# 6 month old getting really out of control



## Kendra (Sep 23, 2015)

Hello, this is my first post here. I apologize in advance that this is so long; I want to make sure to present all the issues in hopes that someone will have some advice!

We are proud parents of Daisy, born 3/3/15. We got her from a breeder who was an acquaintance of ours, and the owner of the sire is a good friend of ours and we know the dog well. We researched many breeds before deciding on a Golden Retriever puppy and felt we were well prepared for the challenges this breed sometimes presents in puppyhood. We love her to pieces and she can be a very sweet girl when she wants to be; there is no doubt that she loves us, but she is just so darn difficult. 

We are not newbie puppy owners; nor are we new to large breeds. I grew up with Rottweilers and raised a pup of my own as a young adult. My husband is known as the dog whisperer in his family after rescuing a dog who had been crated 14 hours a day her entire life, had no bladder control, and was terrified of people, animals, and loud noises. After having her for a few months he had her completely potty trained and to the point where she would allow a few trusted family members to sit next to her and pet her. 

I give all of these details because I have browsed these forums looking for an answer and I want people to know that we are not the typical "got a puppy, didn't realize what we were getting into" type of family. 

Daisy is an extremely smart dog. She was a breeze to potty train and stopped having accidents after about her fourth week home with us. We brought her home at about 8 1/2 weeks old. 

Unfortunately she is also an extremely stubborn dog. All of the typical tricks we knew of to elicit good puppy behavior are of no use on her. My usual tactic of distracting with a chew toy or treat when puppy is chewing on something she shouldn't be ... doesn't faze her. She will purposefully take the toy or treat in her mouth, set it on the floor, and look me right in the eye as she goes right back to what she was doing that I was trying to correct. Not only is she destroying everything in our home, it gets dangerous for her too ... her current obsession is ripping fabric shreds from our couch. Yesterday I looked away for just a few moments to answer the phone and when I turned back she had pulled so much fabric off the couch that the staples were popping out - which she then tried to eat. 

Aside from the destruction, she is also terrible about jumping up and biting. No matter how many times we use the "OFF" command, she will not stop. She is worst about this with our 8 year old son. She often draws blood when she bites at him. I have taught him "be a tree" where he stands motionless, facing away and ignoring her. She will continue to jump up and bite until he can't stand it anymore and runs away. 

Finally, she is awful with what I consider her sassy attitude. When she is corrected or told "NO", she will turn and look you in the face, snap her teeth and bark loudly. I just know she's telling me "shut up, I don't have to listen to you!" 

We have numerous books on training Golden Retrievers. None of the things we've learned from those books are helping with her behavior. Our next step was to enroll her in a 4 week board and train obedience school, where we went to the school periodically during the 4 weeks to work with her and the trainer. This school came highly recommended to us by several friends who had sent their own Goldens there for training, so I had high hopes. The trainer told us she was one of the most difficult puppies she's had in 20 years. She even kept her an extra week and by the end of 5 weeks Daisy could JUST BARELY behave occasionally for the trainer. Since the end of the training we have been back twice for follow up training, which hasn't seemed to make a difference.

My husband and I both work full time but we have different hours, so she is never crated more than 3 hours at a time. I come home every day at lunch to let her out, feed her, take her potty, play with her, etc. We take her for walks daily and spend a ton of time playing fetch attempting to wear her out, because I have heard repeatedly that a tired dog is a well behaved dog. 

Despite all of our efforts, her behavior seems to be getting worse instead of better. I think I could handle it if not for the constant jumping and attacking my son. I feel really bad for him because he was so excited for a dog and now he doesn't want to be anywhere near her. He keeps asking us to get rid of her because she is so overbearing with him. Whenever he is in the same room with her she is jumping, biting, pawing, etc. and it doesn't stop until I remove one of them from the room. 

We won't get rid of her; I believe pets are for life and she is a part of our family. But we need to figure out how to deal with her because she is making all of us miserable at this point!

Any suggestions are certainly welcome. I have read that the really difficult phase is from 12 - 18 months so I am scared of what's to come if she's already this terrible!


