I have a ten month old golden retriever male who has suddenly shown signs of aggression?

Question

He has been totally sweet and submissive until this past month, and now, when he has a good bone, or grabs a bag of popcorn, he growls at whoever is near him. Today I tried to get him to "drop it", but he bit me and kept coming at me. I held him down by his collar, and then got him in his cage, but it was very scary, and I felt like a big attack could have happened. Other than when it is his favorite type of bone, or he grabs food he's not supposed to, he's sweeter than sweet. My husband says it's all about the bone, and that we shouldn't let him have the bones, and that we should distract him from something, not try to get it out of his mouth with force. What do you think? Do you think training will really help him? Is just avoiding giving him a bone good enough, or will he end up getting aggressive in other areas? Thanks.

Answer 1

Well I would throw him own on his back if he does that type of stuff and don't back down. Get him neutered and make him work for his food. Have him sit and down for every few bites of food and feed him by hand. This should be handled by a professional who is on site. Get in contact with your local kennel club and they should be able to put you in touch with somebody who can help.

Answer 2

This is definitely something you need to work on so it doesn't continue when your pup is older. I have a six month old puppy that is starting to show some aggression as well. One of the factors is that he needs to be neutered, that can help with some of the aggression.

I would definitely suggest talking to your vet about this, they can give you recommendations. Also, you should consider enrolling in training/obedience classes to help him as well.

My vet gave me some recommendations. First of all, if you are having problems with him trying to bite if he thinks you are going to get his food. You need to go through a process to correct that. Basically, you need to start by hand feeding your dog piece by piece, don't use his dish at this point. As he learns that you are going to feed him, start putting each piece in his dish. Eventually you will start putting a litle more in there and leaving your hand in the dish and playing around with the food. Eventually he will learn that you having your hand in the dish isn't always bad. Once and a while, you can put a treat in, etc. I have read some really good tips on some websites and unfortunately I can't find the links right now. If I do, I will post them.

Second, my vet recommended trying to teach my puppy "exchange" We are having problems with him trying to eat things like rocks and such and growling if we try to take them out of his mouth. Because this is dangerous we need to solve this problem. So, I go outside with a box of treats in my pocket. If he grabs something I make him "drop" it and then I will give him the treat. My vet had a dog bring him a whole hamper of things one night so he could keep getting treats. While it isn't one of the best solutions, if it will prevent your dog from doing something dangerous for his health, it is worth it.

You should definitely talk to your vet about this though. They will have some good recommendations and be able to better address your problem. Training the wrong way can make things worse than when you started.

I've included a link to Pedigrees website with info on agression. I really suggest looking around the site, they have a lot of good tips.

Good luck, I have a Chow Golden Retriever mix a few years ago and he was one of the sweetest, best behaved dogs I have ever had!

Answer 3

ok when you have a puppy that does this you need to nip it in the butt. i breed golden retrievers and my female did this and when i would give her a bone to chew i made sure that a family member was there to help in the problem. the first thing you do is give her the bone and then try to take away and if she growls tap her on the nose and tell her NO and then keep doing this until she gets the idea that having the bone no one will take it from her. when giving her the bone you want to tell her to take it easy or soft thus this will let her know that she can't just grab it out of your hand. you will need to work on this everyday till she gets it and will not do it. the dog is young enough to learn the difference between being aggressive and being soft with things. but when you do diisapline him don't do it to where it will make him scared of you. goldens are very sensitive and if they feel that they are not happy with something in their life they will shy away from you, so be careful how you do it. you can be firm but not mean. good luck

Answer 4

I agree that it could be the bone. This is a special treat, probably not something he gets too often, and it's very tasty. He does not want to share or lose it so he's prepared to fight for it. Yes, you can choose to stop offering him bones. It's highly possible he'll become protective over something else, but it's also possible he won't.

He's at the age where having him neutered can be very vital to his aggressive tendancies. Consider having this done and he will most likely calm down a lot.

Training is also very important. It helps him understand exactly what you are asking or expecting, leaving less confusion, less reason to be afraid and little risk of his becoming aggressive due to fear or anxiety.

Answer 5

It sounds like he's food aggressive. It's an extremely hard habit to break. You have to work with him a lot! When dogs are food aggressive, they immdiatly defend there food "area" or the place that you feed him. It doesn't matter who it is or how old they will nip, which is very bad, if there are young children wanting to give him a treat or put something in his bowl. I suggest moving his food area to a place different from where his area was. And before you give him his bowl of food, place some in your hand first, and let him eat it out of your hand, then tell him good boy and place his food down, say good boy repeatedly through out the time when you set his bowl down. After this, gently pet his back, and keep gently saying good boy. If he growls give a sharp and loud "ah ah" This will teach him that your not approving of what he's doing. Keep doing this repeatedly until you can pet him without growling

Answer 6

If you are very strong, if you are very fast, if you are very experienced...then and only then should you consider knocking back a 10-month-old very large dog to his back and holding him down. Even then, you should expect to experience some bite wounds and toe nail gouges to your body. Because if your dog is truly deserving of the alpha roll...he will defend himself to the hilt until your own strength proves to be the more powerful.

