# What a day this was! Behavior issues...



## Aidan0311 (Jun 12, 2019)

So we’ve been lucky with Aidan being fairly good since we’ve had him. He just turned 18 weeks and I’m not sure if this is his teenage stage or what, but the past week he’s turned into a monster to deal with! Just to give you a rundown of the day we had with this little guy: He woke up and as usual I took him out to potty. I left him outside for about 10 minutes alone as I was getting his food/water ready. When I went back out he had re-dug a hole in our newly laid sod next to our patio that we keep filling back up with dirt (he started digging about 4 days ago). He was covered in mud and dirt and was filthy. I went back inside to get a towel and shampoo since I now had to hose him down. While I was away he went to our patio door (brand new house/white wood door w/glass) and proceeded to jump up and scratch to come inside. My door was now covered in dirt. He’s been tearing the paint off the door lately with his jumping and scratching it. Finally got him hosed off, cleaned up and put in kennel. Fast forward to dinner time...my husband and I were trying to cook/eat dinner and he kept jumping up and putting his paws on the counter tops and table to try and get to anything he could reach. Whenever he does this we tell him down and push his paws off. This seems to make him want to do it even more. This is also something new he’s just started doing. He then kept going to the door and scratching to go out. We’d let him out and all he wanted to do was go back to the new mud hole and dig. It was quite a thunderstorm happening outside and he was filthy again. The past few previous days we’d been putting him in his kennel during supper, but he barks nonstop. He wound up back in his kennel by the end of dinner and myself and my husband was about ready to pull our hair out. 
Our usual evening routine is that we take him to my in-laws farm a few miles away and he runs behind the 4 wheeler and then he goes swimming. Lately he seems to never get tired and is nonstop hyper with energy no matter how much we exercise him. Went inside to visit the in-laws and he kept barking and jumping up on all the countertops, the in-laws injured dog, and proceeded to attack the house plants scattering dirt all over the floor. We tell him down, push him down, and try to divert his attention to a toy. We had to leave as he just wouldn’t stop. Got home around 9pm and had to clean the wood floors so I put him in his kennel. I let him out when I was done and as soon as I let him out I walked to the door to let him go potty. I turned around and he’s peeing all over the newly cleaned floor, then steps in it and had wet pee paw prints all over the floor! As I type this now (1am), he just calmed down sleeping like a baby and looks like a precious angel. Is he in the teenage stage thing? Any advice on how to handle some of these issues is greatly appreciated!


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## Max's Dad (Apr 23, 2012)

I would not call Aidan’s behavior “teenage”, I would call it puppyhood. He is only a few months old. I know of no magic solution. Patience is required. Our Max, who has been a wonderful dog, is certified for therapy work, went through a terrible period. At about the same age as your boy, we had moved into a new house and planted about 140 new plants in the backyard. Max dug up close to half of them, and we tried many things to stop him, but with little success. Good luck!


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## Lincgold (May 11, 2018)

Wow, he IS a ball of energy! You must have been exhausted! I have to agree with Max’s dad that it’s just him being a puppy. I’m sorry if this is a dumb question but have you taken him to training classes?


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## puddles everywhere (May 13, 2016)

I didn't notice anything about learning or class? Running is great but you need to stimulate his mind and set some boundaries... he's ready to go to school and learn some manners. Because I'm older and rather small I start training obedience exercises the day they come home. Mainly to get ahead of this behavior before they get bigger than me 
Hope you have an obedience class in your future, he's just being a puppy and doing what he does best. Time to teach him a behavior you like but keep it fun. Hint: fill the hole with his poop, cover with chicken wire then fill with dirt.


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## ceegee (Mar 26, 2015)

Lori Dwyer said:


> Is he in the teenage stage thing? Any advice on how to handle some of these issues is greatly appreciated!



Your dog is being a brat because he hasn't been trained.