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## iansgran (May 29, 2010)

I think you are at the worst sage right now, and things will get better. So sorry about your son. I hope things work out there soon. Big dogs and small children don't always go together. 
One thing which helped me with the chewing and biting was a Kong stuffed with peanut butter or cheese spread then frozen. Freezing is easy on the teething plus makes it last longer. Back in the freezer after chewing a bit. Also, have you been to puppy training classes? And find a doggy friend so your baby gets worn out playing. Plus a good doggy friend can nip back to say cool it.


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## quilter (Sep 12, 2011)

I am convinced the tree thing doesn't work for all dogs. With Casper, it worked tons better to leave the room and put a door between us. I never said anything to him (maybe "Game Over" in a monotone sometimes). I just turned, walked into the next room, and shut the door. Then stayed there for at least 30 seconds. 

Where are you in PNW. I know of a couple of good schools in the Seattle area - Seattle Humane and Ahimsa.


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## Charliethree (Jul 18, 2010)

Consider firstly all the changes that have happened in her short life. She came home to you at 8 1/2 weeks, was 'rehomed' temporarily for 5 weeks, (board and train) and now she is back with you. At 6 months old, 25 weeks, give or take, she has been 'rehomed' twice, 3 times if you count coming back to you. That in itself is confusing, stressful and anxiety producing for any dog, more so for a young pup, leaving them unable to focus, settle and learn. It is going to take some time for her to figure out where she belongs, to settle in, and understand that this is her home.

Consider also, that physically 'tired' does not mean mentally 'tired', we not only need to give our dogs physical exercise, but mental exercise as well. Mental exercise can come in the form of short training sessions, feeding their meals in treat balls or puzzle toys, or even just stuffing it a Kong, and giving them the time and 'space' to work the food out, you can even toss the food out on the lawn and let them search it out. If you are using 'corrections' in training consider trying reward based training instead, teaching her what TO DO, and rewarding her for it, can help to lower anxiety levels in a stressed or anxious dog.
Consider teaching some 'calming' exercises, such as 'go to a mat' or 'settle' on cue, consider teaching 'self control' exercises, wait,(briefly, to go out the door, to be given permission to eat, for example) stay, leave it. 
Consider that when she jumps on your son, it is self rewarding for her, prevention is key, keeping her on leash when they are in the same room, and teaching her how to appropriately interact with him. To 'Sit' for attention, instead of jumping up. If she has some basic obedience skills, consider having your son, if he is willing, practice with her. Keep her on leash, or even behind a baby gate, so there is no risk of her jumping up on him, and help him learn how to teach her, and reward her for getting it 'right'. Getting him involved in teaching her, supervised, of course, could help him feel a little better about her, and help him learn how to get her to 'listen' to him too.
You may also want to consider using something like 'Rescue Remedy' to help calm her a bit, ease her anxiety, and make it easier for her to focus, and learn.


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## Kendra (Sep 23, 2015)

Thanks for the responses!

As far as mental stimulation, we have bought every puzzle toy we can find. Several were recommended to us by the breeder who used them with her dogs. Daisy figured them all out within 5 minutes and was bored with them. I honestly think this dog is way too smart for her own good! Even the trainer commented that she's extremely smart, which most Goldens are, but Daisy takes it to a new level. We bought a Kong wobbler to feed her meals from, thinking it would occupy her for a longer period of time - she had it empty in less than 10 minutes. 

The trainer also recommended my son do training games with her. He works on "sit" and "down" with her and rewards with treats. This works as long as he has treats in hand but the minute the training session is over, she's back to jumping and biting. 

The breeder had one puppy returned to her for similar behavior issues, and another puppy from the litter is at the same obedience school Daisy went to. So I wonder if it has something to do with the particular line she comes from. We were prepared for a challenge and knew she would require a lot of attention, time, energy and patience, but she is unlike any dog I have ever seen before. 

We will try the leash in the house idea. That would probably be helpful as she is terrible on the leash outside which makes our daily walks really difficult and unenjoyable. 

Thank you again for the suggestions and for listening to me vent!


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## Kendra (Sep 23, 2015)

I should also mention that we have spent literally hundreds of dollars on Kongs, Nylabones, rawhides, bully sticks, etc. in an attempt to satisfy her strong urge to chew. As with the puzzle toys, she will focus on them for a few minutes before losing interest and going back to chomping on the couch, the trim, the dining room table, or anything else that she knows we don't want her chewing on. It becomes an exhausting cycle! 

