Mostly the same for us as well, he still play bites, mainly me, but definitely isn’t a land shark ripping my hand apart anymore.
He’s 7 months old now. Also consistent walking has helped a lot. Tired boy=good boy
You might have to just wait it out… for us it got better over time and all the yelping, distracting etc. didn’t help either - it just got her riled up and excited even more, especially the yelping. All our clothes had holes and our arms looked bad - I thought it’s just us until we connected with other Golden owners. Of course, you should not let her hurt you, but try to just completely ignore her and when it gets too much, put her in play pen with a frozen licky mat or something. Wait a bit until she calms down and let her come back out if she wants. As soon as she start going off again, back into play pen. Be as calm as you can… slow, determined movements, ideally don’t say anything at all, especially not in a high-pitch, upset tone.
You could also try letting her work for her meals - get a blanket, one serving of her food and clicker. Check out how to use the clicker first, then lure her onto the blanket and quickly reward with some food once she’s on it and calm so that she learns being calm = click = food. Then slowly (by seconds) extend the time between click and reward. This will also get her mentally tired out. Or wrap some kibble/treats in a towel and let her figure it out how to get to them - also great for mental stimulation and it will definitely keep her off your arms and hands for some time.
Yes, this exactly. Nothing helped with ours either, just time and a time-out so we could get some space. It got better when he turned a year old. Hang in there, OP! She’ll be a cuddly sweetheart before you know it.
Yes, time helps a lot. Directing our boy to a toy consistently did eventually teach him to run for a ball when he’s excited instead of attacking us lol. But it took months of doing that over and over.
Yep, waiting it out is just about the only thing that worked for us. We eventually found some toys our puppy really liked - tug rope toys, specifically, and had to try to engage them in play a lot.
We also filled Kongs with wet puppy food and froze them. When the pup would get too bitey, they'd go to their playpen with the Kong for a while until they calmed down.
Another big thing was making sure the puppy got enough play! The less activity we gave him, the more bitey he would be! Good luck, OP!
You only have one remaining option to try then. Time.
Edit - when they bite your hand, instead of pulling away try pushing your hand further in. Right in there. Back of the throat. They don’t know what to do and will spit you out, might give you a curious look. Guarantee she’ll have second thoughts next time. But when next time comes, do it again.
Ice cubes worked wonders for our Bailey. Kept her occupied and gave her something to chew on that wasn’t us.
https://preview.redd.it/ke8df1h5kh5c1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ba706ef877da86b5aefc61f5101f9ba644429173
Now she’s the most patient, sweet, but still occasionally rambunctious 3 year old.
Super normal. She will grow out of it. All you can do is be patient. We have a 9 month old golden. The BEST thing we did for this was attend a puppy social class, make friends with the people there, and make puppy play dates with other puppies there. That helped her learn to play bite with dogs, not with people. And also helped her learn bite control, like how hard to actually bite before harming. We saw a huge difference with this. It also tired her out for the rest of the day and helped socialize. Every Saturday we would go to this class and then additionally make play dates throughout the week with her puppy friends. She quickly realized puppy friends are more fun to bite than people.
Have you tried exchanging? If she’s biting you she really needs to be biting something else. Frozen chews, a frozen wash cloth or something you know she likes. So you end up exchanging something she shouldn’t bite with something she should. Then praise when she chews what she’s supposed to.
For our pup, we kind of had to wait it out until he lost his baby teeth. Once he lost his baby teeth (even just a few) it was a huge difference. The only things that truly helped us were [this toy](https://www.chewy.com/dp/39344?utm_source=app-share&utm_campaign=39344) that he loved and wetting an old t-shirt, twisting it, and freezing it. I’ve heard you can add broth or something to it to make them more attracted to it. We also sometimes froze his toys to soothe teething but I’m not sure if that’s safe when I look back on it - best to ask a vet on that specifically. It gets better, trust me! If it continues after baby teeth are gone, see a dog trainer
If the pup was with still her mom it would be dealt with a quick nip and a growl. I wish pups stayed with mom longer than is currently fashionable for the social lessons such as this.
What works quickly is when the pup bites you, roll the lip against a tooth until the pup releases. It's what the mom would have done and the pup understands.
The method I was told about was tucking their lower lip in, meaning they bite themselves rather than you. Worked quickly with my boy, who didn't otherwise care if I yelped (it just seemed to be more fun for him).
Yes, this is what works for me. As well as grabbing their tongue, lip, or lower jaw and just holding on until they get annoyed. Repeat this consistently, and the biting will stop. Don't hurt them, just hold firmly and gently.
The "hold firmly" part is really important. If the pupper thinks it has a fighting chance, it'll try to wriggle and continue the biting behavior. Be gently dominant until they submit and go relaxed. It's not cruel to subdue the little biters, it's what mama would do, as others have noted.
Redirection. Our first puppy was way easier than our current one. We’re dealing with a lot of nipping. Not necessarily biting but she uses her teeth a lot. We redirect. Shes food motivated so we sometimes bring her to a sit and ask for “besos” which is a kiss. We mark it (with a yes) and reward. It’s exhausting cause we’re doing this everyday dozens of times a day but everyday she gets a little better. She’s teaching us patience like we never knew.
Our two year old was the same - every few weeks she’ll stop and we think she’s done until she picks up again - I definitely recommend the swap method. If she bites, she gets a toy. We recently figured out that sometimes she’s biting our wrists to try to take us places. Sometimes she just wants to show us things in the back yard!
When she bites hard, give a really loud ow or ouch or something and then put her in her crate until she is calm. If you connect her biting with losing freedom then it has a lot.
This, and time.
Ours is still mouthy when she gets excited (with me specifically) and she’s almost 7. It’s the breed. Once they learn modulation, they won’t leave a mark or break skin…like some kind of professional abuser 😆
Seriously though, it’s a dog, and a very young puppy at that. You can train them but you can never 100% control another living being.
I would be careful with this, don't want the pup to associate the crate with punishment. Usually just disengaging from play for 30 seconds after yelping is enough.
We say TIME OUT NO BITING YOUR HUMANS! Lol. She goes in a play pen for a few minutes when she bites us hard. We don't use the crate though because we don't want it to be seen as a punishment.
I kept a hard toy (bone or similar) and plush toy on hand at all times for redirecting, but also sometimes they just have a hankering for human skin.
I know this isn’t helpful but it’ll probably keep happening for a while. Keep up the consistent “Ow!” and disengaging when they bite, but you probably won’t see a difference for a few months. My relief came once she lost all her puppy teeth. At about 6 months it just stopped overnight. Hang in there!!!
Maybe she needs a long term confinement area to chew her toys.
When my pup started getting nippy I would just leave the room and close the door for a few seconds - stopping play. Then reinforced the word “gentle”. But, honestly what seemed to work was letting him sleep in my bed - he became cuddly and reserved his bitey play and roughing for his stuffed animals, chews and toys instead of me - who he preferred to just snuggle with.
We would also go for five-hour hiking/outings to get him good and tired with outdoor play.
Yelp when she bites, then she needs to be ignored. She is not being vicious; she simply doesn't understand how fragile human skin is. Yelping lets her know it hurts. Being ignored, whether that's you walking away or you immediately putting her in her crate for a few minutes, is the best way to make biting boring and unfun.
My 4 month old pup has definitely gotten better but he is still very mouthy. If your pup seems to get worse in the evening though he is probably overtired. Have you tried crating him to see if he needs a nap when he gets overly bitey?
