# My golden retriever puppy will not stop biting me !!!



## Jennamcg

Also i have had a puppy before and a method worked on her and it will not work on sadie(my new puppy). I have tried so many methods and they seem to not work at all.


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## inge

How old is your pup?


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## Jennamcg

She is almost 3 months in a week! I know she's young but she seems so agressive already.


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## solinvictus

Welcome to the forum. You have said you have tried everything. We don't know what everything is. We don't know how long you have tried each thing you have tried. We don't know if you have been consistent and that your mom and you are doing the same thing. Each puppy is different and it takes time being consistent and using the same training protocol for the puppy to really understand and not be confused. Maybe by breaking it down and telling us what you have done and how long you have done it will give us a clue and help you figure out which way seems to bring on better behavior and you can do it for a longer period of time with consistency. You have to remember that what the first family that owned her was probably doing is different than you and most likely as you say in another language. Your puppy is really confused as she doesn't really know either language. 

Give us more precise information and maybe we can all help you brainstorm the best way for her to learn.

Puppies are very oral and do a lot of experiencing their world through their mouths. They don't know any better. We have to gently teach them what is and isn't acceptable to do to us humans. 

Most puppies are not aggressive they just act like puppies again using their mouths. If she is confused she is going to use her mouth more than if she understands what you want. It takes a lot of time and patience for them to understand what is acceptable.

I also don't believe little puppies can be devious. She again just doesn't understand what you want in the potty training department.

When you have time we would love to see pictures of your pup.


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## GoBigRed

You are not alone!! Husker was such a biter it was really hard to enjoy any of his "puppyhood". Even my tween & teen kids were annoyed with him. The more we seemed to try to be firm with "no bite" or "no" the more he bit us. Ignoring and turning your back did not work, you were only biten more. And although we walking out of the room would work you were biten the whole time until you could close a door or step over the baby gate.

The only thing that worked for us was either spritzing "Bitter Apple" spray in his mouth or squirting him with a water bottle. The water bottle is the only thing that gets his attention even now if he has stolen something and his hiding behind the dining room table with it.

Husker is now 11 months old and I am so thankful to say that the whole biting thing ended a few months ago. He occasionally gets a "bitey face" going but it's much easier to get him to settle when it does occur.

Feeding by hand is a great thing for a growling puppy. I don't know what to say about the water bowl though. Only thing I can think of maybe is when you start to put the bowl down and she growls to pick the bowl back up and stand there until the puppy settles (either sits or maybe even walks away). Put the bowl back down, if she growls, stand back up with it. Maybe that would help her understand that if she growls she doesn't get the water. Now I'm not saying don't give her water....I'm only suggesting maybe a way for her to understand that growling when the bowl is being placed on the floor isn't acceptable.

Best of luck and keep reminding yourself she is just a puppy (baby) and she will outgrow these things with lots of patience and guidance from you.


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## Megora

> Now my puppy i know she is teething but this is far Far from teething. She gets in these moods where shes devious and seriously attacks you and will NOT stop. I am getting sick of it! When she's calm otherwise she's good. I have bought her soo many toys and bones and teething toys and she just ignores them and rather go for your hand. I have seriously tried EVERYTHING. And nothing ever works. I don't think she respects me or my mom. Me and my mom are the only ones living in the house. I don't know what to do... She seems to not respect us at all. This might sound weird but I swear she poops and pees sometimes to be devious. And when we are eatting dinner she gets mad at us and starts barking and biting our feet.
> 
> .....I just thought golden retrievers were not this vicious.. Is it something i am doing wrong?


Golden puppies can be and often are rotten between 10 weeks and 4 months. 

It's probably mostly due to teething, but they also are coming out of their "shell" and exploring everything and testing the waters.

The mouthing, barking, growling - these are all behaviors that puppies will do with other dogs. Some of it is play. Some is some willfulness and reaction. 

The accidents are your fault, not the puppy. And your puppy is too young to be marking. In general, they go where they've gone before - especially if they smell urine or poop. Keep that in mind every time they happen. Your puppy is not going to be thoroughly housetrained and trustworthy until he goes 2-3 months without an accident. And even with the golden we raised last (Jacks), he never had an accident in the house, but we did not let our guard down until he was 6 or 7 months old. 

I understand the frustration... um. I didn't have a problem with Jacks when I was home, but generally my family did. There was one time where I had to leave work and hurry home because my mom called and told me that she and my sister were taking Jacks (10 weeks old) to the vet to have him tested for aggression. This because he wouldn't stop biting our older dog. 