The trainer suggested time outs to give her a chance to settle down and also to remove the attention that she is seeking. This seems to work; my only concern is that most days she is such a stinker that she'd spend the entire day in time out if we used that option every time she got wound up. Any thoughts/ideas on time out usage?


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## Kendra (Sep 23, 2015)

Quilter, sorry - did not mean to ignore your question! We are in SW Washington; closer to Portland than to Seattle. There are some great trainers in Portland, and the school we sent her to includes follow up training sessions for life. We text the trainer a few times a week to discuss the continued issues and she has offered to come out to our house to work with Daisy in her own surroundings. That will be our next step.


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## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

Chloe was at her worst with the biting and jumping on my niece and nephew up to about five or six months. Here is what worked for us. On the days they were over if Chloe was in the same room she was on a leash. She had to be gated away from them. The jumping and nipping was so bad. She even had to be leashed if she was outside and the kids were playing. Fast forward and she will be nine months Friday. They can play with her now. She is so gentle now. Try keeping your pup separated from your son or leashed. If you can get some baby gates. Have your son play tug of war or something with your pup behind the gate. It does sound like you have a extremely difficult pup though.


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## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

One other thing after re reading your post. Keep your pup gated if you can't keep her from chewing on things. Don't let her have the reward. You might want to think of a XPEN so she can be in the same room but not get to anything to chew.


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## Kendra (Sep 23, 2015)

Thanks for the suggestions, I will look into some gating options. We have baby gates to keep her out of the formal living room and to block off the stairs, but her latest trick is that she has learned how to get a running start and go leaping right over them. At this point, I am seriously considering going back to the tethering technique we used when she was a tiny puppy ... I hooked the leash to my belt and kept her right next to me at all times. She liked the constant contact and it kept her out of trouble. She seems awfully big for that now but for lack of better options ... 

I am also going to look into Rescue Remedy. She seriously reminds me of children with ADHD with her inability to concentrate! The trainer mentioned that as one of her main issues - she has serious lack of impulse control; more so than is normal for this age.


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## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

How much have you worked with her on impulse or her wait command. For instance you can use a wait command to teach her control when your feeding her. She has to sit before you put her food down. Tell her wait until you release her.


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## rabernet (Feb 24, 2015)

I'm sorry that you're dealing with this. You might also want to look into Susan Garrett's Ruff Love book. 

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Ruff-Love-Relationship-Building-Program/dp/1892694069?ie=UTF8&tag=libraryextension-20&camp=211189&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1892694069[/ame]


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## iansgran (May 29, 2010)

I remember when my first Golden was 6 months and I questioned if I had made a big mistake. As I said before I think you are at the most difficult age. I feel your frustration. That said, I wonder if you really like this dog. Is it possible your dog senses your frustration?


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## Kendra (Sep 23, 2015)

Cpc1972, she is hit and miss with impulse control training. We have gotten her to the point where she will respond to "down" and we set a treat on the floor, and she cannot eat it until we say "okay". However, it's only when she feels like behaving that she will do this. Other times she just completely ignores us and does whatever she wants. We just keep practicing hoping that the consistency will pay off. 

rabernet, thanks for the tip. I will check that book out. 

iansgran, we really do love her. We spend every bit of our free time with her and give her plenty of love, cuddles, and rewards for good behavior, on the rare occasions it occurs! However, her behavior has been so difficult since day one that I readily admit she has us all extremely frustrated. At this point I can honestly say that none of us enjoy spending time with her. It is just a constant battle all the time. My son told me he doesn't look forward to the weekends anymore because all we do is struggle with Daisy the whole time. I'm sure that she can sense our frustration; however, she has been like this from the beginning, long before she had pushed our patience to the max, so while our frustration is probably exacerbating the issues, I'm not sure we can say it's the cause of the issues. 

It really is heartbreaking for us because all three of us are dog lovers. We have adored the dogs we've had and when they passed away it was truly losing a family member. We feel like failures as pet owners because we are allowing this puppy to get the best of us.


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## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

I do think you are at the really difficult age. Hopefully she will outgrow it here soon. Just in the last month Chloe has really started opening her ears to off, and leave it. Her sit has always been good.

Just keep working on those impulse controls. Do it when you feed her to get extra practice. Hopefully she will mature here soon.


