# Buddy's Aggressive Behavior



## BayBeams (Jan 3, 2010)

I know you think training is complete after 2 months but really it is a life long thing with these pups of ours and at 7 months the training is just beginning. It sounds like you still have plenty of work to do and I would suggest you work with a trainer or attend a class that can address some of your adolescent's behaviors.


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## Buddy'sDad (Jun 2, 2010)

Great point. I do training with Buddy almost everyday.


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## kira (Jan 13, 2009)

I'm not sure Murphy ever showed behavior quite as scary as what you are describing, but between the ages of 8 and 12 months he had a tendency to throw what I called "temper tantrums". It would start with biting at his leash during a walk and then escalate to jumping all over me and sometimes biting at me (accidentally, he was going for the leash still). I dealt with this by standing on the leash close far enough down that he could not jump and simply ignoring him until he calmed down. I once stood in the middle of the road (I live in the middle of nowhere!) for 10 full minutes. It was embarrassing.

It sounds like your Buddy may be going through something similar, or it may be something more serious. I would recommend you seek out some help from a trainer who can help you figure out a plan of action.

Although continuing to train basic commands with him everyday is part of the picture, it sounds from your post like you are unsure of how to deal with this new behavior and should definitely seek out a professional for some advice in addition to continuing your daily training.


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## Maryellen Jackson (Jul 16, 2010)

*same issue with 8mo old*

My pup just started the same behavior during our pm walks. Out of nowhere he starts to attack me. It has gotten so bad that I am going to get a muzzle for our walks. Sad but necessary. Scott My puppy is 8 months old so they are the dame age. I. Got him from a breeder in bucks county. Has it gotten any better? Besides this he is a good puppy and training is going great. We got him at 7 weeks and started training immediately and still train everyday. This aggressive attitude came out of no where. I walk him in the am and pm but his pm walk is when he acts up. I have to say it happens at the same spot every night??? I wonder if the spot triggers him. Anything you found out could help me too. Thanks!


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## Selli-Belle (Jan 28, 2009)

Lost my long response, let me try again.

This does not sound like aggressive behavior but over the top play behavior, a bratty adolescent dog who is inviting his or her person to play. The fact that the pup is going for the feet and the leash is one of the major clues for me.

Adolescent Goldens NEED to play in the wild and crazy kind of way to get their ya-yas out and since they are a very oral breed (they were bred to put things in their mouths) they want to play with their mouths. 

Now, what to do? The idea of stepping on the leash until they calm down is a good idea. Another is to teach your pup a default behavior, like a default sit. You need to train it so well that your pup will give you the behavior when ever you ask for it no matter what the distractions. If the pup is sitting down, he or she can not be jumping at you and biting.

However, you NEED to provide your pup with the opportunity to play bitey, wrestling games. The best way to do this is to find your dog another puppy of similar energy to play with and get them together several times a week to play. Then you can teach the pup when it is appropriate to play this way (with the other pup) and when it is not (with you).

If you can't find another pup, you can start a program of tug where you use a specific toy to play tug with and play tug for about 15 minutes a day. You will need to have certain rules, such as no teeth on the hand, let go of the toy when asked, etc. Only have the toy out to play tug. Once again, with this you can teach the pup when it is appropriate to be mouthy and when it isn't.


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## LibertyME (Jan 6, 2007)

SB is right on the money....your training has just begun...
You describe a frustrated, under-exercised, adolescent dog - the age where many goldens are taken to the shelter....
Time to go back to class.....hang in there and work through it....youve got a diamond in the rough if your willing to train through this trying time.....


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## OrdinaryEllen (Jun 20, 2010)

*love reading this forum*

I love reading this forum and learning so much about Goldens. It's addicting. One thing I've noticed is the variety of advice regarding subjects like food and the issue of neutering, etc. 

_If you can't find another pup, you can start a program of tug where you use a specific toy to play tug with and play tug for about 15 minutes a day. You will need to have certain rules, such as no teeth on the hand, let go of the toy when asked, etc. Only have the toy out to play tug._

This is very interesting advice because my vet told me not to play tug with Piper. I found out a co-worker was playing tug with Piper while I was out of the office and I asked her to stop.:uhoh:

I'd love to know if everyone plays tug because I may have messed up again.


