# 12 week old golden puppy attacked my husband



## LoverofGoldens14 (7 mo ago)

We got a golden puppy a few weeks ago. He’s now 12 weeks. Overall he has been great, very smart and lovable. However, we have noticed some aggressive behavior where he growls, barks, nips and circles you, trying to get you to play. It usually happens once a day. We’ve always taken it as him being a puppy and having a burst of energy, although it made us a little nervous because it’s out of character from his normal sweet behavior. We also have owned a golden previously, and don’t remember him ever seeming so aggressive.

It’s become a lot more frequent in the past week, which has also started to concern me. It’s almost like a switch goes off and he goes from a sweet lovable puppy to an aggressive one. But this morning he got a hold of a plastic water bottle, my husband let him chew it for a minute (our previous golden used to do this too so we thought it was okay for a supervised few minutes). When my husband tried to take it back, our puppy aggressively attacked my husband’s hand: growling and biting down so hard he made puncture wounds. Then he continued to aggressively growl, lunge, and attack at him, as he was trying to remove the bottle and him from the area (our kids were in the room). He’s never shown this resource guarding before. We purposely gently pet him while he eats, and he doesn’t even react. I’ve pulled countless rocks, socks, etc out of his mouth and he doesn’t even flinch. So the behavior was so out of character and scary.

We’ve been around dogs our whole life and previously had a golden, and have never seen anything so aggressive. The best way to describe it was he looked like a rabid dog.

We feel we are doing all the right things to train him. He’s doing well in the crate, he’s learned sit and stay, we’ve been socializing him with other kids and dogs. We give him lots of attention and praise. We’re taking him to the vet this morning, to see if there’s something physically wrong. But if they say he’s healthy, we are very nervous with him being around our kids or any family or friends.

So we are writing to ask if you have any advice? Has anyone seen this in their puppies? We’re concerned there’s something aggressive in him, and we don’t want to risk him hurting our kids or anyone else, especially as he gets bigger and stronger.


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## cwag (Apr 25, 2017)

There are a lot of posts about "aggressive puppies" on this forum. If you click the search bar and then Advanced Search and type in aggressive puppy plus put dates of Jan 1, 2021 through today you will find a bunch of threads. You can read through them to see if your puppy sounds like just an untrained dog or not. If you are still unsure you can have a behaviorist come help you








International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants


The International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants' mission is to elevate the standard of animal behavior consulting worldwide by promoting continuing education, peer support and development, ethical practices through the use of Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive (LIMA) principles...




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Most likely he's just a wild puppy but it is no fun being afraid of your puppy and younger children make it even more concerning. In the meantime if he has something like the plastic bottle try getting a tasty treat and making a trade for it until you can train a drop it command.


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## sam34 (9 mo ago)

Actually, sounds pretty normal if the dog is a higher energy golden. He just needs to learn, in no uncertain terms, that it's not ok to bite. Search the forums as noted above. I've previously put a link in to a video by McCann dog training concerning how to correct and calm a biting pup. Look them up. They're in Canada and have a ton of great, and free puppy training videos.

It is true, though, that you have to nip this in the bud, so to speak, before it gets worse. Just don't expect overnight success. It may take a bit of work. Some dogs are just very mouthy, and those teeth are razer sharp. You will also find it helpful to have the dog on a house lead at all times so you can quickly control it.


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## Rundlemtn (Jan 16, 2015)

Echoing what others have said here. This sounds like pretty normal puppy behavior. You might not expect it, but, plastic bottles tend to be quite high value. In the past when you've taken things from him, he just loses the thing he wanted. And this was something he didn't want to give up. The way to teach him not to resource guard is to trade for a high value treat. You can even practice this trade. Give him a treat, take the thing away... then give it back to him for a few minute, give a treat, take the thing away etc. This way he is not losing when you are asking him to give something up, but, getting something tasty instead. And he will learn that you taking something away, doesn't mean it will necessarily be gone forever. Eventually, as he matures, you will be able to take things away without him resource guarding it, but, it is still nice when you can to give him something for giving up a thing that he wanted. Puppies are just babies. They need to be taught everything. 

As per the circling, nipping etc. This is likely just him getting riled up, and may be a sign that he is tired, and needs a nap - assuming he gets adequate exercise, training, play and attention throughout the day.


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## goldielynn (Sep 5, 2020)

You've gotten a lot of great advice above as to the behavior. The scars that I had on my hand from play biting when ours was the same age stayed with me for a year! Totally normal -- they're still learning bite force and play at that age.