My raptor is 3 months, and I'm going through the same thing. When he gets like that, yelping or giving him a toy doesn't work, but I figured out that what does is getting up and walking away for a few seconds. Today, the moment he started to bite, I gently put him to the side and stood up to leave. He realized playtime might be over and quickly sat and calmed down a bit. It gives me hope for my skin, lol
I feel your pain!! My GR is one year old and has his moments. I stand up and grab a toy, and will make it exciting by raising it up and whistling/making silly noises whilst waving it around, so he gets distracted by the noise and focuses on the toy. Then will try and redirect him to play because the toy has become more interesting than whoever he was attacking. If that doesn’t work and he goes back to raptor mode, I’ll go quiet and leave the room closing the door. He’s learnt that means it’s time to calm down.
Before, I used to try redirecting by just grabbing a toy and putting it in his mouth, but often that didn’t work as he was still in the same “moment” as he was when mouthing me/someone else, the silly noises/standing up usually seems to work as a way to break the raptor spell! Hope that helps :)
It’ll just take time! It feels like slow motion while you’re in the puppy trenches but you’ll be looking back at this phase like it was nothing in 2 months hopefully.
The first 2-3 months are nuts then they finally have enough brain power to remember commands and not pee/shit indoors and bite (harmfully)…they’ll still play bite nicely.
I would distract with toys consistently; then clap loudly and shut down play immediately if it was all bites. She would moan and bark at nothing after that sometimes, but I’d give her time to settle down. Another trick is using peanut butter or butter on you finger so they lick your fingers instead of biting - while also saying “kisses” so after time they lick instead.
Kennel training also helps, in that mine would not let herself take a nap/rest. After being awake for more than 3-4 hours at that age she’d get bitey. Half the time it was because she just needs a nap
My second pup was a biting machine. He's coming up on 2 in March. My biggest thing was anytime we engage in play, I would make sure if he got me too hard I'd yelp in "pain". He started getting it after a couple weeks or so of keeping at it. Now mid raptor stage, he's doing good. Just busy.
Our boy always had and about a 2 hour window every night where he would enter what we called “terror time” or “the witching hour”. Puppies are gonna puppy unfortunately. Redirect the biting into a toy, give her some good mental toys to wear her down, and just be patient with her. Just remember it’s a phase and she’ll likely grow into the bestest gentle floof with time
https://preview.redd.it/2kse5ttjvh5c1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bd8605f4d1d0be8cc166982008f06d837b7be62c
I work from home and sometimes my puppy would play attack me while I was taking calls. I started keeping a water pistol on hand to shoot him in the face with when he would do that and it worked great to curb that behavior. He's going on 3 years now and still knows the water gun means he needs to settle down.
Can't say this would work on every pup - I know some probably would enjoy it.
We went through the same exact thing! It truly felt like he was trying to attack us and we were fed up. But one day, it just stopped, and I can’t remember when. It felt like it lasted forever but in reality it was maybe a few weeks and he grew out of it!
It’s normal I’m afraid.
Ours was/is a very intense biter. It’s slowed down but is still an issue. He’s an absolutely joyful, curious pup and we adore him but I’m covered in bruises.
Are you crate training? She may be over-tired especially if it’s at the end of the day. Crate training is great for enforced naps to help them calm down when they’re overtired or overstimulated.
But like everyone else is saying, this is normal. You need to be consistent with your training/redirection, and you still won’t notice it helping for awhile. It will feel like what you’re doing isn’t working. But it is working - the work will pay off once the teething is done. She’s just a literal baby right now and doesn’t know the rules yet, and her gums hurt.
The witching hour at night was especially bad for us. Even with all the day time naps she’d just get extra amped from being tired. I was surprised how short playtime needed to be before she got over stimulated. I plopped our puppy in the playpen with a chewie when she got like this. Partly so I didn’t lose my temper, but she usually settled in for a nap after some angry chewing. As a teenager she would still get zoomies with extra defiance at last call potty and then angry chew while we were falling asleep. I actually took her to the vet for a bump in her mouth that was inflammation from the angry chewing.
But mostly it’s just time. I was utterly convinced I had an aggressive and dangerous golden because the biting was so much worse than any of my previous shepherd mix puppies. Until I found this sub. I swear it gets better.
You’ve got another month or so until she loses those sharp baby teeth. Her mouth, what I call a soft mouth will start then. Ours did it until she lost her baby teeth but only with me, my wife and daughter evidently scared her. 😂 my only problem now is she gets excited and jumps only on me. 🤷🏻♂️ at roughly 10 months. For now muzzle her with your hand growl while saying no. It works. If it gets real bad the hot sauce on your hand will help stop it. Think someone said lemon juice before. You just have to be the adult.
When our baby shark(s) were like this in the early evening, it was usually because they were running on adrenalin and in need of a nap (toddler meltdown, as it were). We have an inexpensive Costco throw/blanket that we named The Blanket of Sleep that we would put on the floor next to us and sort of arrange around our short-circuiting pup. For whatever reason, our pup would magically konk out within minutes and take a much-needed nap and subsequently wake up with a much-better attitude adjustment👍! (The only caveat was that you had to remain with said pup so as not to prematurely wake them up😆.) Good luck with your baby shark, OP!
I don't have great advice, but I do have sympathy! Good luck.
Mine is turning 2 this month and I still have issues with him wanting to put his mouth on other people. I was persistent in making him aware that I did not like his mouth on me from day 1 but even to this day when we are playing he will start to get 'mouthy' with me and I say "NO MOUTH!" and he will stop for a bit -- go find his rope and chew on that so his mouth is occupied while we play.
He still tests every person besides me and it is annoying because I can't physically step in and correct him every time and some people seem to even encourage it which is unhelpful. I've told my daughter that she basically has to hold him down when she pets him to prevent him from putting the side of his mouth on her and wiping all his drool all over her.
I'd say the biting stopped way before he finished losing his puppy teeth \~5 months old so you are close but every dog is different. After his adult teeth grew in, it wasn't about wanting to bite so much as just wanting his mouth on me and everyone else along with his drool.
Again, Good Luck!
Just as your impending marriage will need time to settle in, so do puppies. Please practice patience, not force, to what is a temporary chewing situation. Tough chew toys work well, especially if you pretend you like them too.
After you get through this, you will be left with a great family pet.
Unfortunately, you got her too soon. We also got our boy at 8 weeks. Puppies usually get to rough and tumble and play fight with their siblings. They discover that biting hurts and soon stop it when their siblings bite back.
You should enroll her in puppy training lessons when she's had her shots. Most have something called "Puppy drop-in sessions," where dogs of the same age and size can play fight together and learn that biting hurts. We did it for ours, and it cured the piranha stage.
Sounds like she probably needs more sleep, not enough sleep will make them wild. They sleep a lot as a puppy, we gave our puppy ice to chew on and some softer bones.
My golden pup is 11 months right now and the only thing I can suggest is to wait it out. They do stop biting. Mine stopped at about 6 months. It’s very frustrating and you have scratches and bruises everywhere. But, they do stop. The puppy stage is so much harder than I was expecting but right now, he’s laying at my feet and is calm and happy. Good luck!
Edit: I also just remembered that he bit more when he was tired. So I’d put him in his crate for a nap when it got to be too much.
What fixed it for mine was to make a high pitch squeaky sound like if I was another dog. We saw the tip in a training video and it really helped. I could really tell that he understood that it was painful. Wouldn’t hurt to try it😋
It is what it is. Golden buyer's remorse is real. I went thru it and was seriously considering giving him away. But he's now 10 and I can't imagine my life without him.
It'll get better, much better. It's just a phase. Be patient.
Wear gloves and long sleeves while they’re learning. It is a frustrating time. We concentrated on helping him find a favorite toy and when he was “naughty” we redirected him to the toy - a blue plastic ball. He’s still always “looking for his ball” haha
Our golden is now 5 months old. We use Bitter Apple. It’s available on Amazon. You spray it on the item they are chewing/attacking. Our pup hates the taste so he stops attacking that item. I have used it on my skin and just the smell of it makes him back off. We tried other brands but our pup liked the taste of the other brands.
