# need advice - aggressive 8 week old golden



## jackie_hubert (Jun 2, 2010)

Believe it or not but a lot of puppy owners post on here with the exact same problem when they get a new golden.

It's hard to tell but it sounds like this is just typical rough play behaviour. When Cosmo was that age he was constantly launching himself at our 2 year old guide dog who was very gentle too. She would cower and he would bite at her and play growl. The problem wasn't with Cosmo, but rather with our guide dog who wasn't telling him "enough". We separated them which is what a lot of people here on the forum do when they have a new puppy, they keep them separate except during play time. Cosmo would have fallen into what some would refer to as "dominant" but today at 7 month old he is totally gentle with all dogs and not "dominant". 

Puppies at 8 weeks really don't display a lot of "dominant" behaviour. Rather they are trying to satisfy their urge to rough house and get their own way, whichever way they know how. Because our big girl wouldn't tell him "enough" he learned to take advantage of her.

Puppy has to learn to play gentle but right now he's so little he doesn't know when enough is enough. When things got too rough or when Cosmo began to bother our guide dog too much we used the command "that's enough". It took a couple of weeks but Cosmo learned that he needed to stop playing when we gave him the command. 

We also put Cosmo in doggy daycare which was run by our trainer and had a variety or types and sizes of dogs. A couple of times at daycare and he was much better at interacting with dogs.

If you really believe there is an aggression issue contact your breeder or a behavourist in your area.

BTW, would love to see pictures of your new addition!


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## tp1999 (Nov 9, 2010)

Hi Jackie, Thanks so much for your response, it's comforting to hear that this isn't abnormal behavior. I'm amazed not only about how long the two of them can go at it, but how fearless this little guy is. I'm always watching to make sure neither of them are doing any real harm.

Here are pics of the handsome little guys when they finally calm down:



















and a close up of Teddy taken today:


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## lucysmum (Sep 2, 2010)

Awww... they are just adorable. hugs and kisses to them both.


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

What parts make you think it is not play?

Many puppies (and adults!) growl a LOT in play.


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## sameli102 (Aug 23, 2009)

I tend to disagree with the fact that an 8wk old puppy doesn't display a lot of dominant behavior. Of course not knowing if what you are seeing is typical puppy play or actual dominance is another issue. I would definitely seek out a trainer and let them determine that. 
But believe me, life with a dog aggressive dog, which is anything but cute when they grow up, it is downright dangerous. I have one and if I ever got another that showed the signs it would be back to the breeder in a heartbeat. I love him dearly but I'd never go through it again.
Hopefully it is just puppy play you are seeing.


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

It does sound like normal puppy play to me but without seeing it I cant really say. Puppies can play pretty rough with playmates and the adult when they have had enough will walk away or let the puppy know. They use their mouth and teeth growling and barking in play. Sometimes they can get over stimulated and you do need to step in like with kids. If you look at some videos on youtube, there are some good examples of dogs playing that show some fercious play. 

If you do feel uncomfortable about it, I would have a behaviorist come in and evaluate their play together. It would not hurt.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

Baby puppies are not aggressive, 8 weeks is just a baby. It's normal play for them, like they did with their littermates. The adult dog needs to teach him her limits, but if she doesn't you can set the limit of rough play where you are comfortable. 

I'd like to direct you to the Golden Retriever Puppy (up to 1 year) section of the board. If you scroll through the threads there you will find probably hundreds of new puppy owners posting much the same concern you have. At some point your puppy will probably turn those little shark teeth on you too, and again he is not aggressive, just playing and being a puppy - but it's up to you to teach him not to use his teeth on human skin - give him a toy instead to redirect the nipping to an appropriate chew toy. You will find hundreds of posts about puppies biting/nipping in the puppy forum as well, along with lots of advice on how to stop it.

Please don't label your baby aggressive - he really is not.


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

While some puppies carry a genetic predisposition to be aggressive -- and you do see it as young as 7-8 weeks -- it sounds like you have a confident puppy who is doing his darndest to get an older, possibly laid back dog to play with him.

If the older dog doesn't want to play and pup isn't taking the hint, I'd simply redirect puppy or if that isn't working, separate them for a while until pup calms down. A lot of confident pups do the bark-at-the-humans thing, often with a little snarly face as a sort of "bossy-bratty" protest or demand. Most often, it's nothing to worry about -- just kindly teach pup that's not how he gets what he wants in your human world.

As RedDogs said, I'd be curious to hear why you don't think it's play. 

One thing to suggest is rather than scold him (and I"m not sure what you mean by that), simply redirect him our stick him in his pen or crate for a little cooling off period. Often, when we get all scoldy in a human way (pointy finger, bad dog! blah blah blah) it causes the pup to be barkier... so we escalate our behavior... frustration ensues.) And for most pups, negative attention is better than being ignored. If his mis-behavior (in your mind) earns him 10 mins of quiet time in his crate (where you calmly put him in there - not in anger, so he won't learn to worry about the crate) he'll likely change his behavior faster.


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## tp1999 (Nov 9, 2010)

this is all helpful, and it's very possible I'm over reacting (as a new mom to two dogs), because he has a sweet disposition and he doesn't try to hurt the older pup, he just plays really hard. Labeling him aggressive is too harsh in retrospect and my husband doesn't think it's aggression. Our other dog was just such a mellow breeze as a tiny pup, so I started to get concerned. He gets and gives lots of cuddles otherwise. As Red Dog suggests, it's best for a professional trainer to determine or not whether this is normal play and I'm booking a session asap. 

I'll also check out the other puppy up to one year forum for more tips...thanks again. 

btw, I love seeing all of the pictures of your goldens!


