# Puppy biting out of control...does it ever end?



## mrsamylhurt (Jan 26, 2015)

My baby Emma is 9.5 weeks and has the typical Golden puppy biting. To me, it is pretty bad. I can't really hold her or pet her without her biting me. She attacks my hands, my arms, my legs etc..I have to watch her around our kids 24/7 because she likes to nip their ankles and legs. I I've tried so many things, yelping, growling, saying no quietly, no loudly, Ignoring her, putting her in time out....it all just seems to make her madder. I have even resorted to the can and coins...she just bites that. I know it is a phase and I'm waiting in out but I need some encouragement that it can get better. Right now it feels like it is going to last forever and I just want to love on my baby. I also am wondering if there is a chance that this biting could turn into aggression? I don't want to heckle her or be too hard on her but I also don't want to encourage bad behavior. She can't do training classes yet because she isn't fully vaccinated. My area only has the pet smart training classes and the parvo risk is too high. So please, share your stories and advice


----------



## mrsamylhurt (Jan 26, 2015)

This week alone.


----------



## mrsamylhurt (Jan 26, 2015)

My pretty baby.


----------



## Bwilson (Mar 25, 2014)

Emma looks like an adorable spunky girl. It will get better with time and patients. This phase I kept River on a short leather lead so I could have her with me all the time or to help me redirect her from terrorizing my daughter. Keep plenty of toys on hand to help redirect her to chew on those. Teach the kids anytime she tries to herd or nip at them to say ah ah and giver her a toy instead. Keep yummy treats in your pocket and put her in a sit or a down. We did smearing of peanut butter on our hands and told her good kiss. To help drain some energy we got River a bubble blowing machine which she loved playing with our 2 yr old and tired them both out. Is there any vaccinated dogs you know she can play with?


----------



## mrsamylhurt (Jan 26, 2015)

Oh the toys we have bought! Lol. I've spent so much money on her. She has several types of nylabones, Kong with stuffing, tennis balls, stuffed animals, bully sticks...you name is, she's got it. The redirect works for a moment but shed rather bite me. We have two other dogs (older) too that she plays with but they tire of her quickly because she's too rowdy for them.


----------



## mrsamylhurt (Jan 26, 2015)

Bwilson said:


> Emma looks like an adorable spunky girl. It will get better with time and patients. This phase I kept River on a short leather lead so I could have her with me all the time or to help me redirect her from terrorizing my daughter. Keep plenty of toys on hand to help redirect her to chew on those. Teach the kids anytime she tries to herd or nip at them to say ah ah and giver her a toy instead. Keep yummy treats in your pocket and put her in a sit or a down. We did smearing of peanut butter on our hands and told her good kiss. To help drain some energy we got River a bubble blowing machine which she loved playing with our 2 yr old and tired them both out. Is there any vaccinated dogs you know she can play with?


I've not considered tethering her. She is not loving the leash so far, she's tolerating it. She doesn't like to come inside and will fight me to stay outside. I'm sure she will get it in time but she's very pigheaded.I love her to death, it just kills me that I can't play with her. Everytime I try, she would rather bite me. If I ignore her, it is sneak attack time. I have to pry my arm out if her sweet, little demon mouth. Ive got bleeding scratches all over me....whew.


----------



## Lise123 (Jan 1, 2014)

It WILL get better! Although it may get a little worse once teething starts in earnest. Sounds like you have lots of distracting toys, but remember, if she gets too annoying with the biting and she won't be redirected, you can simply give her a time out. Do you have an x-pen or a puppy-safe area of confinement? 

My puppy got a lot of time outs, once teething started and I became his favorite chew toy. He hated it, and that helped him figure out not to chew on me. It wasn't an overnight process. I wore snow pants indoors to protect my legs from his puppy teeth.

Other chewing favorite for us: frozen tennis balls, frozen carrots, ice in the water bowl, and frozen bananas in a Kong.

Hang in there. It will pass, even though it doesn't feel like it will! Your puppy is super cute and she loves you.


----------



## Loukia (Sep 20, 2014)

I agree with the posts above. It will get better, but it may get a bit worse first. I feel like Comet's biting peaked at about 16 weeks and then gradually got better with each passing day. He was very, very sharky! My friend who has had 14 dogs over the years told me I have the mouthiest puppy she's ever seen. (It made me feel awful, even though it wasn't her intention. She also never had a Golden, so this forum helped keep me from feeling completely hopeless.)

He's 7.5 months now and is still quite mouthy, but now it's very rare that he ever bites hard enough to hurt. He gets excited and mouths us now, so that's what we're working on. The only benefit to a mouthy puppy is that you have many opportunities to solidify bit inhibition. And all Comet's biting in the past has helped him learn not to bit too hard... my arm and ankle cuts and bruises no longer exist. His bites now stem from love and excitement. And now I can replace my hand with a toy and he'll gladly accept the exchange.

I have a 5 and 8 year old, so I can sympathize with your challenges in protecting the kids. Comet was particularly interested in biting my son for some reason. If you search my posts you can read through my whole challenge with that (we've moved past it... thank goodness)!