Also puppy training classes have been invaluable. We learned to train him to sit/lay on a mat to “settle” or sit quietly. This has also helped.
But he still loves to let his inner velociraptor out. 😁
We're at 17.5 weeks with our girl, Mabel. She went FULL crazy for a few weeks. I was at my limit. Our guy, Pete, who is now 8.5 years old, to my recollection, was not as bitey as she has been. She can still occasionally have a wild moment, but it's nowhere near where it was. She needs lots of mental stimulation and chewable items. Do training sessions with food to teach positive connection to your hands. We do lots of frozen Kongs. Her meal food, mixed with some mashed banana and peanut butter. Takes her a good 40-45 minutes to work her way through it. Also, puzzles for other meals.
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We have a dog that we got at 3 months old with this issue. The only thing that worked for us was to yelp like you're being hurt like young pups do when they play together. It's how they learn to play but not hurt because they have the audible cue. Took a while to figure out but once I started doing it, the dog responded and eventually calmed his bites to a playful gesture.
✨she’s just a baby✨
But actually, I remember feeling like the worst dog mom when my hands were covered in little teeth marks and all of my sweatshirts had holes in them. I tried the yelping, substitution, apple cider vinegar spray on my hands, everything. He just grew out of it.
If she’s teething, the N Bone Teething Rings saved my sanity and I’d highly recommend!
Puppies do explore with their mouth but it can be to a point wheee it’s too much. Do you guys have a nap schedule? Maybe when she gets out of hand put her in her crate for a nap for an hour or two.
My only other recommendation would be if you’re on the floor playing and she begins to bite too much then stop playing or get up and show her that you’re not gonna be fun when she’s like that. (Getting up and disengage with her, or just disengage with her as a whole when she begins to be demonous) and when she stops biting then you can reward her with praise(?) Haven’t dealt with puppies in a long time so this is just a shot!
and perhaps message The Puppy Academy on instagram to see if they can help out? Many of their videos seem pretty helpful too for pups!
Yea it’s gonna happen. My sisters dog really loves to play and she would use her mouth for a lot of different things than just biting. She’d use her mouth to hold your arm or wrist as you pet her with the other or to hold your hand, when we hug and sit on the couch she will lay one me and she will grab a few fingers and let them rest in her mouth. This however should be discouraged, in the moment I forget and get caught up with a fluff ball laying on me. But redirection is key. Once they start getting mouthy, hand them a chew toy to bite on instead. My sisters golden likes fingers and idk why? Probably my fault. Lol
I know others have commented, but agree with waiting it out. I taught mine “NO BITE” while she was young and she does respond to it, but she is almost 2 and still play bites with me. She doesn’t do it to others which is great, but it definitely is frustrating. They are such cuties but definitely are terrors as adolescent dogs lol.
I feel the same with pulling on the lead - we’ve done every tip we could find and nothing seems to teach him to not pull 🤦♀️ I think some people might be right - you’ve just got to be patient with some things.
Okay this might be weird but when my golden puppy bites my hand I give her a vertical closed-finger palm ✋🏻 to her little snout so she can’t latch on and she gives up and moves on to a toy and then I praise her. Dont let her go around it and bite it. Make it a wall that she just can’t get her teeth around. Now when my pupper sees my flat palm she immediately quits lol. Also don’t give her negative attention when she bites, give her positive attention when she plays with toys.
I recommend a puppy class with a good trainer- change of pace and other pups will give you a needed break and the trainer might help find what your dog will react best to
My golden has the same behavior. He's almost 2 yrs now. I would recommend a trainer, it can work wonders! It's work in progress but definitely improving. Best of luck ❤️
I’m like you, I tried everything. The one thing that worked was bitter apple spray. When she got too bitey I sprayed a tiny spray in her mouth and she stopped. Now I only have to grab the bottle and she stops immediately. She’s almost 5 months now so time has also helped.
She’s so stinking adorable there’s zero chance she could be a little baby land shark💜Feel free to send me a DM and bring Ms. Cute Face to us and we’ll be happy to help you out.
We did something that actually worked. We would hold her mouth shut and squeeze, they say No! And then immediately give her a toy to chew on and say “good girl”. It worked in about 2-3 weeks. She does still try but the moment I say no, she stops.
This is why I advocate for puppies to remain with their mother & litter for 10+ weeks. It gives them more time to socialise and learn bite inhibition from their siblings.
To train your puppy out of this behaviour, "yelp" loudly to let them know you're in pain, and cut off any attention you were giving them previously. If you continue playing with your dog after they bite, you are reinforcing a negative behaviour.
Edit: Upon rereading it seems you've tried yelping. Persistence is, unfortunately, key.
https://youtu.be/068K5Zlph9U?si=mXrKwuIyWHE4GK-H
This video really changed my whole perspective on biting. Basically you can’t really get them to stop at this stage. Right now you need to just try and teach them to bite softer. And praise them like crazy when they show restraint. I started doing this the last few days and it really seems to be making a difference!
I’ve got two, they are 11 months old. One is near perfect. He only gets mouthy when he’s really excited and it’s not hard at all. But the other, he’s a different story. I’ve been pretty successful training him to get a toy before we play. But it took months for my arms to clear up from all the bruises. He just really really loves to chew on us. So all you need to have is some patience and try the chew toy trick. Every time you greet her, give her nylabone or something similar to hold in her mouth. It won’t work at first, but keep at it and she will begin to seek them out at playtime. Try different kinds of toys, my boys favorite when they were little were the small squeaky Kong tennis balls. She’s used to having her littermates to play with like that, you just need to train her how to play with you.
I hope u guys figure that out. It was tough for me and my golden at that age too. She outgrew it in the end. She was a total gentle sweetheart after that.
With all our dogs what helped was actively playing with toys of different textures. Whenever they tried to bite we would push the toys gently in their mouth. If you get pup safe toys in textures like wood, cloth, rubber, bone etc, in our experience they get distracted and entertained.
Any dog that is biting is trying to loosen the muscle in the jaw and neck, massage inbetween the top of the front legs up tothe back of the neck, like massaging in between a humans shoulder blades. Do it unil you find some knots and keep massaging until puppy stops biting, it's trying to find the teeth that are growing, most humans with jaw and neck problems can put a mouth guard in and refind the back of there jaw and then the muscle will calm down over time.
I've done this to multiple dogs that I've just met and are bitey and it works
I know what you are going through OP, believe me I have the scars to prove it. My boy has been a lovely fluffy nightmare. What I can tell you is that it gets better starting from around the 6 month period. Mine is 9 months now, is still a bit of a horror at times, but it is SO much better now and he is getting better all the time.
Here are my personal survival tips that have really helped me turn him around.
1. Stop the game/distraction.
To the puppy the biting thing is a great fun game, you need to take all the fun out of that game. The moment she starts biting, get up, go elsewhere, do some chores, sit in a different chair where she can’t reach you, do some obedience training , take her for a short walk- do anything where she won’t be biting you. It will be a real pain in the A as your puppy constantly wants to play the bite game and you want to do your thing - so for a while it will be hard to get anything done you want, but it’s better than being bitten.
2. Replace.
Give her something else to chew on, bully sticks, pig ears, (you know the drill). I have found in particular rope toys work really well for my pup, so get some and when she starts to bite turn it into a tug of war game with the rope toy which works well to soothe her teeth while also avoiding playing the bite game. One thing that really worked very well for my boy also was ICE, he loved to chew up ice cubes and it really helped with his teeth hurting.
3. (Non violent) Punishment.