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

I have to say it can also be rather wild seeing two adults playing rough too if you are not used to it. They can show teeth and play growl with each other and wrestle. But you will learn to see the signs to know what is play and what is not.


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## Bender (Dec 30, 2008)

Totally normal 'bratty puppy' behavior. It's likely because your other dog is still young, he'll put up with a lot before he gets annoyed and corrects him for it - usually older dogs aren't as tolerant. But young pups do have that 'permission' to act up, when they hit a certain age they'll likely get corrected a lot more.

It's like kids, you'd forgive a baby for attempting to pick your nose or take your glasses but wouldn't allow a ten year old to do the same thing!

The other thing to do is to start training puppy, and doing separate time one on one with each dog. Have your hubby take the older dog for a walk while you work on things with puppy, then he can take puppy while you work with the older dog, or whatever combination works so they have that alone time and aren't relying on each other 100% of the time for comfort and so on. You still want both puppies to listen to you and be able to cope if they're not together for whatever reason.

Lanaa


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## jackie_hubert (Jun 2, 2010)

Thought you might enjoy these photos of Cosmo playing with our 2 year old. He was 8 weeks here.


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## tp1999 (Nov 9, 2010)

jackie_hubert said:


> Thought you might enjoy these photos of Cosmo playing with our 2 year old. He was 8 weeks here.


aww too cute!!!! I just spoke to the trainer we used for our older pup (Bear)...yes our dogs are called Teddy and Bear...we're dorks! She's unconcerned based on the description I provided. I'm going to get him signed up for puppy school soon so that he can start socialising with other pups. 

Here's a pic of Bear (people in my neighborhood, don't actually know my name, I'm called "Bear's mom")


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## jackie_hubert (Jun 2, 2010)

AWWW....look at Bear and his Teddy Bear!

We briefly considered getting a dachshund and naming him Meyer. Our cat's name is Oscar. Oscar Meyer wiener...


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## Rhapsody in Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

We went through what you have described with our last puppy, Gracie. I have three and the two older one's just went with whatever Gracie had for them. She would jump on them, chase their tails, mouth their feet, mouth their ears . . . it was like they just knew. As she got older, she found her place. She is a very sweet girl - all three of them are - - - - - but I thought the same thing as you at the time - - - - oh no, what have we gotten into here - - - she will find her way. I agree with those who say, re-direct the behavior. That is alway the best approach in my view.

Enjoy : )


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## sunflowerkd (Oct 26, 2010)

I am not a pro with training but he is so cute with his bear. What a striking color. 
I love that you are bear's mom !!! He has a sweet face...


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## celizabethj89 (Dec 13, 2010)

Hi!
My family and I recently purchased an 8 week old golden retriever puppy from Purebred Breeders - America's Top Dog Breeders on PurebredBreeders.com. He is now 9 weeks old and in the past two days has started showing signs of what we think as aggression. Most of the time he is the absolute sweetest boy, he doesn't get angry with food, we can put our hands and face around his bowl when he is eating without a problem. The only time we are seeing this aggression is when we are correcting him for doing something wrong such as chewing on something he shouldn't or if he is playing and we pick him up. He is growling, showing teeth and snapping. We are currently grabbing the top of his snout and closing his mouth and giving a firm "NO" and if he doesn't stop we put him in his pen. I am hoping he is just playing and this isn't aggression. Someone please give me advice and help! We love him and really don't want to have to give him back.


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## Selli-Belle (Jan 28, 2009)

The classic way to determine whether it is play or not is to lead the dog you think is being aggressive away from the apparent victim. If the "victim" dog follows you or attempts to engage the "aggressor" dog, then it is play. If the "victim" dog runs away or acts scared, then it is not play.

I have some video of my Selli at eight weeks old playing with my Sister's six month old Shiloh Shepard Sass who was 70# at the time. We nicknamed Selli "Badger Dog" based on her snarling hissing vocalization and ferocious attitude. It was sooooo cute and Sass loved it.


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## jackie_hubert (Jun 2, 2010)

Welcome to GRF!

I'm sorry to hear that you're having trouble with your pup. What you describe sounds like it could be normal puppy behaviour but it's hard to tell. I'd check in with a trainer who uses only positive reinforcement. I'd stop using harsh methods right away as aggression in pups is generally fear based.

Unfortunately purebredbreeders.com (they are a puppy broker - see more here http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...eeder-puppy/86508-pure-bred-breeders-llc.html) is not a reputable breeder so it could be that the pup has some issues from his upbringing/breeding.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

celizabethj89 said:


> Hi!
> My family and I recently purchased an 8 week old golden retriever puppy from Purebred Breeders - America's Top Dog Breeders on PurebredBreeders.com. He is now 9 weeks old and in the past two days has started showing signs of what we think as aggression. Most of the time he is the absolute sweetest boy, he doesn't get angry with food, we can put our hands and face around his bowl when he is eating without a problem. The only time we are seeing this aggression is when we are correcting him for doing something wrong such as chewing on something he shouldn't or if he is playing and we pick him up. He is growling, showing teeth and snapping. We are currently grabbing the top of his snout and closing his mouth and giving a firm "NO" and if he doesn't stop we put him in his pen. I am hoping he is just playing and this isn't aggression. Someone please give me advice and help! We love him and really don't want to have to give him back.


Please read through this thread, and also go to the Puppy Under One section of the board and read through several of the threads there about "aggressive puppy", or biting nipping puppies. You will find that it is normal behavior for puppies, and is not aggressive. It's the way they play and needs gentle positive correction. Holding his nose will only make him try harder. But you will find lots of great advice just by reading through the numerous threads already posted on the board about this problem.


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