A few things that helped in Comet's situation:


We kept him on a leather leash ALL the time. If your puppy isn't keen on the leash, he'll get used to it pretty fast if he's always on it and there often isn't someone at the other end. I let Comet drag it around ALL the time so that I could always catch him or step on it if he went after someone. If a leash is out of the question because your pup simply can't tolerate it, a 6" leather pull tab could work as well (Leerburg | Leather Pull Tab). It will give you something to grab or guide him with on short notice. As I mentioned above, Comet is almost 8 months and he just graduated to his leather pull tab two weeks ago. Up until then he dragged a leash around the house when ever we were around.
Try to note if there are certain times of the day that your puppy is particularly sharky. This will give you the opportunity to problem solve ahead of time, instead of in the midst of the challenging moment. For Comet it was first thing in the morning (when I was trying to get my kids off to school) and then again around dinner time. In the morning, I felt badly about waking him up and putting him back in his crate, but tethering him to me simply didn't work and just meant he attacked my legs instead of my kids. So, while we went through his really biting stage, I would take him outside to potty and then place him back in his crate with his morning kibble. This kept him busy while I got the kids off to school. After the kids were off, I would let Comet out and give him some exercise. If tethering works, by all means that's a great option. I do this sometimes when I'm getting my kids breakfast because Comet tries to steel the food right off of their plates. If he's attached to me, he can't.
I noticed that Comet was particularly sharky when he was tired. I felt like 75% of the time, if I got him to his crate he would be asleep within minutes. The other 25% of the time was in the morning right after he had woken up - almost like it was a result of pent up energy.
The minute he started to bite us, I would quietly walk him (he was always on a leash, so sometimes I had to pull him a bit) to his crate, put him in and walk away. Less is more - you don't need to say anything. As they say, you don't want the crate to be a punishment, but if you're relaxed and calm and just place your pup inside, it's not a punishment, it's a break. This was my go-to response and it actually took the pressure off because I wasn't left feeling completely frustrated because I knew the plan - biting = crate. When Comet would bite, I would walk him to his crate without speaking, put him in and walk away. He didn't get to come out until he settled down or woke back up from a nap.
My daughter yelped and for her, this worked every time. I think she was our only family member who could yelp in a high pitched voice to mimic that of a real puppy. The rest of us tried and weren't as successful.
I carried a bully stick or other chewy toy around in my back pocket and always tried to stick it in his mouth when he tried to bite people. This really didn't work very well in the beginning. He often bit right around the toy to get to flesh. In those instances I would give him another chance and if he didn't take the toy, it was off to his crate. I kept at it though and eventually he would end up taking the toy about 50% of the time and the other 50% of the time he went in his crate. This method works really well now and I'm working on "go get your toy" as a command. It's been going well. When he's really feeling feisty, I say "go get your toy" and then when he does I say "shake it!" and he's whip it all around. It gets some of that pent up energy out and often keeps him from biting us all together (just something to tuck away for the future - I didn't start working on this until a few weeks ago).
Hang in there. It will DEFINITELY get better! I remember feeling a bit hopeless at the time and my husband was pretty sure we had an aggressive, defective puppy. I had those quiet thoughts of "what have I done? Are ALL Goldens like this or do I have a devil puppy?"... but just keep being consistent, have realistic expectations (which means, know your puppy is going to keep biting and needs your guidance), and know that if you're being consistent, the information does get through a little each time and you will start seeing results... it will just take time and you may not see results for another couple of months. And, if you have questions, post them on the forum. There are so many helpful people that will gladly give you advice, ideas, suggestions, etc.


----------



## thomas&betts (May 13, 2014)

Sorry I don't have any good news for the immediate future, but I can tell you my 9 month old little girl went from biting and scratching every chance she got, to the sweetest mouthing that you could look forward to every day. In fact right now she's laying beside me in bed sticking her nose in my ear. You will one day look forward to that attention.


----------



## mrsamylhurt (Jan 26, 2015)

Lise123 said:


> It WILL get better! Although it may get a little worse once teething starts in earnest. Sounds like you have lots of distracting toys, but remember, if she gets too annoying with the biting and she won't be redirected, you can simply give her a time out. Do you have an x-pen or a puppy-safe area of confinement?
> 
> My puppy got a lot of time outs, once teething started and I became his favorite chew toy. He hated it, and that helped him figure out not to chew on me. It wasn't an overnight process. I wore snow pants indoors to protect my legs from his puppy teeth.
> 
> ...


I have a puppy safe area but she just comes out like a bat out of hell after timeout. She's very....spirited! Ha. She picks on me the moat so maybe that means that one day she will love me the most.


----------



## Anele (Dec 12, 2014)

Oooh! I can relate, but I will add to the hope of others!

Loukia gave you such a great detailed list! 

We brought him our pup at 9 weeks (he's 11.5 now) and one of my children had her hopes and dreams of a snuggly puppy dashed to the ground. Like you, we could NOT pet him EVER without it immediately turning into a serious nipping/biting session. So disappointing compared to what others hear have said-- puppies cuddling in laps was not something we were experiencing at all!

