# Help please



## Nicknoo (Oct 9, 2014)

I have an 8 month old golden retriever who is great at learning anything we teach him, but when we take him for a walk on his lead something comes over him and he starts jumping up at us and grabbing our arms it's like someone switches a switch and he turns into a Damien. We have tried spraying him with water, standing on his lead, holding the lead up in the air, rattling a tin next to head but nothing stops him we have even tried standing still until he finishes and sometimes this works but other times it doesn't. Has anyone experienced similar problems and if so what have you done to solve it. Please help as I just don't know what to do.


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## Tayla's Mom (Apr 20, 2012)

I certainly have. I would come home from walks in tears. I'd be bruised and bleeding. First teach a reliable sit, if you haven't done so already. I mean the kind where that butt goes down quickly. This is what was recommended to us and worked. We took a can of compressed air, the kind you find in electronic stores, and took it on walks. As soon as the behavior starts we sprayed it. Tayla was always startled by that sound and it broke the jumping and biting cycle long enough to give her the sit command. It seemed to calm her and help her think. It only took a few times before we just needed to bring the can out and then just give the command. To this day when she does it and yes, she still does it at times, I just have to give a firm sit and she does. We wait a second or two and on we walk. NEVER SPRAY THE AIR CAN DIRECTLY AT THE DOG OR YOU. It is a cold burn if you do. I hope this helps and others will pipe in. Good luck.


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## quilter (Sep 12, 2011)

We really should have a sticky topic on this very annoying behavior! Maturity, training (any training), and being aware of triggers will all help. Also, be aware of the puppy's arousal level (look up calming signals) and take breaks, doing some doggy calming behavior, when needed. Doggy calming behaviors are sniffing, foraging, sitting, petting, etc. Walking on leash can be stressful with all the things going on in the environment and trying to pay attention to the owner all the time. It's work, and work is tiring.


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## Nicknoo (Oct 9, 2014)

Hi, thank you for your reply I will give this a go, I have honestly tried everything else and the same as you come home in tears, bruised, bleeding and looking like I have been dragged around the floor. He is so loveable and good with all his commands he does know the air command (and all the others) but when he is in that state nothing I say goes in he just ignores it and carries on in fact it is like he doesn't even hear me. I have never seen other dogs doing it and have never heard of it before.

I will certainly try this though, fingers crossed


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## Nicknoo (Oct 9, 2014)

Thanks everyone, I am in a funny kind of way glad that I am not the only one that has experienced this behaviour (although I feel for everyone who has) I thought it was something I was doing wrong or something wrong with him. I have seen a behaviourist but they were pretty unhelpful just saying its a puppy thing and he will grow out of it. But unfortunately that's not good enough when you are coming home battered and bruised.


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## Tayla's Mom (Apr 20, 2012)

I used to be so embarrassed. Look at the lady with the vicious uncontrollable dog. You also then to jerk your hands and arms back which is seen as a game. Tayla doesn't have a mean bone in her body, but for 6 months I looked like I should be in a shelter for the abused. She used to love pinch biting I call it. Where she would jump and get a body part with her front teeth leaving a huge bruise. I was a mess.


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## Cookie's Mom (Oct 14, 2013)

We also do the sit when Oatmeal goes a little crazy on walks. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I just wear thicker clothes to protect my skin and hope she grows out of it soon!


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## Nicknoo (Oct 9, 2014)

Yes it is very embarrassing because everyone looks at you like he is vicious but he's not and like you say I make it worse by moving my arms and then he chases even more, I have ordered an air spray so hopefully it will help, I'll keep you all posted.


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## goldenSkye1 (Oct 9, 2014)

Yes! I posted about this last month, and I got great feedback. What I had to do was ultimately, knee her in the chest. Not too hard, but hard enough for her to know that she does not want to do that again. It was hard for me to do at first (I'm sensitive haha), but it's for the dog's benefit. It took maybe three times, and she stopped. She jumps on others right now, but as for me, not one jump. And trust me, she was doing the EXACT same thing. It was scary! I was coming in with blood and bruises! Hope this helps! Keep us updated!


