They Are Saying No Thanks To Petting
Many puppies will become bitey or mouthy when you pet them for too long. Sometimes, this can be chalked up to the pup getting overstimulated from all the scritch-scratching, but many other times, your pup is asking you in the best way they know how to please give them a break.
How You Can Help Your Puppy:
We dont want puppies to learn that biting and nipping is an effective way to make human hands go away. Instead, we want to teach pups that they can say, yes, please or no, thank you to petting without having to use their teeth.
Try this:
- First, only pet your puppy when they are already calm and relaxed .
- Pet your puppy for just 3-5 seconds at a time, then pause and take your hands away.
- If your pup nuzzles or moves toward your hand, pet them again. But, if they move away or just quietly lay in place, they are telling you they dont really care about or want pets at that time.
- Over time, you can start to present your open hands to your pup as an invitation that asks, Would you like some pets? If they approach and curl into you, thats a great big, Yes please! But if they dont, they are saying No thank you in a manner that is far less painful than pointy puppy teeth. Watch the video below to learn petting dos and donts that work for both puppies AND adult dogs:
Posted by Instinct Dog Behavior & Training LLC on Saturday, July 6, 2019
Is My Puppy Biting Aggressive
You cannot determine whether or not a puppy is biting aggressively by how hard he bites or by the volume of the noise he makes.
Play biting puppies bite hard and growl fiercely.
Some puppies do occasionally draw blood.
But these are not normally savage or crushing bites and the puppy is clearly enjoying himself.
How To Recognize The Signs Of Aggression In Golden Retrievers
Aggressive behavior in any dog is easy to spot, ears will be laid back, teeth showing and body more in a downward slant as if to attack its prey. In addition, you should be able to recognize the signs of dog aggression to learn how to deal with an aggressive golden retriever dog. This signs can include:
It is important to recognize the type of golden retriever aggression that your dog is displaying because sometimes it is just situational, such as pain aggression. Dogs are like people and they deal with pain differently, which means that some dogs want you to comfort them when they are in pain and others want you to leave them alone.
It is vital you know the cues your dog is giving you so that you understand if it is situational or if your dog needs obedience training. While golden retrievers are not know for their aggressiveness, any dog in certain situations can become aggressive.
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Biting Means Game Over
It can be hard to stop playing with a puppy, even if its nipped at you a few times. Even after youve commanded it to stop biting, continuing playtime is not a good way to approach this.
To have better results, when your puppy bites you, stop playing immediately.
After a few times, your puppy will learn that biting means playtime is over.
Factors Contributing To A Golden Retriever Puppy Biting
Well, this is not easy to explain as is a huge part of your puppies growth. It is how he learns how everything works. And just like a human baby, puppies are also quite curious beings. This means that they want to figure out everything around the household. However, they do not understand what is acceptable and that which is not. This is where you come in. There are several reasons why Golden Retriever puppies may bite
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Is My Goldens Bad Behavior Just Because Theyre A Puppy
Theres no question about it, golden retriever puppies can be a little on the naughty side.
For one, they dont know right from wrong yet.
They dont know that theyre not supposed to pee in the house, or what theyre not supposed to chew.
You have to kindly and patiently teach them what you want them to do.
Puppies also love to have fun.
Of course, your idea of fun and their idea of it might be completely different
Chase is one of most puppies favorite games and if they grab your socks and you chase them, thatll encourage them to keep doing it.
This goes back to the, what are you reinforcing? question.
Be sure to not give in to their games and accidentally reinforce bad behavior like stealing socks.
Another thing is puppy biting.
Puppy biting is actually very important for their development, so even though it seems like bad behavior to us, its actually necessary.
When they bite its not that theyre being aggressive, its just that theyre puppies and its what they do.
Eventually, your puppy will stop biting around four months old, then theyll get into their rebellious teenage years, then theyll finally calm down around two to three years old.
You can learn more about the golden retriever puppy timeline here.
Try Acting Like A Puppy And Yelp When It Hurts
Obedience training can be a challenge. Your puppy may push back with repeated, rapid, or even aggressive biting. Stay calm and dont retaliate. Instead, show your puppy that their biting hurts you! Its okay to get dramatic and make a big, loud show of the pain before you walk away to help discourage the naughty behavior from continuing in the future.
And if youre stumped, please reach out to your veterinary team. Were here for love, health, happiness, and puppy wisdom.
