# Don't know what to do!!



## ChristineT (Jan 11, 2008)

:doh: I hope someone can help. I have an 8 month old pup that not only mouths, but when he's not getting his way he'll bark, and snap his teeth. Tail is waging though. When he gets excited he does the same thing. What do I do??

You can tell him NO!! 20 times, and he'll do what he wants, and mouth you, then bark with that snap in the air. My husband and I are not sure if we need to get rid of him.

Just would like some advice if this is what any of you have gone through with your golden's? I had one golden, and he was such a sweetie.

Also, we got our pup at 6 weeks of age, and I feel he came from a "business breeder" Meaning she didn't spend any touch with these pup, and had so many of them from diff. stud dogs of hers.

Can this have a play in this pups disposition now. And if so is there anything we can do, or do we let him go? My nephew feels he can get aggressive.

Thanks.


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

Okay, let me start by saying that I'm no expert and that I will likely not be the one to answer your question... but as I read your post some questions came to mind. I think the answers might help some of the more knowledgable memebers give you suggestions. So, I'll just throw them out there:

What discipline methods have you used for her mouthing up until now?
When she is "snapping" at the air, does it seem to you that it's in an aggressive way? or playful?
You mention her "not getting her way"... could you be more specific about that?
How old is your nephew?

As I said, they're just a few questions that popped to mind. As for the snapping thing, I just wanted to share a story. My father's dog, Kizmet, used to do this when she was excited. She was actually a littermate of Jersey's. It was never in an aggressive way in her case (not making a judgement about yours, but that's why I asked the question). When you walked in the door, she would give a few snaps. As you grabbed her dinner, she'd give a few more. One of my favorites, she used to do it all the way across the floor when my father did a recall with her. It was one of her little quirks, and we let it go because it was never threatening or a warning of an impending bite. We lost Kizmet almost a year ago (at 15 months), and to this day that is the one thing I miss most about her. It was truly endearing. So, while I hope that you are able to get these issues under control with your pup (and I think you can with some hard work), if you come to find that this one quirk remains and is not in any way threatening... don't stress too much about it. It may be one of those little things that sets him apart in your heart and mind. As always, just my opinion.

Julie and Jersey


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## Heidi36oh (Feb 27, 2007)

Rusty snaps his teeth, but in his case it's just the way he shows him self. He would never bite, but loves to snap his teeth. If we tease him he will do it and then come and lick you to death





















 



 It's a Girl, *Cheyenne Opal










*


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## ChristineT (Jan 11, 2008)

Thanks...

Discipline- We had him at "doggie school". My husband wants the trainer at the house now.

Snapping- I don't know if it's playful, or it's "Don't do that!" When I say that sometime I have to be stern with him, say no, he'll do it again, and I hit him on the behind, softly, and say NO. He doesn't like that, but will contine to do what "he" pleases. Very frustrating.

Getting his way- Company comes over, and he'll look at me for food, or a treat, and go to that person and mouth them, or push them with his noise, or jump, and grab there arm, ect.. people get uptight, and it puts me in a bind. Then you say stop, no, get the chain, and he bites the chain, and barks, and snaps his mouth. HUH!!

Nephew- is 30 He loves the dog, but when he's walk around sometimes the dog will jump, and grab him. He feels he can get aggressive if we don't get a handle on this. I don't know if I fully agree with that.


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## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

He is still a puppy, just in a much bigger body. I think a trainer (a GOOD trainer) coming to your house is a good idea. I had one come here when I had some serious aggression issues with a dog I used to have (I since had to put her to sleep due to increasing aggression, that is a whole 'nother story and she wasn't a golden). She could see things from the outside perspective that I just totally did not see going on between the two dogs. Then she was able to teach me what to look for and how to be a better, gentler leader with them.


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

It's great that you've tried an obedience class with your dog, but that's not exactly what I meant by discipline. I think you touch on it a little in your next answer when you stated you hit him on the behind softly. I will take your word for it that it's gentle, but regardless, hitting doesn't help discipline a dog. They don't understand it, and often your fast-moving hand and the contact only serve to rile the dog up more. I think it would be a wonderful idea to bring a trainer into the home. That way he/she could show you in your own environment how to handle these behaviors. The trainer would also be able to tell you more difinitively if you're dealing with aggression or excitement/misdirected play. The only reason I asked your nephew's age was because I thought he might be a child, but seeing as he's 30, I think he can take care of himself.  

