# Help



## stephvega2005 (Feb 15, 2008)

helloo..

My golden is 3 1/2 months old (but he's huge!!!) and he pretty much acts insane sometimes. Sometimes he's perfectly fine and out of nowhere starts running wild biting and jumping on people. I know he is a puppy but he's just too big of a dog to be doing this so much 

Any suggestions with the crazy jumping and biting, please let me know! (and yes he does have many chew toys and is barely in his crate, mostly when were sleeping.)


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## paula bedard (Feb 5, 2008)

He is still very young. Ike was a biter when he first came home. A loud "Ouch" and "no Bite!" worked for us. It took a little time. As for as jumping on people, if you tell them to turn their backs to him and only to greet or pet him when he's sitting nicely, that should work. It's hard for the little ones, but he'll get it. He needs lots of exercise to eat up all his energy!!! Have fun


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

Welcome to puppyhood! Paula already gave you some great advice, and not sure there's a whole lot I can add to that. The loud, high pitched "Ouch" worked wonders for Jersey. It teaches them bite inhibition just like they learn from their littermates. Do that whenever teeth meet skin, whether it actually hurts or not. It's certainly not an overnight fix, but I promise he will learn! These periods of random frenzy are often referred to as "the zoomies." Every puppy has these moments, and many adult dogs do as well (although when they're older their behavior is a little more appropriate: more running, less lashing out at you). Keeping him well exercised will help decrease the frequency of these moments, but sometimes it's just a sign that he is about to crash and often a good time to put him in his crate for a little time out. I think you'll notice he passes out pretty quickly for a nice nap. Good luck with your pup!! And welcome to the forum!

Julie and Jersey


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## allux00 (Mar 2, 2008)

The little experience I DO have is with this age and puppy behavior. It's perfectly normal! I used to freak about this too..and asked about it on the forum a lot when I was just starting out here. I was reassured that when a puppy does this he's either overly tired or, he just wants to play! Take him out for a run in the yard, but be careful with the biting- it's important to teach him not to mouth, even if its in play.

When my puppy (actually about the same age as yours) gets too wild, my family will play and run around with him, but when he starts biting like crazy we yelp( like another puppy would do, I'm sure someone will post an article about bite inhibition for you), say no, and take him into the bathroom where we stand still, arms crossed and without looking at him, for 30 seconds. After a while he'll get the idea. After a week of doing this my puppy knows the word NO better, and IF he bites (rarer and rarer these days) its soft and harmless. 

Good luck, and remember to be consistent.


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## TiffanyK (Mar 3, 2008)

I hope this isn't wrong or bad advice in addition to all the great advice already posted, but something we do with Dax is tell him "no bite" very firmly. We also offer him one of his own chew toys and whe he takes the toy we praise him. This has worked really well for Dax and my 3y/o interacting with each other. He gets really excited around her and now my daughter knows that she can tell him "no bite" and he does back off her and take a toy instead.

In fact every time we do the trade with Dax we use the same 1-2 toys.

At first, Dax had a spaz hour in the mornings after eating and coming inside from potty break. He was like a bull in a china shop!!!! If "no bite" didn't work, I usually gave him a short (5 min) time-out in his crate and praised him for going in his crate (as opposed to scolding him for being hyper). After about 5 min, sometimes less I open the door of the crate and gave him a couple of his toys to play with and he has just done very well.

We are able to get out and get lots of excersize here too. It's tough on rainy/ muddy days though.


Tiffany


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

Great advice so far from everyone. I dont know how much exercise he is getting but I noticed with Bama as a younger puppy, if I played more with him the less zoomies he got. Sounds like he has alot of unused energy. If you keep a leash on him, when people come over, step on the leash and that will keep him from jumping up on people. Good luck and it will get better.


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## stephvega2005 (Feb 15, 2008)

Thanks for the advice!


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## Debles (Sep 6, 2007)

Steph,
He's just a baby and his behavior is normal. He just needs some gentle training as everyone has suggested.
Enjoy him while he's a baby. I miss those days. : )


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## Molly's Mom (Jan 1, 2007)

I had a rough start when Molly was a puppy. She showed much of the behavior you describe. The only thing that worked for her was to isolate her. I didn't crate her, but as soon as she was heading out of control, I put her behind a baby gate or in another room. She could see me, but couldn't get to me and that made her very unhappy. Some nights I'd have to separate her from me 3 times. Eventually, she got the hint. If she wanted to be with me, she had to shape up.

She's 17 months old now and she's turned into a great dog. She still gets wild from time to time but now I only need to look at her & shrug my shoulders and she knows to stop it. Good luck. I hope you can ride it out. The results are worth it.


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