# First time golden owner with questions about my 3.5 month old male



## Danarosey (Nov 28, 2020)

Hello all I just wanted to introduce myself my name is Dana, and I have a 3 1/2 month old golden boy named avett. I have read all over the Internet that the amount of biting he is doing his normal but I still want some reassurance from other golden owners. I know puppies bite and nip I expected that when I got him but sometimes it seems like it is a bit excessive compared to any other puppy I have had in my life. When I tell people that they say it is because I’ve never owned A golden and that golden retrievers are known for this. In your own experiences have you seen this before? Will it stop? I tried to explain it that it is not just chewing or just mouthing that I understand and I know he is teething but sometimes he will actually jump at us and snap his teeth and it makes me

I am also curious when I can expect his hair to start growing. I am not sure what month that starts happening and just want to make sure he is on the right path.

thank you for your time!


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## Danarosey (Nov 28, 2020)

Makes me nervous is what I meant to type at the end of the first paragraph there. Sorry


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

Golden puppies can be land sharks. The biting is totally normal for his age. Be sure to keep toys at hand and put one in his mouth to replace skin and clothing. Encourage him to bite the toys and praise when he does. They really are more bitey than other breeds. 

Golden coats don't start filling out until between 1 and 2 years. There will be a period of time where people will ask you if you have a Lab puppy, the coat will be short and flat. After that they will start getting some longer trim, but not look like an adult coat until after they are about a year old.


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## DanaRuns (Sep 29, 2012)

Hello! My name is Dana, and I have two four-month old Golden girls named Summer and Splash. And no, I haven't noticed any biting or mouthiness at all!


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

DanaRuns said:


> Hello! My name is Dana, and I have two four-month old Golden girls named Summer and Splash. And no, I haven't noticed any biting or mouthiness at all!
> 
> View attachment 878671


That there is funny! You made my morning!


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Love the name!! Avett Brothers fan??? Goldens are worse than pretty much any other breed but that doesn't mean you have to accept it. Use some the search feature at the top of the page and look up the million threads on the subject - if you look through you should recognize people mention some things similar and get the suggestions people make on dealing with it. (use search terms like "puppy biting" "Help my puppy is driving me crazy" or "Landshark" If puppies aren't sleeping or eating, they want to be playing - so you direct the play time or they will do it for you and it involves their mouths. So you keep the game moving and you have toys that he's allowed to chomp - stuffed animals are great for this. Outward Hound and FLuff n tough brands are terrific. Having a squeaker also makes it more exciting - the prey drive is huge with Goldens. You want ot have plenty of appropriate chew items - be sure to give yourself plenty of down time where he is crated to nap and chew on something besides you. Then when he is not crated, spend plenty of time outdoors, moving. Bring a good toy for him to play with and carry in his mouth when you're outdoors too. 

Finally, if you're not working every day on obedience training (enroll in a class helps a lot) it's time to focus on that. It will help a lot.


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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

Hey my girl is only 10 weeks old but let me tell you the biting is normal! It gets worse first thing in the morning when she is all piss and vinegar and again after dinner. Just this morning she nipped my fat roll and got put in time out as a result. I swear she thinks I'm her personal chew toy.


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## Danarosey (Nov 28, 2020)

nolefan said:


> Love the name!! Avett Brothers fan??? Goldens are worse than pretty much any other breed but that doesn't mean you have to accept it. Use some the search feature at the top of the page and look up the million threads on the subject - if you look through you should recognize people mention some things similar and get the suggestions people make on dealing with it. (use search terms like "puppy biting" "Help my puppy is driving me crazy" or "Landshark" If puppies aren't sleeping or eating, they want to be playing - so you direct the play time or they will do it for you and it involves their mouths. So you keep the game moving and you have toys that he's allowed to chomp - stuffed animals are great for this. Outward Hound and FLuff n tough brands are terrific. Having a squeaker also makes it more exciting - the prey drive is huge with Goldens. You want ot have plenty of appropriate chew items - be sure to give yourself plenty of down time where he is crated to nap and chew on something besides you. Then when he is not crated, spend plenty of time outdoors, moving. Bring a good toy for him to play with and carry in his mouth when you're outdoors too.
> 
> Finally, if you're not working every day on obedience training (enroll in a class helps a lot) it's time to focus on that. It will help a lot.


Yes! That’s where he got his name! Thanks for the reply. He has so many chew toys it’s unreal. I had heard the biting and mouthy ness is worse with this breed but just wanted the reassurance from others who have experience with them. He is in weekly obedience training and is so smart it’s scary hahaha. He’s learned like 6 commands in 3 weeks and has them all down. However he has selective times he could care less and acts like he’s never learned then lol


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## Danarosey (Nov 28, 2020)

Brave said:


> Hey my girl is only 10 weeks old but let me tell you the biting is normal! It gets worse first thing in the morning when she is all piss and vinegar and again after dinner. Just this morning she nipped my fat roll and got put in time out as a result. I swear she thinks I'm her personal chew toy.


I’m covered in scars! Lol


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## Danarosey (Nov 28, 2020)

DanaRuns said:


> Hello! My name is Dana, and I have two four-month old Golden girls named Summer and Splash. And no, I haven't noticed any biting or mouthiness at all!
> 
> View attachment 878671


Oh my gosh!!!