The biting/nipping is also very different when young children are in the picture. Safety is #1. 

So, here is what we did:
(1) We never, ever, ever say "no" or correct him in any way_. _Instead, we redirect. The only way he is "punished" is via the _absence_ of a treat or praise. 
(2) He gets almost all of his food directly from our hands. We use puzzle balls for some kibble (only some!) and Kongs for fun, but just about every bit of food he gets is directly from us. 
(3) We walk around with food on us ALL THE TIME. When we pet him, he gets treated. When he has something he shouldn't, we "trade" (with the word "give"). When we catch him doing something good, treat!

In just the few weeks we have had him, it has made a tremendous difference. He will generally only go after our clothing (not skin) now, and like Loukia said, the times where he is super nippy mean either (1) potty time or (2) go to bed! 

Let me tell you-- he is turning into a bombproof dog. I had my 3 and 5 y.o. play "vet" on him today and he gave zero calming signals. He was 100% focused on the food I gave him while they did it, and they could do just about anything to him (gently and always with treats).

My friend, who is a vet, came over to meet him today. She could not believe how calm he was. I taught him yesterday (via the clicker) that when he is lying down with his face on the ground, he gets a treat. (I don't use a signal or word of any sort for this-- right now he is just learning.) Well, he has been doing it ALL DAY! I can't believe it. So, when he lies like that, he is very calm. Start with the lying down position (lure with food from sit into lying down), and use a treat to lure him into lying while looking at his tail, head on the floor. We are also working on him going to his mat-- another calm place.

Now, would I trust him without food? NO WAY. He is getting much better quickly, but I never know how long. The food is helping because (1) he loves, loves, loves hands and (2) this will help prevent resource guarding . . .he knows only good things come from us . . .we always trade "up," so he doesn't have to worry about protecting his "stuff."

So:
(1) don't correct-- redirect
(2) give food, food, food (teeny pieces will work!) all the time, but esp. when your kids are petting him or around
(3) start clicker training (it is so nice as a mom not to have to use my voice!) 

And crazy as it sounds, I am already looking back at his first and 2nd week with nostalgia, even with all of his biting!

ETA: Oh, and I always wear long sleeves! It's like -20 below here (with the windchill) so it makes sense anyway . . .


----------



## mrsamylhurt (Jan 26, 2015)

thomas&betts said:


> Sorry I don't have any good news for the immediate future, but I can tell you my 9 month old little girl went from biting and scratching every chance she got, to the sweetest mouthing that you could look forward to every day. In fact right now she's laying beside me in bed sticking her nose in my ear. You will one day look forward to that attention.


Thanks. I just want to snuggle with the little shark.


----------



## mrsamylhurt (Jan 26, 2015)

Anele said:


> Oooh! I can relate, but I will add to the hope of others!
> 
> Loukia gave you such a great detailed list!
> 
> ...


All very good advice, I haven't heard some of this which is good since I am over researching everything. I am taking notes. I know very little about clicker training. I have taught her to "sit" and "down" using regular little training treats.


----------



## Susan: w/ Summit we climb (Jun 12, 2014)

Keeping a short leash on him is a good idea so that he is accustomed to it, but I would try very hard to avoid pulling him on a leash, or letting him pull you either. Goldens are champion leash-pullers. You want him to learn that leashes stay loose. I just pick the puppy up and move him when necessary.


----------



## mrsamylhurt (Jan 26, 2015)

Loukia said:


> I agree with the posts above. It will get better, but it may get a bit worse first. I feel like Comet's biting peaked at about 16 weeks and then gradually got better with each passing day. He was very, very sharky! My friend who has had 14 dogs over the years told me I have the mouthiest puppy she's ever seen. (It made me feel awful, even though it wasn't her intention. She also never had a Golden, so this forum helped keep me from feeling completely hopeless.)
> 
> He's 7.5 months now and is still quite mouthy, but now it's very rare that he ever bites hard enough to hurt. He gets excited and mouths us now, so that's what we're working on. The only benefit to a mouthy puppy is that you have many opportunities to solidify bit inhibition. And all Comet's biting in the past has helped him learn not to bit too hard... my arm and ankle cuts and bruises no longer exist. His bites now stem from love and excitement. And now I can replace my hand with a toy and he'll gladly accept the exchange.
> 
> ...


Thank you. I have a crate but she hates it so I haven't used it for time outs. Lord, I'm scared she would be in it 24/7. She's such a little shark! I just love her to pieces. I bought several types of bully sticks, nylabones, toys and she just goes past them to bite me. Any type of yelling or yelping or saying No!, does absolutely nothing. She just gets more mad or excited. So I was just walking away. Or sitting on the couch where she couldn't reach me. But now at 10 weeks, the little monster can get on the couch by herself and just chases me. So is a more consistent time out/away the best way to go?


----------



## mrsamylhurt (Jan 26, 2015)

I love her so.