Goldens are big, energetic, intelligent dogs that not only thrive with training, but also _need _training to function well, especially in the early years. There really is no way around it. Exercise is fine, but if you don't train the dog as well, what you end up with is a physically fit but highly undisciplined dog who will look for ways to burn off his energy. I don't know if you ever took your dog to puppy classes - I know you were thinking about it. If you didn't, it's too late now because most puppy classes have an upper age limit of 4 months. So what you need instead is a good basic obedience class given by a trainer who teaches humans how to train dogs. You'll need to start by training the basic commands: sit, down, stay, come. And you'll need to practice them constantly - several short practice sessions every day - until you get an automatic response from him. Then you can start using these commands as alternative behaviours to the bad behaviours he's currently giving you.


The thing with not training is that many people end up with a human-dog relationship in which the dog hasn't learned to respect human authority, takes charge and doesn't really care what the humans want. Based on your description, this seems to be where you're headed: for example, he repeatedly tries to steal from the counter even when you're present, barks when he's in his crate, and so on. These are behaviours that show lack of respect. When you train the dog, you automatically develop a relationship where the dog does what the human wants, and not vice-versa. Once you've trained the basic commands, you can ask your dog for alternative behaviour in these situations. For example, when he tries to get on the counter, you can say: ah-ah, sit. The "ah-ah" lets him know that you don't like what he's doing, and the "sit" lets him know what you want him to do instead. With this system, you transform the situation from on in which the dog is doing what he wants to one in which he's doing what you want.



Another command you might want to work on is "go to your bed" or something similar. Put a dog bed or small rug somewhere in your kitchen/eating area and teach your dog to go to it and stay on it. It's a very useful command - I use it a lot when preparing meals and while we're eating. You train it by standing or sitting next to the bed, luring your dog onto the bed, then rewarding him when he lies down. When he's doing this consistently with the lure, you can add your verbal command. Then gradually phase out the lure, and reward when he complies. Then build distance by stepping one pace away from the bed, repeating the exercise until you have 100% compliance, then move two steps away, and so on. 



For the digging, probably the only way to stop this is to keep him on a long leash or line when he's outside, and never leave him outside unattended. A dog that is outside alone will find something to do to amuse himself, and your dog has discovered digging. It's not an age thing - it won't go away on its own. He has to be taught that you don't like it. You can teach this by reeling him in on the line when he starts digging, but it's important to understand that he's likely to re-engage in digging whenever he's outside alone, for the foreseeable future. This won't be an easy fix or a quick fix.


As for the bad behaviour at your in-laws' house, why didn't you put him on a leash and get him under control right away? If you let an untrained dog run riot, it becomes self-rewarding for him. So if you take him to other people's homes, keep him on a leash and make him behave. Re-directing him to a toy isn't going to work - the bad behaviour is much more fun for him, and in any case, giving a toy to a dog in response to bad behaviour is a bit like rewarding him for that behaviour. Again, you need to train the basic commands. Then, when you take him somewhere, fill your pocket with treats, keep him on a leash and reward him for behaving well - for example, when he lies down and stays there. Reward him for staying for 5 seconds at first, and gradually space the rewards out. When he tries to misbehave, use "ah-ah" followed by a command (sit or lie down). Then reward him for complying. You have to be consistent.



Another thing I would suggest is to cut out some of the nightly running/swimming outings and replacing them with one-hour training sessions at home instead. Training tires the dog mentally, and in your case it will help you to build a more interactive relationship with him, one that isn't just focused on his needs and wants. It really is important to get a handle on this now. As you saw today, it's not much fun to own a dog you can't control. And the situation will only get worse if you don't get serious about the training.


It sounds like a lot but it really isn't. Once you've got a handle on the basic stuff, the rest will follow. The great thing with goldens is that they thrive on training. The more you give them, the more they want. But you have to put in the time now, before things get worse. If you tell us your general location, people may be able to recommend a good training school for you.


Best of luck!