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## Finn's Fan (Dec 22, 2007)

You can also buy a package of plain squeakers, the kind that are in many dog toys. Keep one in your pocket, and when you see the behavior beginning, put your hand in your pocket and squeak that thing. For some young dogs, looking for the origin of the noise is enough to distract them from their temporary insanity


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## kssssss (May 4, 2011)

I have a 3 1/2 year old male named Cooper. We went to 7 weeks of puppy classes and then over the last 3 years he has had other trainers to no avail. My neighbor told me about a trainer that she raved about. He wasn't cheap, but I decided I was ready for results. My boy is sweet like most Goldens, but when we went out on our walks and ran into an approaching dog he didn't know, he would get like a pit bull. Pulling and barking up a storm, to where it was hard to control him. He wouldn't hurt the dogs if they got close, but what he was doing was awful and dangerous for me. Ron, the trainer came on this past Saturday and I will tell you the difference in Cooper is astounding. First he uses a Prong (dull) collar and no treats, just praise. By the time we finished a walk and Ron showed me how to correct him, he was a different dog. He had me order an electronic collar with a remote control, which I haven't received yet, and I'm not sure I will need because of the change in him already. The technique he uses is amazing and got instant results. It tired Cooper out, which I love also. He was tired from thinking, which Ron said can be more tiring to them than exercise. I have continued with this collar and so far Cooper isn't pulling and doing the other behavior.


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## Janbpi (Jan 25, 2014)

*Biting and jumping*

Glad to know I am not the only Golden owner that has this same problem. We have had 3 other Goldens and they never did this behavior. Our latest seems very dominent though, and I will be trying the suggestions here.


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## Charliethree (Jul 18, 2010)

kssssss said:


> I have a 3 1/2 year old male named Cooper. We went to 7 weeks of puppy classes and then over the last 3 years he has had other trainers to no avail. My neighbor told me about a trainer that she raved about. He wasn't cheap, but I decided I was ready for results. My boy is sweet like most Goldens, but when we went out on our walks and ran into an approaching dog he didn't know, he would get like a pit bull. Pulling and barking up a storm, to where it was hard to control him. He wouldn't hurt the dogs if they got close, but what he was doing was awful and dangerous for me. Ron, the trainer came on this past Saturday and I will tell you the difference in Cooper is astounding. First he uses a Prong (dull) collar and no treats, just praise. By the time we finished a walk and Ron showed me how to correct him, he was a different dog. He had me order an electronic collar with a remote control, which I haven't received yet, and I'm not sure I will need because of the change in him already. The technique he uses is amazing and got instant results. It tired Cooper out, which I love also. He was tired from thinking, which Ron said can be more tiring to them than exercise. I have continued with this collar and so far Cooper isn't pulling and doing the other behavior.


 Don't, don't do this to your dog! Find yourself a certified reward based trainer/canine behaviorist and get some appropriate counter conditioning/desensitization training help for your dog's reactivity to other dogs. Using punishment (a prong collar and or shock collar) to stop over excitement/over threshold behavior in a dog runs a very high risk of turning your dog friendly dog, dog aggressive. 
Fear/avoidance of pain/discomfort are very efficient motivators in changing behavior in dogs, but it does not resolve with the underlying cause of the behavior -fear, excitement, stress, anxiety, lack of self control and or lack of appropriate and ongoing socialization can cause a dog to over 'react' when encountering other dogs. Take the time to figure out what is causing the behavior problem and work to resolve it.


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## melannrob (Apr 12, 2014)

*Me too*

My 1 1/2 year old started doing this right when we got her at 8 weeks. We took her to puppy classes but the trainer told us she couldn't help. It finally is getting better as she has gotten older. 

Look for triggers. We noticed Biscuit's trigger was socks and gloves. She bites our hands as she wants the gloves. We usually wear some kind of work glove all year on the farm and she likes to play keep away (a bad habit we are trying to break). When she jumps, I cross my arms in front of me so she cannot grab them and I turn my back on her. When she calms down and sits I count to 3 and turn around and praise her. She now calms down more quickly. 