The vet listened very nicely to my mom talking about the "rage" and calmly said that the puppy who had fallen asleep on his back while she was petting him was just a normal golden puppy. She noted he was teething... and thankfully did not charge for the visit. 

Something that helped with Jacks when I was home, and thankfully my family got the idea too after that embarrassing vet visit... 

Every time he started getting worked up - he either got taken down to his room or somebody put a leash and collar on him and took him outside to run around and eat grass. 

I wouldn't just throw your puppy outside when he's acting up, but definitly giving him distractions and a little fresh air helps stop the puppy rage. 

Nipping and biting - if you have a oral type golden (mouthy!) they may always have that habit when they get excited or worked up. My guy is 4 years old and pretty well behaved and trained, but I have a pretty bruise on my right arm from him getting a little too excited during playtime. The training in that situation means that the instant my voice changes and I tell him to stop, he does. And you should get to that point with your pup.

Good luck - and be patient. 

And something to keep in mind - if you do not have the patience or tolerance to take the nipping, barking, mouthing, chewing for the next 2-6 months, it may be a good idea to rehome the pup. Because even with a trainer working with you (training you to train your dog), it takes time.


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## Jennamcg

thank you  sorry for late reply. i have tried saying NO in a firm voice and she just does not understand. i have tried standing up and looking to the ceiling with my arms together, which makes her more mad and she just attacks my legs. i have tried a water bottle and she loves it and licks the water. i have tried a bitter apple spray and it does not bother her at all! i have tried doing a time out and she just comes out and is fine for like a few minutes and she just goes back to biting. i have tried switching my hand with a toy and she wants my hand more!! i have tried holding her down and that makes her REALLY mad and she gets even more mouthy and bitey. i have tried just a tap on the nose and she just gets more mad. i have tried a different thing each day. she literally all she does is attack me! so the whole day i try one strategy and it does not work i move onto the next. i am getting so frustrated! i know she is a puppy but i bought her SO many toys especially for chewing. i put them in the freezer too especially her kong. she gets so bored of them! she loves her kong but she gets everything out so quicky of the kong! haha gosh i thought i was the only one! i thought maybe something was wrong with her like aggresion wise! i did not know golden retriever were that mouthy haha all of my friends golden retriever dogs are such gentle dogs but then again they are 2-4 years old. thank you guys very much. i also have another question she tends to hiccup a lot? is that normal for puppies? i know my old dogs did but she does it A LOT and she eats sooo fast!! i know she is very young but i think she is trying to also get dominance.. i do not know. i start puppy classes tomorrow. what happened was my moms friend is a trainer and i brought her over to her house... and she grabbed the side of her cheeks and wouldn't let go until she stopped biting and it worked! she stopped biting and she listened to her. but when i got home and tried it on her she did NOT listen to me and she got more mad! i do not think she respects me and i have no idea why!  i feed her, i brush her, i play with her, i walk her, i give her the most attention, i give her the most treats! i just do not understand. it is only me and my mom living with her so is it maybe why she doesn't respect us is because we are both woman? i know it sounds stupid but it seems to me she gets more mad when we show that we are the alpha. and she also is starting to just jump on the coaches when she feels like it.. and she will NOT get off when we tell her too! she knows sit, lay down, shake a paw, stay and what "go near your numnums" means which is time for dinner. she is a smart dog but i just think she is a brat to be honest! i love her to death but this is a bit riduculous! i have had puppies before i know how much time and effort they are but i have never had a dog like this who bites this much and growls this much! it's like she does not respect either of us. i can tell if she is play biting but this is very aggressive biting. my moms leg is swollen because of her attacking her! i just do not understand what her problem is. is there any suggestions on how to get her to listen? i know it will take awhile but i just do not understand how my moms friend the trainer got her to stop biting after a few of her strategies none of them worked but this one did and she stopped and started liking her, then went to bite me! and at home i tried the same technique and it did not work! it seems to me she just disrespects me.. and she was so skinny when i got her i don't think the previous owners were that good with her. and the potty training is way better now  i think she finally gets the hint to go outside. and during the night she just whines in her crate when she has to go and i let her outside. awww Jacks is such a cute name! thats the thing i just don't know the difference between agression or just teething? and i think i will try the outside part. maybe that will help. thank you all so much. and yes i do know it takes time it just gets so frustrating... and especially since you are supposed to stay calm and those teeth are like razers. and here is a few pictures of her


