# Don't know what to do



## rusty124 (Jun 30, 2009)

Tonight my 10 month old golden had a paper towel in his month. He did not want to give it up, would not open his mouth. All of a sudden he just bit me hard on the hand. He drew blood on 4 places on my hand. 

How do you deal with this? This is my fifth golden and never had one act like this. I'm afraid not to have him around my grand kids


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## Pilgrim123 (Jul 26, 2014)

One of the more useful things to teach a dog (especially a golden, who puts EVERYTHING in its mouth) is to trade. That way, they give you the object back, instead of you having to take it back by force. https://positively.com/dog-behavior/basic-cues/take-it-drop-it/ gives a overview of this.


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## rusty124 (Jun 30, 2009)

Merged with identical thread.


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## kellyguy (Mar 5, 2014)

rusty124 said:


> Tonight my 10 month old golden had a paper towel in his month. He did not want to give it up, would not open his mouth. All of a sudden he just bit me hard on the hand. He drew blood on 4 places on my hand.
> 
> How do you deal with this? This is my fifth golden and never had one act like this. I'm afraid not to have him around my grand kids


I think you have concerns over your dogs reactions rather than a temperament issue, but without expert assessment that is just a guess.
My dog Duffy will grab a kleenex or used paper towel from the trashcan and shred it from time to time for whatever reason. He will also snag a washcloth or dish towel and parade around with it so we will trade him out of it.
I have had a few instances where he had something that he didn't want to give it up and he would always try to hide his head away under a bed or under the dining room chairs and goad me into taking it from him. Most of the time he will drop it for the promise of a treat, and we don't have to resort to taking from him. We also have an urgent "drop it now" command that he has never failed to obey.
We have also repeatedly practiced opening his mouth and taking his prized rock or whatever bit of plastic he happens to be chewing on if he doesn't drop it to show us what he has. He has never even thought about snapping at us for doing that because we've trained him to allow us to do it from the time he was 8 weeks old so that it's not something that is new, startling or fearful for him. One of the key aspects of that would be that I always would take the item out of his mouth and then immediately lavish loving on him and even give the item back to him if it wasn't dangerous.
The only worry I have with him around children is that he'll knock them over with his over exuberant tail wagging.
I would suggest a consult with a behaviorist to rule out temperament issues, and to give you tips on how to get to where you don't have doubts.


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## danoon58 (Jul 1, 2015)

I would second the teaching trade as Pilgrim123 suggested. We started when Seamus was little and, to this day, if we say "trade" he drops whatever he has in his mouth to get a treat/toy. Use a high value treat when you are first starting out. And yes, lavish praise on him when he trades!


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## Gleepers (Apr 20, 2016)

I third the advise of teaching "trade"
I've got an 18mo old certified cleptomaniac. Trading is a daily occurrence around here. Not many items she won't give up. Though I have had to occasionally raid the fridge for better trade treats.


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

I fourth the trading. Make sure you have high-value treats, and use the opportunity to teach and enforce "drop it."


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I fifth the trading. The only "downside" is that now Kaizer repeatedly steals my stuff and brings it to me for treats!


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## Ginams (Jan 20, 2015)

aesthetic said:


> I fifth the trading. The only "downside" is that now Kaizer repeatedly steals my stuff and brings it to me for treats!


Ha! Storm does the same thing! She loves to nab stuffed animals off my son's bed, prance into the living room, drop the stuffed animal and look toward where the treats are at. 

I am another vote for teaching "drop it." Even though Storm does the above, whenever she has an item we need her to drop, a simple drop it = treat and I don't have to grab her or the item out of her mouth. We practice "drop it" with both Storm and Rey constantly.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Another vote for trade...

However. 

I will throw this in there.

You should be able to take whatever is in your dog's mouth OUT of his mouth without a trade. At a moment's notice, you should be able to do so. And also, you might not have anything to "trade" at a moment.

That is when you should absolutely train your dog to deal with you opening his mouth, handling his mouth, taking things out of his mouth (pretending to look at them) and giving those things back.

It's not an "aggressive" move on your part. But it needs to be firm and no-nonsense. 

If I had a dog who growls or even "thinks" about snapping - I would deliver a correction, depending on how serious the infraction.

Some people are idiots about their dogs and they create the situations they have later - particular with dogs learning that if they growl or fake-snap at their owners, they will get their way. 

You can work hard to avoid those situations and absolutely try to aim at your dog always being successful and never "Testing" your dog. 

But push comes to shove - dog training does include you needing to be the boss. 

