# 7 month old still biting!



## GoldenGirlMinnie

My puppy is close to the same age, and we had the same issue of going after our hands instead of a toy for a while. What worked for us is playing tug frequently, because our puppy LOVES tug. She would inevitably get too excited and start going for our hands instead, which is when we'd just let go of the toy quickly and hop up on the couch or a counter, anywhere where she couldn't reach us. We'd return to tug after ~30 seconds or so. She loves tug so much that she quickly learned that mouths only go on toys or play stops. She still gets mouthy with us when she's tired and we're all on the couch, but this has helped a lot. Yelping when she bit made her biting WAY worse, especially if you touched her in any way (ie trying to pry the piranha mouth off your hands).


----------



## Maggie'sVoice

Goldens are very very mouthy to begin with. You have to train them what is appropriate and what is not too bite on. If your not correcting then there's no way the pup with know it's wrong. 

Always have something appropriate to chew on where you sit. Any time they come over to play and start biting, then then NO then literally put the toy or chew in their mouth and then praise them. If there continue then get up and walk away with no interaction with them. Say nothing and ignore them. Starving them off your attention whenever they want to bite with get their attention way more than yelling or fighting with them.

You can also use a spray on your hands like bitter apple or yuck! There's a free or there. 

The last thing I can think of is grab the pups muzzle and curl the lip under and gradually press the lip against the k9 until you see the dog feel it a little. This will translate to them what they are doing to you when biting.


----------



## puddles everywhere

What training are you doing? Your pup is playing a game and having a great time, have you taught him a behavior you like better than the hand game? By this age your pup should know how to walk on a leash politely, sit, down, come and return something when it's tossed. If you have never had a golden pup before please consider taking a novice class from a good training group where the instructors compete with their dogs.
I used to sit in the floor starting at 6 weeks and used the kibble to teach. This not only gave them new skills but taught them that hands are for providing good things, not chew toys. It helps teach focus, respect and self control... all important part of growing up for dogs or kids.


----------



## ceegee

I never recommend "redirecting" biting to a toy because if you don't do it properly, or if your timing is off, you're inadvertently reinforcing the biting, not preventing it. I suspect you may have done this, since you say the toy "didn't work", and the dog actually goes after your hands if you try and play with a toy. If you look at this from the dog's perspective: he goes and bites a human, the human gives him a toy, he gets to bite the human again. You have, to some extent, been rewarding the biting by giving a toy. So the first thing I would suggest is to stop doing that altogether.

Biting isn't something that goes away on its own. Goldens are bred to retrieve: in other words, they explore the world through their mouths. As puppies, they are a lot "mouthier" than many other breeds and they have to be taught that mouthing isn't always appropriate in the human world. At this stage, you need to give a consequence that the dog won't like. As others have suggested, depriving the dog of your presence is a good method to use, but with one proviso: remove the dog from your presence and not vice versa. In other words, don't leave the room - take the dog and put him in his crate for a short time-out instead. If you leave, you're allowing the dog to chase you out of the room, and it will become part of the game. You need to take charge. So take the dog firmly by the collar, or clip on a leash if he resists, and put him in the crate, then leave the room. If he barks, don't let him out until he stops. If he doesn't bark, leave him in there for a couple of minutes, then go and get him. Repeat this every time he bites you. 

Having him bite his own lip is another solution that may work for you.

All this is much easier to teach when the puppy is very young. I usually sit the pup in my lap and allow him to "mouth" my hand and arm. As soon as he bites too hard, I say "ouch" and put him on the floor. They quickly learn not to bite down on human flesh. However, your pup, at 7 months, is probably too big to do this, and in any case the biting is well-established.

Lastly, if you haven't been going to obedience class, I would suggest this as another possibility. Biting can also be a sign of disrespect, and training will change the nature of your relationship with your dog from one where he does what he wants to one where he does what you want.

Best of luck!


----------



## Obedience rocks

I have never used “redirecting” just because I don’t think it works very well. I don’t think the dog ever learns to not bite. It could very well be rewarding the biting! I know two things that help with the mouthing/biting: 
1. Totally ignore him when he does it. Stand up, walk away, no touch, no talk, no eye contact. Any of that is rewarding the behavior. If this does not work, or if you have tried this before, then
2. If he mouths you and/or bites you, grab his muzzle, hold it closed, and say “no bite!” very firmly. Do not let go until he is uncomfortable. You have to be firm with this one. It may seem harsh to some, but it does work quickly if done correctly, and he is getting to be a big boy. You need to bite this in the butt now (forgive my pun) before it gets any worse or him any bigger. Mouthing is a big problem for golden puppies, and I can guarantee you're not the only one!