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## Kendra (Sep 23, 2015)

I keep reminding myself that hopefully this stage will pass soon. 

Here she is being sweet for a moment  she devoured that rawhide strip about three seconds after the picture was taken.


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## Anele (Dec 12, 2014)

I am sorry for what the trainer told you. I had a terrier a long time ago and he called my dog "the dog from hell." He was the first dog I had as an adult and I didn't know better. Looking back, I can see all the mistakes I made-- I am not saying he was an easy dog, but he certainly had great qualities, too, and I just needed a different way to train him and work with him. It was easier for the trainer to blame my dog and wipe his hands from him (after I paid a lot of money for lifetime classes).

I had another trainer come for my current dog and she said nothing nice except that he had a nice, blocky head. :doh: I could take that, but she also gave me bad advice and blatant misinformation. I decided not to work with her anymore.

Anyway-- the one thing I think you want to figure out is how your dog is getting access to doing all of these things. I am not sure if that has been mentioned. If she treats your son like that, she should not get access to him unless under strict supervision, on leash. Every time she gets to do it, her behavior is being reinforced. Chewing on the couch? Buh, bye-- time to go into the expen and watch activity. Your family wants a break from her? Crate or expen. A tired dog IS a good dog but an overstimulated one with too many options to make poor choices is not.

You have tried redirection and it's not working, so now it is time for heavy duty prevention. Pretend she is a little 8 week old puppy and start over again. Find out what makes her tick, what is her currency. If she wants attention, then she has to work for it. Food, ditto. 

She is super cute and I love her name. One member here has a really smart and mouthy dog like yours, and she has a trainer who recognizes the dog's drive and intelligence-- and used it to their advantage. Her dog has come such a long way, and his littermate went on to become a search and rescue dog. I am sure her dog could, too. Think of all the potential for your brilliant girl and keep that in your mind.

Oh, and I was terrified of my dog getting older (teenage stage) because he was so hard at 6 months. I thought he would be a nightmare at 9 months but he has gotten better and better. Don't believe everything you hear-- sometimes the early bloomers are harder earlier!!!


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## Kendra (Sep 23, 2015)

thanks for the encouragement! It is helpful to hear that others have had puppies who were difficult at this age and grew out of it. Here's hoping that she is an early bloomer and this is the worst of it!


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

If it makes you feel any better, I truly believe that some of the most rotten puppies turn into the bestest dogs as adults. It IS trying to have a 6 month old. 6 months is such the teenage months, and by age 2 you might look back and even laugh. I know it is not amusing now. 

I do agree with reading Susan Garrett's RUFF LOVE book, even if you don't implement her plan wholesale, the concepts are so sound and useful for all dogs. It is tough but fair. 

It is really important not to let the pup run your household or your emotional life; too much responsibility for a baby dog. She should not be loose unsupervised enough to chew your couch more than once. Take that as i nformation to yourself that she has too much freedom for her maturity level. Get her on a strict routine, with potty, breakfast, an hour off leash hike, training, then three hours in crate in the morning, and some kind of play / interation in the late afternoon. Give her a double xpen enriched with toys and puzzles, and give yourself a break. With the xpen, she can be with your family, but not able to bite or be a pest. The key thing is to avoid setting her up to fail and be punished. Set her up to succeed with less freedom and more enriched structure. 

If you crack down on her for a few months, then you can start giving her priveleges one by one.


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## bixx (Sep 8, 2015)

Hi, my 5 month old is not in this extreme state, but she is very very VERY bad with my 10 year old daughter. Nipping has resulted in wounds, tears and the occasional tantrum where she wants the dog out of her life. But then again, my 10 year old daughter does not listen to me either when I tell her that squealing NO! or STOP! or waving her hands in the air or pushing the dog back will NOT get Amber to stop. On the contrary, all her efforts are simply encouraging the dog to go on. So in this case, it is really two beings turning a deaf ear to me (doggie and daughter!)