The corrections, reaching into the dog's mouth, etc... all this should only be done by you the trainer. Or somebody the dog both trusts and respects.

There are members of the household in many cases who are seen as littermates.... children especially. You should drill it into your grandkids' heads how to behave around your dog. If your dog has anything in his mouth, the grandkids need to be taught not to approach him but come find you.


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## Charliethree (Jul 18, 2010)

rusty124 said:


> Tonight my 10 month old golden had a paper towel in his month. He did not want to give it up, would not open his mouth. All of a sudden he just bit me hard on the hand. He drew blood on 4 places on my hand.
> 
> How do you deal with this? This is my fifth golden and never had one act like this. I'm afraid not to have him around my grand kids


Do yourself, your dog, and your grand kids a big favor and get professional, certified reward based trainer help! Preferably someone with a solid foundation and understanding of dog behavior, someone who will help you to understand what went wrong and 'why' your dog felt forced to bite (It is not about 'who is boss'.) and how to work appropriately and safely with him. 

Absolutely - teach him to 'Trade' - help him learn to trust that you will not steal from him.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

I firmly believe that dogs have different personalities and temperaments and what works well with one may not work as well with another. I am curious - are you enrolled in obedience classes with him? Do you work with him on leash every day going through his commands for drill and learning new ones? Has he ever guarded anything before or given you any reason to think this would be an issue? This probably didn't happen clear out of the blue, right? 

I hope you will consider getting a professional to help you with this, not just any trainer is a good fit for this type of problem. Here is a link to someone who is educated: Member Directory « ACVB

This will not be cheap, but I'd say you're in pretty serious territory with a dog who will draw blood over a paper towel. I would look at it as an investment in your puppy's future. He is young enough to be worked with as you've had people mention above. 

I also suggest you look up a protocol for managing your puppy called "Nothing In Life Is Free". It was recommended to me by a CVB at NCState and is helpful for reminding your dog that you are the one in charge of the resources and you are the leader. Here's a link with a good explanation. Your dog is in the "teenage/hormonal" phase and it sounds like he's gotten a little big for his britches. Making sure that he drags a leash when he's free in the house will enable you to control him and enforce any commands you give him. If you tell him to get off the couch or move from a doorway, give him the command one time and if he doesn't comply, immediately take the leash and move him. Work with him daily on obedience. These are things you can do until you can get an appointment with a certified behaviorist.

My last point will be regarding your grandchildren. Any guest in your home, but especially children needs to be very clear about the rules with your dog. NO ONE takes anything from the dog. Period. If they aren't old enough to remember the rules, then I strongly suggest the dog isn't allowed free run of the house while the children are under your roof. It's not worth the risk. Crate or baby gate him. Set him up for success by making sure that your house has lids on trash cans, tempting things aren't left out and any thing he might guard like a bone or special toy isn't available. 

I hope that you will update us on this. The fact that he drew blood is extremely serious. I'm sorry for your upset, this is not what you were expecting I'm sure.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Somewhat connected... this evening had something happen here at my house. 

My sister's family is visiting - so I had my 9 month old niece in my arms and sitting in our living room when my Bertie came flying in to the room and ducked behind my chair.

I knew he had something he shouldn't, because of the ducking behind the chair behavior + I heard a crunch in his mouth. 

I called him out to show me what he had...

Because he is a trained dog, this meant he came out immediately and spit out the treasure he had. 

It was part of a chicken carcass from the kitchen. Had all kinds of fine and sharp bones sticking out. 

And keep in mind this was a cooked chicken so it could have caused big problems if he ate it. 

Having a dog raised and trained to not only trust but also respect me and my hands means I reached down to pick up the chicken and walked out into the kitchen (carrying my niece the whole way) to throw the chicken into the garbage and give Bertie leftovers.

This is what trade becomes with training. 

You are not always going to be rewarding a dog with higher value rewards. And as I said before, you need to be able to take anything out of your dog's mouth that very moment without any fuss. This means prying the mouth open and taking whatever out. 

Preferably - you started a lot of training early on... teaching "leave it". Teaching "spit" or "give". And teaching trade. Raising your dog to know that you will always be fair. It even means delivering fair corrections when the dog crosses a line. 


And... no, I do not consider this an issue that requires a behaviorist. 

I think dogs who have worse issues than testing the boundaries in their homes should see a behaviorist. And honestly, that's more along the lines of dogs who are suddenly aggressive, having rage attacks (ala something that may be related to seizures)... dogs with extreme anxiety... among else. 

Dogs who are growling or snapping at the owners while resource guarding. These are behaviors which honestly experienced trainers can help sort out. Somebody who knows and loves this breed especially. 