----------



## mrsamylhurt (Jan 26, 2015)

Susan: w/ Summit we climb said:


> Keeping a short leash on him is a good idea so that he is accustomed to it, but I would try very hard to avoid pulling him on a leash, or letting him pull you either. Goldens are champion leash-pullers. You want him to learn that leashes stay loose. I just pick the puppy up and move him when necessary.


I currently have her on a harness so she won't pull, she wasn't making any headway with loose leash walking on a regular lead and collar.


----------



## Jhale0612 (Dec 25, 2014)

*9 week old golden puppy*

Hello! I am finding this thread so useful as we have a puppy that is just over 8 weeks- almost 9. We actually got her at 7 weeks and now after reading up on it I am feeling like that was a little on the early side. Her name is Tilly.

Some backstory on us- we had a Chow mix we got from the local pound at 12 weeks old and she developed severe aggression- never towards us, but others. She could open doors and she got out and bit a neighbor child. She had medical problems and the vets and trainers and rescues we spoke to told us it was neurological- that there was nothing anyone could have done to help her. We did board and train and spent hours with multiple trainers with her when she was a puppy. She barely teethed, never barked and was generally very calm. We are active and know that a "tired puppy is a happy puppy" so we kept her well exercised. Anyway, we had to put her to sleep after she bit our neighbor's son last year. She opened the back door and just bit him as he was walking by. It was awful. I loved (still love her) so much and miss her, despite what happened. We had her a little over 5 years. She got markedly worse the last year, wouldn't tolerate her crate, developed incontinence, things like that. 

So we did research, we liked that our last dog didn't bark a lot, we wanted a dog that would retrieve and swim, and be active with us and adaptable with our family as we would like to have another child in the future. We settled on a Golden and every one I meet out walking just seems to confirm that decision. 

I did read that Golden's are big time chewers, and this forum is so reassuring. The thing that I am worried about is when we tell her No, or push her away she seems to lunge at us. Sometimes when i push her away (gently, while saying no) she pulls her gums back and looks like she is showing her teeth, then she just lunges right back at my arm or whatever it is she is going after. Should I be concerned? Is this normal or are we doing something wrong? I really enjoyed the post on this thread about positive reinforcement, and will be doing those things. She seems to have a dominant personality, so I am wondering how to teach her that i am the boss without making her want to challenge me? Or stress her out so that she becomes aggressive? Its hard not to think that with our last dog we did something wrong. Our vets and the trainers say no, but its always in the back of my mind. I feel like i second guess everything and read into everything.

Thanks in advance!


----------



## Jhale0612 (Dec 25, 2014)

Oh, another question, I thought that the crate wasn't supposed to be used for time-outs? Like if I use it as a place for punishment that she wont ever want to go in there? Is that right or wrong? Should I create a second place for time outs?


----------



## Anele (Dec 12, 2014)

Jhale0612 said:


> The thing that I am worried about is when we tell her No, or push her away she seems to lunge at us. Sometimes when i push her away (gently, while saying no) she pulls her gums back and looks like she is showing her teeth, then she just lunges right back at my arm or whatever it is she is going after.


I am so sorry for what you went through with your Chow! Oh my goodness.  

Put the idea of dominance out of your mind. Your dog DOES manipulate you, but so does every other creature who has contact with you . . .loved ones, co-workers, etc. We all want something from someone, right? That doesn't make us bad or dominant-- it makes us alive.

Stick to positive training only. It comes down to prevention, management, redirection, and showing your pup that there are BETTER options than what she's doing (or keeping her from getting into problems in the first place).

Remember-- she DOES NOT speak English. She does not speak human. She is confused by what you want when she lunges. She senses you are angry, she is upset, she doesn't know what to do. "NO" is not a command. It helps her learn only what she shouldn't do-- but she's a baby. What should she do? Pushing her away will only scare her and rile her up. You have to teach her, just like you teach a little child. We don't teach children by telling them how wrong they are all the time . . .they would give up and shut down. The world is new, scary, and exciting all at once. We have to help them navigate through it and learn that it is safe and good. That is our #1 job-- then (unless there are underlying issues) the dog won't resource guard or bite out of fear (fear is the #1 cause of aggression).

If you keep in your mind, "What should my dog be doing and how can I help her learn to do it?" then you will figure out what to do.


----------



## Anele (Dec 12, 2014)

Jhale0612 said:


> Oh, another question, I thought that the crate wasn't supposed to be used for time-outs? Like if I use it as a place for punishment that she wont ever want to go in there? Is that right or wrong? Should I create a second place for time outs?


I don't use it for punishment. I use it or the ex-pen as a SAFE place for him and for myself. If he is being unsafe and it can't be addressed in another way, then I find happy things for him to do in his crate or ex-pen . . .though in the crate I usually leave nothing except a few treats. I throw treats in, he goes in, close the door, throw more treats, leave the room . . .and then he goes to sleep. In his ex-pen I will leave a bully stick or Kong, a few treats, and then he almost always falls asleep.

Sleep is a very, very, very good thing for these pups!


----------



## solinvictus (Oct 23, 2008)

"Oh, another question, I thought that the crate wasn't supposed to be used for time-outs? Like if I use it as a place for punishment that she wont ever want to go in there? Is that right or wrong? Should I create a second place for time outs?"