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## Jennamcg




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## Jennamcg




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## Jennamcg




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## Jennamcg

sorry the pictures are so big


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## wmag

Kasey was terrible at that age! We had so many bite marks. She was so bad with my 3yr old daughter that I couldnt have them in the same room. It did cross my mind that something was wrong with my puppy but I am so glad I found this forum and found out so many people were going through the same thing! What we started doing was if she bit we yelled ouch, gave her a toy, told her no bite and walked away to somewhere she couldn't follow. She would bite and jump on the backs of our legs thats why we had to go where she couldn't. We only had to stay away for less than a minute. It didn't work right away we had to keep doing it over and over all day everyday! It took a couple weeks before she realized if she bit us we were leaving. Kasey is wonderful now so I know it does get better! Love the pictures your puppy is so adorable!


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## goldentemperment

Sorry to hear you're having a tough time. Our puppy is starting to get a little better (she's 16 weeks now). Some people say you should yelp and walk away when your puppy bites too hard. It doesn't really seem to help in our situation, but we keep doing it because I'm hopeful that it is helping the puppy get bite inhibition. We also reward when she licks us.

I did some google searches last week, searching for "9 week puppy biting", "10 week puppy biting", "11 week puppy biting", etc, and found that the number of search results I got dramatically dropped down after week 17 (and peaked at week 16). I think it's just one of those things that all puppy owners need to go through. Good luck.

FYI, below were the number of search results for each week (not that it's scientific or anything, but it is interesting it does seem to follow an almost-normal distribution)

Week 9 - 39,500 search results
Week 10 - 992,000 search results
Week 11 - 31,900 search results
Week 12 - 74,500 search results
Week 13 - 558,000 search results
Week 14 - 619,000 search results
Week 15 - 149,000 search results
Week 16 - 375,000 search results
Week 17 - 268,000 search results
Week 18 - 68,200 search results
Week 19 - 35,700 search results
Week 20 - 93,300 search results
Week 21 - 45,600 search results
Week 22 - 34,400 search results
Week 23 - 37,000 search results


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## jaxdepo

Something i have noticed just this morning with Jax is that he is far more aggressive with me rather then my husband. For myself, I am a stern person and will use a strong voice where my husband somehow with Jax is the complete opposite. There are times when being louder and a little more harsh are helpful but I have notcied when my husband uses a calmer voice Jax seems to listen better. My husband needs to learn more consistency and I need to learn more calmness. I think these two things together will help with a hyper dog. 
When we eat our dinner we put Jax in his crate whether he cries or not. We do not want him exposed to our people food and don't want him hanging around the table while we eat. If he is sleeping outside of his crate that's fine too but he is not invited in to the kitchen while cooking or eating. You might want to try some boundries with that.
I would imagine your babe is acting as any o us would being first taken from mom and family, moved to a new family who once again moves you to another family. That's a lot of adapting, not to mention the language change on top of that! 
You need to make sure you show you are the dominant one and just keep sticking to it. Unfortunately you don't know the other famlies way of handlings things but that is ok, it's a new start for you both. 
What I have learned most importantly, is if you need a moment, take a breather. It's better you take a few deep breaths and calm down a bit rather then show your frustration and it's ok to need to do this once in a while.


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## Jennamcg

wow good to hear about that!! i thought my dog was like a devil puppy.. haha. my hands and wrists are so scratched up with so many bite marks even my legs are COVERED! i know when i googled golden retriever puppy biting this forum has come up so many times. this is what i don't get like when my mom leaves the room when shes biting she stops and then looks at me and purposely starrts chewing on a chair or anything she can chew and looking at me. i don't know if she's just being a little brat puppy because my mom showed her play time is over. she does the same when i walk out. i just don't see anything clicking in her head like "this is bad"!! okay good to hear that make me happy they get better! golden retrievers are amazing dogs. and thank you she is a total cutie! thanks for the support! yeah i do not think it works for her either...there's so many techniques out there and it seems none of them work. i think she knows shes being bad but she just doesn't care. i read that puppies love any sort of attention whether it's good or bad? i always give her treats too when she is being good. wow omgosh!!! that is so interesting to look at.... haha wow! thats what i think so too... i just think i get so frustrated and i think that is when i need to put her in her crate is when she is not listening at all because it makes me frustrated and i start to raise my voice. i just do not know how to keep calm all the time when she is attacking me with those razers! that's actually really smart i think i will try that. i know i do feel bad for her... and i never got to meet the breeder or where she was raised and i think she was taken away quite young. that's also another question i have how do i show that i am dominant? i think she knows she is in charge already. she tends to jump up and bite and snarl when she gets all nippy!! me and my mom have been making her do sit or lie down or shake a paw or stay & come everytime we reward her whether that is too feed her, to go outside, to get a new toy or to even feed her a treat or even pet her. thank you