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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

I agree with the others that this is just being a puppy (instead of those dreaded teenage months). My Lana kept getting into mud when she was 6-8 months old. The first time it had rained recently so I chalked it up to that, then she kept coming in muddy even after things had been dried for a week and i was so confused how she was still getting muddy. She had discovered a large plant pot that got clogged and wouldn't drain and turned it into her very own mud spa. She was very put out when I caught her red handed and corrected the issue. But it is what it is. 

Sometimes when the dogs are crazy wild tornadoes... they are actually tired or overstimulated and unable to settle down. I, personally, would work on training so you can turn the negative experience into a positive one. If he is jumping on counters and people and dogs to get attention, then teach him how to get attention in a better manner. We taught Lana that if she brings me a toy I will play with her. We're working on the stop pawing at me, though. We're also working on the don't jump on people (but that is our own dang fault cause we encourage "up" for hugs). Teach your pup how to settle. Mat is a great way to work on that (that's how we trained Bear). "Go to your mat"

As commiseration I submit Lana as a muddy gremlin. Enjoy!


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## Aidan0311 (Jun 12, 2019)

*T*

Wow! I loved reading your stories and thanks much for all the helpful information! He hasn’t been to a trainer, but will find who us recommended in our area and get him started ASAP. Ceegee I’ve been doing around 3 (15 minute) training sessions a day, but will definitely up it per you advice. He knows sit, stay, come, down, leave it, and look at me. He’s also great on the leash. He will obey his commands most of the time, but when he’s super hyper he’s not as cooperative. He’s been such a great mannered and I was kind of thrown off as he just started doing these things off and on just recently. I do wish I’d gotten him into a class sooner. I watched tons of training videos (Zak George on YouTube) and read his book and thought I could do this on my own. . I noticed how some people think you should be the “pack leader” like Ceasar Mila, and some people focus on rewarding good behavior. I will try yall’s recommendations. One thing is that I have been only training him in the house and I just recently read that you need to train them I different environments. Today he was an angel, but it comes and goes. I know a lot of it is puppy behavior and not taking him to a professional trainer. Luckily he has always slept through the night (lately in our bed), and is generally not a problem . Thanks again for all the help and replies!


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## Aidan0311 (Jun 12, 2019)

Wow! I loved reading your stories and thanks much for all the helpful information! He hasn’t been to a trainer, but will find who us recommended in our area and get him started ASAP. Ceegee I’ve been doing around 3 (15 minute) training sessions a day, but will definitely up it per you advice. He knows sit, stay, come, down, leave it, and look at me. He’s also great on the leash. He will obey his commands most of the time, but when he’s super hyper he’s not as cooperative. He’s been such a great mannered and I was kind of thrown off as he just started doing these things off and on just recently. I do wish I’d gotten him into a class sooner. I noticed how some people think you should be the “pack leader” and some people do things differently. I will try yall’s recommendations. One thing is that I have been only training him in the house and I just read that you need to train them I different environments. Today he was an angel, but it comes and goes. I know a lot of it is puppy behavior and not taking him to a professional trainer. Luckily he has always slept through the night (lately in our bed), and is generally not a problem . Thanks again for all the replies!


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## jeffscott947 (Jun 9, 2019)

What ever happened to training your own dogs? My dogs (3 ) are all well trained (BY ME). My new Golden will also be trained by me to do what I want, and not by others.


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## solinvictus (Oct 23, 2008)

"but when he’s super hyper he’s not as cooperative." Dogs that go over their threshold cannot think and process the cues you are giving. Look at all the places and times the pup is acting up (over tired, over excited, stressed), when possible be proactive and give the pup a time out before he gets over threshold. A little crate time, x-pen time, mat time with a nice frozen kong or bone to give him a chill out moment. A training class can give you the information on what cues are weak in a distractive setting. Most dogs can sit, down, leave it etc in the quiet setting of their home with an owner willing to connect with their dog as you have done. The training has to continue in more distracting locations but in small increments building up to highly distracting situations You are on the right track find an awesome training class and keep moving forward. For those that may be new to owning a dog, training classes are there to assist, give feed back and to teach the owner on different ways of teaching their own dog. Training in a setting out side of the home with other people and dogs around helps to give the owner information on what the owner and dog could work on to improve so they can function well in the real world, not just the narrow confines of their own home and yard.