As an aside: I know you've been around dogs your whole life, but maybe this is your first puppy? Because it sounds like your puppy has too much freedom around your house, and that's what's giving him the opportunity to put things like socks, rocks, and water bottles in his mouth in the first place. At this age, he should have his own pen and honestly be put in the pen when he's not in the crate. Behavior like guarding is learned and it's best to not allow him access to these prized things in the first place. Once he's better at potty training and knowing what he can and cannot put his mouth on, you can enlarge his space and provide him more freedom to move around your house.

There were two things I was adamant about going into picking up our puppy: that our puppy was not to have any resource guarding issues and that he would not be a menace to my furniture and personal belongings. Hand feeding and setting up a pen area demarcated by pet gates for the first 6 months really helped with both those things.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

LoverofGoldens14 said:


> ......* We purposely gently pet him while he eats*, and he doesn’t even react. I’ve pulled countless rocks, socks, etc out of his mouth and he doesn’t even flinch. So the behavior was so out of character and scary.
> ........We feel we are doing all the right things to train him. He’s doing well in the crate, he’s learned sit and stay, we’ve been socializing him with other kids and dogs. We give him lots of attention and praise...... We’re concerned there’s something aggressive in him, and we don’t want to risk him hurting our kids or anyone else, especially as he gets bigger and stronger.


1) Have you reached out to the breeder to discuss your concerns? This is not completely abnormal behavior - the concern is that he left puncture wounds on your husband. 
2) Have you started formal puppy class yet? I would suggest you invest in puppy class with an AKC obedience/dog training club and also get a referral to a private trainer who specializes in behavior issues - for some lessons and* in person evaluation.* We can point you in the right direction here, but you need help from someone in person. Not cheap but the sooner you get on this, the sooner you start fixing what's going on the right way.
2) set yourself and this puppy up for success. STOP bothering him when he eats. You can walk by his bowl and drop in a special treat, but leave him alone. Start managing this puppy better. Pick up your house so that he's not getting access to all these things he shouldn't get like socks and children's toys etc. Use baby gates to restrict his access to parts of the house where he should not be. Teach him to trade for a high value treat and stop pouncing on him and taking things from him.
3) absolutely no circumstances where puppy should be unattended with your children - this means DIRECT, hands on supervision from you. Your kids need a big, serious, sit down discussion about NEVER taking anything from the puppy ever. Call an adult. It would be better for that puppy to choke to death on whatever he gets than to bite one of your children. 
4) Puppy should not have access to any visiting children. Crate the puppy when people are visiting or have him out on a leash practicing good manners.
5) I would print this thread up and highlight the things you would like to try. Keep track of what you're doing and make a timeline of what's been happening so you have a specific file of information to share with a trainer or Certified veterinary behaviorist when you are able to get an appointment. He's becoming more independent and this kind of stuff may escalate over the next few weeks as he grows. Be sure that you;re getting him out for exercise and family hikes, off leash if possible so he's getting DAILY aerobic exercise. Several small obedience sessions over the course of each day combined with aerobic exercise that leaves him tired and panting and careful management will be the key to getting through this. 
6) look for a book called "Mine" by Patricia McConnell and "Calming Signals' by Turid Rugaas to educate yourself more on what's going on with your puppy


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## GoldenDude (Nov 5, 2016)

Have you spoken with your breeder?


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## sam34 (9 mo ago)

And just to make you feel better, here's a pic of what my hands looked like when our pup was about the age of yours, or a bit older. She would have probably driven you out of your home . She's mostly great at 8 months now, and is one high energy retrieving fool.


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## michaeldwilson (Aug 14, 2012)

I would recommend you speak to a professional to get some advice on training and especially your energy as you deal with a dog who needs your help. For now, the first I would say is to leave him on the leash. When he gets into resource guarding mode, he simply doesn't know what to do. He's nervous and confused. Use the leash to keep him in control until he calms down. It may take a minute. After he calms down (he will eventually), then reward him with affection or food. Your energy should be: I am the boss here. Now he knows what he's supposed to do. Repeat many times. Under no circumstances should you reward this dog for excited behavior even though it might seem fun at the time (jumping, growling, nipping). Best of luck!


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## SRW (Dec 21, 2018)

LoverofGoldens14 said:


> We feel we are doing all the right things to train him


Well you’re not. Your puppy isn’t mean, he’s just untrained.
Start teaching him obedience. The first step is “Sit“. 
Teach in frequent short lessons. 5 to 15 minutes several times each day. Maintain your standards at all times because you are in fact always training your puppy.