In the meantime, while you're looking for a trainer (and I would suggest one that uses positive techniques rather than dominance based ones, but that's your choice in the end) I'll just make one suggestion. When your dog begins to mouth you, the second teeth hit skin let out a loud, high pitched "Ouch!" Even if it doesn't hurt. This will begin to teach the dog a little bite inhibition in the same way his littermates would have (especially if he had waited until 8 weeks to go home rather than 6, but that's the breeder's fault, not yours). The second he removes his mouth from you, tell him he's good and stick a toy in his mouth to redirect him. It's not an overnight fix... there will be many repetitions... but I've used this technique very successfully. If the dog ignores your "Ouch," stand up and turn your back on him with your arms crossed. Become a tree, and ignore him completely. Especially the first few times he'll probably bark and jump at you for a short time. Just completely ignore him. Once he gives up, turn back to him, give him a toy to keep his mouth busy, and tell him he's good. I think if you get this started now, by the time you set up for a trainer to come in you'll be in a slightly better stead and can just work on continuing to fine tune his training. Good luck!!

Julie and Jersey


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## ChristineT (Jan 11, 2008)

Thank you so much!! Yes, I'm getting a trainer here ASAP. I didn't realize that by hitting him, he would react worse. Lession learned.  Thank you. Well, I'll let you know as time goes on with the trainer how it's going. 

And yes, I do have to keep in mind he still is a pup. He's about 80lb now, and very tall for his age. But still have to remember he's 8-months.

Thanks you both so much.


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

My Maggie does a 3 snap thing when she gets really excited. If someone comes over or she sees someone she knows..she will snap, snap , snap..... It is always a 3 snap. she will never make contact while snapping.


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## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

It sounds like he is a boistrous bully and doesn't know his boundries. 

This is how Lucky was when he was 4 and 5 months. He also had a bout of this attitude when he was outside at about 8 and 9 months. It was brought under control when I figured out how to set boundries and be consistant. And actually outside it was treat rewards that brought him under control. He seemed to forget bad behavior when I had cheese in my hand. 

True aggression is quite different then being "aggressively" playful. I've seen both, and when you are hit up with a truely aggressive non-playful dog the difference is stark. 

And with Lucky if I got physical...like using the alpha roll, rapping...it just got him more excited.

I think the trainer idea is an excellent one because my experience is once you figure out the solution the good results come fast.


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## MelissaH (Jul 27, 2007)

please do not gid of your boy. That should be the absoulute last resort after all other options have been explored. With patience and perseverance you can turn his behavior around. It sounds like he didn't receive much structure in the beginning. As soon as a pup starts to exhibit any unwanted behavior it needs to be addressed immediately. The worse thing you can do is ignore them, so whenever he does anything you don't want him to do, say , No!" and leave the area. Do this enough times and he'll get the idea. Basically, at this point, saying no to him means absolutely nothing because he does not have anything negative to associate it with.

From what you described, this is typical puppy-play behavior. Katie did it all of the time, and when she got out of hand there were a few things we'd do. If she bit us we'd let out a yelp and leave the area immediately. She got the hint but it took a lot of repetition. We'd also grab her snout gently and wrap one of our hands around it and give her a firm, "No", or we 'd lay her on her side while doing this. None of this hurt her-it gave her a clear message as to who is boss and what we didn't like. 

It's all about bribery and positive reinforcement in the beginning to engrain good behavior and discourage bad behavior. If he starts getting nippy, give him one of his toys to chew so he knows what is and isn't ok to chew on, and praise him while he is chewing away on his toy. I'd also recommend treats, and lots of them. Whenever he listens, give him a treat. Practice over and over and over again and eventually he will get it-I promise. I'm sure a trainer will help you out immensely, but you also need to have the tools to know what to do when they aren't there with you. Good luck with your boy and hope we've helped in some way.


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## ChristineT (Jan 11, 2008)

Thanks. My husband, and I both agree, because of all you loving people, that his play is; misdirected play as Jersey's mom said. I am so happy for this site, it's helping us now help Gooch grow into the Golden he going to be. 

I bought all his treats today, and getting ready for the trainer to come. I'm hoping she comes next week. Hubby is calling her.

I can't get rid of him, he's a part of the fam. now, and we love him. I'm so happy that everyone helped us through this, because I thought at first he was going to be mean. He's not, he just has to now learn what he can, and can't do. 

Thanks so much everyone.
Christine


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

Christine,
Welcome and I am glad that you are going to get a trainer at the house to help Gooch become a better member of your household. Just think of him as an unruly kid going into the teens and puberty. I hope you will post some pictures of him and keep us up to date on his progress.