Young puppies need to sleep about 18 hours out of each 24 hour day. Night time sleep is usually in a big bulk of time but the other hours are on and off through out their day. Most puppies that are kept out with the family don't choose to sleep as long as they really should. Just like young children they are afraid they will miss something. 

As owners it is our job to figure out how much time for play/eating/potty/grooming/training through out the day to give a young pup enough exercise but also realize they need many small naps. If we let them out and about or have play sessions that run to long our pups get over stimulated and over tired. Both of those things cause meltdowns/tantrums just like they do in our young children. It is up to us to figure out how much time the pup can do things and not become over stimulated and put them in an x-pen/crate/safe gated area for them to either entertain themselves or nap. In the beginning this isn't easy so many times they become over stimulated or tired before we can give them rest time. I don't believe in punishing a pup because we messed up and let them get over tired or over stimulated. After all we are the adults and if we haven't got a handle on it how do we expect the pup to know.
You can use the crate/x-pen/gated room when they are over tired or over stimulated without punishing them. Just go grab some treats/yummy kong/bone etc and put it in the crate/x-pen/gated room send the pup in and close the door.  

The more you figure out their schedule (which will change up a little as they grow) you will be able to get them into the contained area for a good nap/rest/learning to entertain themselves before they get over tired or over stimulated. 

If you yell/correct/punish them as you put them in you will build bad associations with the crate/xpen/gated room. 

Just like a playpen is a safe place for a young child to play quietly, a crib is a safe bed etc. We don't punish our children when they need to use one of these items.


----------



## Susan: w/ Summit we climb (Jun 12, 2014)

We put our young pup in his crate when we need to be doing other things than watching him. He does treat it as a place of refuge. He goes in there on his own, and he relaxes and goes to sleep.

Summit, our whirlwind pup, never wanted to be in the crate and he made sure that we knew it. He did not take many naps. He was "on" all the time, and he wanted to be outside most of that time, even during a heat wave.

The crate has nothing to do with punishment.

My former "whirlwind pup" is my best friend, who helps me out whenever he sees that I could use some help. He diverts Jet who might be nibbling my fingers or otherwise keeping me from doing what I want to do. He's basically in cooperation with me whenever I need him to be. I couldn't ask for a better friend.


----------



## Test-ok (Jan 15, 2015)

Playing with her might be the problem...when playing with her...don't use your hands...maybe a tug of war with something to wear her out. My son 24 greets our 11 weeks old Auggie with excitement and rubbing her head and body then wonders why she keeps biting him, and my daughter 29 greets her with a high pitched loud voice...same result..brings Auggie's excitement level up...which is when it starts..
I have to admit my arm looked like yours a couple of weeks ago but I'm almost healed up now and she rarely bits at me any more.. Now I have to train my son and daughter. lol


----------



## mrsamylhurt (Jan 26, 2015)

Jhale0612 said:


> Hello! I am finding this thread so useful as we have a puppy that is just over 8 weeks- almost 9. We actually got her at 7 weeks and now after reading up on it I am feeling like that was a little on the early side. Her name is Tilly.
> 
> Some backstory on us- we had a Chow mix we got from the local pound at 12 weeks old and she developed severe aggression- never towards us, but others. She could open doors and she got out and bit a neighbor child. She had medical problems and the vets and trainers and rescues we spoke to told us it was neurological- that there was nothing anyone could have done to help her. We did board and train and spent hours with multiple trainers with her when she was a puppy. She barely teethed, never barked and was generally very calm. We are active and know that a "tired puppy is a happy puppy" so we kept her well exercised. Anyway, we had to put her to sleep after she bit our neighbor's son last year. She opened the back door and just bit him as he was walking by. It was awful. I loved (still love her) so much and miss her, despite what happened. We had her a little over 5 years. She got markedly worse the last year, wouldn't tolerate her crate, developed incontinence, things like that.
> 
> ...


I feel your pain. I got my puppy a little too early too. All signs point to Golden's outgrowing this stage. Its difficult to handle but aggression in Golden's is extremely rare. I'm sorry about your other dog, that must have been very difficult. Hang in there!


----------



## mrsamylhurt (Jan 26, 2015)

Anele said:


> Jhale0612 said:
> 
> 
> > The thing that I am worried about is when we tell her No, or push her away she seems to lunge at us. Sometimes when i push her away (gently, while saying no) she pulls her gums back and looks like she is showing her teeth, then she just lunges right back at my arm or whatever it is she is going after.
> ...


This is a good outlook. It is so easy to get frustrated. I have tried so hard and I still feel like I'm going about this all wrong. I am guilty of pushing her away, getting upset/loud etc. It hurts so bad. It hurts my skin but also my heart because I love her so much. I really want to focus on handling it as positive as I can but it is hard to know what to do in the moment.


----------



## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

My Brady was the worst puppy. Our hands and clothes were shredded. I really think some puppies are worse than others and having young children thrown into the mix makes it worse. Nothing worked - the pennies in a can, sometimes did.

