# Puppy's temper tantrums



## dmg1983 (Jun 13, 2015)

melinda8 said:


> Hi everyone!
> 
> So I have an 8 month old golden puppy, Princess, who is a very sweet girl 98% of the time. She loves us, strangers, and other dogs. She is never agressive towards other dogs or people, but she does sometimes get a little jumpy and overly excited when she sees someone new. (If we're on a walk or at the dog park, we can usually curb her excitement by holding her back or telling her to sit while the person passes.)
> 
> ...


Lucy used to bite her leash a lot but recently has stopped. She does growl and bark at me (she has never once barked at anything or anyone else:doh when she wants attention and I am not giving it to her. I stop what I'm doing, get up and turn away from her into the wall. She only gets attention when she sits down and stops barking. It never lasts for longer than a minute and is happening less frequently now (she is 10 months). I notice it usually happens before she goes for a proper sleep, she naps anywhere and everywhere but when she wants a proper sleep she goes into the bathroom or spare bedroom. From what I've read it's not advised to give them attention (good or bad) when they are acting this way as it encourages the behaviour. Hopefully it's just part of the puppy/adolescent phase and they will grow out of it:crossfing


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## melinda8 (Sep 22, 2015)

dmg1983 said:


> Lucy used to bite her leash a lot but recently has stopped. She does growl and bark at me (she has never once barked at anything or anyone else:doh when she wants attention and I am not giving it to her. I stop what I'm doing, get up and turn away from her into the wall. She only gets attention when she sits down and stops barking. It never lasts for longer than a minute and is happening less frequently now (she is 10 months). I notice it usually happens before she goes for a proper sleep, she naps anywhere and everywhere but when she wants a proper sleep she goes into the bathroom or spare bedroom. From what I've read it's not advised to give them attention (good or bad) when they are acting this way as it encourages the behaviour. Hopefully it's just part of the puppy/adolescent phase and they will grow out of it:crossfing


I am thankful that both of our dogs never bark at anyone else!

Not giving her any attention works when we're at home, and I can easily walk away from her, but unfortunately it isn't very effective when we're on a walk. Hopefully it is something they grow out of.


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## dmg1983 (Jun 13, 2015)

melinda8 said:


> I am thankful that both of our dogs never bark at anyone else!
> 
> Not giving her any attention works when we're at home, and I can easily walk away from her, but unfortunately it isn't very effective when we're on a walk. Hopefully it is something they grow out of.


I forgot to say when Lucy used to bite and pull on her leash aggressively I would tell her to stop (which usually didn't work) then I'd just stop, hold the leash tight (I didn't try and pull it away from her) and I wouldn't move until she let go and then I would go crazy on the praise. I also changed her leash to a shorter one which doesn't hang down and get her attention like the old longer one did.


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## melinda8 (Sep 22, 2015)

dmg1983 said:


> I forgot to say when Lucy used to bite and pull on her leash aggressively I would tell her to stop (which usually didn't work) then I'd just stop, hold the leash tight (I didn't try and pull it away from her) and I wouldn't move until she let go and then I would go crazy on the praise. I also changed her leash to a shorter one which doesn't hang down and get her attention like the old longer one did.


That's a good idea. I've been trying to take the leash from her to stop the biting but I think that's getting her more riled up. And I recently got her a retractable leash which is MUCH better for us because she can't get tangled up in it like she used to.


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## Anon-2130948gsoni (Apr 12, 2014)

Be careful with the retractable leash...lots of trainers don't recommend them because they teach the puppy that pulling = freedom, which is exactly what you don't want.

We currently have our third Golden and among the things they all have had in common is that ANY attention is good. "Bad dog," scolding, it doesn't matter...it's still attention. I know it's hard when you're just trying to get the dog walked but when she starts in with the biting on your walk, stop everything, turn your back and stare at the sky for as long as it takes. Eventually she'll catch on.

