# Biting my husband



## Boone's mommy (May 2, 2014)

I have a 10 month old named Boone who is sweet and cuddly with me unless he is wound up or wants to at and then he is bity. He's not like that for my husband though. He is very aggressive and cobstany biting my husband. I think it's mostly because he wants to play and rough house. My husband is at his wits end because he can't even sit for a second with out getting bitten.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated


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## kellyguy (Mar 5, 2014)

The only suggestion I have is a firm NO and follow up with making the pup do "puppy pushups". Sit, down, sit, down, etc over and over to get his mind focused.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Suggestions:

1) Obedience practice, on leash, two or three times a day for 5-10 minutes each. Your husband should work with him separately and you should work with him separately. 

2) Leave a short 2 foot long drag leash or nylon cord attached to his collar at all times. Use this to control him around the house.

3) Increase his daily exercise. He needs daily, aerobic exercise to help work off his excess energy. No, leash walks around the block do not count. It needs to be 20 or 30 minutes of hard work that makes him pant and raises his heart rate. Teach him to retrieve, get him some puppy playdates with other nice young dogs, buy a 50 foot length of cord from the hardware store and use it to exercise him at a deserted soccer field, church yard or school yard etc. When the weather improves, find a place to have him swim. 

4) Start teaching him self-restraint lessons.... "Leave it" and "place" where he learns to stay on a small rug or mat during a meal etc. Do some searches on youtube to learn how to teach these. He is absolutely old enough to learn these skills. 

He should grow out of this with patience and consistent work on obedience, but the key is all of this AND proper exercise. Hang in there.


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## Boone's mommy (May 2, 2014)

Thank you for the advice. 

He gets 2 hour walks a day and we play a lot of fetch in our yard. We also send him to puppy day care with lots of other dogs once a week. I wish we could work him out more during the week.

He went to obiedoance school but we have been bad about keeping up with his training . He really does focus and works hard when we train with him.

He is a really good boy I just hope soon enough he will be as sweet with my husband as he is with me


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## goldlover68 (Jun 17, 2013)

Puppies this age, seldom show aggression, he is playing. Your husband apparently is in his mind a playmate. When he tries to play, look away, fold you arms, covering your hands. And ignore him, he will quickly disengage. If you look at him and talk to him, he thinks you are playing....

Do your obedience drills with him 2 per day....this is critical going forward!

Puppy class with puppies??? Do you want you dog to bond with dogs or people? My trainers advise against socializing puppies with other puppies (except when in the litter). We want our 'pack' to be us people and our dog(s)....form the pack and do your work with that pack....


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## solinvictus (Oct 23, 2008)

Is your husband wrestling and rough housing with the pup?

Does your husband work/train the behavior cue's daily?


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## Boone's mommy (May 2, 2014)

My husband definitely rough houses with him. They are playing but I can see where Boone is getting confused .


Our vet actually recommended socializing him with other dogs. He loves going and we often have play dates with our friends dogs and my parents dog


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## solinvictus (Oct 23, 2008)

It sounds like Boone doesn't understand the rules. He is right in that teenage phase. I would suggest your husband no longer rough house with him for now. Play more recall games, fetch and hide and seek type games instead of the wrestling and rough house. And he needs to do that daily training for sits/downs/stays, leave it, give, take, impulse control games etc with lots of rewards for good behaviors. Boone thinks that your husband is a toy/playmate. 

Boone just needs guidance on the house rules.

Letting him play with unknown dogs without your supervision can create bad habits. It isn't bad to have him play with family dogs and doggie friends that you know are well socialized good playmates under supervision from you.