I leashed him to my waste too. When he started biting, it would be nap time for him in the crate. He would fall asleep minutes after being put in there. So I realized that his biting was a way of telling us he was tired.

I had to teach my girls not to squeal when he chased them. I had to learn to reprimand him in a deeper voice.

He ended up becoming the BEST dog ever. We now have three golden retrievers! Just stick with it and don't give up. It will be so worth it when she turns about 8 months old. The change was so drastic, I almost made an appointment with the vet to see if he was sick.


----------



## mrsamylhurt (Jan 26, 2015)

Test-ok said:


> Playing with her might be the problem...when playing with her...don't use your hands...maybe a tug of war with something to wear her out. My son 24 greets our 11 weeks old Auggie with excitement and rubbing her head and body then wonders why she keeps biting him, and my daughter 29 greets her with a high pitched loud voice...same result..brings Auggie's excitement level up...which is when it starts..
> I have to admit my arm looked like yours a couple of weeks ago but I'm almost healed up now and she rarely bits at me any more.. Now I have to train my son and daughter. lol


I never play with her with my hands. I can't even play with her with the toy because she gets excited, drops it and then goes for the hands. She even tries to bite me when I pet her gently. I have a 3 & 5 year old so I feel like she's perhaps just overstimulated. She's already a master climber so I'm not sure she would stay in an exercise pen. She hates the crate. Hates it. She sleeps (very pecafully I might add) in our laundry room at night and never makes a peep. I'm not sure what to really do to give her quiet time. My house is never quiet.


----------



## Loukia (Sep 20, 2014)

mrsamylhurt said:


> ...But now at 10 weeks, the little monster can get on the couch by herself and just chases me. So is a more consistent time out/away the best way to go?


I've found time outs/removal of attention to be very effective for Comet. As I mentioned in my original post, yelping really only worked well for my youngest. If my son did it, it was an invitation to play and bite. If I said "no bite" he would actually wag his tail, growl and get completely out of hand. Any attention from me, positive or negative seemed to assist Comet in spinning out of control.

The "time outs" in the crate worked really well. And he often fell fast asleep. It also gave me a good break because sharky puppies are so frustrating and you don't want to lose your temper... they are just babies and have no clue that their biting is a completely inconvenience to all of us.

The only other thing I used to do sometimes when my kids weren't home was stand like a tree and completely ignore him. Unfortunately, the only way I could actually do this without blood-stained ankles was to wear my tall rain boots (around the house). They were the only thing he really couldn't bite through. I had those boots on for weeks! The only problem with this method was that if he was overtired, he wouldn't go to sleep.

We've gotten to the point with Comet now, that if he gets mouthy, I stand up, cross my arms and look away from him. He's come to learn this means I'm not happy with him and therefore he gets no attention. On occasion he'll get a hold of my pants and pull, but if I look down and say "uh uh" he usually stops. He'll actually apologize now by coming over to lick my leg. 

Hang in there... it will get better!


----------



## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

I just showed my 17 year old the picture of your hand and what you had to say. She started laughing, she was nine when Brady was a puppy. She said "Did you tell her they grow out of it?!" She hated Brady at that age.


----------



## mrsamylhurt (Jan 26, 2015)

Anyone have any insight into why she's doing it to me so much? She only really nips at the girls if they are chasing each other or playing rowdy and even then she mostly gets clothes. She will bite a bit in my husband but she does it a 1000x worse with me. Is she picking on me the most because I'm the closest to her? I take care if her 24/7. If know she loves me because she always has to be in the same room with me (even the restroom) but she's like "Be close to me but don't touch me Mom!".


----------



## mrsamylhurt (Jan 26, 2015)

cubbysan said:


> My Brady was the worst puppy. Our hands and clothes were shredded. I really think some puppies are worse than others and having young children thrown into the mix makes it worse. Nothing worked - the pennies in a can, sometimes did.
> 
> I leashed him to my waste too. When he started biting, it would be nap time for him in the crate. He would fall asleep minutes after being put in there. So I realized that his biting was a way of telling us he was tired.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the encouragement. I love my baby and trust me, she and I are in this together through thick and thin. She's just so **** cuddly and beautiful. I'd just like to love on her and play with her sometimes.


----------



## mrsamylhurt (Jan 26, 2015)

Napping with my husband tonight as I sat there pouting at her.


----------



## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

mrsamylhurt said:


> Anyone have any insight into why she's doing it to me so much? She only really nips at the girls if they are chasing each other or playing rowdy and even then she mostly gets clothes. She will bite a bit in my husband but she does it a 1000x worse with me. Is she picking on me the most because I'm the closest to her? I take care if her 24/7. If know she loves me because she always has to be in the same room with me (even the restroom) but she's like "Be close to me but don't touch me Mom!".


With Brady, he stopped with each one of us at different time frames. With my husband it was after two weeks - later I heard that my husband bit him back and that stopped it - not that I am recommending it.

With me, it was probably another six weeks. 

My four year old, around the same time frame. She told him to stop it, and never ran from him our squealed.

My 8 and 9 year olds, it was until he was 8 months old.

I really think tone of voices really was what encouraged him and discouraged him.

