# Biting/snapping at 6 months still "normal"?



## Jlauer (Jan 7, 2016)

I should add... The second trainer has 8 goldens and said mine is definitely one of the most difficult she's dealt with. Said she's smart as smart could be and knows many commands, so I know that she knows what "no bite" means....


----------



## quilter (Sep 12, 2011)

It's normal, I suppose, but you don't have to live with it.

The usual plan for bitey adolescents (you are almost there) is training, exercise, avoid triggers, and don't reward.

Training wears them out and brings down the overall arousal. However, an overtired dog can't control his impulses very well, so you don't want to play with an overtired, bitey puppy.

Training. I like Overall's Relaxation Protocol (google will find it), but any daily structured training plan will work. It gives you and the dog some other ways to interact that don't include using the mouth.

Don't reward. Just about any physical interaction could be interpreted as a reward. So the best thing is leaving, though you say it doesn't work. If you return and she starts up again, leave again. Don't way a word, just leave. Eventually you'll figure out how long it takes her to settle down and she'll figure out she needs to settle down.

Something I've learned to do now, but didn't know about when Casper was a puppy was how to control games so they didn't get out of hand. Or, it just takes them awhile to learn how the games work. Casper is four now, and I can pretty well tell when I'm playing with him with he's about to go over the top. Then I stop playing and wait for him to settle down before we start again. It might be in a book called Control Unleashed, because we practiced it in a Control Unleashed class that I took. I'm currently reading a book called Play by Denise Fenzi that covers how to play with your dog and it talks about when they get bitey.

Another thing to consider is how you are handling here. You should avoid her head and not rub her fur backwards. That gets a lot of dogs wound up. If you need to reach for her head, teach her the Gotcha command (google will turn it up). Even super friendly, pet me anywhere dogs don't like people reaching for their heads. It's just hard to tell, because they're being so friendly/playful.

But, yes! I think it will get better over time. I don't remember when Casper started grabbing a toy on his own when he got excited, but it was well over a year.


----------



## Fattner (Apr 1, 2015)

Normal it will get better !!!


----------



## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

Chloe at one still goes after hands sometimes. Of course the landshark phase ended a long time ago but dhe still thinks the hands are fun when playing.


----------



## Jlauer (Jan 7, 2016)

Thank you for the info! I should add as well, the majority of her biting/snapping is when we move her or remove her from something she isn't supposed to be doing. It's not during play as much?


----------



## Charliethree (Jul 18, 2010)

Jlauer said:


> Thank you for the info! I should add as well, the majority of her biting/snapping is when we move her or remove her from something she isn't supposed to be doing. It's not during play as much?


Take a moment to consider 'how' you are moving her, or removing her from doing something you don't approve of, and whether it is happening frequently, are you in essence 'nagging' on her on a regular basis? Are you 'hands on', pushing, pulling, physically trying to move/remove her or are you 'asking' her to move, and helping her to choose to move on her own by offering her something more rewarding or fun? Biting and snapping (Please leave me alone.) at this age can simply be fueled by frustration at being prevented/interrupted from doing something she finds rewarding, but also not understanding what she is supposed to do/what you would prefer her to do instead. 

If you want her, need her to move, practice helping her move, 'ask' her to move, call her name, invite her out of the way, lure her if you need to, and reward her pets and praise, perhaps a treat, for doing as you have asked of her. If she is doing something she is not supposed to, consider what you want her to do instead, and help her learn to choose more appropriate behavior and reward her for doing it. Say her name, call her to you, reward her for coming, make it 'worth' her while (lots of praise, pets, perhaps a treat or two) let her know that she has done a wonderful thing, and give her something appropriate and rewarding for her, to do instead.


----------



## Jlauer (Jan 7, 2016)

Thank you! Ok, I NEED to remember that in the moment! We don't want her on the couches and it is typically me moving her off of them immediately or when she scratches at the bottom of our couches when her balls or toys roll under them. Also, things like putting on her harness to go for a walk, or wiping her paws after she's been outside in the rain. Those two actually need me to touch her while I do them, so I'll see if she keeps a toy in her mouth while I do those things and go from there! 

Is it bad that she doesn't have a toy yet to use as a lure? They don't do it enough for her. Her only high value lures are good treats, or "do you wanna go for a ride/walk". 

Thanks so much again for the advice. I was feeling so defeated before finding this forum!