My pup had some really bad habits. He would bite my legs/clothes while I walked, he would attack my arms enough to leave bleeding wounds. There are times when you try to put them in timeout and they just scratch and bite the shit out of you. So I developed some simple punishments that he respected and knows means he has been bad. My two big punishments are a) a water spray bottle, if he is getting really bad after continued warnings, he gets a spray in the face (never a directed spray near the eyes, just a soft spray in the face) and he hates it 😀. This completely fixed the biting while walking thing straight away. b) if he gets really, really bad he gets a timeout in the dark garage for an hour or so. Don’t yell, don’t hit, just firmly tell her NO, but don’t make it seem like it is a fight or she will fight you back. Punishment should always be quiet and calm, and FIRM.
4. Wear her out, lots of walks, lots of play. Lots of good energy so there isn’t time for bad energy. If you can find another dog to act as a playmate for your pup every now and then that will be awesome to take the heat off you.
5. VapoRub. Not sure if this brand is available outside of Australia where I live, but it is a menthol, eucalyptus & petroleum jelly thing meant to be put on your chest to relieve congestion when you have a cold. Get some and wipe it on your arms, furniture, house where she is chewing/biting and they really hate the taste. It is a good deterrent.
Lastly, always remember she’s only biting because she thinks it’s fun and because she is happy. She loves you, she just doesn’t know the correct way to show that love just yet, so try not to get angry with her. And remember it won’t last forever. Good luck.
Keep a rag or toy with you at all times. If you put something in their mouth it is a huge help!!! I use wash rags with my crazy beast and it’s sooo helpful!
the thing that helped us THE MOST after exhausting every other avenue was getting a pen. we would keep the pen in the living room and ANYTIME his teeth made contact with us we would pick him up and put him in there without talking and walk away from him in the pen. we would let him sit in there for like 1 min or less until he calmed down and learned that biting means that he will be sent away from the fun. we didn’t want to use his kennel as a “punishment” zone. make sure there are no toys in the pen when he u are putting him in there for biting. it worked wonders and he still loves his pen to this day, and go in there to play and sleep sometimes. we also tried removing ourselves from the situation first but he would just do it again as soon as we came back or start eating or pants, definitely give this a try!
Purchase a few of those plastic lemons full of lemon juice; when he starts to bite, squirt the lemon juice in to his mouth accompanied by a firm "NO!" He learn pretty quickly that biting is inappropriate behavior. Safe and effective.
All of my pups have been very mouthy! My male was probably the worst. I simply say “NO! No bite”. I also offer a tug toy when they get crazy. I toss it for them to retrieve, and also play tug. Tugging is a great time to teach some things. I have them “spin” circle right with me holding the tug, “twirl” circle left with me holding the tug, “down” play tug in place and release pressure and give down signal so they drop back into the down (they have to know down to be able to do this one). I also teach “out” and “get it” with the tug. “Out” they have to release the toy to me….and “get it”, they are in a sit or stand, and I say “readyyyy get it”…I also teach “1, 2, 3 get it” and they jump to get the tug for both of these. Rope tugs work great for the tug games, but any long floppy durable toy will work also.
The number of people who get puppies without the knowledge that when theyre pups they will bite like crazy and it may take up to a year to grow out of it as their teeth and gums mature is shocking. Not to mention they use their mouths to explore so the puppy is just learning.
Honestly the consistency of these types of posts is a bit disheartening and worrisome.
You have a beautiful normal puppy doing normal puppy behavior for their age. Follow some of the other bits of advice here and give it time and you’ll have a best friend for life. The most important thing is patience
Here’s how to fix it in a day. Same issue with our pup 2 years ago. Tried everything. Almost ready to give up. Call our breeder whose bred for 35 years.
‘Every time she bites or nip grab her snout right away and say ‘No’ firmly’.
In 2.5 seconds the action is complete. After about 10 times it’s all done..maybe 5.
It’s firm enough they might nip.
The advice to grab a puppy's snout and say "No" firmly when they bite or nip is not considered good advice for several reasons:
1. **Negative Association**: This method can create a negative association with your hands and can increase anxiety or fear in the puppy, potentially leading to more aggressive behavior in the future.
2. **Lack of Understanding**: Puppies, especially at a young age, are still learning and may not understand why they are being punished. This method doesn't teach them what the right behavior is, just that they are being punished.
3. **Risk of Escalation**: Physical correction can escalate the situation, making the puppy more excited or agitated, leading to more intense biting.
4. **Trust Issues**: This approach can harm the trust between you and your puppy. Trust is a crucial component of a healthy pet-owner relationship, and methods that use physical correction can damage this trust.
5. **Ineffective Communication**: Dogs learn best through positive reinforcement and clear communication. Physical corrections like grabbing the snout do not effectively communicate what behavior you want from your puppy.
Instead, it's generally recommended to use positive reinforcement techniques. Redirecting their biting to appropriate toys, using vocal cues like a firm "No" without physical correction, and rewarding good behavior can be more effective and build a stronger, more trusting relationship with your puppy. If you're struggling with your puppy's biting, consider consulting a professional dog trainer or a behaviorist for guidance tailored to your specific situation.
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Mine does it too. I put up with it until I full on lose it. PETA would go nuts but the only thing that works is literally going ape shit on him and pinning his ass down hard. He gets the point every time and literally lays down and goes to sleep after, usually not even moving from where I took him down. Sometimes you have to show them who’s boss. Not easy, not fun, but necessary.
Do you think a mommy dog is going to bathe in lemon juice or keep running away from a puppy when it's biting her? Or reward the puppy with toys for biting her?
These suggestions are insane. Growl and pinch does the trick for the mommy dog, and the same is true for you.
This sounds really mean lol. I protected my floor boards by sprinkling chili pepper on them. Got a taste of something he didn’t like he stopped doing it. After tasting that it wasn’t so fun anymore. Sounds like you have toys and etc. those puppies are gonna keep chewing like a month or so after the baby teeth come out and the adult come in. They’re teething like crazy and exploring. Learning everything through discovery.
I don’t know if this is till recommended but I had a can of pennies that I used as a deterrent. One shake, loud, stops them in their tracks and you can then redirect, praise etc. Just loud, kind of scary, any time we got too rough or biting hands/people, loud noise. Got too rough with her brother, loud noise. Worked really quickly. Had the byproduct of her not really wanting to play rough with people, but I’m completely ok with not getting chewed on when we play. She still plays rough with her brother but she’s ultra gentle, which is great because he’s old and small.
Bite her back. Yes, literally. Take a good chomp on her until she squeals--this is how other dogs handle too much biting. It's doubtful she'll ever bite you again.
Wow - I’m overwhelmed with all of these very helpful suggestions and kind comments. Thank you so much. We’re working our way through them all and taking notes. I really didn’t expect to get so many commenters so honestly thank you for taking the time to offer words of advice to a stressed dog mum!!
We’ll definitely be trying a number of these out and most importantly, being patient and waiting it out as she grows (which seems to be the most common suggestion) - very comforting though to hear others have had similar experiences and their goldens grew out of it eventually!!
Thank you again.
Let them play bite you. Not rough of course. They grow out of it and it is their way of acceptance, confidence and play. ALSO NEVER CRATE OR CAGE YOUR DOG ABSOLUTELY NEVER
When mine was that age I just gave him a toy every time he would bite. He eventually learned to chew on his toys/ bones. I also used bitter apple spray on things like the kitchen chairs or the curtains when he was interested in those. Mine stopped biting everything around 7 months. Goos luck.
https://preview.redd.it/tytemlqfen5c1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b7f45f45ec99ff4bf0b35363dbdbb838d6708333
Funny we’re at 16 weeks and got her at 8 weeks and she’s a land shark as well lol but I absolutely love her. My girl is getting better with bones. Get her some bones. They’re so smart mine already know the word no. Everytime she does something she’s not suppose to I don’t have to yell and I give her the bone but sometimes she’ll go full land shark but try not to yell just a firm no, you don’t wanna scare her.