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## Goldylover2 (May 1, 2014)

I had to stop rough housing with my 8 month old pup at the time also. He was biting and nipping. We sent him to a trainer for a week. The biting and nipping as stopped for the most part. The trainer said that our dog was an alpha dog and needed to be taught the basics before anything else. I can't rough house with him because it will start the biting. I keep a prong collar on him with a nylon rope attached. Told to do this by the trainer. Any misbehaving, I correct him hard. It has worked. This morning he got ahold of a handkerchief. My girlfriend lifted his head so his front paws were off the ground. He released the handkerchief quickly. Before going to the trainer. He would get very aggressive and not give up what he had in his mouth. These are thing he shouldn't have. Toys, bones, balls he was always fine with and would release easily. His aggressiveness was stage 10. Unbelievable to se from a golden. But he's doing much, much better now. I guess if you don't' show your the pack leader to some dogs. They will try to be that leader. I was just butting heads with him. Trainer saved the day.


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## goldlover68 (Jun 17, 2013)

Boone's mommy said:


> My husband definitely rough houses with him. They are playing but I can see where Boone is getting confused .
> 
> 
> Our vet actually recommended socializing him with other dogs. He loves going and we often have play dates with our friends dogs and my parents dog


Perhaps you need a new vet? It is not what the dog likes that should lead you, it is what is best for the dog. They are pack animals. Their behavior is frequently influenced by this 'pack' behavior. If you focus him solely on becoming part of your pack, e.g. your husband and other family and friends, his behavior will be led by the rules he learns from those pack animals. His trainability will be influenced by those pack members. If he associates his pack as you and all your dog friends, he will also be influenced by that pack, which will encourage him to keep behaviors associated with that pack...like nipping, playing rough, barking, etc.

My trainers told me from day one, focus your pup on people as his pack! He learns all the dog rules he needs as part of his litter....

Just sharing what I have learned and passing it on for your consideration...

Good Luck


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## solinvictus (Oct 23, 2008)

I want a great relationship with my dog not based on fear and feel that it can be done by rewarding the dog for the good behaviors which sets up good habits and the dog learns the house rules in a happy way. 

We can choose to be the leading partner in a dance through life or we can use force and fear to have a dog that will listen not because he wants to but because he has to.


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## solinvictus (Oct 23, 2008)

goldlover 68 wrote: "If you focus him solely on becoming part of your pack, e.g. your husband and other family and friends, his behavior will be led by the rules he learns from those pack animals"

On this I really am in agreement with Goldlover 68. I want my dog to think I am more fun than anyone or any other pup that is around. I want my pup to choose to play with me so I teach him the rules with lots of reward and games. 

My 6 year old Helios will choose to play/train anything with me over anyone or any other dog he has the opportunity to be with. With Luke we are working toward that goal.


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## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

solinvictus said:


> goldlover 68 wrote: "If you focus him solely on becoming part of your pack, e.g. your husband and other family and friends, his behavior will be led by the rules he learns from those pack animals"
> 
> On this I really am in agreement with Goldlover 68. I want my dog to think I am more fun than anyone or any other pup that is around. I want my pup to choose to play with me so I teach him the rules with lots of reward and games.
> 
> My 6 year old Helios will choose to play/train anything with me over anyone or any other dog he has the opportunity to be with. With Luke we are working toward that goal.



I think what the OP's vet is saying is that the pup needs to be socialized. We've all read the horror stories here of goldens who are leash aggressive or dog aggressive, which they should never be. Socialization is a good thing, not a bad thing. And I don't think having play dates with a family member's dog or doggy daycare once a week is going to interfere with how the dog views his human pack.


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## goldlover68 (Jun 17, 2013)

fostermom said:


> I think what the OP's vet is saying is that the pup needs to be socialized. We've all read the horror stories here of goldens who are leash aggressive or dog aggressive, which they should never be. Socialization is a good thing, not a bad thing. And I don't think having play dates with a family member's dog or doggy daycare once a week is going to interfere with how the dog views his human pack.


My trainers and I would agree that no harm may occur. It is just a waste of time. But do not associate aggressive behavior with dog socialization. That is only true if a dog is not left with the litter long enough, that can cause aggressive behavior. But lack of dog socialization as the grow, is not known to cause aggression!

