Golden Retriever... HELP!?

Question

I have a four month year old golden puppy and she bites... A LOT and for no reason!! It's not like we don't care for her. We give her food, walks daily (sometimes multiply times), treats, activities like fetch and love. My family and I tried the Bitter YUCK! spray and all she does is lick it off. We also tried the push her down on her back and hold her down and say NO, but as soon as we let go, she jumps back up and bites us even more viciously than before. When she bites, it is not like a little playful nip but it ends with bloodshed and a gash... HELP!! We don't know what to do. We're even thinking of giving her up... but we rather not.

We can't even play with her. Ever time we bring her to where we are, she bites us for no reason...

Answer 1

This is very unusual for this breed. Yes, puppies bite and gnaw when they're teething, but not so aggressively, especially if you've been dealing with this for some time. Something is bothering this little girl.

If a vet has eliminated physical problems, such as distemper, ear infections, something internal causing her pain that she can't tell you about when you hold her down (thus making her react with rage), an abcessed tooth or other jaw problem, then it has to be social.

You sounds like a very caring family. People inadvertently use their hands a lot when playing with a puppy, and puppies tend to see the hands as toys, and can get rough. Small children can also bring out the worst in a dog. But this little girl sounds like she has some excessive aggressive tendencies if she has refused to cooperate with all your efforts to discourage her bad biting.

We operate a shelter, and have unfortunately seen some puppies born with brain disorders which makes them react aggressively. It was no one's fault or a case of abuse. The puppies were born at our shelter, and all were fine but one. Even at four weeks old, he was snarling and trying to bite the others. We tried everything, for months, to no avail.

As a last resort, if you can't afford the Dog Whisperer or someone similar, take her to a training class at PetSmart. If they are unable to do anything with her, then you are assured that it wasn't something you were doing, that you were unaware of, causing the problem.

If she fails to respond to professional training, then please take her to a shelter. This doesn't make you a bad person. You have done all you can. Like humans, this dog could have a brain disorder which simply can't be fixed or healed.

And if you have to do this, please tell the shelter about her problem, rather than risk her being adopted and then mistreated because the new owners don't have patience or understanding that you did.

Good luck to you, and I hope you have a happy ending for this problem. You have been wonderfully patient with her so far, and goldens typically reward their people by being some of best-natured, goofy dogs on the planet.

Answer 2

Some of the other people have given some great suggestions so here is another that I learned this summer from another experienced dog trainer-

When the dog bites try to resist your impulse to pull back- instead shove your hand or bodly part deeper into the dogs mouth- if possible make it gag. While you are doing this say "NO" or "Bad Dog!" or "NO BITE" in a very serious commanding voice. Basically this teaches the dog that biting is a non-rewarding and rather horrible experience. After the dog spits out your hand, give it an acceptable chew toy like a Hoofie or a Raw Hide bone and praise it when it chews on that instead.

Hope this helps. Also I would suggest enrolling in a doggie obedience class. The more training you get the dog, the more it will see you as the alpha and the less it will try to dominate (biting can be a dominate behavior).

Answer 3

That is normal behaviour for a high energy young dog... there are several reasons for the behaviour could be she was taken away from her mom too soon and did not learn bite inhibition, or teething, or just plain aggression.. trying to find her place in the pack. Whatever the reason, she is continuing the behaviour because she does not take your authority seriously....

Some things you can do to stop her from biting are.......
1) When she bites don't pull your hand away, instead literally shove it down her throat, and if she tries to bite again say NO and again shove your hand down her throat...I know it sounds wierd but it works, they learn that biting you leads to negative experiences. Never hit the dog when she bites you this only increases the aggression in the dog.
2) Every time your dog bites you, make a Yelp! pain sound(like another dog would) and tell her NO firmly and squirt her with a water bottle in the face. Make sure to consistently use the same command NO(or whatever you choose)
3) When the dog bites you or plays rough, punish her with 1 or 2 and then make sure to give her the cold shoulder, ignore her completely and do not play with her again until she calms down and stops biting. When you start playing again make her sit or laydown first and then start playing again, if she bites repeat the punishment and again deny her any attention or interaction from you... she will learn that she gets no attention if she bites you and will soon stop. When and if she does play without biting make sure to praise her and reward her with treats.


Any dog will continue to bite if they do not learn that you mean business... it sounds like your dog doesn't take your authority seriously I suggest you also try reading this "Lesson in becoming alpha" to increase your leadership abilities.. http://www.pets.ca/articles/article-alphadog.htm

It may even be helpful to practice the Nothing in Life Is Free training technique to help establish her place in the family. http://www.pets.ca/articles/article-dog_nilf.htm

PS in dogs a muzzle grip is used to dominate another so a good idea would be to grip her muzzle closed in your hand while saying NO!

Answer 4

This is normal of most dogs of that age,they usually grow out of it, A dogs verbal understanding is only around 1 -3 words when you should I say speak to them. You can get a dog to learn more and better understand what you mean by "no" with your own facial expression that you show him when you let him know he has done something bad. Do not yell at dogs they seem to cooperate better whit a soft spoken tone of voice.I have an English Pointer I have trained,the 1 to 3 words of teaching him all that he knows which is a lot,has always worked very well,a long rung out command only confuses dogs because they cannot build sentences and do not understand the dialog of the english language.So next time the pup bites just look at it with a snarling look and with a calm stern voice tell her no, not loud. It will take a little time but it will work.The 3 p's of training a Dog are Patience,Praise,and Pet. be patient when the dog does right let her know it with a simple goood girl while petting her at the same time. You will be surprised at the Dog Trainer you never knew you were.