----------



## Charliethree (Jul 18, 2010)

Our dogs decide what is 'high value' to them, there is no harm in using food rewards or 'life rewards' - make sure you follow through and take her for a walk! if that is the reward you offered her.

Lure her off the couch with the treat, or encourage her off with a happy voice, when she has 'four' on the floor, give her the treat and lots of praise, then- tell her (teach her) where you want her to lay instead. Teaching her to lay on her bed nearby and rewarding her for it, (intermittent treats) or give her something 'to do' there (a chew toy or stuffed Kong) will help to make it more rewarding for her, and increase the likelihood that next time she will 'choose' her bed instead of the couch. It will take practice, repetition and reward, but she will get it.

Putting on the harness, how would you like her to behave? She is anticipating a walk (very rewarding, exciting, for her), help her learn 'self control'. Teach her to sit to get the harness on. Hold the harness in your hand, cue a sit, reward her when she does, (or reward her for standing calmly), move the harness closer, if she gets up, or moves, move the harness away, and wait for her to choose to sit (help her, in the early stages, if she is having difficulty figuring out what you want from her) praise her for it, when she does. Again move the harness closer, lots of praise for holding the sit, staying calm. If she gets up or gets mouthy, walk away, wait for her to settle, then continue. Praise, reward, for behavior you like, walk away if she breaks the sit, or is doing something you would rather she not do. Alternatively, have someone else feed her treats while you put the harness on, helping to create a positive association with the procedure, and setting you both up for success.

Paw handing/wiping- some dogs are very sensitive about having their paws handled, their paws are crucial to their survival in their world, so they by instinct don't want them 'messed' with, but we can teach them to 'accept' it , even enjoy it, by making it a good thing for them by pairing it with rewards. Pick a time when you do not 'need' to wipe her feet, then work on touching her feet, touch briefly, feed treats while touching her feet, stop touching, stop the treats, gradually increase the time you touch while feeding the treats. When she is comfortable with you touching all four of her feet, then work to holding each paw, briefly to start with, reward her while you hold the paw, stop the rewards when you release her paw. Then work towards 'wiping' the paws. Take it one step at a time, touching, holding, then 'wiping' as she becomes comfortable with the process. Take your time, be patient with her, she will get it.


----------



## Jlauer (Jan 7, 2016)

Thank you all so much, truly. Looking forward to using all this good advice.


----------



## Fattner (Apr 1, 2015)

In time it will get better ,my human kiss me a lot and that's worse than biting ,I think


----------



## MarcWinkman (Oct 28, 2015)

Riley is about 5 months and VERY, VERY, VERY nippy and mouthy. If she's not biting and nipping, she's getting into things around the house (wine rack in the kitchen, book shelf in the living room, chair legs, etc.), the really terrible thing, if she's not being nippy and mouthy, the Mississippi leg hound in her comes out. My solution has been to keep her on her lead when she's out of her crate, not play tug with her, and give her a bully stick or something to chew to keep her occupied. And yes, Riley also falls into the category of Bitter Apple doing nothing to deter her from chewing.


----------



## Lambeau0609 (Aug 3, 2015)

I have a really dumb question. But all these dogs that r bitty do they have enough high value toys laying all around your home? My golden 7 month old has never been bitty I figured its because my house looks like I have enough toys laying around to keep him occupied when I am not entertaining him. He is a big toy loving dog. Puppies are just very playful dogs that always want to play either with toys or people. Also I am always adding new toys to the pile and removing a few existing toys to add back at another time. My puppy just loves getting new toys almost like a kid in a toy store.


----------



## Anele (Dec 12, 2014)

You've already gotten such good advice. I think it's fantastic that you have already ID'd the different reasons she has been bitey because, as you see, the root of the issue dictates the solution.

So, while you are working on pairing positive associations with touch and having to move, think about ways she can use her mouth on a regular basis. I see that my dog NEEDS to use his mouth. So, especially when he was younger, I made sure his mouth was busy a lot of the day in a way that I wanted. 

(1) Tug. (Teach with rules for impulse control)
(2) Retrieve. (If your dog doesn't naturally do this, train her with very short sessions-- make sure you have at least 2 of whatever you are throwing, too, especially at first.)
(3) Chewing/gnawing on approved items. (Provide an assortment, like bully sticks and stuffed frozen Kongs.)