Give him plenty of exercise, that does not mean walking on lead. I suspect your dog will love retrieving, get some plastic retrieving bumpers for him and use them only for retrieving. They are not his to play with.


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## LoverofGoldens14 (7 mo ago)

SRW said:


> Well you’re not. Your puppy isn’t mean, he’s just untrained.
> Start teaching him obedience. The first step is “Sit“.
> Teach in frequent short lessons. 5 to 15 minutes several times each day. Maintain your standards at all times because you are in fact always training your puppy.
> 
> Give him plenty of exercise, that does not mean walking on lead. I suspect your dog will love retrieving, get some plastic retrieving bumpers for him and use them only for retrieving. They are not his to play with.


Did you see the part of my post where I said we have already taught him to sit and stay. We've been working with him on those commands since the day we brought him home.


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## LoverofGoldens14 (7 mo ago)

GoldenDude said:


> Have you spoken with your breeder?


I called her this morning. She said it is very uncharacteristic for his pedigree, and that his parents don't show any signs of aggression. She recommended we increase his food, as she recently had to do this with her puppy she kept from the litter. She also suggested a training book and contacting a behavioral trainer. She said when he starts trying to provoke you that we should "knock him over the head and put him on his back." Which is the complete opposite of every advice we have read and what our vet told us. They said that acting aggressively toward the dog can make them more aggressive or fearful of you. We are going to start with the increase in food and having a behavioral trainer come to our house.


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## LoverofGoldens14 (7 mo ago)

goldielynn said:


> You've gotten a lot of great advice above as to the behavior. The scars that I had on my hand from play biting when ours was the same age stayed with me for a year! Totally normal -- they're still learning bite force and play at that age.
> 
> As an aside: I know you've been around dogs your whole life, but maybe this is your first puppy? Because it sounds like your puppy has too much freedom around your house, and that's what's giving him the opportunity to put things like socks, rocks, and water bottles in his mouth in the first place. At this age, he should have his own pen and honestly be put in the pen when he's not in the crate. Behavior like guarding is learned and it's best to not allow him access to these prized things in the first place. Once he's better at potty training and knowing what he can and cannot put his mouth on, you can enlarge his space and provide him more freedom to move around your house.
> 
> There were two things I was adamant about going into picking up our puppy: that our puppy was not to have any resource guarding issues and that he would not be a menace to my furniture and personal belongings. Hand feeding and setting up a pen area demarcated by pet gates for the first 6 months really helped with both those things.


This isn't our first puppy. We had a golden retriever puppy previously, he passed away in December. So we are very familiar with play biting and how they will mouth you and not quite know their strength. However, this biting was accompanying with growling and lunging toward his hand. I know the difference and if you would have seen the attack, you would understand too. Our house is currently baby gated, and he is only allowed in the family room and kitchen, which is a very small space. We tried the playpen, but he will literally scale the side and crawl out, even while sitting right there. So we decided for his safety, that a baby gate in a small area of our house was best. He is also crated at night and any time where we are not completely supervising him. I guess I think I have given people the impression that we live in an untidy home. We do not. We do however, have 7 year old twins, who have occasionally dropped a sock while getting ready for school and we don't grab it soon enough. He also goes on plenty of walks with us, and yes there are rocks or mulch on the walk, that he puts in his mouth. Not sure I can do anything about that. What I am saying he, he has never resource guarded before, so this behavior was quite shocking.


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## SRW (Dec 21, 2018)

LoverofGoldens14 said:


> Did you see the part of my post where I said we have already taught him to sit and stay. We've been working with him on those commands since the day we brought him home.


That’s great next time he misbehaves tell him to sit.


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## michaeldwilson (Aug 14, 2012)

LoverofGoldens14 said:


> I called her this morning. She said it is very uncharacteristic for his pedigree, and that his parents don't show any signs of aggression. She recommended we increase his food, as she recently had to do this with her puppy she kept from the litter. She also suggested a training book and contacting a behavioral trainer. She said when he starts trying to provoke you that we should "knock him over the head and put him on his back." Which is the complete opposite of every advice we have read and what our vet told us. They said that acting aggressively toward the dog can make them more aggressive or fearful of you. We are going to start with the increase in food and having a behavioral trainer come to our house.