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Bite Manners Golden Retriever Jumping Up And Biting
You might find that your Golden is biting playfully at you. It may seem harmless in the puppy stage, but it can be a little intimidating as adults. Start training by offering them chew toys when you want to pet them or play with them. It will keep them from targeting your fingers, feet, and toes. If you have children in your household, teach them this method as well. When you approach your pet, stroke them or scratch them, and make sure you have a chew toy on your other hand. With this technique, they will resort to chewing the more satisfying object you are offering.
Make sure to switch the hand where you carry the toy occasionally. In this way, they wont predict which hand holds the toy and suddenly jump on it. The point of the training is to instruct your puppy that petting and people are harmless and good, and so are chewy toys. Start slow and keep training time short.
Not Teaching Your Puppy Bite Inhibition
Bite inhibition is a very important skill that your puppy must learn. Bite inhibition is when your puppy learns how to control the strength of his bite.
Puppies learn this skill when they are with their littermates, which is why they need to stay with them and their mother until they are 8 weeks old. Playing with their littermates teaches puppies that biting too hard hurts and will end playtime. Biting too hard on their mother will get the puppy scolded and they wont get fed. The puppy then learns to bite softer.
When your puppy comes home with you, it is up to you to teach your puppy how to control the force of their bite. Biting down on the thick fur coat of his mother or littermates is a lot different than biting down on human skin.
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How To Stop Your Golden Retriever Puppy From Biting & Nipping
Wish your golden retriever puppy would stop biting so much?
Puppy nipping is one of the most frustrating things about raising a new puppytheir teeth are razor-sharp, it hurts when they bite, and they can ruin your clothes!
But heres the thing about puppy biting
Its actually a very important part of their learning and development, so all puppies do it .
The good news is that it will drastically slow down soon, so dont worry!
In this post well share some tips to help you stop your puppy from biting you so much.
Lets dive in!
Get Your Family And Friends On Board :
Include your family and friendstoo and tell them about what you plan to do with the biting issue of your Golden Retriever. Educate them on what to do and what not if ever they encounter your Golden Retriever biting or throwing tantrums in your absence.
It is always better to have the entire family working towards a common goal of training your dog instead of just one person doing it alone. Golden Retrievers are nothing less than kids, and it takes the combined effort of the entire family to instill mannerisms in a child. So is true for a dog too.
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Treats May Stop Your Golden Retriever From Biting
Undoubtedly, Golden Retriever loves eating. And food can lure the dogs anytime and anywhere. Therefore, giving the Golden Retriever food is the best way to manage its aggressive nature.
Moreover, a healthy meal relaxes your pet and enhances its mood. However, you ought to be conscious about the food and treat you chose. Since all human foods do not benefit your pet, you must feed your pet with natural snacks as treats.
Give Your Puppy An Alternative Item To Chew
Its a good idea to keep a puppy chew toy at hand at all times, so you can anticipate biting behavior and substitute the toy for your hand or furniture. Doing so will let pups know what is OK to bite or chew. If they start nibbling at your fingers or toes while youre playing, offer a toy instead.
Again, if they continue to nip, stop the play session immediately. If youve been training your puppy to sit, you might also redirect them by asking them to sit and rewarding with a toy.
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Why Do Puppies Bite
So why do puppies bite? Whether youre experiencing a 4 month old puppy biting, a 5 month old puppy biting, or even an older puppy!
Puppies may bite or more likely chew on things to relieve the irritation in their jaws when they are teething.
But the kind of biting that worries people the most, the biting that is often accompanied by growling and tugging, is almost always play biting
Puppies naturally bite one another in play, and when you bring your puppy home, hell do the same with you.
To him, its all a game, and he has no idea that is hurts or upsets you.
So How To Stop Golden Retriever Dog From Biting
Basically, you need to pretend to be his mother dog. Then, you can teach him when he is really hard in his bites. But, how you can teach your dog? Yep, you can yell at him. Remember to yell loudly whenever he bites. You can tell NO, STOP, or DONT BITE. And then, your dog will realize that its not good to bite. Of course, he will gradually stop doing that. In addition, its also important to assert on your Golden retriever you are his teacher. And, he will obey you.
In fact, your dog may playfully bite your toes or your fingers. Once you watch your dog with smiling eyes, he surely thinks that you approve of that he bites anything such as rugs and clothes. And, this is a bad habit. The best thing you can do to stop it is preventing such bad habit from forming. In fact, you shouldnt allow your dog to do something that he shouldnt repeat again.