A very cheap and easy (though a little messy) way for fun mouth time is to get a box (like a cereal box) and put a few treats in there. Let her rip up the box to her heart's content. My dog has never been one to eat paper, so just check to make sure she doesn't either . . .

I can't remember if it's been mentioned already, but also practice SOFT MOUTH. I am sure there are better ways to teach, so hopefully someone will join in, but you can take a treat and hold it between two fingers or whatever is comfortable, and then she has to sort of work to get it. If too hard, hand closes around treat. Then, try again right away. She will see that when she is gentle, she gets the treat. You can do this daily and even feed her some of her kibble this way.


----------



## Wenderwoman (Jan 7, 2013)

I'm sorry if I am repeating anything because I have not read all of the responses. Here are the things I did;

1. Yelping. I would make a yelping sound so that she understood she was hurting me and then I would either;
a. Substitute with a toy, chew, or bowl of ice cubes; or
b. Walk away.
2. Crating. If she really, really wouldn't calm down, I would crate her for a few minutes (not everyone will agree with this.)

I will also tell her "No bite" but many people say not to do this. These methods worked just fine though because at 3, she is very soft-mouthed and never bites.

At 6 months though, the dog is probably teething quite seriously. Try giving the dog a bowl of ice cubes. This really helped my dogs.


----------



## Jlauer (Jan 7, 2016)

I love the suggestions. I think we definitely need to practice more soft mouth like you mentioned. I always do the Yelp and walk away when she bites too hard, but haven't seen this alone soften her mouth. 

Her favorite game with toys is to let them roll or be shoved under/behind the couch, and then she scratches at the couch to get them back. (And then bites when I try to help her get the toy back for her, haha!) 

I try to lure her away from the couch scratching (instead of pulling her away) with bully sticks, a different toy, or a treat, but in that moment her main goal is getting the toy she wants back. That's why it's so hard to lure her and I have to intervene. 

I'm going to start with working to soften her bite and go from there. You guys are great help! 

I'll keep you posted on how this all goes. We are getting complaints from the groomer and family friends that her biting needs fixed, and I just want to scream! They have no idea how much we are working on it!


----------



## quilter (Sep 12, 2011)

Lambeau0609 said:


> I have a really dumb question. But all these dogs that r bitty do they have enough high value toys laying all around your home?


Oh, yes, they have plenty of toys.  And a toy for every purpose. The bathroom toy, the sleeping toy, the backyard toy, the tug toy, the wrestling toy, and a generic toy for every room. Also the training toys.


----------



## Goldensyrup (Jan 28, 2016)

Hi, Just wanted to say we are in exactly the same boat. Nothing so far has worked and if anything makes her worse. She will calm down once she has a brief moment of time out - whether that's us leaving or her going outside. I'm still trying to work out how to work with this. Food rewards are her thing, but at the same time I don't want her to think she gets a treat by being bitey and consequently has to be lured outside so I have been hesitant to use this. I will try it though if its ok to do. At the moment if we try and put her outside she flat out lies down/crawls under the bed/becomes a dead weight on her back etc... Watching your thread with interest and hoping for more ideas!


----------



## Goldensyrup (Jan 28, 2016)

With the toys - my dog doesn't seem to care at all! She has had all sorts and they barely get used. Even if we throw them/pass them to her, she either refuses to take them or holds them in her mouth for about 10 seconds. She seems to prefer plastic bottles or the kids toys. The only thing she has ever really liked was a tennis ball shaped soft fluffy hedgehog which could carry around with her. But again, only if she chose to play with it at the time. If we give it to her, she isn't interested.


----------



## Lise123 (Jan 1, 2014)

Something that's worked for us when nothing else penetrated my excitable dog's head was to redirect, not with a toy (never worked for him) but with training. One of his trainers (after noting that my lovely Bailey was "exceptionally mouthy," I cringed) suggested replacing a naughty behavior with a good one by asking for it. So when Bailey mouthed someone, we'd ask for a paw, or a sit, or a down, and then reward him.

Bailey loved to train as a young dog, even in his hellish teenage period, so it would snap him back to reality much of the time. Our family carried treats in our pockets at all times.

Oh, and we figured out that collar grabs triggered mouthing, despite all the work I'd done with him. We fixed that by grabbing, treating, grabbing, treating, and also restricting collar grabs to times that were absolutely necessary. We used to luring method referred to upthread, and it made a huge difference.

Good luck. Stay strong. It will pay off.