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## ceegee (Mar 26, 2015)

Lori Dwyer said:


> (...) He hasn’t been to a trainer, but will find who us recommended in our area and get him started ASAP. Ceegee I’ve been doing around 3 (15 minute) training sessions a day, but will definitely up it per you advice. He knows sit, stay, come, down, leave it, and look at me. He’s also great on the leash. He will obey his commands most of the time, but when he’s super hyper he’s not as cooperative. He’s been such a great mannered and I was kind of thrown off as he just started doing these things off and on just recently. I do wish I’d gotten him into a class sooner. I watched tons of training videos (Zak George on YouTube) and read his book and thought I could do this on my own. . I noticed how some people think you should be the “pack leader” like Ceasar Mila, and some people focus on rewarding good behavior. I will try yall’s recommendations. One thing is that I have been only training him in the house and I just recently read that you need to train them I different environments. Today he was an angel, but it comes and goes. I know a lot of it is puppy behavior and not taking him to a professional trainer. Luckily he has always slept through the night (lately in our bed), and is generally not a problem . Thanks again for all the help and replies!



Just to be clear, the very best training classes are those that teach humans how to train dogs. Training isn't just for the dog; it's to create a relationship in which the dog understands and does what the human wants. So the training class should work on that relationship, not just on the dog. For the human, it's important to be able to read the dog's behaviour and know what it means, and, when training, to apply a process that works and reward the right things at the right time. It's easy to inadvertently encourage bad behaviour by timing rewards badly. Also, there are regular posts on the forum from people who have sent their dogs away to be trained, and the results are often not what they expected because the dog has learned to work with and obey the trainer, but simply falls back into his old, disobedient relationship with the owner when he comes home.


If you can find a good class, IMHO a class environment is better for learning than a private trainer because the dog learns to focus on the owner in an environment with distractions. Also, there's a lot to be learned from watching other people. 



Best of luck!


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## StayGoldPiper (Jun 25, 2019)

Well, I can't give you much advice but I CAN tell you, my sweet puppy turned 4 months today and last week began completely refusing to walk on her leash. She is "counter cruising" endlessly and I can't make a meal without constant interruption. Yes, I could crate her while I meal prep but we crate at dinner time and I feel pretty guilty about it after being at work all day (she is walked during the day). So, you are not alone and I am so happy to read the replies!

My yard is also filled with holes, the worst being under my daughter's trampoline! Hard to get her out of that one!


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

jeffscott947 said:


> What ever happened to training your own dogs? My dogs (3 ) are all well trained (BY ME). My new Golden will also be trained by me to do what I want, and not by others.


Your dog should absolutely be trained by you, not sent off to a trainer. But you should be taking them to classes so you learn how to train them, and they see other dogs working with the owners. It's all about mental exercise for you and the dog.

OP, your puppy is just a baby still at 18 weeks. Lots of good input already given. I would just add, you need more management, i.e., put him up when you can't watch him. Instead of "down" from the counter top, have him sit or lay down. Put things away he shouldn't get into for now, he's still too young to be trustworthy with things that are just too tempting. 

Oh, and I think the puppy digging in the mud and making a mess is a right of passage! This my puppy just a few weeks ago! Same scenario you described, and she did that in 2 minutes while I stepped inside.