I would also tend to agree that unless you can keep an eye on her, put her in the crate. this prevents her from chewing anything she shouldn't. Amber goes into her crate when I leave, take a shower or when I cook...all the moments that I cannot see or watch her. Sometimes it can feel like she's spending so much time in the crate, but really, as long as you are crating her only when it's necessary and making up for it with a long walk at some point, it should be fine. I was intending to stop crating Amber at 6 months, but at the rate she is going (I turn my back and suddenly she's picked something off the table, or from the garden)...I've decided I'm going to take my trainer's advice and continue crating up to 1 year old. At 5 months, I've only just given Amber occasional roaming rights to the kitchen and corridors. Otherwise, she is gated in our living room. This is also because I have 2 cats who need to access the kitchen and they are not very fond of a jumping pup. 

Another thing to look at is possibly diet. My trainer and some articles I've read online point out that high protein percentage in dry kibble often creates restlessness in dogs (like what sugar does to kids). I really don't understand this part, but maybe if you change her dry kibble...it might help..? 

Also try hand feeding (very back to basic moves). Read Dr. Sophia Yin's how to behave so your dog behaves. I started this with Amber the week she went home with us. It is now ingrained in her to sit down nicely and not bark when she wants something. I no longer completely handfeed at 5 months (i stopped at 4 months), but I still occasionally do it just to keep that training goal fresh. It helped her learn self control because if she really wants the ball in my hand for example, she just has to sit for it.

I've just come across videos and books of Turid Rugraas. She has some very interesting insights on dog behavior. 

I hope it works out for you! Good Luck!!


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## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

> Another thing to look at is possibly diet. My trainer and some articles I've read online point out that high protein percentage in dry kibble often creates restlessness in dogs (like what sugar does to kids). I really don't understand this part, but maybe if you change her dry kibble...it might help..?



They say a dog food with dha in it can help make a dog easier to train. Most large breed puppy foods have it in them.


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## nycgold (Sep 24, 2015)

Hi, This reminds me so much of virtually most dogs I've ever owned, and the good news is that it can be controlled.

I would suggest avoiding the so called dog bootcamps unless you're trying to get a service dog trained or the like. You or a family member should be working with the dog at all times with the trainer, if you choose to hire one. My 3yo golden didn't calm down indoors until about 2.5...I've also had goldens that started with bad behavior at 1 and older. 

Start with small steps and basic obedience. And keep trying even if it doesn't work at first, she will realize at some point you can be "stubborn" too. 

Your entire family must be involved in setting up the order, including your 8yo son. You could Start with short 10min training sessions, then crate/take breaks, then a play session, after which you require her to rest. a couple times a day, then you can slowly extend the time. This sometimes works to condition the dog to value the time with you more than alone. It may also help teach her what are the activities you approve. We do this at rescues for a lot of hyper dogs and while nothing is 100%, it seems to work more often than not... Keeping one of those 25ft+ leashes on at all times also helps if you don't want to crate her while you're home to control the behavior, it will also help some good leash etiquette. Limit access to toys and treats, should be a reward not spread around.

Re.toys - I've never had a golden that was interested in any toy - stuffed or not, for more than a day or two. Yes, they'll get the food out, chew through, destroy, etc, but no way will they keep busy with it. It's just my experience but I've tried virtually every toy out there as well. You could try playing retrieve and fetch games with her, you first have to teach (most dogs) how to play, long leash helps here as well. Your odds of playing with her and training sessions increase after a walk or other physical activity. Eventually she'll learn the word ball, toy, or more, and then you can ask to bring a toy or find a ball in house to distract from other behaviors (takes time and training). Plus fetch is a great way to get your son involved.

I don't want to start a debate on raw food or bone safety here, but in my experience the only "toy" that has ever worked for my dogs is a real raw marrow bone. Make sure it's not cooked, remove splinters and other detached parts and get it from a reliable source. Since she's a puppy, you have to be extra careful and supervise every minute like with any other treat. The good thing about marrow bones is that in most cases dogs can't really chew through and will just try to get to the marrow and then nibble around the edges so compared to rib bones, there's less risk of choking. My golden also loves to chew tree branches and while the advice out there is mixed, ive never had problems...you could also try elk antlers... 

Good luck!


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## Kendra (Sep 23, 2015)

Thanks for all the helpful ideas. As far as confining her - we do this whenever possible but at the same time I feel that she is crated enough in the overlap time between when I leave for work and my husband gets home. The ex pen is a good suggestion - except that she escapes! She leaps right out of it. I have looked for a cover but so far haven't found anything that could help keep her in. We had guests over the weekend with small children and we crated her for the first hour in the room with us, then brought her out on the leash. She REALLY wanted at those kids for quite sometime but after about two hours she calmed down and would lie quietly for them to pet her. So perhaps leash in the house is our solution for right now. 