----------



## Jlauer (Jan 7, 2016)

Lise123 said:


> Something that's worked for us when nothing else penetrated my excitable dog's head was to redirect, not with a toy (never worked for him) but with training. One of his trainers (after noting that my lovely Bailey was "exceptionally mouthy," I cringed) suggested replacing a naughty behavior with a good one by asking for it. So when Bailey mouthed someone, we'd ask for a paw, or a sit, or a down, and then reward him.
> 
> Bailey loved to train as a young dog, even in his hellish teenage period, so it would snap him back to reality much of the time. Our family carried treats in our pockets at all times.
> 
> ...



This sounds EXACTLY like Tilly!! Thank you for your input and advice! The one thing I can always get her to do is train! That will be my redirect from now on. Thanks!


----------



## Elsa Cholla's Mom (Feb 8, 2016)

Hello. (Hugs) for your difficulties. I just joined the forum because my 4 month old has been a landshark since day one. We got her at 10 weeks old. And I have been dealing with this every day since. We have also been living in a camper with Elsa for the last 6 weeks and only just arrived home. I think this forum is going to save my sanity, I was seriously scared I had gotten a mentally unstable dog. With very little internet resources, I have been trying to figure this biting stuff out. Sometimes she drives me to tears of frustration and my husband steps in to give me time off. I have made some progress with Elsa intuitively.

I figured out she hated her head touched, and she hates wearing a collar too. The harness improved walking somewhat. We also own a half dozen balls now. I throw balls a lot, roll balls, got a soccer ball she loves, loves going after. And she loves chasing an empty 1/2 gallon juice jug around the floor, the grass, on pavement just to keep her distracted and moving until she is worn out. I can't walk the darn dog long enough to exercise her. She has even taught herself how to bring back 2 balls at once, lol.

Sometimes I felt like it was kind of a fear biting. Not sure if she would grow out of it completely, I decided she needs to know bite inhibition, so I started letting her have my hand quite early on. If she bit too hard I tried 'Ouch' to no avail but if I whined and pulled my hand back, she would stop. And when she did bite gently, I said, 'Gentle, good gentle', over and over. She seems to get comfort from mouthing my hand now. 

When she does get over the top, I finally started giving her time out in her crate. About 10 minutes. And I pre-announce it loudly. She now knows what "Time Out" means. I can see the flicker in her eyes saying, oops, gone too far. 

My biggest hurdle is going for walks. She still gets all weird on the leash sometimes, and has started adding jumping to the act. It's horrible when I am down the block already. Scares me that I may still have another 6 months of this to go! I can't imagine adding hormones to this process. 

Neither me or my husband have ever met a puppy so difficult to raise! Finding ways to interact lovingly with her is so hard! So perhaps a couple of these ideas may help you with your dog. And I would love to hear from others that they did end up with a loving loyal dog in the end. Cause I really need to hear that!


----------



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

For those of you willing to distract your land sharks with training, try some "puppy push-ups" to release a little of that youngster energy. Ask for a sit, then a down, back to a sit, then a down. Reward with a tiny treat after a few in a row. It reinforces that they need to do what you ask, uses up some mental and physical energy, and then you move on to having them "wait" in a down (or a sit) while you put a treat in front of them. That helps with impulse control. This should not be punitive, but it is a good distraction from naughty behavior and reinforces those commands.


----------



## Yuki (Oct 5, 2011)

Others have given lots of good advice for you. 

What worked for Yuki and me was lots of playing games like chasing each other, Obedience training time was very fun we had few sessions at home (with treats) and outside everyday, lots of toys to play fetch. Basically we ran around like crazy and both got tired lol.
I used squeaky balls and toys for softmouth training. I was always strict about Yuki trying to mouth me and told him to get his squeaky ball, which he would run off to find and we played 2-3 fetches then sit down for a petting while he held his ball. 

If chew toys don't interest the pup then give bones or other edible chews.

I would suggest you stop hiding toys under couch or beds. Hide them in places she can find easily without digging or scratching. I'm saying this cuz once a tennis ball rolled under my bed and Yuki found a clever way to get it. Dig through the bed! I had a huge hole in mattress and my jaw dropped.


----------



## LittleRedDawg (Oct 5, 2011)

Where in the U.S. are you located? People may be able to direct you to good training resources if they know where you are.

