# Delete



## ArkansasGold (Dec 7, 2017)

Hi, I moved your thread to the behavior sub-forum so that you’ll get more relevant replies.


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## Oceanside (Mar 29, 2021)

Did you get him as a puppy or a rescue?

I would make sure that he is not near Gracie or your kids at all if you cannot actively supervise. These issues are probably beyond the scope of online help. You’ll need to work with a really good trainer and hopefully over time you can make some improvements. Perhaps if you post your location some people can make trainer recommendations?


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## SRW (Dec 21, 2018)

Mustlovedogs123 said:


> an Amish farm which isn’t necessarily bad


It's only bad something like 99% of the time.


Mustlovedogs123 said:


> We love him so very much but we have kids and they are getting scared and we are too a little because of his behavior.


How much are you going to love him if one of your children is permanently scared or maybe loses an eye? 

Get rid of him.


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## Mustlovedogs123 (May 19, 2021)

Oceanside said:


> Did you get him as a puppy or a rescue?
> 
> I would make sure that he is not near Gracie or your kids at all if you cannot actively supervise. These issues are probably beyond the scope of online help. You’ll need to work with a really good trainer and hopefully over time you can make some improvements. Perhaps if you post your location some people can make trainer recommendations?


Thank you for your reply. We have worked with trainers and he is just very stubborn. He is a good boy he does have his big puppy heart. All the replies I see thank you. Our kids are older and we all know how to work around him. We are safe.


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## Mustlovedogs123 (May 19, 2021)

Mustlovedogs123 said:


> Thank you for your reply. We have worked with trainers and he is just very stubborn. He is a good boy he does have his big puppy heart. All the replies I see thank you. Our kids are older and we all know how to work around him. We are safe.


We bought him he was not a rescue.


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## diane0905 (Aug 20, 2010)

I’m sorry you are going through this. It sounds like you may need to re-home this dog. I would not have a dog around my children who has aggression issues. It is also not safe for Gracie and could cause aggression issues for her. You could take your dog to a behaviorist to see if that would help, but I don’t see any way you can have the dog safely in your home without a muzzle.


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## Georginenordin (Jan 14, 2019)

Any type of aggression is very difficult and requires time and extensive training with a certified behaviorist/vet behaviorist. The golden creates additional challenges because every stranger believes the breed is approachable and the owner must be constantly on alert. This type of dog is very difficult with dogs and children in the home. Rehoming can also be very challenging because you must find a home without children, maybe without dogs, and be committed to the required financial and time investment. You can try rescue if they are equipped and willing to take on the project. I am part of a California golden rescue and we require the following assessments 1) vet for wellness, 2) certified trainer assessment and 3) vet behaviorist assessment before even considering surrender. Our dogs go into foster homes and we must keep them safe.


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## johnluce (Sep 7, 2014)

I have a male Golden, 8 yrs. that sounds just like yours. I tried everything before going to a Certified Veterinary Behaviorist even after that I am are limited with him. He is on Prozac daily which really helps. We have learned that our golden responds much better to positive reinforcement vs trainings with pronged collars, shock collars, neck pulling etc. We have come to the point where he is really good with me (I still have to be careful) but have learned most of his triggers and can be proactive to stop a bad behavior before it starts. I still keep him away from all humans 100% and separated from his 1/2 sister that he has attacked twice, about 75% of the time. It has worked out for us so far and he still has a good life. I take him with me in my truck (in the back cab) most all the time, he is fenced off in the house and has a sperate outside kennel. The two dogs are fine together when playing in the pond or in the yard (we live in the country). I cant take him to the vet unless he's muzzled. Seek the help of a CERTIFIED Veterinary Behaviorist, learn his triggers and how to be proactive or train away from. They may also prescribe meds. Change your lifestyle with him for the safety of others. Hope this helps


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## SRW (Dec 21, 2018)

I hope nothing bad ever happens with this dog.
If something does, remember that you posted this on an open forum.



Mustlovedogs123 said:


> he has terrible aggression issues like;
> You cannot go near his dog bowl
> You cannot pet him on the head for long
> You cannot startle him or walk by him when he’s sleeping or he will lunge at you
> our golden doodle Gracie he has swung by her neck a couple different times and thank god we were there for her. We have tried everything but a muzzle at this point. We don’t know what else to do. We tried training that didn’t work either. Anything would be appreciated. We love him so very much but we have kids and they are getting scared and we are too a little because of his behavior.


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## Mustlovedogs123 (May 19, 2021)

diane0905 said:


> I’m sorry you are going through this. It sounds like you may need to re-home this dog. I would not have a dog around my children who has aggression issues. It is also not safe for Gracie and could cause aggression issues for her. You could take your dog to a behaviorist to see if that would help, but I don’t see any way you can have the dog safely in your home without a muzzle.


Thank you so much for your empathy. It’s so tough because we just love him so much and he has so many good qualities but yes it’s not consistent good. And we never know what could god forbid happen.