Do you you know some stable older dogs she can play with? It seems to be a good outlet for that crazy play drive...


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## melinda8 (Sep 22, 2015)

Noreaster said:


> Be careful with the retractable leash...lots of trainers don't recommend them because they teach the puppy that pulling = freedom, which is exactly what you don't want.
> 
> We currently have our third Golden and among the things they all have had in common is that ANY attention is good. "Bad dog," scolding, it doesn't matter...it's still attention. I know it's hard when you're just trying to get the dog walked but when she starts in with the biting on your walk, stop everything, turn your back and stare at the sky for as long as it takes. Eventually she'll catch on.
> 
> Do you you know some stable older dogs she can play with? It seems to be a good outlet for that crazy play drive...


That's a good comment about the retractable leash...I'll keep that in mind. I do, however, only give her slack on the leash when she stops pulling and walks near me.

And it's VERY difficult not to give her any attention in those situations...I can't just let her latch onto my hand and pretend it like it doesn't bother me, since it actually hurts :no: but I will try to give her minimal attention. As for other dogs, no we don't know any other older dogs unfortunately. That could benefit her though.


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## Anele (Dec 12, 2014)

Yes, I know all about this. Here is a very long thread about this very topic! Every dog is different, so the ways to deal with it are too-- depends on the root cause. http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...ver-arousal-biting-puppies-support-group.html


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## bixx (Sep 8, 2015)

this also happens to me. i think sometimes she gets annoyed that she's on the leash and can't run or do whatever it is she wants. or that it gets in the way.

when she gets riled up and starts biting the leash, i stop and see if this will also calm her down. but sometimes, she just gets crazier.

i notice that if i start walking faster, she drops the leash and forget it's her enemy. then she's very busy trying to outdo my walking pace. so, i walk faster and then when she's no longer showing signs of wanting to eat the leash for good, we do some more training.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Just curious, 

1) are you in a formal obedience class with Princess?

2) how much aerobic exercise does she get on a DAILY basis? Not leash walks around your neighborhood, but really good hard exercise or puppy play dates where she can wrestle with another young dog?


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## Jesse'sGirl7407 (Jan 17, 2013)

Noreaster said:


> Be careful with the retractable leash...lots of trainers don't recommend them because they teach the puppy that pulling = freedom, which is exactly what you don't want.
> 
> We currently have our third Golden and among the things they all have had in common is that ANY attention is good. "Bad dog," scolding, it doesn't matter...it's still attention. I know it's hard when you're just trying to get the dog walked but when she starts in with the biting on your walk, stop everything, turn your back and stare at the sky for as long as it takes. Eventually she'll catch on.
> 
> Do you you know some stable older dogs she can play with? It seems to be a good outlet for that crazy play drive...


I have noticed that with my Charlie. He doesn't seem to understand when he is in trouble, he's just happy to be getting attention. There have been a couple times where I raised my voice and he put his tail down and ears down but then he wiggled up next to me and started licking me and getting all excited again :bowl:


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## DebScroc (Jan 10, 2015)

Bodie is really bad like that. But like someone else said, I just hold my ground until he stops. When he adds the biting me...... I shorten the leash and step on it so he can't jump up. Takes a few minutes but he does stop


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## KYatsko (Apr 30, 2016)

Thank you SO much for posting the previous thread - super helpful. I have an almost-8-month-old, female GR, named Morgan. She started the tantrums on walks about 3 weeks ago, but they have increased in frequency, duration and intensity. It's frightening and frustrating, but apparently not that uncommon - which gives me hope. I'm starting to wear long sleeves and hope no one gets their cell phone out to film it.. So embarrassing.


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## MissTilly (Jul 1, 2016)

Oh my gosh, my dog did the exact same thing. She eventually stopped and is a year old now. She stopped a few months ago. Our trainer said to just keep walking and completely ignore it. We were probably quite a sight to the neighbors, but it worked!!


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