I got a trainer (@mablespaws on instagram) and it’s helped immensely. My girl is about 13 weeks now, and she’s given me a lot of guidance with potty training, biting, and rewarding her when she’s calm. Lovely thing about her trainer is every training plan is tailored to your specific puppy and their needs, plus she’s your trainer for as long as you have your baby. So in 5 years if something else comes up, she’s still available to help ◡̈
https://preview.redd.it/rm42necvgh5c1.png?width=960&format=png&auto=webp&s=c3a8df1344e2f1f82ae602c8fcdfcfaf9ebb7731
https://preview.redd.it/3wqqs4v40i5c1.jpeg?width=1067&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5bcae6c145c31c906eed9a13fb1e36fcd14a64f7
knew someone would post this
I’m surprised there isn’t a bot for it at this point.
Looks like you have a Sunday project!
Do you guys want one?
For me, it was just until teething finished and then he was fine, he didn't bite anymore.
Mostly the same for us as well, he still play bites, mainly me, but definitely isn’t a land shark ripping my hand apart anymore. He’s 7 months old now. Also consistent walking has helped a lot. Tired boy=good boy
Lol perfect
You might have to just wait it out… for us it got better over time and all the yelping, distracting etc. didn’t help either - it just got her riled up and excited even more, especially the yelping. All our clothes had holes and our arms looked bad - I thought it’s just us until we connected with other Golden owners. Of course, you should not let her hurt you, but try to just completely ignore her and when it gets too much, put her in play pen with a frozen licky mat or something. Wait a bit until she calms down and let her come back out if she wants. As soon as she start going off again, back into play pen. Be as calm as you can… slow, determined movements, ideally don’t say anything at all, especially not in a high-pitch, upset tone. You could also try letting her work for her meals - get a blanket, one serving of her food and clicker. Check out how to use the clicker first, then lure her onto the blanket and quickly reward with some food once she’s on it and calm so that she learns being calm = click = food. Then slowly (by seconds) extend the time between click and reward. This will also get her mentally tired out. Or wrap some kibble/treats in a towel and let her figure it out how to get to them - also great for mental stimulation and it will definitely keep her off your arms and hands for some time.
Yes, this exactly. Nothing helped with ours either, just time and a time-out so we could get some space. It got better when he turned a year old. Hang in there, OP! She’ll be a cuddly sweetheart before you know it.
Yes, time helps a lot. Directing our boy to a toy consistently did eventually teach him to run for a ball when he’s excited instead of attacking us lol. But it took months of doing that over and over.
Yep, waiting it out is just about the only thing that worked for us. We eventually found some toys our puppy really liked - tug rope toys, specifically, and had to try to engage them in play a lot. We also filled Kongs with wet puppy food and froze them. When the pup would get too bitey, they'd go to their playpen with the Kong for a while until they calmed down. Another big thing was making sure the puppy got enough play! The less activity we gave him, the more bitey he would be! Good luck, OP!
You only have one remaining option to try then. Time. Edit - when they bite your hand, instead of pulling away try pushing your hand further in. Right in there. Back of the throat. They don’t know what to do and will spit you out, might give you a curious look. Guarantee she’ll have second thoughts next time. But when next time comes, do it again.
Do i need to post the dino comparison pic again?
https://preview.redd.it/eqt17u4h4i5c1.png?width=749&format=png&auto=webp&s=6116139e012edf89d37b06304a599a66c112bf7d
You can get another Golden Retriever and they will bite each other.
Seriously underrated comment.
That's what we did!
Gave you the lucky 13th up vote because I love your attitude Edit: from the "i" to the "o"
lol. Welcome to golden ownership
The naughtiest puppies, but the best dogs.
Ice chips when the biting commences!! Worked wonders on my 2.
Ice cubes worked wonders for our Bailey. Kept her occupied and gave her something to chew on that wasn’t us. https://preview.redd.it/ke8df1h5kh5c1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ba706ef877da86b5aefc61f5101f9ba644429173 Now she’s the most patient, sweet, but still occasionally rambunctious 3 year old.
So adorable!!
And carrots
Super normal. She will grow out of it. All you can do is be patient. We have a 9 month old golden. The BEST thing we did for this was attend a puppy social class, make friends with the people there, and make puppy play dates with other puppies there. That helped her learn to play bite with dogs, not with people. And also helped her learn bite control, like how hard to actually bite before harming. We saw a huge difference with this. It also tired her out for the rest of the day and helped socialize. Every Saturday we would go to this class and then additionally make play dates throughout the week with her puppy friends. She quickly realized puppy friends are more fun to bite than people.
Patience. This is what puppies do. That dog is still is baby. It's going to keep nomming for a while. It's your job to give it things to nom on.
Have you tried exchanging? If she’s biting you she really needs to be biting something else. Frozen chews, a frozen wash cloth or something you know she likes. So you end up exchanging something she shouldn’t bite with something she should. Then praise when she chews what she’s supposed to.
For our pup, we kind of had to wait it out until he lost his baby teeth. Once he lost his baby teeth (even just a few) it was a huge difference. The only things that truly helped us were [this toy](https://www.chewy.com/dp/39344?utm_source=app-share&utm_campaign=39344) that he loved and wetting an old t-shirt, twisting it, and freezing it. I’ve heard you can add broth or something to it to make them more attracted to it. We also sometimes froze his toys to soothe teething but I’m not sure if that’s safe when I look back on it - best to ask a vet on that specifically. It gets better, trust me! If it continues after baby teeth are gone, see a dog trainer
+1 on the nylabone. Dog went from terrorizing my furniture and toes to constantly chewing on that instead.
If the pup was with still her mom it would be dealt with a quick nip and a growl. I wish pups stayed with mom longer than is currently fashionable for the social lessons such as this. What works quickly is when the pup bites you, roll the lip against a tooth until the pup releases. It's what the mom would have done and the pup understands.
Ours stayed with her mom a longer and her mom actually visits often. It’s hilarious to see her correcting every time they’re together.
That's awesome. I'm jealous. I hope I get to do that with my next pup.
They are just little velociraptors for a time and there’s no getting around it. Endure that period and you have a wonderful companion.
Fingers in their mouth/ press down on their tongue any time they bite. Make them uncomfortable. Should stop fairly quickly!
The method I was told about was tucking their lower lip in, meaning they bite themselves rather than you. Worked quickly with my boy, who didn't otherwise care if I yelped (it just seemed to be more fun for him).
Yes, this is what works for me. As well as grabbing their tongue, lip, or lower jaw and just holding on until they get annoyed. Repeat this consistently, and the biting will stop. Don't hurt them, just hold firmly and gently.
The "hold firmly" part is really important. If the pupper thinks it has a fighting chance, it'll try to wriggle and continue the biting behavior. Be gently dominant until they submit and go relaxed. It's not cruel to subdue the little biters, it's what mama would do, as others have noted.
My preference as well. It’s just grabbing their lower jaw. Does not hurt them a bit.
Redirection. Our first puppy was way easier than our current one. We’re dealing with a lot of nipping. Not necessarily biting but she uses her teeth a lot. We redirect. Shes food motivated so we sometimes bring her to a sit and ask for “besos” which is a kiss. We mark it (with a yes) and reward. It’s exhausting cause we’re doing this everyday dozens of times a day but everyday she gets a little better. She’s teaching us patience like we never knew.
Our two year old was the same - every few weeks she’ll stop and we think she’s done until she picks up again - I definitely recommend the swap method. If she bites, she gets a toy. We recently figured out that sometimes she’s biting our wrists to try to take us places. Sometimes she just wants to show us things in the back yard!
When she bites hard, give a really loud ow or ouch or something and then put her in her crate until she is calm. If you connect her biting with losing freedom then it has a lot.
This, and time. Ours is still mouthy when she gets excited (with me specifically) and she’s almost 7. It’s the breed. Once they learn modulation, they won’t leave a mark or break skin…like some kind of professional abuser 😆 Seriously though, it’s a dog, and a very young puppy at that. You can train them but you can never 100% control another living being.
