescuing this puppy.


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## tillytay1 (Feb 22, 2010)

i am going to try the *drop it* with him, thanks muddypaws. think it will be a really useful one for when he decides to pick up undesirables outside...he seems to want to be into everything  the palybiting isnt an issue now, he knows its not acceptable, which im really pleased about. the problem has been that hes got so much energy and hasnt been able to go outside yet for walks ( final injection tomorrrow). i am looking forward to his first real venture outside, we are going to go for a lovely walk along the coast where i live. it will be just what the doctor ordered i think.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

It's pretty typical puppy behaviour, really nothing out of the ordinary. And you are already doing a great job with his training, so you can train for this too. He is just exhibiting some resource guarding. 

A good game to teach him is "trade". Do this when he is NOT rescource guarding and make it fun for him, so that when he does have something he doesn't want to give up he will have already learned it's a good thing to give things to you when you ask.

When he has something you want offer him a toy or treat in place of it, then take the item he had. Then "trade" back for what you gave him. Use a cue word like "give" or "drop it". He is obviously very smart and quick learner, so he should get this pretty easily. Just practice when it's not something you NEED to take from him so he learns the cue word.

You won't always have to give him a treat, but when it is a high value item he doesn't want to give up it's good to use them instead of having a confrontation that could result in him guarding and biting. (I would make sure things like cell phones, money, etc. are put up where he can't get them also).

Don't worry about his background, you've done exceptionally well already training a puppy who didn't have his littermates to learn with.

Welcome to the board! Pictures, please.


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## tillytay1 (Feb 22, 2010)

update. thanks for all the super advice. dantes is now coming up 5 months and he is a treat. he is not mouthy at all and no longer exhibits the resource guarding behaviour that i was concerned about. 

the 'trade' technique works well with him, and i also can get him to drop my things that he has taken from me i.e. socks, shoes etc...i just quietly approach him and all i have to do is look at him with a determined glare, no words.. i just wait for a moment or two and he gives in. i then reward him when he drops and backs off. i got the idea from a dog whisperer book, at first i thought 'no way' he won't release something he wants just by me looking at him, but it does actually work! ) the first few times i did it, it took a fair few minutes....but i kept on with this method. the idea is that psychologically for the dog, your presence, unspoken energy and the sheer determination you show, sends messsages that you are not giving in when you want something back. all i have to do is look at him for about 10 seconds and as soon as i get eye contact he backs off. it is funny becasue he sometimes tries everything not to look at my eyes...sometimes he sits looking up at the heavens but can't help himself and has to eventually check if im still looking at him. i reward him when he leaves whatever im wanting. The book is called 'How to raise the perfect dog' by cesar millan. i don't agree with everything in the book but i have found some very useful tips to understand a bit better how dantes mind works.


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## GoPack (Jan 3, 2010)

So glad you're having success with "trading".... our pup tested us many times with growls. Very often we realized we were approaching her from the back and that certainly put her on the defensive. We try to always look at her with our commands. Now we say in a fun way "trade ya!" and her ears perk up and she walks over to sit and get whatever I have to give her (food is the best for her!). Then I can take what she had. She's also getting very good with "drop it" and "leave it" commands. People told me too to keep working at it and that pups also will keep testing you... and she does! This is a very frustrating time...but also fun and exciting watching the pups grow up! Good luck!


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