# 9 month old puppy jumping up and biting



## ilovegold (Jun 6, 2009)

We have a 9 month old golden puppy who recently started to show aggression to me, but not my husband. When our puppy gets in his "crazy" mode usually after a bath and towel dry or right before a meal, he gets zummies and then wants to jump on you, bite and he thinks he is just playing. However, his bites really hurt! My husband says no or grabs his scruff when he is not responding and immediately the puppy settles down and starts kissing your hand in foregiveness. However, when i do this it either makes him want to "play more" or it gets him upset and he gets even tougher with me. Sometimes, he will briefly stop and kiss me, but when I am ready to get walking with him again it starts up all over. We are trying to be consistent with the same actions and words, it just seems like the puppy has identified me as the pushover and my husband as the authority. Any advice? Turning and ignoring doesn't seem to work, because he will just nip me in the butt, believe it or not...

thanks


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## Jax's Mom (Oct 16, 2009)

I'm sorry, I know this habit can become annoying and frustrating. In the house, what works for us when company comes over is have them not give any attention to the pups until they stay down. No eye contact, nothing.....if they do jump up, push them off without looking at them and then they go sit in a chair and the dogs are usually calmer when they are sitting, and then get attention. I hope this helps.


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

1) Read this paper on punishment. This is written by the vets who specialize in behavior: 
http://www.avsabonline.org/avsabonl...Statements/Combined_Punishment_Statements.pdf
2) Your puppy doesn't know what to do when he is excited. We need to teach him that.
3) A good training class (http://www.avsabonline.org/avsabonl...sition_Statements/how to choose a trainer.pdf) is a GREAT place to start.
4) Think about prevention of mouthing/nipping rather than what to do when it happens. There are many aspects to prevention:
- Your puppy needs to be very good at a few behaviors. Response to name (turning when you call his name), Sit, and "leave it" are a great place to start. Again, basic training class and/or online/book references... go through it step by step.
- Note all the times when this is likely to happen. Come up with a plan for each. For the examples you gave:
* Baths: While one of you is toweling, the other can be feeding a steady stream of super small and tasty treats. 1/4" cubes of cheese or meat. After the bath, stick him in his crate or a quiet room with a kong (previously filled with canned food and then frozen) or a bully stick or whatever SUPER fun chew he's allowed to have. 
* Meal time: Get rid of the food bowl. Use food dispensing toys like: http://www.sitstay.com/dog/supplies/servlet/product_10001_10001_91904_-1_Kibble+Nibble_13251_13360_ Or feed meals through trainiing ("Call name!" dog turns. Feed a few kibbles. Repeat repeat repeat. ). 

And on walks...do a ton of training. Every 3-5 steps (literally!) stop. Ask for a sit. Or response to name. Feed a treat. Repeat. You won't be able to go as far, but your puppy will be tired and you will be preparing him for a life of polite walking.

Some puppies are really great if they can carry a toy on walks.

But get into class, teach your puppy some behaviors, and incorporate that into real life. 

When he DOES get silly mouthy...wait for a moment of still or letting go of you or the leash, and toss a handful of treats on the floor. As soon as those are eaten, feed one. Take a step. Feed one. Take a step. Feed one. And repeat until your puppy is calm enough to take 2-3 steps. Your goal is that this never has to happen. If this is happening more than once a week, we need to be even more careful that we are -preventing- the behavior.


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## nixietink (Apr 3, 2008)

ilovegold said:


> We have a 9 month old golden puppy who recently started to show aggression to me, but not my husband. When our puppy gets in his "crazy" mode usually after a bath and towel dry or right before a meal, he gets zummies and then wants to jump on you, bite and he thinks he is just playing. However, his bites really hurt! My husband says no or grabs his scruff when he is not responding and immediately the puppy settles down and starts kissing your hand in foregiveness. However, when i do this it either makes him want to "play more" or it gets him upset and he gets even tougher with me. Sometimes, he will briefly stop and kiss me, but when I am ready to get walking with him again it starts up all over. We are trying to be consistent with the same actions and words, it just seems like the puppy has identified me as the pushover and my husband as the authority. Any advice? Turning and ignoring doesn't seem to work, because he will just nip me in the butt, believe it or not...
> 
> thanks


I don't have much advice but did want to tell you that you are not alone. 

I have a 2.5 year old that still does this when he gets the zoomies. :curtain:
Except his nips are pretty soft and don't hurt at all.


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## nixietink (Apr 3, 2008)

RedDogs offered up some really great advice!


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## pwrstrk02 (Aug 11, 2010)

i would love to go into detail and tell you my way of dealing with this, but i would get stoned on this site. many think that it is too harsh, but i think they go a little over board and say im hurting the dog, i dont hurt my dogs, i make them uncomfortable.( knee to the chest, and grabbing the bottom jaw. both without emotion.)
:bricks1:


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## ilovegold (Jun 6, 2009)

Thank you all for your suggestions and for the empathy! I am glad that I am not the only one. I will do some research and start up on these tips to get all of us properly trained. Thanks again!


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## BrinkleyMom (Feb 8, 2013)

Did any of this advice work for you? Or did the pup grow out of this? I am currently going through the same thing but with her leash during walks.


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