Answer 5

Hi

You have a hunting dog.... by breed.. like Labs.. thety love to chew and bite..
They do not know ho hard is too hard and a puppy is tough to teach that too.

IF and I mean IF you will not be using it for hunting.. this might work

Buy some surgical latex gloves... blow them up one at a time... play with her with one.. when she bites it hard it will pop make a loud noise and hopefully scare her...

I trained a lab this way... he learned not to bite hard and had a very soft touch...
However I was not going to use him to hunt and that is why I asked you
It could make her gun shy,, the noise of the gloves popping...

The other thing.. a bit rougher though... is that if the dog takes your h and and bites hard... shove it in furhter...yup
You wont hurt him..he wont like it and he will rellease your hand... or arm or whatever he has...
This works well if you are ever bitten by a dog that wont let go too!

shove your hand or forearm in to the point he wants it OUT... he will STOP biting it when its 1/2 down his throat.... works well if your hand is sideways... you have to be consistant with whatever you choose.
Reward the soft touch and use a forceful NO BITE for the bites..

He is only playing... you can fix th is you just have to find what works for your dog.

If you use the gloves.. make sure you do not leave him alone with them you use it as a training tool... pick up broken peices so dog and kids dont choke on it... dont substitute balloons for gloves.... easier to choke on... gloves are heavier...

You co uld also try putting on winter gloves when you will be out with him and he will be bitig on your hands,,, nice furry nasty stick in your teetch mittenss... makes hte shove intot he mouth a bit mnore unpleasant... if every time he bites he gets or expei ences something HE does not like he will learn to stop...

Be a shame to get rid of him...
You can also call a professional trainer....

Remember... YOU are the boss.. It is up to YOU to teach your dog... You are in control. He just is a puppy and is clueless so far...

Good Luck
Wismom

Answer 6

It is perfectly normal for a 4 month old puppy to want to explore it's world with it's mouth. Tasting (nursing) is a puppy's very first experience when it enters this world, and that is by design, this is the very first instinct that a puppy uses.
The easiest way to resolve this is when just sitting around and the puppy decides to chew your hands off, wrap your index finger and thumb lightly around the dogs snout (only tight enough to hold the mouth closed) and say "No bite", while at the same time giving the dog the toy that it is allowed to chew on, that you of course remembered to have nearby, along with saying "here". The reason for doing this is because dogs understand being told TO DO something a lot better than they understand being told NOT TO DO something.

Reguardless of what the negative behavior is, the proper way to tell the dog not to do it, is to tell the dog to do something else.

Dog jumps up on guests,,,,, tell it to "sit", tell it to "kennel", tell it "place", anything, but don't tell it "don't jump up" because dogs have no preception of what "don't" means.

Answer 7

Here is a simple home remedy that helped my Grandfather with his retrievers, put 2 tablespoons of spearmint extract in a spray bottle and dilute it with about 2 cups of water. Squirt the pup in the mouth each time she bites. Most dogs do not like the taste of spearmint at all and it is a good and peaceful deterrent to the biting.

Answer 8

This is not good behavior. However, you are in a good place in the fact that she is young and still pilable. I think one of your big reasons is that she could be teething and the biting helps to ease her aching gums. Give her lots of things to chew on (though make she that you are only letting her chew on things you want her to chew on to avert a chewing habit), but rotate her chew toys and keep up with dominace training. Roll her on her back when she misbehaves and keep her there (alphas do that to young to say, "NO"), feed her twice daily, but don't leave food in the bowl when she is done (again, alphas/parents regulate the food of the pack members and young. They say who eats when and how much), teach her to come to you with head and body down (a sign of respect), keep her at your side while on walks, et cetera. You need to impante your pup with dominance training from the get-go, but not through beating it or anything like that. You just need to communicate with your pup in her language. Remember, she id a dog, not people. You cannot communicate well with a Russian toddler in English, would you? Same basic principle here. THere are several books and websites out there to instruct you how to dominace train your dog properly and more improtantly, humanely. Good luck and don't give up!

Answer 9

Oh please don't give her up! Mine bit like crazy when she was a pup. After some serious bruises and scratches, I got firm with her and eventually she stopped. I would yell...NO BITE!...and I would ignore her... givng her the attention was what she wanted. To her, the biting was just playing (even though it hurt us) My golden always had to have someting in her mouth...I think what you're going through is just normal. I know that's no help for now, but I know she'll outgrow.it. Try giving her a toy or a rawhide to chew on when she starts this biting. Goldens are known for needing things in their mouths. (On our walks, my 7 yr. old takes the leash, put it in her mouth and "takes herself for a walk!) Please give her a chance. Someday, you'll be glad you did. She'll turn out to be a wonderful companion. I promise!!! Good luck!!!

Answer 10

Most puppies bite and need to be trained to stop. With all puppies I raised, we'd take our hands and hold her mouth shut whenever she bit. And say No in a loud voice. They HATE having their mouth held shut and struggle to get away. If she jumps and bites again, do it again and hold her mouth shut even longer. Eventually she'll learn to NOT do this. The reason she keeps biting worse is she thinks she's playing with you. If it becomes a "game" she doesn't like, she'll stop playing!