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## jenlaur (Jun 24, 2009)

OrdinaryEllen said:


> I love reading this forum and learning so much about Goldens. It's addicting. One thing I've noticed is the variety of advice regarding subjects like food and the issue of neutering, etc.
> 
> _If you can't find another pup, you can start a program of tug where you use a specific toy to play tug with and play tug for about 15 minutes a day. You will need to have certain rules, such as no teeth on the hand, let go of the toy when asked, etc. Only have the toy out to play tug._
> 
> ...


My trainer also said to never play tug with dogs. I think that is ridiculous. Both of my dogs love to play tug. And I even let them win. They are much stronger than I am but they know I am the boss and if I say the game is over ("leave it!") they know to release the toy.


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

Tug is a great game if the people like to play it.

There are lots of people who recommend it and lots who don't. Rules can vary depending on the dog-handler team... usually you hear "the most important rule is the dog MUST let go one cue". But that's not necessary for every team. My dog wouldn't Out today and I was VERY happy, as that's a good thing for him.

We love tug!


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## turtle66 (Feb 19, 2010)

> I'd love to know if everyone plays tug because I may have messed up again.


Can't speak for 'everyone' but I play tug war with Lilly on a daily basis. As a first time dog owner I was worried first but she follows the rules perfectly. She doesn't grab my hand if she does it is very soft almost like if she would like to say: "Look mom, I could if I wanted too." It is not aggressive for me at all (just for the toy...) and it is like Selli Belle said a good, fast way to get out the "ya yaa's"; the natural mouthy behavior and prey instinct needs to be addressed on a daily basis.
When I started to play tug war with her as a puppy, I had sessions where I stopped when she was going to attack my hand. A loud "ouch" and a "no" made her clear very fast that tuck war is over every time she was just thinking to attack me....

But I have more questions about the aggressive behavior - It sounds like it is more likely during walks? 
- Has he had any bad experiences with the leash?
- Does he have injuries around his neck and maybe something is hurting him?
- What kind of training do you do? Is it positive reinforced training? And not using different kind of 'training collars' (forgot the name)
- If you read other threads you will always find the advice that at some point you want to rule out health problems (and the thyroid panel is always! mentioned) 

You need to address the behavior - it sounds like that is what you do - it is very unlikely that'll go away from its own. To contact a bahaviorist is probably not a bad idea...

All the best,
Heike


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## Elisabeth Kazup (Aug 23, 2008)

Our Penny does the same thing: biting at our feet when we're walking. Stopping didn't help because she'd sit and stare at my feet until they moved again. After a while she'd bark at them. Well eventually I 'moved' my feet and inadvertently taught her to bark at feet when she wants them to move. She went so far as to come up from behind and wrap her foreleg and paw around our ankles, attempting to hold our feet still.

Fast-forward 8+ years: she will still occasionally get excited and start with the feet thing again. People ask if she likes socks. I say "sure but only if there are feet in them". LOL

As she matured she became less easily excited, went through 2 years of formal obedience training. Also, I taught her the "that's enough" command together with the hand signal for 'halt'. The behavior decreased as all these elements came together.

Now when she does it: leaping backwards in front of us as we walk, growlling and biting at our feet we laugh and enjoy revisiting her puppyhood. Then we say "That's enough" and she trots happily away to find something else to amuse herself.

It will get better!


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

My Bridge Kid, Maggie acted like that on walks when she was young. It got so bad that I started carrying a walking stick, not to hit her with but when she turned into the demon-dog, I would put it between me and her or point it at her and say "NO". She finally outgrew all that.

It sounds like Buddy is just at a bratty stage, but that's not to say the behavior should be ignored.


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## audreyannlow (Mar 5, 2007)

I play tug a lot too. Jute frisbees are great. This way, you can do a lot of retriever training stuff on the toy so it becomes something you work together with, the human being the obvious handler.

At least Buddy has awesome bite inhibition. Better that than a dog who's extremely tolerant and silent until wham, there's blood everywhere. :-/


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