This is one means to an end (I would never recommend striking a dog): rolling a dog over shows the dog that 1) you are in charge and 2) that this is not acceptable behavior. I don't like rolling dogs over to do this, but I know people have used this technique successfully. Like you, it doesn't create the kind of relationship I want with my dog (overly dominant). Using a leash, waiting for the dog to settle down (really settle down) and then rewarding that behavior are part of a proven method people have used successfully, if done persistently and patiently. I haven't seen the dog, but I doubt he's inherently aggressive. He's probably just nervous and doesn't know what to do.


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## GoldenDude (Nov 5, 2016)

LoverofGoldens14 said:


> I called her this morning. She said it is very uncharacteristic for his pedigree, and that his parents don't show any signs of aggression. She recommended we increase his food, as she recently had to do this with her puppy she kept from the litter. She also suggested a training book and contacting a behavioral trainer. She said when he starts trying to provoke you that we should "knock him over the head and put him on his back." Which is the complete opposite of every advice we have read and what our vet told us. They said that acting aggressively toward the dog can make them more aggressive or fearful of you. We are going to start with the increase in food and having a behavioral trainer come to our house.


I’m not a supporter of striking a dog as part of training, but a behavioral trainer is solid advice.


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## michaeldwilson (Aug 14, 2012)

I know Zak George is not everyone's cup of tea, but he does a nice job using treats to train his dog to be less aggressive with a bone.


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## sam34 (9 mo ago)

So here's the link I mentioned above. Get the bottle back out and try what's mentioned in the video. Make sure you have a house lead on the dog. Repeat as needed in a controlled situation until you learn to calm the dog and praise him when he settles


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## Hildae (Aug 15, 2012)

LoverofGoldens14 said:


> We got a golden puppy a few weeks ago. He’s now 12 weeks. Overall he has been great, very smart and lovable. However, we have noticed some aggressive behavior where he growls, barks, nips and circles you, trying to get you to play. It usually happens once a day. We’ve always taken it as him being a puppy and having a burst of energy, although it made us a little nervous because it’s out of character from his normal sweet behavior. We also have owned a golden previously, and don’t remember him ever seeming so aggressive.
> 
> It’s become a lot more frequent in the past week, which has also started to concern me. It’s almost like a switch goes off and he goes from a sweet lovable puppy to an aggressive one. But this morning he got a hold of a plastic water bottle, my husband let him chew it for a minute (our previous golden used to do this too so we thought it was okay for a supervised few minutes). When my husband tried to take it back, our puppy aggressively attacked my husband’s hand: growling and biting down so hard he made puncture wounds. Then he continued to aggressively growl, lunge, and attack at him, as he was trying to remove the bottle and him from the area (our kids were in the room). He’s never shown this resource guarding before. *We purposely gently pet him while he eats, and he doesn’t even react. *I’ve pulled countless rocks, socks, etc out of his mouth and he doesn’t even flinch. So the behavior was so out of character and scary.
> 
> ...


Stop that immediately. You do not mess with their food, or them while eating. That's a sure fire way to create issues, not fix them. 



LoverofGoldens14 said:


> I called her this morning. She said it is very uncharacteristic for his pedigree, and that his parents don't show any signs of aggression. She recommended we increase his food, as she recently had to do this with her puppy she kept from the litter. She also suggested a training book and contacting a behavioral trainer. She said when he starts trying to provoke you that *we should "knock him over the head and put him on his back." *Which is the complete opposite of every advice we have read and what our vet told us. They said that acting aggressively toward the dog can make them more aggressive or fearful of you. We are going to start with the increase in food and having a behavioral trainer come to our house.


Definitely no. 

Hire a behavioral specialist to help you train him.


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## SRW (Dec 21, 2018)

Hildae said:


> Stop that immediately. You do not mess with their food, or them while eating.


I do.


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## sam34 (9 mo ago)

SRW said:


> I do.


Yes, absolutely. How else do you train a dog not to get aggressive when someone gets between them and their food. I'd rather the dog tries to aggressive with me and gets corrected then with a child that makes the mistake of doing the same. It's all part of training. And in most cases, the dog never gets aggressive. It just learns that it's ok for someone to mess with their food and give it back to them.


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## goldielynn (Sep 5, 2020)

LoverofGoldens14 said:


> I guess I think I have given people the impression that we live in an untidy home. We do not. We do however, have 7 year old twins, who have occasionally dropped a sock while getting ready for school and we don't grab it soon enough. He also goes on plenty of walks with us, and yes there are rocks or mulch on the walk, that he puts in his mouth. Not sure I can do anything about that. What I am saying he, he has never resource guarded before, so this behavior was quite shocking.


