# Looking for suggestions and advice on growling



## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

He is very young and that is one way they play with their littermates. I dont think it would be a aggression issue at this young age. Being retrievers they are naturally mouthy. What I would do is when he has taken something that he isnt supposed to have, dont try to grab it away. That makes it more of high value item. Trade him for something like a favorite playtoy or a treat. He was probably snapping to get it back not trying to bite you. Kind of like "that is mine and I am taking it back". 
Since you have kids, dont let them at anytime try to take something away from him even in playing. And dont leave him unsupervised with the kids, so something like that can happen. 
If you google NILIF that is Nothing in life is free, that has great information on being the alpha with your dog and positive training. Good luck with your little landshark. It will get better. Plus he is probably getting ready to start teething with the big boy teeth coming in and they can me mouthy then too. I took a carrot or a wet washcloth and froze them for a good chewing and soothing to their gums.


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## jnmarr (Mar 7, 2008)

Hello, and welcome! :wavey: 
I would suggest obedience classes ASAP. You instructor will be able to help you with this. You have to teach the " drop " command. At first I use it as though I am saying " swap ". Start with a toy/ tell him to drop.. and show the treat.. try to wait until he drop it. praise and give the treat.. then give it back to him! Repeat. Try to let him drop it and not to pull etc. This is especially true when they are in the crate or a corner.. and you need to collect something they have. Trade for it. The most common time an owner is bitten by his dog is when he is taking something from their mouth. This can be avoided by training. Have you tried hand feeding him his meals? After he has the drop down pat with the toy, use other things. Sometimes give them back, some times only the treat. Always praise.. never yell.. always wait and win, so he doesn't learn persistence pays off and you will go away. This is very normal puppy behavior/


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## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

Its possible he might innately be a guarder, but also at this age there is a strong tendency to test boundries as they figure out their position within the family structure. Lucky looks to all of his human family as his leader...even the kids...but it didn't start out that way. 

Making sure you are the leader (nilf was VERY good for Lucky) will help a lot. Making sure he is well trained in his commands and that he obeys you spontaneously helps a great deal. Teaching Leave it and drop it is really important and helps give you more control. 

Lucky showed his first food and Rawhid/pigs ear aggression about 13 weeks of age. Its not pleasent is it.(little puppy scared the holy @#$3 out of me) It better to handle this now....it gets scarier when they get bigger teeth.

He does really good now because we made eating a non-threatening experience (tidbits dropped in his bowl as he is eating) This was something we did later...after he was three years. And its been very effective..enough where I feel confident that he's not going to growl at my kids when they squeeze by him as he's eating (we have a small kitchen).

He never had this attitude towards socks or non-edibles on the ground. But I would say lots of treat training to help him see that losing something is pleasurable (before he growls...not after) would be very helpful.

Good Luck to you. My family went through this and I know what you are feeling.


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## kvondera (Nov 17, 2008)

Thanks guys, I knew I could come here for some support. I have tried the hand feeding over the last week and a half. I am hoping that helps. Today he stole a stick of butter off the counter and I "traded" him the butter for a treat. I felt like I was rewarding him for stealing. Uggghh. I am going to find a good place to go for training. Lucky he is so darn cute!


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## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

kvondera said:


> Thanks guys, I knew I could come here for some support. I have tried the hand feeding over the last week and a half. I am hoping that helps. Today he stole a stick of butter off the counter and I "traded" him the butter for a treat. I felt like I was rewarding him for stealing. Uggghh. I am going to find a good place to go for training. Lucky he is so darn cute!


Goodness he's 13 weeks old and getting on counters? He's a big boy.


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## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

I forgot to mention that if you give a command while trading the treat for the butter, you are actually rewarding him for obeying the command. "Leave it" for instance.


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## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

In my book it would be time to start hand feeding. I went through this with Oakly and it worked wonders. It takes a few minutes at every feeding but it does work.


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## Sarah_85 (Dec 5, 2008)

Bella has been doing the same thing lately....first time it happened last week with a rawhide bone and it really shocked me and she did it again today with something she found out on our walk and again this arvy with a bucket in our backyard lol...she is fine with meals you can touch her and the food no worries at all...

i will try some of the things suggested here also


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

kvondera said:


> Thanks guys, I knew I could come here for some support. I have tried the hand feeding over the last week and a half. I am hoping that helps. Today he stole a stick of butter off the counter and I "traded" him the butter for a treat. I felt like I was rewarding him for stealing. Uggghh. I am going to find a good place to go for training. Lucky he is so darn cute!


You're *not* rewarding him for stealing. You're rewarding him for not snapping as you go to rescue whatever he has. Once the butter (or whatever) is already stolen by the dog, he's already rewarded himself. Only thing you can do at that point is damage control and not set him up to practice growling/snaping/biting. Management goes a long way, too... puppy proof areas so he can't steal in the first place so there's even less chance of him deciding to guard his stolen treasure.


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

A lot of us on this forum have thought "did I get the one aggressive golden retriever in the world". 

Brady tested me and my children a couple times as a puppy. The last time was probably at 9 months old, by growling and snapping for the highly prized items (bully sticks, something off the counter). He never did it to my husband, because he already knew my husband was boss.


I showed him immediately who was boss, pulling him away from the situation and putting him immediately in the crate, and using a tone in my voice of disapproval. I also then had my kids and me hand feed him his food. We were eventually able to trust him again. He never growls at us anymore, but my children also know that if he has grabbed something "good", to call me and I'll take it out of his mouth.


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