Never have I had a dog who was able to foil ALL of my attempts to confine/control!!! She is quite a challenge. Much more so than I ever expected. After having Rottweilers and training them to be gentle and loving I thought for sure a dog as naturally friendly as a Golden would be simple in comparison. I sure learned my lesson!!!!!!


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## Kendra (Sep 23, 2015)

Interesting idea on the food. The trainer recommended we transition her to adult food at 6 months so for the past few weeks we've been feeding Taste of the Wild adult food. I'm sure it doesn't have DHA. I will do some research on that.


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## Yaichi's Mom (Jul 21, 2012)

Kendra, you have received a lot of good advice here.

The one question that jumps out at me from reading this thread is how much actual exercise is Daisy getting daily and what type?

The reason I ask it that Brisby was one of the most high energy pups I ever had. If I didn't physically wear her out, she would look for trouble to both get my attention and to drain that energy of hers. For the first 2 1/2 years of Brisby's life I arranged play dates for her, we walked miles every day, we played, we trained etc., and I was exhausted, however this worked for us. Brisby rarely slept more than 20 minutes a couple of times a day and was on the go all day unless I gave her an opportunity to spend that energy.

Although Brisby was a breeze to train in every other way, she needed a high level of activity, both physical and mental.

Do you have anyone close to you with a pup around the same age that you could set up play time and/or check out a local dog park ( I know many are very much against these parks) where you find a time where there are dogs the same age as Daisy so they can run, play and drain some of that energy? 

Do you have anywhere where you can take her to swim, retrieve etc?. Swimming drains a lot of energy and is a great training opportunity for commands like stop, come, drop it, sit, ok, stay, go etc.

I also started training Brisby for off leash with commands like "with me" in addition to the above, however reliable recall is necessary. Off leash is a great way for both human and dog to get exercise, bond, explore. Playing games like "find me" or "find it" in an off leash situation is also fun and drains both physical and mental energy. 

As you and others have stated, having a tired high energy dog helps minimize unwanted behaviors, however it's finding that fine line not to overstimulate our dogs and I have done this with Brisby too when she was younger. Giving her something to chew to wind her down usually helped. 

It is not easy having I high energy dog. It's just now as Brisby has turned 3 that things have settled down, however I still have to take her out a minimum of a 2 mile off leash hike with swimming ( minimum 1.5 hours) when possible and a long leash walk after dinner ( 1 hour), with play time in between, to have her settle down in between activities and at night.

Good luck!!...you will get there. You just have to find the right combo for your girl.


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## Leslie B (Mar 17, 2011)

Kendra said:


> Thanks for all the helpful ideas. As far as confining her - we do this whenever possible but at the same time I feel that she is crated enough in the overlap time between when I leave for work and my husband gets home. The ex pen is a good suggestion - except that she escapes! She leaps right out of it. I have looked for a cover but so far haven't found anything that could help keep her in. We had guests over the weekend with small children and we crated her for the first hour in the room with us, then brought her out on the leash. She REALLY wanted at those kids for quite sometime but after about two hours she calmed down and would lie quietly for them to pet her. So perhaps leash in the house is our solution for right now.
> 
> Never have I had a dog who was able to foil ALL of my attempts to confine/control!!! She is quite a challenge. Much more so than I ever expected. After having Rottweilers and training them to be gentle and loving I thought for sure a dog as naturally friendly as a Golden would be simple in comparison. I sure learned my lesson!!!!!!


One thing that I did was to have a metal closed hook installed in the wall behind a door in my living room. It is not that obvious and I made sure it hit a stud in the wall. I can use a rope leash or a wire leash and have a young dog with us but contained at the same time. The leash cannot reach the furniture. All the grandkids can excape the jaws and puppy learns to CALM down. Of course, we are breeders so I always have a fresh supply of obnoxious young dogs to put on the hook but it is easy to take out when you are done and patch the half inch hole. 