No judgment from me here! I think you'd be shocked if you came over to our home and the controlled chaos that our puppy grew up in. We're two young professionals with not enough hours in a day, so I needed our puppy to understand quickly and thoroughly what's his and what's not. Luckily and thankfully, he does. I'd go with your gut instinct here. If you feel that the next step is to contact a behaviorist, then you should. 

Good luck and I hope that you come back to update this thread to help other puppy parents possibly going through the same.


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## Hildae (Aug 15, 2012)

sam34 said:


> Yes, absolutely. How else do you train a dog not to get aggressive when someone gets between them and their food. I'd rather the dog tries to aggressive with me and gets corrected then with a child that makes the mistake of doing the same. It's all part of training. And in most cases, the dog never gets aggressive. It just learns that it's ok for someone to mess with their food and give it back to them.


They don't develop issues if you don't given them a reason to.


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## sam34 (9 mo ago)

How do you know if you don't ever test it? Same as getting them to let you handle their collar, handle their feet, take toys back. It's really just an extension of having them sit and wait for the ok to eat.


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## ceegee (Mar 26, 2015)

LoverofGoldens14 said:


> We got a golden puppy a few weeks ago. He’s now 12 weeks. Overall he has been great, very smart and lovable. However, we have noticed some aggressive behavior where he growls, barks, nips and circles you, trying to get you to play. It usually happens once a day. We’ve always taken it as him being a puppy and having a burst of energy, although it made us a little nervous because it’s out of character from his normal sweet behavior. We also have owned a golden previously, and don’t remember him ever seeming so aggressive.
> 
> It’s become a lot more frequent in the past week, which has also started to concern me. It’s almost like a switch goes off and he goes from a sweet lovable puppy to an aggressive one. But this morning he got a hold of a plastic water bottle, my husband let him chew it for a minute (our previous golden used to do this too so we thought it was okay for a supervised few minutes). When my husband tried to take it back, our puppy aggressively attacked my husband’s hand: growling and biting down so hard he made puncture wounds. Then he continued to aggressively growl, lunge, and attack at him, as he was trying to remove the bottle and him from the area (our kids were in the room). He’s never shown this resource guarding before. We purposely gently pet him while he eats, and he doesn’t even react. I’ve pulled countless rocks, socks, etc out of his mouth and he doesn’t even flinch. So the behavior was so out of character and scary.
> 
> ...


What you describe in your first paragraph is typical puppy play. I have a 12-year-old toy poodle who still plays in exactly this way. It's not aggression, it's just what dogs do.

The biting hard enough to make puncture wounds, if it was deliberate, needs to be addressed. This kind of behaviour in a puppy this young is usually an indication that the puppy hasn't realized the humans are in charge. That is a training failure. Teaching "sit" and "stay" and teaching how to be quiet in a crate is a good first step in the training process, but it's not "training" as such. Training is a system that establishes you as the element in the partnership that makes decisions, and the dog as the element that obeys. You don't say whether or not you've done formal training - group lessons at a good training school that teaches humans how to train dogs - but I suspect you haven't. This would be a great and inexpensive first step. 

Touching the dog while he's eating is fine if it's part of a system of training, but if it isn't - if you're doing this with a dog that hasn't yet understood who's in charge - it can actually create resource guarding behaviour by making the dog wary to an extent that he thinks he needs to take charge and push back.

It may well be, too, that you've inadvertently ended up with a puppy that is more assertive than average. This can sometimes happen when people choose their own puppy from the litter. A family with young children would normally need a puppy who's fairly laid back and easy-going. The behaviour you're describing is the opposite of that. Assertive puppies are good for working households, for people who will give them a job to do, but they are rarely a good choice for families with young children. It's why good breeders always insist on choosing which puppy from a litter goes to which family: so the pups end up in homes where they can thrive. Breeders spend 8 weeks full-time with the pups and are by far the best-placed to understand their personalities.

And please, don't roll this puppy onto his back as your breeder has suggested. That would be disastrous for all concerned.

Really, everything you describe sounds like what would happen if an assertive puppy is placed in a household that doesn't (yet) have the training system in place to deal with him. That's not a criticism of you. I'm sure you wouldn't have deliberately chosen to be in this position. However, there's plenty you can do to nip his bossy behaviour in the bud (again, please, no "alpha rolling"), and my advice would be to find a good training school (where the instructors compete in obedience, for example) and have them help you.