My voice is naturally high and my children are all girls.

My last two puppies - never once have bit us. I am told some litters and lines are worst than others. Brady's breeder had a rule, no puppies to homes with children under four. I wonder if that is why.


----------



## Rkaymay (May 12, 2014)

Puppies aren't very cuddly, but we humans seem to think they are... They're just so cute we want to love them and squeeze them, but they have other plans! The cuddling will come with time.


----------



## Anele (Dec 12, 2014)

mrsamylhurt said:


> Anyone have any insight into why she's doing it to me so much? She only really nips at the girls if they are chasing each other or playing rowdy and even then she mostly gets clothes. She will bite a bit in my husband but she does it a 1000x worse with me. Is she picking on me the most because I'm the closest to her? I take care if her 24/7. If know she loves me because she always has to be in the same room with me (even the restroom) but she's like "Be close to me but don't touch me Mom!".


 YES! I think she trusts you the most!

Work slowly but steadily with the crate. Don't give up but don't force. If she sleeps OK without destroying things in the laundry room, put her there for naps. She will sleep through the chaos. I have a 3 and 5 y.o. too and he is used to their noise. My 3 year old was belting out Let It Go tonight as he slept in the crate.

When she won't let go and you have to free her from you, throw a piece of food on the ground (kibble, Cheerio, pea, etc) and say, find it! Do this to distract. Then take her out for potty or for a nap.


----------



## Loukia (Sep 20, 2014)

Jhale0612 said:


> Sometimes when i push her away (gently, while saying no) she pulls her gums back and looks like she is showing her teeth, then she just lunges right back at my arm or whatever it is she is going after. Should I be concerned? Is this normal or are we doing something wrong?


I'm so sorry about your Chow. That's SO hard! I can see why you might be worried about the aggression. Hang in there. Your puppy is probably just wound up and in need of a nap. Comet would do the same thing outside on his leash. I started to notice it was always later at night and I actually moved up his bedtime and it helped a lot. So, see if it happens at certain times of the day and then perhaps put your puppy in her crate just prior, and she may fall sound asleep.

If you feel like you have a more dominant puppy, my advice is to find a puppy preschool class for now and then start obedience classes as soon as she's old enough. I don't know where I would be without Comet's obedience classes!


----------



## Test-ok (Jan 15, 2015)

She will grow out of it as cub said. Many larger dogs go through a huge growth spurt...just think about it..their bones are stretching, teeth are irritating and skin, organs are also growing at a tremendous rate...that would drive me insane and some puppies handle it in the way yours is, doesn't mean shes mean in any way shape or form. I will guarantee she'll be one of your best dogs ever and you'll be glad you went through the tough part. I've had 5 goldens over the past 2o years the first was a terror, second was very docile never went through that, third had knee problems and had other issues on her mind (I'm guessing) the 4th was the best ever, but she only lived for 2 years...and the one I have now Auggie (12 weeks) this thursday is the biggest terror I've ever had, just like your Emma..stick with it, keep her excitement level down and be the pack leader, reprimand her when she's bad and praise her when shes good, you'll really notice the tail wagging on the praises..that means thats working. (just like a human toddler)


----------



## momo_ (Dec 15, 2014)

mrsamylhurt said:


> Is she picking on me the most because I'm the closest to her? I take care if her 24/7. If know she loves me because she always has to be in the same room with me (even the restroom) but she's like "Be close to me but don't touch me Mom!".


EXACTLY like my puppy!


----------



## mrsamylhurt (Jan 26, 2015)

cubbysan said:


> mrsamylhurt said:
> 
> 
> > Anyone have any insight into why she's doing it to me so much? She only really nips at the girls if they are chasing each other or playing rowdy and even then she mostly gets clothes. She will bite a bit in my husband but she does it a 1000x worse with me. Is she picking on me the most because I'm the closest to her? I take care if her 24/7. If know she loves me because she always has to be in the same room with me (even the restroom) but she's like "Be close to me but don't touch me Mom!".
> ...


Maybe. Generally speaking, puppies are usually not recommended for small kids. But my kids have been around animals of all kinds (dogs, cats, goats, turtles etc) since birth so they are pretty comfortable with them. We also have two older small dogs that they have been with since birth. But still, they are kids. They run and play and squeal.


----------



## mrsamylhurt (Jan 26, 2015)

Rkaymay said:


> Puppies aren't very cuddly, but we humans seem to think they are... They're just so cute we want to love them and squeeze them, but they have other plans! The cuddling will come with time.


I guess I was just spoiled with my soon to be 7 year old dog, she was 8 weeks old when we got her and she just wanted to be babied all the time. Even now she's more interested in humans than other dogs.


----------



## mrsamylhurt (Jan 26, 2015)

Anele said:


> mrsamylhurt said:
> 
> 
> > Anyone have any insight into why she's doing it to me so much? She only really nips at the girls if they are chasing each other or playing rowdy and even then she mostly gets clothes. She will bite a bit in my husband but she does it a 1000x worse with me. Is she picking on me the most because I'm the closest to her? I take care if her 24/7. If know she loves me because she always has to be in the same room with me (even the restroom) but she's like "Be close to me but don't touch me Mom!".
> ...


