# 5 month old girl golden retriever growling and snapping.



## Laurarebecca (Dec 12, 2016)

Hi I'm new to the forum, was wondering if anyone could help me. Our 5 month old golden retriever has been showing signs of aggression when we try to take something out of her mouth. She will growl and then snap if it's something she really likes. She's shown signs of this since she was about 10 weeks old. She is doing brilliant with everything else, she's toilet trained, really friendly with people and other dogs, and has learnt commands fairly quickly. She doesn't guard her food bowl she will quite happily let you put your hand in while she's eating. We have learnt her to sit and wait till we tell her to eat it. She seems to do it with daft things like tissue or if she has a bit of paper. I've told the kids not to take anything off her while we are trying to get her out of doing it. I'm trying the trade for a treat at the minute, which she will drop what she has in her mouth straight away. Do you think I need to carry on trading for a treat to teach the drop command. Sorry the thread is so long it's just so frustrating as keep wondering what we are doing wrong as she is so clever and lovable when she's not doing this. My husband will just take it out of her mouth while she does a growl, but don't think it's helping doing that as she's still been doing it. Has anone else experienced this with their dog?


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## Mayabear (Aug 26, 2015)

My wife and I experienced this with Maya when she was that age. She is 2 years old now and does not exhibit this kind of behavior any more.

Maya did it once with an orange peel she found lying on a pile of snow. My wife reached into her mouth and Maya chomped down harder and faster drawing blood. Another time I was feeding Maya apple, and held on to the wedge. She snapped. The third time, she had a dental chew, it was dark outside (after a bbq) and she thought my wife's hand movement was threatening, so she air snapped. 

All 3 times she was swiftly given a time out. I probably got a little upset too and she could sense I was angry. But since our issues were with food, for the next month I hand fed her all her meals. She slowly learnt that we gave her food, and could take it away too, and there was no reason to be threatened.

In your case, you need to work hard and consistently on the "drop it" command. Practice with a treat and make her drop things - toys, tissue paper (if that is high value for her), whatever else. High value treats are key - find something she really goes nuts for.

I would say reaching in her mouth is risky, especially if she is warning you off with a growl. Make sure the kids know that they should not do so. I would go into Maya's mouth if I thought she had picked up something dangerous, but for the most part we traded for treats.


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## Laurarebecca (Dec 12, 2016)

Thanks for the reply, I'm really working on the drop it command with her, I've even purposely been dropping things that are high value to her and getting her to drop. We hand feed her as much as we can if we give her a treat or a bone, which she is fine with. She growled once when she was younger when I walked in the room and she was eating a rawhide. I've been giving her treats while she's eating things she likes and she hasn't done it since. Feel like we've made progress but still a long way to go. Think I need to remember trade treats while we are out on walks to, as she will growl if she picks something up she shouldn't do and you try to take it away. She is so well behaved in everything else, just need to nip this in the bud while she is young.


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## TanyaS (Oct 27, 2016)

I think it's something you need to work on daily, several times a day. Continue working on drop it, leave it, hand feeding, etc. Growling is okay - it's just a dog warning that she is uncomfortable, not happy. You don't want to teach a dog not to growl, because then she'll end up biting someone with no warning. But she needs to learn to be comfortable with people handling her mouth and take things away. I would make sure part of her daily training includes handling, especially her mouth, checking her cheeks, pulling back her lips to touch her teeth, etc. She also needs to learn bite inhibition. It's actually important that puppies learn *how* to bite (mouth) human skin without hurting. Please, look up Ian Dunbar on bite inhibition. Also, here is a good youtube video that explains bite inhibition and why it's important:


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## Laurarebecca (Dec 12, 2016)

Thank you she has quite good bite inhabitation now as she used to really hurt. Her teeth are just coming through, but the normal puppy nipping has subsided. I'm going to practice the drop it command continuously like you say, till it starts to work with her and keep plenty of trading treats on hand. She's fine with letting me or anyone else look in her mouth and her teeth, just seems to be if she has something she shouldn't. I've also just been opening her mouth now and again and dropping a treat in there, just to try to get her to think that she will get nice things from us and can gain our trust. Thank you for the advice, nice to hear other people's opinions as you hear so many different things things that people tell you to try, sometimes you are not sure which is best. I don't agree with punishing the dog for guarding treats like some do, I want her to gain our trust and drops things because she is willing to do so.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

This is serious business when you have children in your home. Repeat to your kids on a daily basis that they are not to take anything from the dog EVER. Yes, keep trading and work to set up your home so that she's not having an opportunity to get things she will guard if at all possible. I have kids and we use babygates to keep dogs from going upstairs and getting into bedrooms etc. If there is anyway you can afford it, having someone who specializes in dog behavior come work on this problem is a good idea. It needs to be someone who has a lot of experience and specializes in behavior, not just a pet trainer. When you have children in your home you really have to take this seriously, it will not go away on it's own.