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## alphadude

In order to gain the puppy's 'respect' you need to become the Alpha or pack leader. In the wild, the pack leader rarely needs to resort to actual violence. Typically body posturing, facial expressions and eye contact make the message 'stop that behavior' perfectly clear. Not to sound too much like the Ceasar but calm and assertive is the way to go. Do NOT raise your voice or worse yet scream because your words might be saying "I"M YOUR PACK LEADER LISTEN TO ME" but your actions and your emotions (which canines are quite adept at reading) are saying, I am weak, easily flustered and I do not wish to lead'. Think of it this way...in movies, who's the ULTIMATE Alpha male? James Bond 007. Does he ever get flustered or overly emotional and start screaming? No, he's the polar opposite, cool calm and efficient no matter the situation (usually making wise cracks). That's the persona you need to project if you want your puppy to 'respect' you and take direction. Make a conscious effort to control your own emotions and be your puppy's 007 and the change in her behavior will be rapid. That's no doubt why the female trainer so easily made your pup stop biting yet the same technique was ineffective when you tried it.


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## GoBigRed

Believe me I could be writing everything you have. We, too, thought our puppy had some major issues. I took him to a behaviorist to have him checked out. Fortunately I came acorss this forum and found out he was normal. 

We comment all the time when we see a puppy how we wish Husker would've been "nicer". He was stinking cute but he wasn't cuddly. We didn't enjoy those early months much, he was a ball of teeth. Even my tween/teen both comment on how they wish he hadn't been so "mean" as a puppy. 

It does get better, it took quite awhile but it does happen. Husker is almost a year now and he still has his moments but we all adore and love him so much. He is so much fun to play with and be around now.

Have patience and continue to tell yourself that it will change and get better.


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## goldentemperment

Respectfully, I've gotta say I'm not a huge fan of your post, as I'm not a huge believer in dominance theory. The alpha is the one who controls the resources. There are definitely breeds that you need to have a very assertive role in the relationship, but I've never believed that most golden retrievers need that sort of "alpha" role playing. I think that respect will come with time, patience, rewarding good behavior, and ignoring (or tactfully pushing back) against bad behavior. I don't want to "throw out the baby with the bath water," because I think there's good stuff in what you're saying, but it just seems like your advocating a relationship between dog and owner that over-empahsizes hierarchy. I just don't think it's necessary to go too crazy with that during the puppy stage.



alphadude said:


> In order to gain the puppy's 'respect' you need to become the Alpha or pack leader. In the wild, the pack leader rarely needs to resort to actual violence. Typically body posturing, facial expressions and eye contact make the message 'stop that behavior' perfectly clear. Not to sound too much like the Ceasar but calm and assertive is the way to go. Do NOT raise your voice or worse yet scream because your words might be saying "I"M YOUR PACK LEADER LISTEN TO ME" but your actions and your emotions (which canines are quite adept at reading) are saying, I am weak, easily flustered and I do not wish to lead'. Think of it this way...in movies, who's the ULTIMATE Alpha male? James Bond 007. Does he ever get flustered or overly emotional and start screaming? No, he's the polar opposite, cool calm and efficient no matter the situation (usually making wise cracks). That's the persona you need to project if you want your puppy to 'respect' you and take direction. Make a conscious effort to control your own emotions and be your puppy's 007 and the change in her behavior will be rapid. That's no doubt why the female trainer so easily made your pup stop biting yet the same technique was ineffective when you tried it.


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## Karin Wise

Patience, patience..... It really does get better! I jerked my hand away with a big and loud "OUCH"!!! everytime they used to do this nibbling, biting thing.... and eventually it stopped totally. Levi was a big culprit with this, Gabby not so much... But really, its a phase and it goes away.