And I'd look into getting into dog training classes and giving this dog a job. Dog training towards a purpose, among else... builds a bond between the dog and owner. It also helps sort out the relationship between the dog and the owner - helps the dog trust and respect the owner (ie know that the owner is the boss or leader) so these kinds of things do not happen anymore. 

And I wouldn't confuse the dog by having multiple people training him. There has to be one person going to all classes and training at home. And this is the same person who will be stepping and telling the dog to behave himself in the house. 

I'm saying all this as somebody who many years ago had a dog not only draw blood but cause my older sister to need stitches the same day he snapped at my baby sister (who was then between 3 and 6 years old) and drew blood (and scarred her back and leg). All of this was over reynolds wrap with the incident with the older sister. I believe it was a potholder with my baby sister. 

We did not take this dog to a behaviorist. But we did seriously discuss the problems with the teacher at the obedience classes - who DID do special house calls to problem solve dogs like this. The answer was changing a lot of stuff in the household, including introduce trade games and my sister really bumping up the exercise and training every day. 

This dog never had another bite occur. And this was a dog who could deal with us reaching into his mouth and taking anything away if need be. 

And I said - there are times when trading alone is not going to work. If your dog has a chicken bone or pork chop bone in mouth that is going down his throat - you have to be able to pry your dog's mouth open and reach down his throat to retrieve that bone without any fear of being bit. 

Part of this is the dog trusting you not to hurt him + knowing there is going to be a reward.

And part of it is the dog respecting you, and knowing you will not be cruel or unfair. 

I would put a lot of focus on getting a better relationship with your dog. And you can get that by upping the dog training and really putting the time into getting that dog so he idolizes you and the time spent with you is the best time.


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## FosterGolden (Mar 10, 2014)

I think you should get professional help. For a dog to bite over a paper towel means that you, the owner, need help. It means that you did not teach the dog trade, drop it, leave it, etc. or you taught it in a manner in which the dog has become defensive or whatever you did try to do did not work for this dog. Not because you are bad, but because perhaps you didn't know better due to lack of experience or maybe this dog is different than what you are accustomed to. And now you need to not only learn better ways of dealing with this type of behavior, but you also need to undo what's been done. 

If resource guarding is not the number one reason why pet dogs are euthanized for behavior issues, I'm willing to bet it's in the top three. It can turn into a big deal and once a dog has bitten, rescues and shelters cannot take them. Even if they could take them in and adopt them out, it's really hard to find a Golden pet home who has experience with behavior issues because people who are into Goldens just are not typically that great at this stuff because it's really the opposite of why they get into Goldens, and if they are experienced, it was traumatic because they got their Golden hoping for the opposite of what they had. There are rescues who won't take in Goldens with aggression issues because it's less safe than a different breed with issues. One example is when you are walking your Golden and parents send their kids off to hug them because Goldens are such great family dogs. No parent is going to do that with a Doberman. I have a yellow Lab and the issues I have with people are at least ten times higher than with my black Lab who is actually more into people and kids. 

Unless you are an experienced pet dog trainer (which I am guessing you are not, hence your message on this board) then getting help is very important. I think it's important to see the dog. While some people are saying "be the boss" your dog might have bitten because he was scared or defensive and being "the boss" may make it worse. Plus, "being the boss" means different things to different people; there is so much room for error and assumptions. Or maybe your dog is not a team player and could not care less about trading you for food. Then what? Someone really needs to see the dog, the dog's temperament, your training style, how you and the dog interact, etc. before they can give you sound advice based on a hand's on assessment. And, again, this is important especially because your dog has already bitten. 

Good luck!


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## Gleepers (Apr 20, 2016)

aesthetic said:


> I fifth the trading. The only "downside" is that now Kaizer repeatedly steals my stuff and brings it to me for treats!


Penny does this with ROCKS!!!


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## jennretz (Jul 24, 2013)

When I started fostering, we focused a lot about trading and resource guarding. I did not realize that paper (towels, tissue, napkins, etc) are often a highly valued prize. Because people don't think like dogs, we underestimate what a napkin means to the dog and try to pry it out of their mouths. And then we get bit. Because the dog drew blood in several spots, it means the dog meant business. I agree with the folks who recommended working with a positive based trainer who is experienced with this.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Good luck!

But again - I very very much suggest looking around for a dog training club with experienced trainers who KNOW the breed. Start doing classes and getting involved with some sport. Or if not you, then another member of your family. 