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## Aidan0311 (Jun 12, 2019)

i love reading your stories! Nice to know I’m not the only one who’s pup is covered in mud! Such cute pictures! I’ve been following everyone’s advice and so far he’s been so much better, with the exception of “counter surfing”! I’m leaving to go out of town for a week on Monday and leaving him with the in-laws. I hate to leave him and if it were up to me I’d take him with us, but my husband says it’s be too much trouble taking him outside to potty at the Hilton...I’m already typing a list of “to do” with him. He is the 1st pup I’ve actually been responsible for and I’ve never been attached to a dog this much. I feel like he’s a kid! Hoping that’s somewhat normal&#55357;&#56853; I’m still researching to find the best classes and will get us started when I get back. Will keep you guys informed and thanks again for the advice!


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Lori Dwyer said:


> ...He is the 1st pup I’ve actually been responsible for and I’ve never been attached to a dog this much. I feel like he’s a kid! Hoping that’s somewhat normal�� I’m still researching to find the best classes and will get us started when I get back...


Everyone has a learning curve with their first Golden, and sometimes with their second of third Golden  And it is normal to adore your dog. Just remember that he is a dog and not a human and he will have a happier life if you do give him some structure. It's ok to crate him for a while when you can't watch him so you can relax and have a glass of wine while you watch a show. It's ok to put a leash on him in the house (I strongly recommend this) and tether him to your waist while you're doing things so he doesn't counter surf while your back is turned. It's ok to keep him on leash and teach him to "settle" on a mat or bed at your feet while you ignore him. You can teach him to go to his "Place" while you cook dinner. This will help him not counter surf. Love him like a child but remember he is a dog.

Like children, dogs thrive on consistent rules and routine. Goldens are so darn smart they will pick up on things if you just work with them. My first Golden was never trained with treats or clicker to lay at the foot of my bed, but all it took was putting a beach towel down and reminding him to stay on it a few times and for the rest of his life, he slept down there (propped against the footboard of the bed) without being told. The cool thing about being so crazy about your dog is that if you stick with the training, regular exercise and just generally taking him places and spending tons of time with him for the next year or two - you are going to have the dog of your dreams.

Definitely research "dog training Club" or "obedience Club" in your area and get signed up. If you contact local/regional Golden Retriever club you can also get referrals. If classes don't start for a while, consider investing in having a private trainer come to your house and work with you a few times. You can usually buy a package of 3 lessons and you will be shocked by how much you get out of having that one on one attention from an experienced person. If you give us an idea of your location, people here can also give you referrals. There is nothing like the support of a good mentor who knows you and your dog in person for help with obedience and general dog issues.


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## iwuollet (Feb 7, 2019)

I just want you to k le that you’re not alone, your puppy is just going through a puppy phase. Soon you’ll just laugh at all of this. Golden’s are quiet the stinkers. They are very active, but I must say that the key to keep them out of trouble is mental stimulation. The one is the picture is my youngest Dallas and I can relate to what you’re saying. That picture was him getting in trouble for chewing all of my wood dining chairs, I was sooooo mad, but his cute face is what saved him ? he’s had the worse puppyhood stages, and then teenage stages too, but as he reached his second birthday my boy has shifted and is now the joy of our life. He always was, I think that’s the reason why we justified everything he did, but is Kate to deal with how to handle them, specially when you think that you’re doing everything right. I will say one thing, obedience classes are definitely a must, also you can’t get them to be overtired because instead of doing them a favor, you get them to miss behave even more. Walks are good, walks with some obedience and some good techniques are definitely awesome. Chase the hall and retrieve, agility, even at their shirt she you can find a lot of brown games that will stimulate them and make them tires and help them get a good night of sleep. Golden’s are Geri small and all they want to do is please you, so you just have to learn how to educate him and teach him the rules of your house, and who’s in charge, and the things that he can, and can’t do. They definitely learn quick. One of the things that I will say is from a very young age you teach them to be always by your side, walk at your phase, never run away, if they learn this at an early age, you will never have to deal with a golden that will run as soon as they see a door open. The key to survive puppy years is patience and love.


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