----------



## WendyW

Obedience rocks said:


> I have never used “redirecting” just because I don’t think it works very well. I don’t think the dog ever learns to not bite. It could very well be rewarding the biting! I know two things that help with the mouthing/biting:
> 1. Totally ignore him when he does it. Stand up, walk away, no touch, no talk, no eye contact. Any of that is rewarding the behavior. If this does not work, or if you have tried this before, then
> 2. If he mouths you and/or bites you, grab his muzzle, hold it closed, and say “no bite!” very firmly. Do not let go until he is uncomfortable. You have to be firm with this one. It may seem harsh to some, but it does work quickly if done correctly, and he is getting to be a big boy. You need to bite this in the butt now (forgive my pun) before it gets any worse or him any bigger. Mouthing is a big problem for golden puppies, and I can guarantee you're not the only one!





Obedience rocks said:


> I have never used “redirecting” just because I don’t think it works very well. I don’t think the dog ever learns to not bite. It could very well be rewarding the biting! I know two things that help with the mouthing/biting:
> 1. Totally ignore him when he does it. Stand up, walk away, no touch, no talk, no eye contact. Any of that is rewarding the behavior. If this does not work, or if you have tried this before, then
> 2. If he mouths you and/or bites you, grab his muzzle, hold it closed, and say “no bite!” very firmly. Do not let go until he is uncomfortable. You have to be firm with this one. It may seem harsh to some, but it does work quickly if done correctly, and he is getting to be a big boy. You need to bite this in the butt now (forgive my pun) before it gets any worse or him any bigger. Mouthing is a big problem for golden puppies, and I can guarantee you're not the only one!


We can’t walk away because our golden will but us in the butt


----------



## SRW

Obedience rocks said:


> I have never used “redirecting” just because I don’t think it works very well.


 "Redirecting" doesn't work and it is not training. I would define "redirecting" as deliberately avoiding a training opportunity. 



WendyW said:


> We can’t walk away because our golden will but us in the butt


Good, I hope it hurts enough that you turn around and teach your dog something rather than walking away.


----------



## WendyW

SRW said:


> "Redirecting" doesn't work and it is not training. I would define "redirecting" as deliberately avoiding a training opportunity.
> 
> 
> 
> Good, I hope it hurts enough that you turn around and teach your dog something rather than walking away.


That was rude and uncalled for. We were told (by a trainer) to turn your back to the dog ignoring it so they will stop biting. Hope your snip made your day better.


----------



## SRW

WendyW said:


> That was rude and uncalled for. We were told (by a trainer) to turn your back to the dog ignoring it so they will stop biting. Hope your snip made your day better.


You were given bad advice by someone that calls themself a trainer. The fact that you get bit in the butt if you walk away proves it. 
My comment was a bit tongue in cheek, intended to be humorous rather than rude. 

My qualifications for offering advice; I train my own dogs and they do not bite me. Jake has even achieved a few goals beyond not biting. 

Behavioral issues like biting, jumping on people, chasing things across the street, etc. do not go away just by ignoring them. You need to teach and train a pup. One of the best things about retrievers is that they love, even expect, communication with their handlers. Teaching and training is communication.

I have posted it several times just recently. The method that works best for teaching a pup not to bite in my experience is the "thumb down the throat". Usually this is done with a 7 - 10 week old pup but it will work with and any dog provided it isn't biting out of aggression. Set up a situation where you expect the dog to bite your hand so you can be ready for it. When he/she tries to bite, stick your thumb down his throat and grasp the lower jaw with your hand. Press down on the back of the tongue with your thumb and hold for several seconds. You want to make the pup gag, easy with an 8 week old. With a larger pup you may want to wear gloves to both protect your hand and to irritate the dogs throat. This does not hurt the pup, it just teaches that the results of trying to bite are unpleasant. You will know that the pup understands when he closes his mouth as you hand gets close. Pups often substitute licking for biting.


----------



## dweltman12290

goldenmomma19 said:


> we have a 7 month old golden. we got him (Stewie) when he was 8 weeks old. Let me tell you he has been a handful. Since the day we brought him home he is always coming up to us (mainly when we're sitting) and biting our hands and arms. We kept thinking it was his teething stage and it would go away but it hasn't. We always have a toy handy to try and redirect the biting to toys but usually doesn't work. Even when we play with, with a toy he will go after our hands instead of the toy. It's very frustrating! wondering if anyone has tips or tricks. We have also tried yelping and crying out when he bites but this just usually gets him more excited. HELP


Kalav acted the same way, but I kept enforcing the word gentle and what it meant, every time he touched my skin. It took 2 or 3 weeks of constant re-enforcing, but now, when he puts his teeth on my hand or arm and say gentle, he licks my hand instead of biting on it. 

Kalev now know the word gentle, as well as he know the word, No 😁


----------



## Ziggy Mom

WendyW said:


> We can’t walk away because our golden will but us in the butt


LOL us too!


----------

