# Landshark phase



## Swampcollie (Sep 6, 2007)

There is no such thing as a "landshark phase".


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## Golden_Gypsy (Dec 3, 2016)

Swampcollie said:


> There is no such thing as a "landshark phase".


Sorry for being an idiot. I wasn't entirely sure what else to refer to this behavior as.


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## Swampcollie (Sep 6, 2007)

Undesired behavior will continue as long as you continue to allow it. 

If you don't like it, don't allow it. As the saying goes, "You own what you condone."


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## rabernet (Feb 24, 2015)

What worked for us with Noah, was to rub some peanut butter on the back of our hands and when he was licking it off, we'd say "good kisses!". When he'd try to be bitey - we'd tell him "no bite, kisses please" and he'd stop biting and lick our hands instead. 

His human daddy likes to wrestle with him in the evenings (and Noah loves that time with him), but it does rev him up, but even revved up - you can tell him "no bite, kisses" and he'll stop being so mouthy. 

And in addition to that - for some reason, Noah's kryptonite is rubbing his forelegs, in the back. He just goes limp. I even tell the vet techs when they need to have him on his back for any reason - just rub behind his front legs. Works every....single....time. He just becomes a limp noodle!


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## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

With chloe we always shoved a toy in her mouth or gave her short timeouts in the gated kitchen when she would bite. She outgrew it at about five months.


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## Nate83 (Jul 13, 2017)

Angel is still young 3 months and gets mouthy when I wrestle with her, I just say no bite, or say nice nice and she will start to lick me. She is for the most part pass the land shark phase and onto the bark because I'm bored or I want attention phase. I rather the land shark phase. Also remember golden retrievers are by nature oral fixated dogs. I had to tell my wife that, I gave her a good comparison. German shepherds are by nature protective so they need to check out everyone who enters there house. Golden retrievers retrieve so they by nature have a oral fixation. It comes down to training them to know what goes in the mouth and what does not. We by that I mean me had to train Athena I check out people who come into the house before you do and if i allow it you can check them out as well.


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## Golden_Gypsy (Dec 3, 2016)

Thanks, everyone. I appreciate your responses.


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## CoopersMom16 (Dec 29, 2016)

Golden_Gypsy said:


> Sorry for being an idiot. I wasn't entirely sure what else to refer to this behavior as.


You're certainly not an idiot. Goldens do have a horrible land shark phase. Cooper is my 6th dog but 1st Golden and I've never experienced anything like it. No prior puppy of mine has even bitten. He's 11 months now and still has bitey moments each day but nothing like those 1st few months. Nothing worked in him either. I think he's slowly just "getting it" that people walk away from him when he bites. Good luck.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Golden_Gypsy said:


> Sorry for being an idiot. I wasn't entirely sure what else to refer to this behavior as.


I affirm, you are not an idiot. A Golden puppy is a handful and if you've never had one before, it's an eye opener. If you've never owned a puppy at all and your first one is a Golden, well, it's like jumping into the deep end of the pool for sure. 

I'm curious if she's getting proper exercise (hard, aerobic exercise for about 20 minutes straight every day?) and if she's getting daily obedience work, where she's practicing old stuff but also learning new stuff? She needs to be getting work every day. ALso, if you have any contacts through obedience classes or friends etc. where you could get her a puppy playdate or two every week with another nice young dog of a similar size/breed it would really really help. Just 20 or 30 minutes of supervised wrestling is very good for them. Swimming and finding a place to teach her a formal retrieve would also be great for her.

My last thought is that if she's honestly getting proper exercise and mental work and she's still acting like a fool, she needs to wear a leash in the house at all times when she's free. Use that leash to gain control of her when this nonsense starts up and insist she stop immediately, be gruff and stern. It's all about tone, but let her know that you simply will not tolerate this behavior anymore. 

I am not saying you need to yell or be loud but you need to let her know it's not going to be tolerated anymore.


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## Golden_Gypsy (Dec 3, 2016)

nolefan said:


> I affirm, you are not an idiot. A Golden puppy is a handful and if you've never had one before, it's an eye opener. If you've never owned a puppy at all and your first one is a Golden, well, it's like jumping into the deep end of the pool for sure.
> 
> I'm curious if she's getting proper exercise (hard, aerobic exercise for about 20 minutes straight every day?) and if she's getting daily obedience work, where she's practicing old stuff but also learning new stuff? She needs to be getting work every day. ALso, if you have any contacts through obedience classes or friends etc. where you could get her a puppy playdate or two every week with another nice young dog of a similar size/breed it would really really help. Just 20 or 30 minutes of supervised wrestling is very good for them. Swimming and finding a place to teach her a formal retrieve would also be great for her.
> 
> ...


I really appreciate your response. Thank you for taking the time. 

I have actually owned Goldens my entire life. I'm 27 years of age. I have just never had a pup who's been this mouthy for this long before. She gets daily walks, and daily retrieving exercise, but I will say it's not as much as I'd like because we live in an apartment, and I'm terrified to take her to the dog park unless there are no other dogs there when we go. 

We're between obedience classes right now. Our next one starts up in a couple of weeks which I can't wait for because she'll get lots of exercise with other dogs then. I truly believe that she just needs a job to do. We're planning on doing rally and obedience with her as soon as she's ready. We definitely work on new obedience every week, but not every day like I probably should be. We will start doing that. 

There are days when I've had her on her leash all day in the apartment, and I'd like to think that I'm pretty stern and firm with her. I think part of the issue is that she is my husband's first puppy, and he doesn't always enforce good behaviors in her because this is all new to him. He will be the main person taking her to her next obedience classes due to a scheduling conflict with my job which will be good for him. 

I will definitely see if there is someone with a young dog we can meet up with during the week to get some more heavy exercise, and we will work on new obedience every day and see how those things help. 

Thanks, again!


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## Good as Gold (Nov 30, 2016)

Um, well I would definitely say that some puppies have a landshark phase! I recently put up a post as a ray of hope to those who own one, as I have finally gotten beyond this with my current pup. Here's the link if interested. http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...ear/464897-hope-owners-biting-landsharks.html


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## Jrey (Jun 13, 2017)

What worked with Luna:

Every time she got too rough/biting, we gave her a warning of "be gentle". If she continued, we walked away and halted play. All she wants is human interaction and play time, so by removing the fun, she got the picture pretty quickly. Now she respects "be gentle" 99% of the time. When she doesn't, we stop playing

She's nearly 5 months, and is teething like crazy. But our hands are no longer her chew toys! We had some really rough times at 10-14 weeks.


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