That could be part if the issue, she's not napping like she was. At first she'd just lay down anywhere and nap no matter what was going on. Now she is staying up more and perhaps her desire to play isn't getting her the rest she needs. She's an absolute angel in the laundry room at night ( our other two dogs sleep right next to her and keep her company) but she doesn't really like to be in there in the day. Our laundry room has a glass door that looks out over our foyer into the living room (old house 1950 c.) so she can see us.


----------



## mrsamylhurt (Jan 26, 2015)

Test-ok said:


> She will grow out of it as cub said. Many larger dogs go through a huge growth spurt...just think about it..their bones are stretching, teeth are irritating and skin, organs are also growing at a tremendous rate...that would drive me insane and some puppies handle it in the way yours is, doesn't mean shes mean in any way shape or form. I will guarantee she'll be one of your best dogs ever and you'll be glad you went through the tough part. I've had 5 goldens over the past 2o years the first was a terror, second was very docile never went through that, third had knee problems and had other issues on her mind (I'm guessing) the 4th was the best ever, but she only lived for 2 years...and the one I have now Auggie (12 weeks) this thursday is the biggest terror I've ever had, just like your Emma..stick with it, keep her excitement level down and be the pack leader, reprimand her when she's bad and praise her when shes good, you'll really notice the tail wagging on the praises..that means thats working. (just like a human toddler)


Thank you. I'm sorry to hear that you lost your Golden at 2. I'm sure that was very difficult. Golden's do take up such a special place in your heart; I can't imagine having another kind of dog now.


----------



## mrsamylhurt (Jan 26, 2015)

Just to clarify, there are only two options right now near me as far as obedience classes and or puppy kindergarten, both are through pet stores. Because of Parvo concerns, we won't do that until shes fully vaccinated. I don't even let her touch anything except the exam table when she goes to the vet. I have a large family so she's getting pretty good exposure to people which she's generally doing very well with (its me that she loves to abuse ha!) and she's got our two dogs as well.


----------



## Jhale0612 (Dec 25, 2014)

I have really enjoyed this thread and am so appreciative to all the replies. This made my day!!


----------



## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

When I got my second golden, we were new to Kansas City and I could only find classes at Petco. Now that I have joined my local golden retriever club, I am hearing of classes all over the place that are not very well publicized. There are all kinds of training clubs etc.

See if you have a golden retriever club or even a retriever club in your area that can help you find something a little better.


----------



## mrsamylhurt (Jan 26, 2015)

I will. I do know of one local trainer but she's way out of our budget.


----------



## Anele (Dec 12, 2014)

Test-OK and Cubby, thanks so much for adding your voices of experience! So comforting!


----------



## SheetsSM (Jan 17, 2008)

mrsamylhurt said:


> Just to clarify, there are only two options right now near me as far as obedience classes and or puppy kindergarten, both are through pet stores. Because of Parvo concerns, we won't do that until shes fully vaccinated. I don't even let her touch anything except the exam table when she goes to the vet. I have a large family so she's getting pretty good exposure to people which she's generally doing very well with (its me that she loves to abuse ha!) and she's got our two dogs as well.


Using your location Orchard Hill GA, you have 2 Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partners less than 46 miles away from you: https://www.karenpryoracademy.com/find-a-trainer


----------



## Jhale0612 (Dec 25, 2014)

Wanted to post an update; we have been doing the "positive reinforcement" and it has made a big difference in only a few days. I am a little worried she is going to get fat with all these treats,  we use the little round training rewards and break them in half so not too bad I think. So the biting has gotten better. Not gone obviously, but better. Doing well with leash training. I need to do some research but if she pulls, i stop until she comes back to me. then I treat. we start walking again and she isn't too bad of a puller. 

one thing that I was wondering about- barking. How were your puppies when it came to barking and how did you handle it? I just ignore her, if she barks in her crate I try to ignore it until she stops and then if its time for her to get out I get her when she has stopped. Currently she has to sleep in the garage because our house is situated in such a way that she will wake up everyone. I hate having her in there but she seems totally fine with it. We have a little electric space heater and she seems comfortable. Her bark is SO loud and so shrill almost? It is hard to listen to. I know it will get worse if we keep paying her mind when she does it, but is this something they grow out of? If I walk out of the room to get my son from his crib, etc (we have a baby gate up) and she can't come with she barks and barks until we get back. So I have been putting her in her crate or in our yard if I am not going to be right back, but just wondering if there is something else I should be doing.


----------



## The life of Piper (Feb 24, 2015)

mrsamylhurt said:


> Oh the toys we have bought! Lol. I've spent so much money on her. She has several types of nylabones, Kong with stuffing, tennis balls, stuffed animals, bully sticks...you name is, she's got it. The redirect works for a moment but shed rather bite me. We have two other dogs (older) too that she plays with but they tire of her quickly because she's too rowdy for them.


I highly recommend a Kong classic...Piper hasn't chewed that one up yet!


----------