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

Good news! I'm glad to hear that you're feeling more confident about your situation... I think you'll see that it makes a HUGE difference!! If you're looking for a little more motivation, let me tell you about our first golden, Brandi. She was a "pet store" golden, and we really didn't know much about how to raise a pup. This dog was a holy terror!! Let's start with the biting/nipping/scratching (and all the barking, growling, and lip curling that went along with it...). My arms were so beat up that people at school (I was in 6th grade) were questioning me as to whether "something was going on at school." Brilliant child that I was, I had no idea what they meant... gave a big smile and said "We got a puppy!!" LOL. Then there was the property damage. We weren't familiar with crate training at the time, so we had her baby gated off in the kitchen. Brandi had come home Christmas Eve. Our first day back at school (my mom is a teacher also, and dad was working all along... so everyone was out of the house) she jumped the baby gate, tore down the Christmas tree, ate my mother's antique ornaments and the little walking santa that rang the bell (did you know those things are made primarily of styrofoam?). So we got a second baby gate and positioned them one on top of the other to keep her in. In the kitchen she ate the molding from around the bottom of the walls; tore the wallpaper off up about 5 or so feet; chewed the cabinets, chairs, and table; and ate anything she could get her paws on, including the end of the radio plug (luckily not plugged in), the wire from a cheese slicer, paper towels, bread, etc. When she was a few months old (around 4 or 5 maybe?) my mother, brother, and I went to CA to visit my sister-- my father lost site of her for a moment and she ate mine and my brother's combined collection of Garbage Pail Kids. My family began to consider giving up on her, but we decided to go through a basic obedience class with her first and see if that made a difference. We worked hard with her, took her off puppy food, and in what seemed to be a very short time (although that could just be my rose-colored glasses) she was a wonderful family pet. She was the absolute sweetest dog you've ever met and she is, without a doubt, the reason we've come to be so involved with this breed. She was my "heart dog". I like to reminisce about her, but I do have a point behind this story... there's ALWAYS hope!! Good luck to you! Please keep us updated on how things come along!

Julie and Jersey


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## goldencity (May 26, 2005)

Hi, you have had some good advice so far, here is my contribution!

A trainer is a great idea - they'll teach you as well as the dog.

Many goldens are very "mouthy" as pups, they love to hold things in their mouths, they love to chew and sometimes that includes you! The whole jumping up, mouthing, overexited thing happend quite often with many of them.
However, this is not behaviour that we want; a huge full grown golden coverd in mud and with great big teeth should not be jumping up or snapping and mouthing. 
Every time he mouths you, yell out as if it really hurt and step away from him. You need to do this EVERY time, and to get all the family to do the same. This will eventually teach him bite inhibition- if he puts his mouth on a human, he hurts them and the fun stops. Pups learn this from each other, if you watch a group playing when one nips too hard, the other will yelp and the game stops for a while.
As for the jumping up, try teaching him proper "greeting" behaviour. You will need to have him on a lead, and to have some visitors to practise with. These can be your husband or kids, or friends. As long as you have told them what to do.
This is what you do: have the dog on a loose lead and put him in a sit, then let the "visitor" come forward to say hello. As soon as the dog moves from the sit, the visitor steps back out of reach and takes no notice of the dog- no eye contact, no words, no touching nothing. Put the dog back in the sit and try again....somtimes your visitor will have to move quickly to fuss the dog while he is still sitting, before he has had a chance to leap up! D this all the time- gradually the dog will learn he only gets a fuss if he is sitting down.
You will have to be consistant tho' its no good alowing him to jump up one day, and then getting cross if he does it the next!


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## mdoats (Jun 7, 2007)

One other note... this won't happen overnight. It takes a LOT of practice. I've been doing a lot of these things with Rookie from early on and he's really just starting to get some of it. He is just now at 11 months starting to sit in front of guests to be petted because he knows visitors aren't allowed to pet him until he sits.

I've also been working with him a lot on the "Quiet" command. When he is barking, I step towards him and hold up a finger to my mouth and say very firmly QUIET! As soon as he stops barking, I tell him good boy and pet him and make a fuss. If he keeps barking, I turn my back on him. He's getting better at it, but it's an ongoing process.

So, whatever you decide to do, know that you will need to stick with it.


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## Jackson'sMom (Oct 13, 2007)

You have lots of good advice, and the right attitude, so I'd bet with a bit of consistent training and hard work, your baby will turn out to be a wonderful member of your family. Just don't give up on him.


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