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

My Brady when he was about 6 months old went through a week of this - it started with a bully stick - very, high value, and he actually bit my 8 year old as she stepped over him. I grabbed him by the scruff immediately and put him in the crate. Never again gave him bully sticks.

We also did Nothing In Life Is Free for a few weeks. Each family member, including all the kids hand fed him his meals. He is 10 now. He has never done that again. I have taken steak he has stolen, bones, all kinds of things out of his mouth, he may be stubborn in letting go, but he has never bit or tried to bite or growl over a high value treat again. We do not give him bully sticks anymore because of safety reasons, but I did after this, and he would actually bring them to my children and want to chew them on their laps.


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## Mayabear (Aug 26, 2015)

Laurarebecca said:


> Thanks for the reply, I'm really working on the drop it command with her, I've even purposely been dropping things that are high value to her and getting her to drop. We hand feed her as much as we can if we give her a treat or a bone, which she is fine with. She growled once when she was younger when I walked in the room and she was eating a rawhide. I've been giving her treats while she's eating things she likes and she hasn't done it since. Feel like we've made progress but still a long way to go. Think I need to remember trade treats while we are out on walks to, as she will growl if she picks something up she shouldn't do and you try to take it away. She is so well behaved in everything else, just need to nip this in the bud while she is young.


By hand feeding I mean all her meals as well. I literally fed Maya kibble by kibble for several weeks (I had to alter my schedule for this, meaning I woke up earlier etc). One kibble at a time, making her focus on me. After a while, it did not matter if I put the bowl of kibbles down and left the room; she would wait for me to return and resume feeding her. Perhaps that strengthened her view of me as a food provider rather than someone who would take things away.

Concurrent with this continue the trading for high value treats. And praise effusively as well. Most goldens are food motivated, but sometimes Maya will respond to my affection and praise more than a treat. 

For what it is worth, I think this is not aggressive behavior, but something that needs to be trained against immediately. I would definitely reiterate "leaving the dog alone when she has something in her mouth" to your kids.


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## Laurarebecca (Dec 12, 2016)

Thank you I'm definitely going to feed everything by hand now like you said with her food bowl, I am going to practice the drop it command several times every day too! Might get the kids involved with holding her food bowl as she is fine with that, just not in regards to anything else. She is so obsessed with food so if anything training her to drop for a treat is quite easy to get her to do. She love's frozen carrots which we give her to help with teething, and have been holding that while she eats it. She will quite happily sit on my knee while she eats a chew or a treat. I'm hoping it's just a testing the boundaries stage, and with lots of training will get her through this stage.


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## Guido (Sep 2, 2016)

Couldn't agree with @Mayabear more! Lucy did this too. Never engage in a show of force with your pup, as this will only make things worse. 

Also, at this stage, she is probably (on the verge of) losing her puppy teeth. So, if your husband is prying things out of her mouth, he might be unintentionally hurting her, creating an adverse reaction to human hands that try to take something out of her mouth.

Exchanging for high value treats is the way to go. Or at least it was for Lucy, who showed exactly the same behavior at exactly the same age.

Deal with it the right way, and it will pass.


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## Laurarebecca (Dec 12, 2016)

Thank you it's helpful to know that people have also experienced the same thing while their dog has been young. She's just been sat on my knee with her chew bone while I've been giving her treats and she has been fine. Then she ran under the table with a washing up sponge of all the things, so my husband went to get the sponge after telling her to drop it, which she did, but as he went to take it she growled. He had thrown her a treat which she ate, but then growled when he took it away. Going to have our work cut out but being consistent with the drop command and trade for a treat. I really want her to get out of this stage as I've already told the kids to never take things off her till she stops doing it.


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