Best of luck, hope it works out.


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## Oceanside (Mar 29, 2021)

Hildae said:


> They don't develop issues if you don't given them a reason to.


In my mind, that’s like specifically not socializing a puppy to X and Y stimuli because they hopefully won’t encounter those stimuli. I have always been under the impression that doing things while eating, such as petting/touching or calling the puppy and handing them more food when they respond, was on most people’s puppy raising “checklists”.


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## JerseyChris (10 mo ago)

Oceanside said:


> I have always been under the impression that doing things while eating, such as petting/touching or calling the puppy and handing them more food when they respond, was on most people’s puppy raising “checklists”.


Although this is my first Golden I have been around dogs my entire life and have always made all of my dogs very aware that what I say goes when it comes to food, bones or treats. There is nothing that I can't take right out of my dogs mouth and he knows that. Not saying this is the correct way as I am not a dog trainer but have never had any of my dogs have any issues with resource guarding.


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## JulieCAinMA (Jun 19, 2020)

LoverofGoldens14 said:


> She said when he starts trying to provoke you that we should "knock him over the head and put him on his back."


That is the worst advice I’ve ever heard and from the breeder no less! I guess it tells you a lot about how your pup was treated during his 1st 8-weeks of life.
Do get a trainer to help guide you. Best of luck!


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## Hildae (Aug 15, 2012)

Oceanside said:


> In my mind, that’s like specifically not socializing a puppy to X and Y stimuli because they hopefully won’t encounter those stimuli. I have always been under the impression that doing things while eating, such as petting/touching or calling the puppy and handing them more food when they respond, was on most people’s puppy raising “checklists”.


Nope, definitely not everybody. We do not harass them or meddle with food and not one of them has ever had any issue with resource guarding because we didn't teach them that we might mess with or take their food at any time thus creating insecurities.


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## JerseyChris (10 mo ago)

Hildae said:


> Nope, definitely not everybody. We do not harass them or meddle with food and not one of them has ever had any issue with resource guarding because we didn't teach them that we might mess with or take their food at any time thus creating insecurities.


I certainly see your point for sure but I have always done the complete opposite with my current Dog. From when he was first brought home I would always teach him that his food was mine and I was the one that allowed him to eat and when to eat. I have found this most valuable when he was given treats like bully sticks so when they were getting smaller I would just take them right out of his mouth and never any issues. What would I do if I saw a treat, bone or anything that might cause a choke hazard to remove from a dogs mouth when that has never been done before? Not sure how comfortable I would be to try and remove a bone from an adult dog that has never had it done before?


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## pawsnpaca (Nov 11, 2014)

JerseyChris said:


> What would I do if I saw a treat, bone or anything that might cause a choke hazard to remove from a dogs mouth when that has never been done before? Not sure how comfortable I would be to try and remove a bone from an adult dog that has never had it done before?


All dogs should be trained to give up what they have when asked to. That is totally different from making them afraid that you might take their food away at any time. I have NEVER messed with my dogs' food (other than occasionally throwing in a supplement I forgot or something while they are eating). I've had 6 dogs and every single one of them would allow me to take what they had without a fuss (or if it was valuable enough for them to resist my taking it, I could absolutely remove whatever it was by force without worrying that my dog would bite me).

There are tons of articles and videos online about how to teach your dog to "give" or "trade" or "drop it" in kind ways that will address that particular concern. Of course, if your dog has already developed resource guarding behaviors, more caution may be in order and a whole different protocol may be necessary, but messing with his food when he's eating is NOT the way to address it!


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## sam34 (9 mo ago)

I have to ask the question... why is a dish of food more important to a dog than a chewy beef tendon it is ravishing on? Why should the dog not know it's ok that I pick up its food bowl mid-feeding to put a pill in it I forgot?


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## Zerpersande (9 mo ago)

SRW said:


> I do.


My first Golden I got at 6 months….from a pet shop…on a spur of the moment sort of thing. He turned out great. Wonderful dog. But as I was leaving the pet shop said he can get a bit excited at feeding time. First dog I ever had that had food aggression.

When I got my second Golden, Clooney, he came from a breeder at 8 weeks. From day one I fed him some of his food by hand, petted him while eating, moved his bowl, touched his food. So, yes, I mess with him while he’s eating. And he has no food aggression.


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## JerseyChris (10 mo ago)

pawsnpaca said:


> . Of course, if your dog has already developed resource guarding behaviors, more caution may be in order and a whole different protocol may be necessary, but messing with his food when he's eating is NOT the way to address it!