To prevent this behavior, I play fetch with her so she releases a lot of pent up energy from the excitement of going outside before we go on a walk. This has helped tremendously! I use a harness when we walk as she will pull hard on a collar. If I feel her pulling, we stop, wait until she sits, and count to 3 before I walk up to her and then we can go again. Some walks take forever, but she gets tired out just the same no matter how slow we go. It beats getting leash burns and bruises. 

Also, I do not give her a verbal command. I learned from trainers on YouTube and TV we should make our dogs think so the behavior is learned and sticks with them more strongly. Not sure if this is better or not, but it works for us. 

If you are embarrassed by your dogs behavior, start off small by walking your dog on the leash around the house. When your dog gets good at that try walking around your back yard. Then you can graduate to going on walks along the streets. A fellow dog owner suggested this as she also had this problem and found most dogs need to get used to acting correctly on a leash in a controlled environment before they can be introduced to a public environment. 

Good luck and let us know what you figured out!


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## quilter (Sep 12, 2011)

melannrob said:


> When she jumps, I cross my arms in front of me so she cannot grab them and I turn my back on her. When she calms down and sits I count to 3 and turn around and praise her. She now calms down more quickly.


One of my training books suggested using crossed arms as a signal to Sit. It makes a lot of sense. It's a clear signal and it keeps me from doing anything with the dog. So a strong message of "all done with this game."


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## EmmaUK (Jan 19, 2014)

Yes, been there and done that! Jess started the rabid dog thing at 10m old, just like a switch being flicked! Many bruises, ripped clothes etc! This would normally be at the end of a boring walk. We have a tin with small stones in that gets shaken and she knows shes in trouble although once shes in the devil zone nothing works and I just hold the leash up high and tight at arms length so she cannot get to me, 30secs later she's back to normal. Now at 15m old shes much much calmer, we started to enforce that we are pack leaders and I think this helped along with more exercise especially making sure she plays with other dogs.


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## goldenSkye1 (Oct 9, 2014)

Charliethree said:


> Don't, don't do this to your dog! Find yourself a certified reward based trainer/canine behaviorist and get some appropriate counter conditioning/desensitization training help for your dog's reactivity to other dogs. Using punishment (a prong collar and or shock collar) to stop over excitement/over threshold behavior in a dog runs a very high risk of turning your dog friendly dog, dog aggressive.
> Fear/avoidance of pain/discomfort are very efficient motivators in changing behavior in dogs, but it does not resolve with the underlying cause of the behavior -fear, excitement, stress, anxiety, lack of self control and or lack of appropriate and ongoing socialization can cause a dog to over 'react' when encountering other dogs. Take the time to figure out what is causing the behavior problem and work to resolve it.


I disagree with this. The electronic collar doesn't hurt the dog. I put it on my neck, and it felt like a pinch. If you've been dealing with an out-of-control dog for three years after multiple trainers, it's probably time. I have one for Skye, and it has worked wonders. She winced when I put the pinch collar on her, so I stopped using it, but she wags her tail when I put the electronic collar on her.

I still reward her when she acts right, and she is as happy as can be. Sometimes after trying so long, there becomes an ultimatum.


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## kbear (Aug 27, 2014)

Nicknoo said:


> Thanks everyone, I am in a funny kind of way glad that I am not the only one that has experienced this behaviour (although I feel for everyone who has) I thought it was something I was doing wrong or something wrong with him. I have seen a behaviourist but they were pretty unhelpful just saying its a puppy thing and he will grow out of it. But unfortunately that's not good enough when you are coming home battered and bruised.


my puppy is only 4 months old but she does the same exact thing. we'll be outside either walking or just playing and it's like someone flips a switch and she starts attacking me. she's ripped countless clothes, my hands and arms etc...the only way to get her off me is to hold the leash out where she can't reach me. it doesn't happen everytime we go out but it's often enough! we start classes in 2 weeks so I'm really hoping they can help. I did buy a whistle that helps sometimes by startling her but sometimes I forget to take it with me. my husband also bought a first alert anti-barking device that sends out an irritating sound only dogs can hear. we've had some success with that when she's barking a lot. I don't see anything wrong with the pinch collars. I will be trying one soon. lots of top trainers recommend them..


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