# 4 month old Golden puppy will eat anything!



## jwemt81 (Aug 20, 2008)

This is all very normal behavior for a young pup. Have you done any basic manners training with him, such as teaching him commands like leave it, wait, sit, down, etc.? Puppy classes are extremely helpful for both socialization as well as learning how to curb these types behaviors. His current behavior of taking food off your plates and stove is unacceptable and definitely needs to be dealt with appropriately. When you are trying to cook or eat, I highly suggest crating him or putting him in an X-pen. It will get better as he gets older, but I cannot stress enough how important training with positive reinforcement is, especially at this age. It's also a good idea to feed all of his meals in his crate where it is quiet and where he can rest and allow his food to digest for a while after he eats.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

You have a BABY. He is behaving like a 100% normal puppy. They do not come knowing how to behave in a human household. You have to teach him what you want him to do and not do.

Absolutely training classes are essential, and not just one course, when you finish one sign up for the next level, several. You should already be working on training at home with basic commands, if you aren't you are behind in your "parenting"

Please read this article. 

https://denisefenzipetdogs.com/2015/...not-a-problem/


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## cwag (Apr 25, 2017)

How much and how often do you feed him? Although they can act like this even if they're are getting enough.


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## ceegee (Mar 26, 2015)

Carolina Golden! said:


> I have a golden retriever puppy that just turned 4 months old. He inhales his food and acts like he is starved to death whenever there is food of any kind around. We have to shut him up when we are eating because he will take the food out of our plates and try to get the food off of the stove and this puppy that can be so sweet is like a wild animal around food. Has anyone else had this issue?


Virtually all Goldens are food-a-holics. What you describe isn't a puppy issue, it's a training issue. He's grabbing food because he can. It's your responsibility to teach him to behave in an acceptable way. Are you taking any kind of formal training with him? Goldens are active, intelligent dogs that need structure, especially whey they're pups. Shutting your puppy away when you're eating isn't teaching him anything. What I do to is to put a dog bed in the eating area and teach my dog a "go to your bed" command. Of course, you can't do that in a vacuum: your dog needs to obey the basic commands first (sit, down, come). 

Good luck.


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## myluckypenny (Nov 29, 2016)

Impulse control games will help a ton! My puppy was the same way, which was a change from my first dog who wasn't very food motivated at all. There are lots of great resources out there, just search puppy impulse control games


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## Carolina Golden! (Jan 15, 2018)

I feed him 3 times a day, about 3/4 - 1 cup each time so I feel like he should be eating enough and I am feeding him Iams puppy food for large breeds. Maybe it is where he is a puppy growing into a large dog. But, he seems like a monster when it comes to food, any food. I have seen him eat an onion and he has figured ot that there is food in the fridge so he was getting in there whenever the door was open but he has gotten a little better about this.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

You've received some good input, plan on crating your puppy during meal times and if he is practicing bad behavior during meal preparation times, then he should be crated then too while you are working on obedience with him to get this behavior addressed. 

I believe I saw that someone asked if you are taking obedience classes with him. I missed it if you answered - are you all in class and are you practicing obedience at home every day? If not, that is a big part of the solution.

Golden puppies are a huge commitment of time and energy and it's a good 2-3 year process of hard work to get them through the puppy stage in most cases. These dogs are bred to be work and they are very bright, it can be a lot of effort to stay a step ahead of them. However, if you don't they will make your life miserable. Your puppy needs consistent work and boundaries and until he's had enough training to understand and respect the boundaries, it's your job to set him up for success. Tether him to your waist or crate him if he's acting like a hellion.

If he's only 16 weeks, you have a long year ahead of you if you don't get his obedience foundation set. Start teaching him "down/stay" and "place", teach him to trade and work on these concepts daily.


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