It is normal puppyness - but you don't need to put up with it. My 6 1/2 month old has springs in her paws and shark teeth, and while it was cute when she was little, now that she can easily get to face level it's not quite so amusing. lol. If you don't like the behavior - tell her. Ignoring only works when the dog understands what and why - and cares. It takes training to get to that point in your relationship with your dog.


----------



## Jlauer (Jan 7, 2016)

Ok update time! I have tried EVERYTHING suggested on here from all of you....Thank you! However, crazy girl is still going at it. It's almost like she doesnt want to be touched unless she's tired! When she's relaxing or chewing a toy/bully, she curls right up to us. She gives lick fests when we lay on the ground. But when she's awake and alert and she follows us around as if she wants to be near us, the second we bend down to pet her, she backs away or tries to bite us. What is her deal?


----------



## Betty_A (Dec 28, 2015)

Hi
HoneyBear is 5-6 months old and is still struggling with mouthing. He's been amazingly mouthy since I got him. He's deffinately been a "land-shark" and that hasn't been very much fun. I do have him drag a leash around most of the time so I can get a hold of him without having to grab his body or collar, and keeps my hands away from his mouth. 
He got in the last of his adult teeth last week and the gums are still bleeding as the teeth emerge. He loves bowls of ice cubes, Kongs stuffed with frozen bananas, cold carrots, and wet towels with knots tied in them and frozen. 
I think I've been back reading this thread several times in the past few weeks gaining focus and encouragement. Thanks.


----------



## Elsa Cholla's Mom (Feb 8, 2016)

Elsa has definitely gotten better about biting, although we had a set back for a couple of days this last week. 
We tend to pet her back, sides, and rear mostly. And she has always liked belly rubs if she's on her back. Sometimes she likes rubs under the chin, just not on her head. In fact she has this habit now of going in between my legs stopping about half way. I scratch her back, give her a squeeze with my knees. She wags very happily. Not sure how that will work out when she gets taller, but at least she isn't jumping up.


----------



## Lise123 (Jan 1, 2014)

Lambeau0609 said:


> I have a really dumb question. But all these dogs that r bitty do they have enough high value toys laying all around your home? My golden 7 month old has never been bitty I figured its because my house looks like I have enough toys laying around to keep him occupied when I am not entertaining him.


My house looked like I had robbed Petsmart because we had so many awesome dog toys. We had a pricey Folkmanis panda hand puppet for him, too, which was his favorite puppy toy. He was still an awful biter.

He's a good boy now, but wow, did he like to chew on us when he was little.

If your puppy isn't a biter, it's because he's a good boy already! Give him snuggles and pets for being ahead of the curve.


----------



## Lise123 (Jan 1, 2014)

Jlauer said:


> Ok update time! I have tried EVERYTHING suggested on here from all of you....Thank you! However, crazy girl is still going at it. It's almost like she doesnt want to be touched unless she's tired! When she's relaxing or chewing a toy/bully, she curls right up to us. She gives lick fests when we lay on the ground. But when she's awake and alert and she follows us around as if she wants to be near us, the second we bend down to pet her, she backs away or tries to bite us. What is her deal?


I've noticed with my dog that there are times when he wants to get up in my face for reasons of his own that have nothing to do with petting. If I try to pet him, he backs away, as if he's trying to tell me "that's not what I'm after." In his case, it's when I've got something he wants, or he's curious about something I'm doing.

When he wants to be petted, he backs into me, presenting his back (or rolls over onto his back and presents his belly). If I don't respond, he twists his head to look at me and bumps me with his muzzle. He makes it very clear that "now is the time when you pet me."

The "presenting for petting" thing didn't start till he was older. He's two now, and I'd say it started around a year or a year and a half or so. It takes some time to figure out the best way to train your owner.


----------



## Frankie's mom (Mar 2, 2016)

I could have written this post. Frankie is exactly like like Tilly. I cried last night. I am at wits end and feel defeated. He is only 6 months old and a baby. All my friends with goldens said it would pass by 6 months and that gave me encouragement, now he is 6 months and it doesn't stop. I am afraid to play with him and sometimes even pet him. It's not aggressive, it is more like over stimulated.


----------



## sirbailey (Feb 6, 2016)

Now that mine is 5*1/2 mos I am getting the same behavior AND app. 1x a day , she goes WILD through the house.... leaping off and on couch, bite you ( hard ) go in a circle, fly by like crazy etc etc ... this is a well exercised dog!

Getting overwhelmed here - my trainer said she has impulse control issues.