Well I certainly don't purposely try and mess with his food if I don't need to but certain times he can be picky eating so I have picked up his bowl and held it up while he eats. Probably not the best text book idea but if doing that helps him finish his food so be it. While we are on the subject of things that are probably not a good idea I also have been known to feed him off my fork too..


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## LauraBraun (4 mo ago)

LoverofGoldens14 said:


> We got a golden puppy a few weeks ago. He’s now 12 weeks. Overall he has been great, very smart and lovable. However, we have noticed some aggressive behavior where he growls, barks, nips and circles you, trying to get you to play. It usually happens once a day. We’ve always taken it as him being a puppy and having a burst of energy, although it made us a little nervous because it’s out of character from his normal sweet behavior. We also have owned a golden previously, and don’t remember him ever seeming so aggressive.
> 
> It’s become a lot more frequent in the past week, which has also started to concern me. It’s almost like a switch goes off and he goes from a sweet lovable puppy to an aggressive one. But this morning he got a hold of a plastic water bottle, my husband let him chew it for a minute (our previous golden used to do this too so we thought it was okay for a supervised few minutes). When my husband tried to take it back, our puppy aggressively attacked my husband’s hand: growling and biting down so hard he made puncture wounds. Then he continued to aggressively growl, lunge, and attack at him, as he was trying to remove the bottle and him from the area (our kids were in the room). He’s never shown this resource guarding before. We purposely gently pet him while he eats, and he doesn’t even react. I’ve pulled countless rocks, socks, etc out of his mouth and he doesn’t even flinch. So the behavior was so out of character and scary.
> 
> ...


I hope your husband was seen by a doctor to treat for infection. I have a few thoughts here and have been raising animals for over 25 years, including dogs. You let him have the bottle...and get attached to it as his possession, then took it away from him and he retaliated. How was the bottle taken away? Was it pulled on or yanked out of his mouth? Or, was the bottle held in place and the dog given a moment to decide to let go on his own? Vaccines and other shots / treatments / medications, including rabies, can have adverse reactions including in their brains. Did he have a rabies vaccination? Not knowing the breeding program he came from and how he was raised thus far, it's hard for me to give more advice except to say that he's a dog who has biten a human aggressively. It does not matter that he's a Golden because he's a dog than does not respect his owners. Your family is more important. My recommendation is to get a new puppy. Maybe the breeder you got him from can help you find a better home for him that does not have children. If you go this route, ensure that the new owners know the dog's bite history. Good luck.


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## Ada D (10 mo ago)

the magic number for us was 16 weeks. It was like a switch went off and she became a civilized dog lol.. She understood and obeyed the commands as if all of a sudden it made sense to her.. I too have scars. be consistent. sadly, I do miss her wild puppiness. We keep saying she is a big dog now..


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## BAMacc (9 mo ago)

Your situation sounds exactly like what we have been dealing with, from about 3 months. The positive is, that we are seeing improvements, at 6 1/2months. Our pup started resource guarding anything and everything he considered his (generally contraband, tissues stolen from pockets, socks, shoes, and anything he was deeply involved in, such as puzzle toys and also his food bowl, to name just a few things).
My husband too had a bite, that got infected and we too contacted the breeder, with the reaction, that the breeder had never had a resource guarding puppy before and we should contact a behavioral specialist. Contacting a behavioral specialist is good advice, but we are also not puppy novices. Our pup is definitely spirited! Not necessarily really high energy, more assertive.
We have interviewed some behavioral specialists and cannot decide on who to use. 
In the meantime I have been working with him in his training, a lot. As he was so defensive of his food bowl ( I couldn’t even pick it up when he’d finished eating), I stopped feeding him in a bowl. Instead literally fed him, kibble by kibble. At 3 meals a day then, portions were small so each training session took about 20 minutes. I had him work for every kibble, marking the positives, working on “leave its”, distance, stay, allowing him to offer good behavior. I would feed every kibble from my hand and as he understood the rules I’d put pieces of kibble on the floor, cover them with my hand, push pieces towards him, and eventually hold the bowl and allow him to eat from it. I’d never take the bowl away, unless it was empty. Then when empty I’d add more kibble and often a special high value something and he learned to move away and look to me to put more food in. It’s a process to be sure, but he now does not guard the bowl. Metal bowls work best, they are less likely to become chew toys, but best to pick up after every meal.