Alpha rolling is a very last resort effort used by experts to prove to a dog that he isn't the biggest baddest creature. The expert realizes the potential danger to himself...especially should the dog prove to be stronger!

Should an alpha roll fail...as it was a last resort effort, the next step is euthanasia for the dog.

Bottom line is DON'T alpha roll your dog. Simply by asking a question here, you have proved that you aren't an expert.

Instead, you need to contact a good trainer and listen to the advice you are given. You need to reasses your relationship with your dog. I fully imagine that food issues aren't the only problem you are having with your boy.

As to your husband...no, your dog should readily submit WHATEVER he has in his mouth to you...YOU are the leaders in your home. Nothing belongs to the dog. Everything belongs to the humans. If the humans want to reclaim the object, that is their right and your dog needs to understand this. Plain and simple.

Your dog hasn't gone to work and earned the money to pay for the bone. Your dog hasn't gone to the store and purchased the bone with money he has earned. The bone is yours. You allowed the dog to chew on it. You still can reclaim the bone.

This is the mindset the humans have to regain. You have to realize that the dog is a dog. He is a part of the family, a beloved part, but he is a DOG. You are the bread winners, the providers. He is a supplicant. He'd better act his part.

Get professional help in the form of obedience training, in the form of behavioral training.

Research "Alpha dog" on the internet. Learn the gentle but effective methods of telling your dog that YOU are the boss, not him.

DON'T alpha roll him, please.

Answer 7

If he thinks he can get away with the agression, he will continue.

At ten months, he's growing up. He's a teenager and trying to rebel against authority. You need to let him know that you and your husband are the bosses and that he is below you on the food chain. I'm not an expert on dog training, but that is just from having dogs with dominant personalities (Chowchows). Let them know (and keep reminding them) who is in charge. I know one technique that is popular is that when you are playing, roll him onto his back, pin him down and stare him in the eyes until he looks away. Do this repeatedly and when he does something you don't like, all play stops immediately.

Praise when he does what you want, ignore when he doesn't do it (within reason).
Dogs want to please you. When he learns what behaviors please you, he'll do that so he gets your praise and attention.

Hope it works out for you. Golden's are nice dogs and quick learners- he just needs to learn that you are in charge, not him.

Answer 8

I do not have much time to write this message, but if you have any addition questions please ask. Well, here it is.. I have a golden retriever too and he had basically the same issue as yours. I can not stress the importance of some one-on-one training. It is not good nor safe to continue on with this behavior. It is much easier to change behaviors when they are young as well. My golden is 4 years old now, and is a little angel, but it took time for me to teach him to be submissive inside of my house and outside.

Answer 9

He is not showing signs of aggression, he is showing signs of dominance. You've let him believe he runs the show, and in his eyes, you are a submissive pack member who's tried to steal the pack leader's food- in a wolf pack, that behavior is met with a swift bite and the leader chasing the submissive dog away.

He needs obedience training and re-conditioning- you have to teach him that he is NOT the pack leader here! Few people realize how important it is to establish and maintain pack order in a household with dogs. It's not enough to teach them OUR human commands, you have to learn how their minds work and how things look from their point of view.

Here's a great website with tips on establishing yourself as the dominant member of your household. It is a totally humane, non-violent process, and as soon as your dog learns he's not the boss, food aggression will be a thing of the past.

http://sonic.net/~cdlcruz/GPCC/library/alpha.htm

Answer 10

A dog should never atk its masters for any reason. I have Pit-bulls my entire life and never been atk. Like the pit-bull the golden retrver is not human aggrasive so most likey the prob is you. You did good by not backing down from the dog. What you need to do is train your dog get some pro help it seem the dog has some probs.

Answer 11

Your sweet, submissive pup has hit the teen years! He needs to learn that you are Alpha, and he is Beta. Training will help, so will getting him neutered. But first and foremost, never show him fear. If he picks up on that, then you will have a handfull. Learn the Alpha roll--grab by chops, twist (not roughly) head until he falls on his back, put knee to chest, and MAKE him submit. I would not let him have the bones, unless he was caged. But with you being Alpha, he should let go of the bone without you using force on him. He could wind up getting aggressive with other areas, so training, neuter, and be the Alpha!! Good luck!!