The doggy day care is for people (they are so cute playing) not for dogs.....I consider it a waste of time....better they spend the time with a trainer.


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## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

goldlover68 said:


> My trainers and I would agree that no harm may occur. It is just a waste of time. But do not associate aggressive behavior with dog socialization. That is only true if a dog is not left with the litter long enough, that can cause aggressive behavior. But lack of dog socialization as the grow, is not known to cause aggression!
> 
> The doggy day care is for people (they are so cute playing) not for dogs.....I consider it a waste of time....better they spend the time with a trainer.


We'll have to agree to disagree on that. I've trained a LOT dogs with aggression issues and 95% of those issues came from not being socialized properly. Unless you define taken away from the litter too early as younger than 12 weeks old. I have also trained a lot of dogs who have no aggressive tendencies (including my almost 14 year old), who were taken away from their litter at 6 weeks old (before I knew how important litter socialization is, especially for bite inhibition).

I personally believe that puppies and young dogs need to be socialized to people and other dogs extensively in order to become more balanced and comfortable around different environments. Just like you can have a perfectly happy, well adjusted 4 month old puppy who is exposed to something that scares the daylights out of them and they grow up to be nervous, anxious dogs.


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## goldlover68 (Jun 17, 2013)

fostermom said:


> We'll have to agree to disagree on that.
> 
> I agree....we disagree...both fair comments I think....it is all about discussion and our opinions....fair enough..


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## Selli-Belle (Jan 28, 2009)

Another opinion to throw into the mix, letting your puppy socialize with appropriate pups and adult dogs is a great thing. I have never seen a problem with a Golden with a proper temperament playing with other appropriate dogs developing behavioral issues due to playing. Do they need it? Maybe yes, maybe no, but they do enjoy it and a lot of bitey play with other dogs does cut down on the amount of chewing on humans your pup will want to do.

I also don't think allowing your pup to play with other dogs will interfere with your dog/human bond. Dogs are more complex animals than that. A dog needs to know when it is time to play and when it is time to work, but they figure that out as they mature. Having a dog who has been well socialized with other dogs from a young age is helpful for competition dogs since those dogs are more comfortable in crowded (with dogs and handlers) venues.


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## Selli-Belle (Jan 28, 2009)

Goldylover2 said:


> I had to stop rough housing with my 8 month old pup at the time also. He was biting and nipping. We sent him to a trainer for a week. The biting and nipping as stopped for the most part. The trainer said that our dog was an alpha dog and needed to be taught the basics before anything else. I can't rough house with him because it will start the biting. I keep a prong collar on him with a nylon rope attached. Told to do this by the trainer. Any misbehaving, I correct him hard. It has worked. This morning he got ahold of a handkerchief. My girlfriend lifted his head so his front paws were off the ground. He released the handkerchief quickly. Before going to the trainer. He would get very aggressive and not give up what he had in his mouth. These are thing he shouldn't have. Toys, bones, balls he was always fine with and would release easily. His aggressiveness was stage 10. Unbelievable to se from a golden. But he's doing much, much better now. I guess if you don't' show your the pack leader to some dogs. They will try to be that leader. I was just butting heads with him. Trainer saved the day.



Or you could have trained a drop command and had the dog give you the handkerchief willingly. My Selli was quite an all-out rough-houser as a pup as was my Dexy. They both loved to pick up my personal items in an attempt to get game started. Guess what? I rough housed with Dexy all his life and Selli and I had a nice session of play-tug-with-your-human's-coat-sleeve last night (she is 10 1/2 now). Never a hint of aggression, both dogs are quite confident dogs (true Alphas), I can take ANYTHING out of Selli's mouth as I could with Dexy. However, I simply have to say "no" before they pick it up or say "Can I have that?" and they give me the item willingly. 

Our relationship is not about proving "who is the boss?" I am the human with the bigger brain and opposable thumbs, I know I am and I show it by being kind to my dogs. They trust me and do what I ask. Works for us!


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