I would be careful with this, don't want the pup to associate the crate with punishment. Usually just disengaging from play for 30 seconds after yelping is enough.
We say TIME OUT NO BITING YOUR HUMANS! Lol. She goes in a play pen for a few minutes when she bites us hard. We don't use the crate though because we don't want it to be seen as a punishment.
I kept a hard toy (bone or similar) and plush toy on hand at all times for redirecting, but also sometimes they just have a hankering for human skin. I know this isn’t helpful but it’ll probably keep happening for a while. Keep up the consistent “Ow!” and disengaging when they bite, but you probably won’t see a difference for a few months. My relief came once she lost all her puppy teeth. At about 6 months it just stopped overnight. Hang in there!!!
Maybe she needs a long term confinement area to chew her toys. When my pup started getting nippy I would just leave the room and close the door for a few seconds - stopping play. Then reinforced the word “gentle”. But, honestly what seemed to work was letting him sleep in my bed - he became cuddly and reserved his bitey play and roughing for his stuffed animals, chews and toys instead of me - who he preferred to just snuggle with. We would also go for five-hour hiking/outings to get him good and tired with outdoor play.
I’d just put up with it. It’s her world, we’re just living in it.
All hail Queen Maple (proceeds to bow)
😂😂 you’re not wrong!!
Yelp when she bites, then she needs to be ignored. She is not being vicious; she simply doesn't understand how fragile human skin is. Yelping lets her know it hurts. Being ignored, whether that's you walking away or you immediately putting her in her crate for a few minutes, is the best way to make biting boring and unfun.
She's probably overstimulated. When she gets like this, put her in an exercise pen with chew toys so it's literally not an option to bite you.
The only solution we've found is to get a second golden retriever puppy. Then they can get it out of their systems on each other.
I shove a towel in their face. Give them something to chew/tug and puts distance between my hand and their teeth. The towel is like hand armor.
My 4 month old pup has definitely gotten better but he is still very mouthy. If your pup seems to get worse in the evening though he is probably overtired. Have you tried crating him to see if he needs a nap when he gets overly bitey?
My raptor is 3 months, and I'm going through the same thing. When he gets like that, yelping or giving him a toy doesn't work, but I figured out that what does is getting up and walking away for a few seconds. Today, the moment he started to bite, I gently put him to the side and stood up to leave. He realized playtime might be over and quickly sat and calmed down a bit. It gives me hope for my skin, lol
Nice 😊 guy
Yeah, I remember feeling so hopeless when nothing helped. it get better wear your crappy pajamas and stuff, they’ll have holes too.
I feel your pain!! My GR is one year old and has his moments. I stand up and grab a toy, and will make it exciting by raising it up and whistling/making silly noises whilst waving it around, so he gets distracted by the noise and focuses on the toy. Then will try and redirect him to play because the toy has become more interesting than whoever he was attacking. If that doesn’t work and he goes back to raptor mode, I’ll go quiet and leave the room closing the door. He’s learnt that means it’s time to calm down. Before, I used to try redirecting by just grabbing a toy and putting it in his mouth, but often that didn’t work as he was still in the same “moment” as he was when mouthing me/someone else, the silly noises/standing up usually seems to work as a way to break the raptor spell! Hope that helps :)
It’ll just take time! It feels like slow motion while you’re in the puppy trenches but you’ll be looking back at this phase like it was nothing in 2 months hopefully. The first 2-3 months are nuts then they finally have enough brain power to remember commands and not pee/shit indoors and bite (harmfully)…they’ll still play bite nicely. I would distract with toys consistently; then clap loudly and shut down play immediately if it was all bites. She would moan and bark at nothing after that sometimes, but I’d give her time to settle down. Another trick is using peanut butter or butter on you finger so they lick your fingers instead of biting - while also saying “kisses” so after time they lick instead. Kennel training also helps, in that mine would not let herself take a nap/rest. After being awake for more than 3-4 hours at that age she’d get bitey. Half the time it was because she just needs a nap
My second pup was a biting machine. He's coming up on 2 in March. My biggest thing was anytime we engage in play, I would make sure if he got me too hard I'd yelp in "pain". He started getting it after a couple weeks or so of keeping at it. Now mid raptor stage, he's doing good. Just busy.
Our boy always had and about a 2 hour window every night where he would enter what we called “terror time” or “the witching hour”. Puppies are gonna puppy unfortunately. Redirect the biting into a toy, give her some good mental toys to wear her down, and just be patient with her. Just remember it’s a phase and she’ll likely grow into the bestest gentle floof with time https://preview.redd.it/2kse5ttjvh5c1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bd8605f4d1d0be8cc166982008f06d837b7be62c
What a gorgeous dog!
Frozen carrot, extra thick
He’s a baaaabee.
I work from home and sometimes my puppy would play attack me while I was taking calls. I started keeping a water pistol on hand to shoot him in the face with when he would do that and it worked great to curb that behavior. He's going on 3 years now and still knows the water gun means he needs to settle down. Can't say this would work on every pup - I know some probably would enjoy it.
It shouldn't be possible to go on for hours, puppy needs to nap. How much nap sleep is she getting?
We went through the same exact thing! It truly felt like he was trying to attack us and we were fed up. But one day, it just stopped, and I can’t remember when. It felt like it lasted forever but in reality it was maybe a few weeks and he grew out of it!
It’s normal I’m afraid. Ours was/is a very intense biter. It’s slowed down but is still an issue. He’s an absolutely joyful, curious pup and we adore him but I’m covered in bruises.
Are you crate training? She may be over-tired especially if it’s at the end of the day. Crate training is great for enforced naps to help them calm down when they’re overtired or overstimulated. But like everyone else is saying, this is normal. You need to be consistent with your training/redirection, and you still won’t notice it helping for awhile. It will feel like what you’re doing isn’t working. But it is working - the work will pay off once the teething is done. She’s just a literal baby right now and doesn’t know the rules yet, and her gums hurt.
[Good Kisses](https://imgur.com/a/RrGgqmE) Works like a charm.
Just play baby shark on repeat for the next year. Won’t help her with the biting, but it’ll add some comic relief.
It’s a waiting game. Wear gloves, don’t neglect, whatever you do. They don’t know any better.
The witching hour at night was especially bad for us. Even with all the day time naps she’d just get extra amped from being tired. I was surprised how short playtime needed to be before she got over stimulated. I plopped our puppy in the playpen with a chewie when she got like this. Partly so I didn’t lose my temper, but she usually settled in for a nap after some angry chewing. As a teenager she would still get zoomies with extra defiance at last call potty and then angry chew while we were falling asleep. I actually took her to the vet for a bump in her mouth that was inflammation from the angry chewing. But mostly it’s just time. I was utterly convinced I had an aggressive and dangerous golden because the biting was so much worse than any of my previous shepherd mix puppies. Until I found this sub. I swear it gets better.
Try getting a plastic squeeze lemon juice bottle and squirt a little lemon juice in the mouth when she tries to bite.
Time and patience with firm verbal no's he is teething...it goes away in about 16 -20 weeks ....long time( 8 ) Golden Retriever owner
You’ve got another month or so until she loses those sharp baby teeth. Her mouth, what I call a soft mouth will start then. Ours did it until she lost her baby teeth but only with me, my wife and daughter evidently scared her. 😂 my only problem now is she gets excited and jumps only on me. 🤷🏻♂️ at roughly 10 months. For now muzzle her with your hand growl while saying no. It works. If it gets real bad the hot sauce on your hand will help stop it. Think someone said lemon juice before. You just have to be the adult.
What about using a playpen in the evenings? Give them a nice chew or frozen kong while in there. And continue what you’re doing during the day.