As far as other stuff he guarded, we played the “drop it” game. I’d retain the end of a toy or socks or other potential contraband and ask for a “drop it”. If he didn’t willingly I’d lure with a treat and immediately mark a drop and then reward with a treat or offer the item back. As he got better we could trade for another toy, but an emergency bag of high value treats always works. I too, was always able to take things out of his mouth early on, but I am sure he learned early that he would just lose the good stuff, so I had to condition him to thinking that if I ask for a “drop it”, something better is coming. It’s practice, practice, practice. We learned, he learned.
We have dog gates to keep him out of the body of the house and a 30” ex-pen attached to a crate to keep him out of mischief if I can’t supervise. He too started to climb the ex- pen, but soon got to heavy to do that and he stopped all by himself. We are seeing a huge improvement, although we have the odd instance where he will want to guard something. We have learned dog body language and can see when he’s getting anxious about losing something and so we never take anything away without either making it a game, or telling him “drop it”. The “leave it” and “drop it” commands have been invaluable”. 
His bite inhibition had got better. The more we played, the more he became gentle. I deliberately would put my hand in his mouth, in a controlled manner and tell him “no bite”. Also I taught him with treats, to tolerate me holding his nose on top, and jaw below, saying “show me” This allows me to inspect his teeth and if necessary take something out of his mouth.

This one has been a real handful. His guarding has been frightening, very unlike any Golden I have come across. He also chews anything and everything, nylabones, and kongs are the only toys that he hasn’t destroyed. However at 6 1/2 months he is vastly improved. I’m hoping he will continue to learn his manners 😁.

We may still seek help, but I’d say a lot of what we have been doing, behaviorists would do anyway, so anything you can do in the meantime will make everyone’s job easier.

A behaviorist will also advise on whether your puppy is likely to be safe around children. In the meantime make sure that your children know not to try and take anything away from puppy. Have an adult do it, in a controlled manner.


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## Hildae (Aug 15, 2012)

JerseyChris said:


> I certainly see your point for sure but I have always done the complete opposite with my current Dog. From when he was first brought home I would always teach him that his food was mine and I was the one that allowed him to eat and when to eat. I have found this most valuable when he was given treats like bully sticks so when they were getting smaller I would just take them right out of his mouth and never any issues. What would I do if I saw a treat, bone or anything that might cause a choke hazard to remove from a dogs mouth when that has never been done before? Not sure how comfortable I would be to try and remove a bone from an adult dog that has never had it done before?


My dogs will not only happily allow me to take something from them if need be, but they will, at my request, deliver it to my hand without question. This includes "wonderful" things like stinky dead ducks, favorite chews, toys, or the live rabbit one of them caught in the yard that was slightly soggy, but unharmed. They have no fear of giving me these things because I have never done anything to make them think I "own" their food etc. They just trust me. Obviously you can train how you want to train, and I'll do as I do, to be clear, I'm not making an attempt to sway you.


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## Zerpersande (9 mo ago)

JerseyChris said:


> Probably not the best text book idea …
> I also have been known to feed him off my fork too..


Forks are not text book either. I don’t go by text books. Ther are a lot of them out there. Ever hear of ‘Purely Positive’? My wife believes in the PP method. She does absolutely nothing to train our dog. Well, she does follow the ‘Never say ‘No’ edict of PP. The scratches and bruises all over her hands, arms, legs and ankles prove that. In fact, other that ‘appropriating’ the commands I went to the trouble to teach our digs, she has never trained and dog to do anything. 

But she knows which text book I should use. 🤪😜🙄🥴


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## JerseyChris (10 mo ago)

Hildae said:


> My dogs will not only happily allow me to take something from them if need be, but they will, at my request, deliver it to my hand without question. This includes "wonderful" things like stinky dead ducks, favorite chews, toys, or the live rabbit one of them caught in the yard that was slightly soggy, but unharmed. They have no fear of giving me these things because I have never done anything to make them think I "own" their food etc. They just trust me. Obviously you can train how you want to train, and I'll do as I do, to be clear, I'm not making an attempt to sway you.


One thing is that we are always learning from each other here and we can all share things that have worked well for us and our dogs. Being that my boy is my first Golden I always like to hear new and/or different ideas that has worked for other people. I think I must have gotten lucky with my boy since I have not had any issues with him thus far but that doesn't always mean none came come up either. I would like to say that he certainly trusts me as I am his person but both my wife and younger daughter can also take anything out of his mouth as well.


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