I now have a sprained ankle from her pulling me over a ' bumpy area' in my yard.


----------



## Lise123 (Jan 1, 2014)

SirBailey -

Of course your dog has impulse control problems -- she's 5 1/2 months. She's just a puppy. It will get better, I promise, once she gets older. You're in the thick of the crazy period right now, from your description.

When you have already done training sessions with your dog, and you've exercised your dog, and they're still being naughty or destructive and driving you to tears -- it's perfectly okay to put them in the crate for a sanity break. It really is. The trainer that worked with my dog during his brainless teenage period told me not to think of it as a punishment, because it's not -- it's a safe place to chill out and chew a Nylabone. 

Goldens are so much work up front (maybe some are less work; my dog was a TON of work), but it pays off as they get older. It's so worth it. And what everyone says is true -- they really do age out of the wildness and annoying biteyness and become amazing dogs, if you are patient and consistent.


----------



## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

sirbailey said:


> Now that mine is 5*1/2 mos I am getting the same behavior AND app. 1x a day , she goes WILD through the house.... leaping off and on couch, bite you ( hard ) go in a circle, fly by like crazy etc etc ... this is a well exercised dog!
> 
> Getting overwhelmed here - my trainer said she has impulse control issues.
> 
> I now have a sprained ankle from her pulling me over a ' bumpy area' in my yard.


This is called zoomies. When they do it just get out of the way and laugh. They are so happy when they do it. Chloe ran right into my moms knee. She could barely walk for a day.


----------



## thelady (Jul 15, 2013)

We are going through the biting thing. I've noticed if I put my Bella in the crate when she's over biting she goes right to sleep.
So she's overtired at that point. Too much info on the brain at one time does it. I also will put her on the leash so she
can't reach me. And then she will settle down a little. But she tries to bite our older Golden in the face. The older 
one has been patient but that' won't last forever.


----------



## sirbailey (Feb 6, 2016)

My dog does the same thing and has zoomies at least once a day.
She is getting hard to handle . I have had 2 trainers ( this one is in-house due to her car sickness)

The 'play bites' are bruising my arms and getting scary. She may not truly be aggressive, but is very assertive and rough. She will jump up on me if I am laying on the couch and just start biting my arm HARD. If I command her " off' , she will go frenzy on me and bite more. The high pitched ouch does not work. The biting is waaaay too hard to be ignored.

I am tired of ' rewarding ' the dog by tossing treats etc .. plus she comes right back if she is in the mood.
I will say I think this happens mostly when I am trying to watch TV ( heaven forbid :>)

The dog gets tons of attention and plenty of exercise.
HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Lise123 (Jan 1, 2014)

If her mouthing is getting rough, I wouldn't mess around with yelling ouch. She's a teenager now. I would just remove her from the situation by putting her in a dog-safe place where she can't reach you. How long you leave her there is up to you.

I will add that I didn't watch TV for probably the first two years of my dog's life. I'm not joking. He just couldn't handle me sitting and not playing. Our situation was compounded by the fact that I had little kids that I put to bed from 7-8:30, so the teenage dog was on his own during those times. He did okay, but he knew when I was finished it was *his* time, so no TV.

I taught my dog two commands that now enable me to sit down and read or watch TV without getting bothered to play. One is "get your bone." Bailey will find a bone and happily chew it at my feet. He won't do it unless I tell him. The other is "settle." When he gets in my face, I tell him to settle, and he calms down. Otherwise, he is kenneled. With these two commands, we can now watch TV while he crashes at our feet.

Many people on here have lovely, amazing dogs that don't seem to have a terrible teenage time. My dog was a total brat till he turned one, and he got even better at two. It does pass. Even the rascals become fantastic dogs, if you are patient and consistent with training. All the work you're doing will pay off... you're just in the worst phase right now. 

BTW, my dog still has zoomies at 2.5. I actually love it. He runs around my yard like his tail's on fire, then stops and looks at me like I'm the crazy one. LOL


----------



## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

sirbailey said:


> My dog does the same thing and has zoomies at least once a day.
> She is getting hard to handle . I have had 2 trainers ( this one is in-house due to her car sickness)
> 
> The 'play bites' are bruising my arms and getting scary. She may not truly be aggressive, but is very assertive and rough. She will jump up on me if I am laying on the couch and just start biting my arm HARD. If I command her " off' , she will go frenzy on me and bite more. The high pitched ouch does not work. The biting is waaaay too hard to be ignored.
> ...