From your description I suspect that your girl has an independent side and you are seeing the worst of it right now. Distractions, diversions, and ignoring the problem are of little use with an independent dog. She needs consequences for her poor choices. They do not have to be abusive or mean but they do have to mean something to her. Right now, when you give her a command and she looks at you and then goes right back to what she was doing and IGNORES the command, think of a 16 year old that is giving you the finger. That is what she is doing. Don't feel bad, many of us have been there and I am right there with you as I type. Her name is Roxie and she is very naughty!!!

I suggest that if catch her chewing the couch, chair, wall, child, etc you give her a verbal "NO!" and if she does not immediately stop, you will place her in her kennel without any eye contact, talking, or kindness. You have to be very swift and firm and cold. This is a time out and she should see it as such. Put her in and close the door and ignore her for at least 10 minutes. It does not hurt her but she will get the message that she did something that pissed you off. Open the door and let her out but continue to ignore her. Let her come to you and then only meagerly give her any affection at first. You are still a little pissed. If she is tenative that is great. Shows she cares a little that you are dispeased with her.

For a while you will feel like the poor dog is going in and out of that crate 30 times a day. However, for a dog being banished is not nice and it ties into their primal need to fit in. The consequence for her bad behavior is that she has to be in time out and she can earn more free time by behaving. If she is as smart as I think she is she will catch on pretty quick.

Good Luck


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## princessjessie (Nov 16, 2014)

*Spray collar and spray bottle*

To intercept bad behaviour it might work if you use a spray water bottle. I have used this with my girl and boy and it does seem to stop them in their tracks. Once you have their attention you can act. Spray collars ( remote control) are a good idea too. We use one for Max as he is a bit of a barker. The remote gives you complete control over your dog.

Just a thought it might help.


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## 1wdmcdonn1 (Jul 18, 2014)

My Golden, Bailey, now age 17 months, has some similar characteristics to what you describe and I have had him in classes and generally use very positive teaching with rewards. As a puppy, he used to bite and chew on everything in sight including my hands. This was mostly my fault for giving him too much unsupervised opportunity because I didn't want to put him in a cage every time I couldn't supervise him. So, I chose to use Bitter Apple, not sprayed on what he was likely to chew, but rather, when I caught him in the act, I reprimanded him with a stern "No!" and sprayed it directly into his mouth two or three times. While this may seem extreme and possibly cruel, it just tastes very foul, does no harm whatsoever, and produces immediate results. After the third time, the problem was totally cured. Since then, I have only needed to say to him "I'm going to get the 'stuff', pick up the bottle of Bitter Apple and he stops the chewing/biting. I haven't used the spray for many months. BTW, my first effort using a spray bottle with water worked once, and then he started to like it (water sprayed on a water dog?) and treated it like a game.

I'm sure that having him in a large play group on weekends with as many as 15 dogs has also helped him learn limits. Good luck with Daisy.


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## mm2k14 (Feb 16, 2016)

Any updates about how you're doing?


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## Kendra (Sep 23, 2015)

I have been meaning to come back and post an update.

Daisy will be one year old on Thursday! 

While she still is a very challenging girl, she has improved a lot over the past few months. She seems to have grown out of some of her more obnoxious behavior; the furniture chewing has finally stopped and we were even able to get a new couch to replace the one she destroyed. We've had it a month and she hasn't so much as licked it. 

She still gets extremely wound up around kids, including my son, but she is learning to be more gentle and my son doesn't get nearly as frustrated with her as he used to. What has changed is she is able to calm down more quickly, whereas before there was no stopping her once she got into one of her crazy moods. Last night my 2 year old nephew was visiting and I was so happy to watch her playing fetch with him - she was so gentle with him and would allow him to take the ball right from her mouth. 

She's still a very headstrong dog and she is not easy; but she is improving. Obedience is still difficult for her but we work on it daily and even though I don't always notice her small improvements, people who haven't seen her in awhile comment on how much better her behavior is. My parents recently came to visit after not seeing her for a few months and were amazed at how much she has improved. 

I think she went through her adolescent phase earlier than we expected and it threw us for a loop. She is much more manageable now and we are all much happier, just in time for the baby to be born next month


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## wdadswell (Dec 17, 2015)

Thanks for giving us an update! Thank goodness you and your family were up for the challenge! So nice to hear Daisy is doing well! I'm sure you've given hope to others, living with a difficult pup.
Congratulations on the upcoming birth!


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