In order to prevent biting behavior in your Golden retrievers, its essential to care for one very important aspect. Especially, its wrong when you pull back as he bites you. Instead, you need to move forward towards him as though you are intimidating him. As a result, your dog wont repeat that. Believe me!
You can also prevent your dog from biting by giving him a loud yelp and leave him as he starts to nip at your fingers or your toes. A form of punishment is essential. This aims to help him realize that he has done a wrong thing.
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Give Your Golden Retriever A Job To Do
Your golden can only be doing one thing at a time.
For example, they cant chew up your shoe and chew on a chew toy at once.
So if your golden is doing something you dont want them to do, give them something else to do that you do want them to do.
This is called redirection.
If theyre barking, get them to chew on a chew toy.
If theyre jumping on you, ask them to sit.
If theyre biting your fingers, give them a plush toy to bite.
When they do do the behavior youre asking for, make sure to praise them and let them know theyre doing a great job.
And heres a bonus tip: get them to do something you want them to do before they do the thing you dont want them to do.
Eventually, theyll stop their bad habit and do something that theyre rewarded for.
Now, no matter how much you exercise your golden, or how often you redirect them, if youre positively reinforcing the bad behavior, things just might get worse
Do Golden Retrievers Ever Really Stop Biting
Golden retrievers have a reputation of being the gentlest of family dogs. But this does not mean that they are without their very basic dog instinct which is to bite. In fact, golden retrievers are hunters so they are naturally inclined towards hunting, chasing and even biting in triggering situations.
As a puppy, your golden retriever probably started off by nibbling on everything it could possibly find from the sofa, to your slippers and maybe even your face. This activity is actually healthy for all puppies because it strengthens their gums and teeth. Its an entertaining phase for an owner, but if you keep encouraging this behavior it will only go on to become more aggressive as the puppy grows up.
Golden retrievers, who grow in their litter around siblings and a mother, usually learn to stop biting when theyre about 8 14 weeks old. This is because around other puppies, they quickly learn that when they bite, they are bitten back. The feedback they get conditions them to not bite in the absence of any threat.
So when do golden retrievers stop biting, provided that you are all it has?
The answer is simple: it will stop biting when you condition it to not bite. Proper training and constant discouragement will teach your puppy not to snap at or bite all the time. Since all the dogs are unique, the age that they learn to completely stop biting varies. It also depends on how early you started training them.
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What Are Some Problems That Can Arise From Having A Hyper Golden Retriever
If you have a hyper dog, then chances are that the problem has already arisen. As weve established, all dogs have a lot of energy when theyre young and some breeds have more than others. The Golden Retriever is one such breed.
Hyperactivity is the name we give to energy thats unchanneled, and this is where youll find problems that wont just go away. A hyper dog is a frustrated one and will demonstrate lots of unwanted behaviors that are harder to stop the longer they go on.
Chewing, barking , scratching, moulting and even biting and other aggressive behaviors can all be the result of a frustrated dog with too much energy to burn off. But a lot of the time its not just excess energy but boredom, too.
Dogs need more than just physical exercise. All the long walks in the world can still result in a hyper dog if theres no mental stimulation to go along with those walks.
Golden Retrievers are incredibly intelligent, and they love to use their brains.
It means that training and learning games and tricks are ways to channel your Golden Retrievers energy, and you dont always even have to leave the house to do it.
Once your dogs mental needs are met, youll find his physical energy levels arent quite so demanding.
How Do Puppies Learn Abi
The only way for puppies to learn ABI is to bite, and bite often.
The best teachers are other dogs.
Heres a very simplified version of how it works out in the real world:
If a puppy is playing with her littermate and play bites her too hard, the other puppy is going to stop playing with her and walk away.
The puppy is disappointed that playtime is over and they think that maybe they shouldnt bite so hard.
Next time they bite a little less hard and playtime continues.
This is how they learn ABI.
Obviously, it takes a lot of repetition of this scenario to happen for a puppy to learn not to bite so hard, but this is essentially how it works out.
But what happens when theyre taken away from their littermates at two months old?
Thats where you come in!
Yes, you will need to help teach your puppy ABI.
You can do this two ways:
More on teaching your puppy ABI in a second, but heres the final thing to know about ABI: its time-sensitive.
If a puppy hasnt learned it by the time theyre 4.5-6 months old, theyll likely never learn it, which could make them a dangerous adult dog.
Alright now that we know why puppies bite, and how important it is, lets dive into how to appropriately stop it while also teaching ABI.
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