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## alphadude

No offense taken. I speak from the standpoint of my personal experiences with Axl who happens to be a VERY dominant individual (Even for a golden). The pack leader approach seemed to work best with him. He was very mouthy (to the point where he broke my wife's finger during rough 'play'). There are many different approaches that will be equally as effective if done properly and with consistency. To reiterate, I do NOT advocate violence or physical punishment EVER! My approach is more of a mindset than anything else. I do believe that most dogs WANT the direction of a pack leader because it is much less stressful on them. I think it's safe to say that we all agree that golden retrievers are awesome dogs (I just brought home a 7 week old puppy 2 days ago), but under the skin they are still dogs that are genetically programmed to exist in a hierarchical system.


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## MDBLee#12

Jennamcg said:


> Okay so i just got my golden retriever about 2 and a half weeks ago. We got her from a family that does not speak english and they had to move so they had to give her away. They told me she is house trained and only bites on toys when she has toys. And she only knows sit, lay down and shake a paw in their language. Now my puppy i know she is teething but this is far Far from teething. She gets in these moods where shes devious and seriously attacks you and will NOT stop. I am getting sick of it! When she's calm otherwise she's good. I have bought her soo many toys and bones and teething toys and she just ignores them and rather go for your hand. I have seriously tried EVERYTHING. And nothing ever works. I don't think she respects me or my mom. Me and my mom are the only ones living in the house. I don't know what to do... She seems to not respect us at all. This might sound weird but I swear she poops and pees sometimes to be devious. And when we are eatting dinner she gets mad at us and starts barking and biting our feet. I am looking into a trainer but i just want to know will this go away? Or should i wait until her teething is finished to get a trainer? Should I be worried? Also when she eats she growls so much when i put her water bowl down!! So i have been feeding her by hand since and i tried today to see if it made a difference and she still growled when i went to her bowl. She's ok on walks but i am just getting so fed up with the biting it hurts so much one of the bites got badly infected cuZ she kept biting and biting at it and then she ripped the scab off. I just thought golden retrievers were not this vicious.. Is it something i am doing wrong?


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## MDBLee#12

Jennamcg said:


> Okay so i just got my golden retriever about 2 and a half weeks ago. We got her from a family that does not speak english and they had to move so they had to give her away. They told me she is house trained and only bites on toys when she has toys. And she only knows sit, lay down and shake a paw in their language. Now my puppy i know she is teething but this is far Far from teething. She gets in these moods where shes devious and seriously attacks you and will NOT stop. I am getting sick of it! When she's calm otherwise she's good. I have bought her soo many toys and bones and teething toys and she just ignores them and rather go for your hand. I have seriously tried EVERYTHING. And nothing ever works. I don't think she respects me or my mom. Me and my mom are the only ones living in the house. I don't know what to do... She seems to not respect us at all. This might sound weird but I swear she poops and pees sometimes to be devious. And when we are eatting dinner she gets mad at us and starts barking and biting our feet. I am looking into a trainer but i just want to know will this go away? Or should i wait until her teething is finished to get a trainer? Should I be worried? Also when she eats she growls so much when i put her water bowl down!! So i have been feeding her by hand since and i tried today to see if it made a difference and she still growled when i went to her bowl. She's ok on walks but i am just getting so fed up with the biting it hurts so much one of the bites got badly infected cuZ she kept biting and biting at it and then she ripped the scab off. I just thought golden retrievers were not this vicious.. Is it something i am doing wrong?


Hi, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with your dog. Every Golden I have ever known or trained has always been mouthy but with the proper methods and structure it will subside. It sounds like your trainer is inexperienced or not just not certified with the proper methods. Please don’t take any offense to what I’m about to say. 

The methods you are using to stop the biting are making your dog think your playing with her. Don’t spray water. They love that. Don’t hold her down at all. 

I did read what you have been doing and there are several other methods you should be trying. If you have an email I can send you detailed instructions on what things can be done. 

also I can guarantee you that she is not being spiteful or devious with going potty in the house. Dogs do not know what spite is. She is just confused and if you raise you voice when she soils in the house this will cause her to go potty when your back is turned. Dog are very simple and not that complex in their learning. They do not possess human emotions. You’ll need to start over with the potty training. If she had too much freedom when she first entered your home she will not understand what you want from her. I can send you specific instructions for this also.
Please do not think she is disrespectful you on purpose she seems like she was not taught the proper manners. She just doing what dogs do communicate with their mouths. She needs to be taught what a soft mouth is. Goldens are known to be mouthy. 
this can be modified using proper methods. 
again if you want to provide your email I’ll send specific instructions on what you’ll need to do.


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