Keep a leash on her, when she starts going after you take the leash and walk her to her crate or baby gated area away from you. No fuss, no correction, just calmly put her away and give her a time out. Do that often enough and she will figure out biting you gets her put up.

Using a command to get her to "settle" is a good tool. I would teach her how to 'settle on a mat', you can search for that on youtube and find good ways to teach it. I like Kiko Pup videos on youtube. 

You could also get food dispensing toys and use those at times she typically gets wound up. It will give her an outlet for that energy and make her use her brain, which helps burn off that energy. Alternatively, when she starts in on you, take her for a long walk at the point in the day. (I'm assuming it may happen predictably at the same time of the day).

She has a pattern of energy up and down, and it sounds like her energy is up when you would like to relax. Until she is a little older and ready to settle when you ask, you may have to adjust your schedule to deal with her bursts of frenzy.

If you are a typical working owner, when you get home is when she gets excited and ready to go. You worked all day, she SLEPT! Unfortunately that means you don't get to relax when you get home. I don't doubt you give her plenty of exercise, this may be more about WHEN you exercise her than how much.


----------



## KYatsko (Apr 30, 2016)

I think your puppy and ours are twins separated at birth! We're going through all the same stuff and have tried all the same techniques with all the same outcomes. ;-) Thanks to all who posted - very helpful advice and, mostly, it's just encouraging to know it's all normal and she'll grow out of it within a few years... ;-)


----------



## Shaddan (Apr 5, 2016)

Goldens can have sensitivity issues too. My Sassy has several places where she has the "auto itch" response. I try to avoid those areas as she is very ticklish. She is also sensitive about her feet. Her puppy "parents" before us rubber banded off her dew claws at four weeks so you have to take the time to work with the feet especially for grooming. Goldens often don't develop the urge to play with toys until about six months or so sometimes it takes longer. I let Sassy choose a toy at Petsmart. It happened to be a plastic bottle and squeaky to combo. Best money I ever spent she now fetches and everything and has started with other toys. She does at times get mouthy when she is over stimulated, or bored and needs to work. Goldens have a high work drive and a low tolerance for boredom.


----------



## thelady (Jul 15, 2013)

Our second golden was adopted at 7 months. Lady was so naughty that I ended up reading an Alpha dog book
can't even remember which one but I would come home from work let her out of the crate and pretend I was 
eating. No eye contact or words. I was showing her I was the alpha dog. And it worked otherwise she
would bounce off the walls and me when I let her out of the crate. And she turned out to be the best
dog ever. Our new little Bella is a bitter.
But she now turns her biting into kisses.
It's tough but hang in there. They do get over it around 1. I wonder if those calming jackets
they use for thunder would help settle these pups down.


----------



## MissTilly (Jul 1, 2016)

Do we have the same dog!? I was the exact same way. Cried all the time. Watched my friends puppies all progressing and being so sweet and behaved that I constantly questioned what I was doing wrong or why Tilly was such a terror. Questioned my decision to get her. 

Now, I can't say we're out of the woods yet, but Tilly has come SUCH a long way. It will get betteR! And always feel comfortable to ask for suggestions from members of this forum. They are SO KNOWLEDGEABLE AND HELPFUL! I am so happy I joined. I've learned so much and gotten great results from their suggestions. Good luck!


----------



## MissTilly (Jul 1, 2016)

Lise123 said:


> If her mouthing is getting rough, I wouldn't mess around with yelling ouch. She's a teenager now. I would just remove her from the situation by putting her in a dog-safe place where she can't reach you. How long you leave her there is up to you.
> 
> I will add that I didn't watch TV for probably the first two years of my dog's life. I'm not joking. He just couldn't handle me sitting and not playing. Our situation was compounded by the fact that I had little kids that I put to bed from 7-8:30, so the teenage dog was on his own during those times. He did okay, but he knew when I was finished it was *his* time, so no TV.
> 
> ...


This was very helpful! Thank you!


----------



## sirbailey (Feb 6, 2016)

RE:" No watching tv for 2 years .."
Not here !

I have to teach Mabel that I am the Alpha *itch in this house !

I will say that I bought a few bones and filled with PB ( sometimes plain yogurt) and I freeze them. I use a cheapo yoga mat to keep her off the rug, and I get a solid hour of uninterrupted television watching,,, but Mabel is still an imp!


----------