Giving a dog a JOB to do + really working every day on training forms a bond like none other. And a lot of the stuff that people complain about with their dogs who are ditzing around at home with no particular training goes away. 

With a young dog - resource guarding is both them figuring out what they can do or not do... it also is an insecurity thing. A dog who feels like every word coming from your mouth is "no" and you are snatching everything away from them. 

Dog training builds your dog's confidence and security. 

When a dog is really bonded with their owner and really depends on them - you don't have the snarky-snappy kinds of behaviors. You get there by putting all the time into training your dog and going out to classes and training in public where people can work closely with you to keep you from being too flimsy/whiny with your dog or too heavy handed.

Around the time that my older sister was assisting with teaching classes, she had looked out the window where she worked (she had a day job, the dog classes were evening volunteer stuff for open floor privileges)... and she saw an old guy walking a golden retriever. The instant the golden pulled, the old guy literally yanked and yanked and yanked at the dog and screaming at him until the dog was practically curling up into the fetal position. <= That was horrific for my sister... and it is not any kind of dog training that you will learn at any club or private facility which uses corrections. No correction should be abusive. 

There's people out there who will tag team on any discussion involving behavioral issues and handling them with training... and they will heavily recommend positive only training, from the viewpoint that they believe that all dog training is what my sister witnessed with horror years ago. 

Even the harshest trainer I know of who has gotten the "cruel" label from some people because she believes in ear pinches and side pinches with the dogs, even she will never ever have people yanking and yanking and beating on dogs in anger. 

There are no dog trainers out there who would recommend you use such cruelty when training your dog.

The bigger issue when looking for a trainer is primarily finding somebody who is not going to sell you a prepackaged program that they apply to all dogs. Or somebody who is going to tell you that your dog is behaving the way he is because he's jealous of your new car or something ridiculous like that. You want to go with somebody who knows how to pinpoint all the issues that need to be corrected, including in your home and your handling of your dog. 

I'm personally anti using crates to correct dogs - primarily because the first ever dog trainer we took classes with, kept her dogs in crates all the time. These were very unhappy dogs. Crates were used as cages to stow the dogs when they were not being used. They were also places of punishment if a dog misbehaved. The dogs would literally get thrown in there...

It took my family a very long time to get around to using crates just because we had trained with somebody who made them so very negative for the dogs. 

Anyway. Good luck!


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## Sandyy706 (Aug 21, 2017)

My puppy was 8 weeks old when he got bit by a pitbull and fractured his lower jaw. I only had him for a day prior to the attack so the whole aspect of targeting appropriate behavior through positive reinforcement, crate training, and socialization went out the window.. Due to this horrific incident, my puppy did not get to experience much, which has led to poor socialization skills. He is currently enrolled in a beginners' puppy training class and on the first day of class, he eventually warmed up to most of the puppies in that class. Unfortunately, the second day of class did not go as well as I expected it to. He was still "checking," the same group of puppies as if it was his first time meeting them.
So my question is, what can I do to help boost his confidence up and to provide him with, as many positive experiences with other puppies/dogs before I miss the critical socialization period (8-16 weeks)? Also, he turned 15 weeks old today but his class is not meeting this week and will continue next week. I've read that up to 16 weeks of age is the duration of a young pup' she critical socialization period.
Additionally, he is 7 weeks post-op from the jaw fracture and is going in for his final check-up tomorrow. My puppy was to remain on a soft diet with absolutely no biting for the first 3.5 weeks. Then, he was allowed to chew on ONLY soft toys, while remaining on a soft diet, up until now.
At the moment, his health is my first priority, then guiding him to build up his self-confidence.. I am heartbroken about his situation but I hoping that he can come back from this without any permanent damages that cannot be reversed. Any suggestions on socializing my little boy would be much appreciated. Thank you!


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## Pilgrim123 (Jul 26, 2014)

I think you might be better to start a new thread for your problem with socialization. Please do not think everything is lost if you don't make as much progress as you'd like in the next few weeks. Although I agree the first 16 weeks are important, many dogs have had far worse starts than yours and, with love and patience, have turned out to be great dogs. 
My suggestion would be to introduce your pup to a quiet, reliable dog at first and work up - slowly - from there. Do any of your friends have a dog that would fit the bill?


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## Ken Demming (Aug 30, 2017)

Not knowing your dog or your training ability I would recommend that you get professional assistance. This might help. Choosing a Dog Trainer : The Humane Society of the United States

I caution you about using the trading method if you are not familiar with it. It should be used to teach the Take and Drop commands. You do not want to end up with the dog only dropping something in exchange for something else.


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