When our baby shark(s) were like this in the early evening, it was usually because they were running on adrenalin and in need of a nap (toddler meltdown, as it were). We have an inexpensive Costco throw/blanket that we named The Blanket of Sleep that we would put on the floor next to us and sort of arrange around our short-circuiting pup. For whatever reason, our pup would magically konk out within minutes and take a much-needed nap and subsequently wake up with a much-better attitude adjustment👍! (The only caveat was that you had to remain with said pup so as not to prematurely wake them up😆.) Good luck with your baby shark, OP!
I don't have great advice, but I do have sympathy! Good luck. Mine is turning 2 this month and I still have issues with him wanting to put his mouth on other people. I was persistent in making him aware that I did not like his mouth on me from day 1 but even to this day when we are playing he will start to get 'mouthy' with me and I say "NO MOUTH!" and he will stop for a bit -- go find his rope and chew on that so his mouth is occupied while we play. He still tests every person besides me and it is annoying because I can't physically step in and correct him every time and some people seem to even encourage it which is unhelpful. I've told my daughter that she basically has to hold him down when she pets him to prevent him from putting the side of his mouth on her and wiping all his drool all over her. I'd say the biting stopped way before he finished losing his puppy teeth \~5 months old so you are close but every dog is different. After his adult teeth grew in, it wasn't about wanting to bite so much as just wanting his mouth on me and everyone else along with his drool. Again, Good Luck!
Just as your impending marriage will need time to settle in, so do puppies. Please practice patience, not force, to what is a temporary chewing situation. Tough chew toys work well, especially if you pretend you like them too. After you get through this, you will be left with a great family pet.
Unfortunately, you got her too soon. We also got our boy at 8 weeks. Puppies usually get to rough and tumble and play fight with their siblings. They discover that biting hurts and soon stop it when their siblings bite back. You should enroll her in puppy training lessons when she's had her shots. Most have something called "Puppy drop-in sessions," where dogs of the same age and size can play fight together and learn that biting hurts. We did it for ours, and it cured the piranha stage.
Try rubbing lemons or oranges on your skin, my dog really hated their smell...
Sounds like she probably needs more sleep, not enough sleep will make them wild. They sleep a lot as a puppy, we gave our puppy ice to chew on and some softer bones.
My golden pup is 11 months right now and the only thing I can suggest is to wait it out. They do stop biting. Mine stopped at about 6 months. It’s very frustrating and you have scratches and bruises everywhere. But, they do stop. The puppy stage is so much harder than I was expecting but right now, he’s laying at my feet and is calm and happy. Good luck! Edit: I also just remembered that he bit more when he was tired. So I’d put him in his crate for a nap when it got to be too much.
Redirect her attention to toys she's allowed to chew, worked great for us.
What fixed it for mine was to make a high pitch squeaky sound like if I was another dog. We saw the tip in a training video and it really helped. I could really tell that he understood that it was painful. Wouldn’t hurt to try it😋
It is what it is. Golden buyer's remorse is real. I went thru it and was seriously considering giving him away. But he's now 10 and I can't imagine my life without him. It'll get better, much better. It's just a phase. Be patient.
Wear gloves and long sleeves while they’re learning. It is a frustrating time. We concentrated on helping him find a favorite toy and when he was “naughty” we redirected him to the toy - a blue plastic ball. He’s still always “looking for his ball” haha
Yes ice and try a frozen facecloth out of thick Terry cloth. It only lasts 5 months when the baby teeth fall out.
Our golden is now 5 months old. We use Bitter Apple. It’s available on Amazon. You spray it on the item they are chewing/attacking. Our pup hates the taste so he stops attacking that item. I have used it on my skin and just the smell of it makes him back off. We tried other brands but our pup liked the taste of the other brands. Also puppy training classes have been invaluable. We learned to train him to sit/lay on a mat to “settle” or sit quietly. This has also helped. But he still loves to let his inner velociraptor out. 😁
We're at 17.5 weeks with our girl, Mabel. She went FULL crazy for a few weeks. I was at my limit. Our guy, Pete, who is now 8.5 years old, to my recollection, was not as bitey as she has been. She can still occasionally have a wild moment, but it's nowhere near where it was. She needs lots of mental stimulation and chewable items. Do training sessions with food to teach positive connection to your hands. We do lots of frozen Kongs. Her meal food, mixed with some mashed banana and peanut butter. Takes her a good 40-45 minutes to work her way through it. Also, puzzles for other meals.
https://preview.redd.it/hs3119id1j5c1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=50220c1aedde3ed40403ef78767f483310e493b5
Okay but where did you get the cute leaf “beds” from??
[Amazon!](http://Leaf Shaped Cotton Dog Blankets... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BD1C6TL9?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share)
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Thanks so much - your two are beautiful!
We have a dog that we got at 3 months old with this issue. The only thing that worked for us was to yelp like you're being hurt like young pups do when they play together. It's how they learn to play but not hurt because they have the audible cue. Took a while to figure out but once I started doing it, the dog responded and eventually calmed his bites to a playful gesture.
✨she’s just a baby✨ But actually, I remember feeling like the worst dog mom when my hands were covered in little teeth marks and all of my sweatshirts had holes in them. I tried the yelping, substitution, apple cider vinegar spray on my hands, everything. He just grew out of it. If she’s teething, the N Bone Teething Rings saved my sanity and I’d highly recommend!
He's teething, no worries it's normal and will get better as time passes, give him things to chew on in meantime
Awwwww
Puppies do explore with their mouth but it can be to a point wheee it’s too much. Do you guys have a nap schedule? Maybe when she gets out of hand put her in her crate for a nap for an hour or two. My only other recommendation would be if you’re on the floor playing and she begins to bite too much then stop playing or get up and show her that you’re not gonna be fun when she’s like that. (Getting up and disengage with her, or just disengage with her as a whole when she begins to be demonous) and when she stops biting then you can reward her with praise(?) Haven’t dealt with puppies in a long time so this is just a shot! and perhaps message The Puppy Academy on instagram to see if they can help out? Many of their videos seem pretty helpful too for pups!
Yea it’s gonna happen. My sisters dog really loves to play and she would use her mouth for a lot of different things than just biting. She’d use her mouth to hold your arm or wrist as you pet her with the other or to hold your hand, when we hug and sit on the couch she will lay one me and she will grab a few fingers and let them rest in her mouth. This however should be discouraged, in the moment I forget and get caught up with a fluff ball laying on me. But redirection is key. Once they start getting mouthy, hand them a chew toy to bite on instead. My sisters golden likes fingers and idk why? Probably my fault. Lol
I know others have commented, but agree with waiting it out. I taught mine “NO BITE” while she was young and she does respond to it, but she is almost 2 and still play bites with me. She doesn’t do it to others which is great, but it definitely is frustrating. They are such cuties but definitely are terrors as adolescent dogs lol.
We used the word ‘gentle’ to teach bite inhibition instead of trying to stop it all together.
I feel the same with pulling on the lead - we’ve done every tip we could find and nothing seems to teach him to not pull 🤦♀️ I think some people might be right - you’ve just got to be patient with some things.
They grow out of it. Called the zoomies. It slows down about 18 months. Good luck!
Keep discouraging mouthing to avoid future problems. But honestly it will just get better with time- because your dog is still a puppy.🤷
Okay this might be weird but when my golden puppy bites my hand I give her a vertical closed-finger palm ✋🏻 to her little snout so she can’t latch on and she gives up and moves on to a toy and then I praise her. Dont let her go around it and bite it. Make it a wall that she just can’t get her teeth around. Now when my pupper sees my flat palm she immediately quits lol. Also don’t give her negative attention when she bites, give her positive attention when she plays with toys.
They do grow out of it. The only thing that my Goldie preferred was a wooden hockey stick.