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## Rita Knoffloch (Nov 25, 2020)

Danarosey said:


> Hello all I just wanted to introduce myself my name is Dana, and I have a 3 1/2 month old golden boy named avett. I have read all over the Internet that the amount of biting he is doing his normal but I still want some reassurance from other golden owners. I know puppies bite and nip I expected that when I got him but sometimes it seems like it is a bit excessive compared to any other puppy I have had in my life. When I tell people that they say it is because I’ve never owned A golden and that golden retrievers are known for this. In your own experiences have you seen this before? Will it stop? I tried to explain it that it is not just chewing or just mouthing that I understand and I know he is teething but sometimes he will actually jump at us and snap his teeth and it makes me
> 
> I am also curious when I can expect his hair to start growing. I am that starts happening and just want to make sure he is on the right path.
> 
> thank you for your time!





Danarosey said:


> Oh my gosh!!!





Danarosey said:


> Oh my gosh!!!


puppy Goldens are playful and full of energy. You need to set boundaries by telling him or her No, when they are biting you. Hold their mouth shut with your hand and tell them No, so they learn boundaries. They are very smart and quick to learn. One of our pups is right at 3 mos. We give him his own toys to chew on. You just need to spend time working with them. We've had golden's for right at 40 years in our home. One of the best companions you can have, especially around little ones. Hope this helps; it gets easier. They are like babies.


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## Danarosey (Nov 28, 2020)

Rita Knoffloch said:


> puppy Goldens are playful and full of energy. You need to set boundaries by telling him or her No, when they are biting you. Hold their mouth shut with your hand and tell them No, so they learn boundaries. They are very smart and quick to learn. One of our pups is right at 3 mos. We give him his own toys to chew on. You just need to spend time working with them. We've had golden's for right at 40 years in our home. One of the best companions you can have, especially around little ones. Hope this helps; it gets easier. They are like babies.


I appreciate anyone’s suggestions it’s just very frustrating because I’m doing ALL of that. This dog has so many chew toys, frozen stuff, stuffed animals etc and still chooses to bite us. He has a trainer teaching him basic obedience and has picked it up really fast but the biting still hasn’t stopped. It’s the hands constantly. I am hoping it will get better and go away. He is two weeks shy of four months and has started losing teeth so I’m hoping when his adult teeth are all in it will calm down.


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## DanaRuns (Sep 29, 2012)

The biting is not going to stop until he outgrows it. It's a matter of managing it, not eliminating it.


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## diane0905 (Aug 20, 2010)

DanaRuns said:


> Hello! My name is Dana, and I have two four-month old Golden girls named Summer and Splash. And no, I haven't noticed any biting or mouthiness at all!
> 
> View attachment 878671


This made me laugh loudly. My first Golden almost brought me to tears nipping at my pajama legs/my calves.


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## Herro (Nov 19, 2020)

Hi,

It took two or three weeks but this method worked for my pup. He completely stopped biting/nipping humans.






Let me know how it goes


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## Danarosey (Nov 28, 2020)

I wanted to share a pic of how cute he is regardless. Here is my boy Avett❤


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## Pammie (Jan 22, 2011)




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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

I feel like we all forget exactly how bad the biting and mouthing (and how sharp the teeth are!) after they are grown. Like how mamas forget how painful childbirth was. It's a mind trick and then we go and get another puppy and we cry as they bite us asking "why did we do this? I love you so much. And I'm so over the puppy stage and we still have like 8 months to go!"

I'm 100% convinced Lana was never this bad. I remember Bear nipped my finger when he was a puppy and I pulled back out of pain and his snaggle tooth sharp tooth sliced my finger open and I ended up spraying blood all over the ceiling and walls when I shook my finger on accident. 

Legit the coping mechanism I'm using right now, is repeating stupid memes while we're shoving stuffies in her mouth. "Get a pet velociraptor, you said, STEVEN! It would be fun, Steven! Now it's trying to eat me, Steven! What do I do????"

FWIW this is Molly the velociraptor...


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## Cmack (Dec 4, 2020)

We just lost our 10 year old girl who was the most amazing dog. As a puppy, she was SO wonderful- house trained very early and really so good. EXCEPT FOR THE BITING!!! Whew!! It was extensive- exhausted us... I still remember 10+years later. However, it DOES go away- it does not predict the behavior of the dog!! Our girl was so gentle and wonderful after she got through the puppy stage— we still laugh about how much she bit (we were brand new puppy parents— and parents in general! She was our first baby and taught us a ton).


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## Danarosey (Nov 28, 2020)

Cmack said:


> We just lost our 10 year old girl who was the most amazing dog. As a puppy, she was SO wonderful- house trained very early and really so good. EXCEPT FOR THE BITING!!! Whew!! It was extensive- exhausted us... I still remember 10+years later. However, it DOES go away- it does not predict the behavior of the dog!! Our girl was so gentle and wonderful after she got through the puppy stage— we still laugh about how much she bit (we were brand new puppy parents— and parents in general! She was our first baby and taught us a ton).


I am so sorry for you and your family for the loss of your fur baby. Thanks for sharing and reminiscing with me I appreciate it. ❤


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