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## Mustlovedogs123 (May 19, 2021)

johnluce said:


> I have a male Golden, 8 yrs. that sounds just like yours. I tried everything before going to a Certified Veterinary Behaviorist even after that I am are limited with him. He is on Prozac daily which really helps. We have learned that our golden responds much better to positive reinforcement vs trainings with pronged collars, shock collars, neck pulling etc. We have come to the point where he is really good with me (I still have to be careful) but have learned most of his triggers and can be proactive to stop a bad behavior before it starts. I still keep him away from all humans 100% and separated from his 1/2 sister that he has attacked twice, about 75% of the time. It has worked out for us so far and he still has a good life. I take him with me in my truck (in the back cab) most all the time, he is fenced off in the house and has a sperate outside kennel. The two dogs are fine together when playing in the pond or in the yard (we live in the country). I cant take him to the vet unless he's muzzled. Seek the help of a CERTIFIED Veterinary Behaviorist, learn his triggers and how to be proactive or train away from. They may also prescribe meds. Change your lifestyle with him for the safety of others. Hope this helps


I’m so happy you shared this thank you so much. We do all of the same things you do too. We also have a camp and let him run and play. This is really helpful advice and to know there is hope for him. He’s a great dog and has his love to give but like you said you have to know the triggers and then it’ll be okay.


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## Mustlovedogs123 (May 19, 2021)

SRW said:


> I hope nothing bad ever happens with this dog.
> If something does, remember that you posted this on an open forum.


I don’t know what you mean.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Mustlovedogs123 said:


> Hi, I really need some help with our golden Duke. He was born 9/2/19 from what we learned after an Amish farm which isn’t necessarily bad but unfortunately in this case it seems to be.
> he has terrible aggression issues like;
> You cannot go near his dog bowl
> You cannot pet him on the head for long
> ...


Crazy question.... can you pinpoint any causes for his fear aggression? When did these behaviors show up? What were the triggers - or can you think of any moment where literally you made a big mistake or the kids did something or something else happened. Because what you describe sounds like a very fearful dog.

Behavior is both learned and hereditary. Nurture and nature.

You can have a very sensitive dog who is naturally twitchy and tends to growl or snap in reaction to something....

But a dog that's snapping because you go near his bowl, pet him, approach him while he' sleeping, etc.... these are not normal behaviors for even a dog that has crappy breeding behind him. Not golden retrievers.  These are learned behaviors if he was handled or trained very roughly.

It is very important to sit down with your spouse and have a come to Jesus discussion on what you and your family have been doing wrong with raising and handling this dog - before you fix things enough so you can live with him.

He is 2 years old and temperament is pretty much set at this point. What you need to do is figure out how to not set him off and get him to "calm down" a little.

You mention that your children are scared of him and that is good. Because then they will leave him alone which protects them. This is not a dog you want the kids climbing on or grabbing or hitting, etc... And yes, little 2 year olds going though the "terrible twos" have to be watched closely around dogs because they are little monsters.

Training and management are going to be key. It's not great to say that you tried training and it didn't work, because most of us will tell tell anyone that training never stops.

Keeping your dog and having a more stable home with him - it can be done, but you have to commit to acknowledging training and management mistakes that were made early on with this dog, learning what specifically his triggers were.... so you do not ever trigger him.

He should mellow with age - but you have to go a long way to understand him a lot more vs hoping it can all get fixed. It won't get fixed. He will never become a normal golden retriever who is bomb proof, never growls, never snaps, etc. _Never_. But it's OK if you can adjust house rules and love him in spite of all that stuff.

Our first golden had temperament issues - all which stemmed from training and home management. Dog growled, snapped, etc... Second golden was a smidge worse because he could move like a lightning bolt and never gave any warning before biting. Neither of these goldens had good temperaments an they both were raised by idiots who were learning how to understand dogs.... by the time we knew more, it was too late to change them.

That is the position you are in right now. If you can't learn to live with a dog who needs more controlled space around him and needs a little more love and understanding than most dogs.... you owe it to him to rehome him with somebody who can provide him with what he needs.

some people's response to fear aggression from some dogs is reinforcing the totem pole with this dog, including resource guarding the couches, beds, rooms, etc... and not sure how this helps with a fearful dog, but it makes them feel better to shove the dogs around.  Common sense to me says that how you handle a fearful dog may make him more fearful or self-defensive.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Mustlovedogs123 said:


> ... Our kids are older and we all know how to work around him. We are safe.


You are fooling yourself. A dog this unpredictable is a disaster waiting to happen even if your kids are older.


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## Mustlovedogs123 (May 19, 2021)

Our dog is like our family that’s why I’m looking for some different things that maybe other golden retriever owners might have seen or could give suggestions on. Our dog has had food aggression since the day we picked him up and brought him home when he was a puppy. He has always had that. He did get a tick on his head that could be maybe some factor but he’s always been very hyper and had this temperament. We are patient with him and he has had training and we continue to train him at home. No we do not use any form of any harm to him he’s our dog our kids are older I am sure our son has done things we probably haven’t seen because I have caught him a couple times messing w him and made sure he was aware. Everyone else never no. We are all very patient w him we know what his triggers are and we always leave him be. We have had kids come in to our yard and mess w him and we have had to move because of this so we are doing everything in our power for our dog to protect him keep him safe because we love him so much.


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## Mustlovedogs123 (May 19, 2021)

nolefan said:


> You are fooling yourself. A dog this unpredictable is a disaster waiting to happen even if your kids are older.


Thank you for your insight I appreciate it.


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## Hildae (Aug 15, 2012)

Mustlovedogs123 said:


> Thank you for your insight I appreciate it.


They won't delete the thread, it's permanent, but you can ask for commenting to be turned off.


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