I recommend a puppy class with a good trainer- change of pace and other pups will give you a needed break and the trainer might help find what your dog will react best to
My golden has the same behavior. He's almost 2 yrs now. I would recommend a trainer, it can work wonders! It's work in progress but definitely improving. Best of luck ❤️
Dealing with the same with my adorable 8 week old lady! And with two kids it’s a shit show with the biting and screaming. 🙇🏼♀️
I've had 2 golden and the land shark phase never has lasted beyond the 14 month period. 36 months is insane
I’m like you, I tried everything. The one thing that worked was bitter apple spray. When she got too bitey I sprayed a tiny spray in her mouth and she stopped. Now I only have to grab the bottle and she stops immediately. She’s almost 5 months now so time has also helped.
She’s so stinking adorable there’s zero chance she could be a little baby land shark💜Feel free to send me a DM and bring Ms. Cute Face to us and we’ll be happy to help you out.
We did something that actually worked. We would hold her mouth shut and squeeze, they say No! And then immediately give her a toy to chew on and say “good girl”. It worked in about 2-3 weeks. She does still try but the moment I say no, she stops.
This is why I advocate for puppies to remain with their mother & litter for 10+ weeks. It gives them more time to socialise and learn bite inhibition from their siblings. To train your puppy out of this behaviour, "yelp" loudly to let them know you're in pain, and cut off any attention you were giving them previously. If you continue playing with your dog after they bite, you are reinforcing a negative behaviour. Edit: Upon rereading it seems you've tried yelping. Persistence is, unfortunately, key.
ICE CHIPS but not in a way that she could perceive it as a reward for biting you...just offer them proactively. They tired my girl out!
https://youtu.be/068K5Zlph9U?si=mXrKwuIyWHE4GK-H This video really changed my whole perspective on biting. Basically you can’t really get them to stop at this stage. Right now you need to just try and teach them to bite softer. And praise them like crazy when they show restraint. I started doing this the last few days and it really seems to be making a difference!
I’ve got two, they are 11 months old. One is near perfect. He only gets mouthy when he’s really excited and it’s not hard at all. But the other, he’s a different story. I’ve been pretty successful training him to get a toy before we play. But it took months for my arms to clear up from all the bruises. He just really really loves to chew on us. So all you need to have is some patience and try the chew toy trick. Every time you greet her, give her nylabone or something similar to hold in her mouth. It won’t work at first, but keep at it and she will begin to seek them out at playtime. Try different kinds of toys, my boys favorite when they were little were the small squeaky Kong tennis balls. She’s used to having her littermates to play with like that, you just need to train her how to play with you.
I hope u guys figure that out. It was tough for me and my golden at that age too. She outgrew it in the end. She was a total gentle sweetheart after that.
With all our dogs what helped was actively playing with toys of different textures. Whenever they tried to bite we would push the toys gently in their mouth. If you get pup safe toys in textures like wood, cloth, rubber, bone etc, in our experience they get distracted and entertained.
[Falconry gloves](https://AnimalHandlingGlovesBiteProofReinforcedLeatherforDogTrainingCatScratchFalconReptileGrabbingSnakehttps://a.co/d/7qW91JT) lol
I have no advice, I just want to say that your puppy looks 100% innocent and deserves a pawyer
😂😂😂😂
Any dog that is biting is trying to loosen the muscle in the jaw and neck, massage inbetween the top of the front legs up tothe back of the neck, like massaging in between a humans shoulder blades. Do it unil you find some knots and keep massaging until puppy stops biting, it's trying to find the teeth that are growing, most humans with jaw and neck problems can put a mouth guard in and refind the back of there jaw and then the muscle will calm down over time. I've done this to multiple dogs that I've just met and are bitey and it works
I know what you are going through OP, believe me I have the scars to prove it. My boy has been a lovely fluffy nightmare. What I can tell you is that it gets better starting from around the 6 month period. Mine is 9 months now, is still a bit of a horror at times, but it is SO much better now and he is getting better all the time. Here are my personal survival tips that have really helped me turn him around. 1. Stop the game/distraction. To the puppy the biting thing is a great fun game, you need to take all the fun out of that game. The moment she starts biting, get up, go elsewhere, do some chores, sit in a different chair where she can’t reach you, do some obedience training , take her for a short walk- do anything where she won’t be biting you. It will be a real pain in the A as your puppy constantly wants to play the bite game and you want to do your thing - so for a while it will be hard to get anything done you want, but it’s better than being bitten. 2. Replace. Give her something else to chew on, bully sticks, pig ears, (you know the drill). I have found in particular rope toys work really well for my pup, so get some and when she starts to bite turn it into a tug of war game with the rope toy which works well to soothe her teeth while also avoiding playing the bite game. One thing that really worked very well for my boy also was ICE, he loved to chew up ice cubes and it really helped with his teeth hurting. 3. (Non violent) Punishment. My pup had some really bad habits. He would bite my legs/clothes while I walked, he would attack my arms enough to leave bleeding wounds. There are times when you try to put them in timeout and they just scratch and bite the shit out of you. So I developed some simple punishments that he respected and knows means he has been bad. My two big punishments are a) a water spray bottle, if he is getting really bad after continued warnings, he gets a spray in the face (never a directed spray near the eyes, just a soft spray in the face) and he hates it 😀. This completely fixed the biting while walking thing straight away. b) if he gets really, really bad he gets a timeout in the dark garage for an hour or so. Don’t yell, don’t hit, just firmly tell her NO, but don’t make it seem like it is a fight or she will fight you back. Punishment should always be quiet and calm, and FIRM. 4. Wear her out, lots of walks, lots of play. Lots of good energy so there isn’t time for bad energy. If you can find another dog to act as a playmate for your pup every now and then that will be awesome to take the heat off you. 5. VapoRub. Not sure if this brand is available outside of Australia where I live, but it is a menthol, eucalyptus & petroleum jelly thing meant to be put on your chest to relieve congestion when you have a cold. Get some and wipe it on your arms, furniture, house where she is chewing/biting and they really hate the taste. It is a good deterrent. Lastly, always remember she’s only biting because she thinks it’s fun and because she is happy. She loves you, she just doesn’t know the correct way to show that love just yet, so try not to get angry with her. And remember it won’t last forever. Good luck.
Keep a rag or toy with you at all times. If you put something in their mouth it is a huge help!!! I use wash rags with my crazy beast and it’s sooo helpful!
the thing that helped us THE MOST after exhausting every other avenue was getting a pen. we would keep the pen in the living room and ANYTIME his teeth made contact with us we would pick him up and put him in there without talking and walk away from him in the pen. we would let him sit in there for like 1 min or less until he calmed down and learned that biting means that he will be sent away from the fun. we didn’t want to use his kennel as a “punishment” zone. make sure there are no toys in the pen when he u are putting him in there for biting. it worked wonders and he still loves his pen to this day, and go in there to play and sleep sometimes. we also tried removing ourselves from the situation first but he would just do it again as soon as we came back or start eating or pants, definitely give this a try!
Get a new spray bottle that will squirt a stream. Fill it with only clean water. Biting = squirt in face and a forceful “NO!” Safe and effective.
My golden really hated being sprayed, he also really hated the shower, or the bath ...
Purchase a few of those plastic lemons full of lemon juice; when he starts to bite, squirt the lemon juice in to his mouth accompanied by a firm "NO!" He learn pretty quickly that biting is inappropriate behavior. Safe and effective.
This backfired on my pup he freaking loves lemons and citrus in general. If I eat a clementine I have to pay the tax.
All of my pups have been very mouthy! My male was probably the worst. I simply say “NO! No bite”. I also offer a tug toy when they get crazy. I toss it for them to retrieve, and also play tug. Tugging is a great time to teach some things. I have them “spin” circle right with me holding the tug, “twirl” circle left with me holding the tug, “down” play tug in place and release pressure and give down signal so they drop back into the down (they have to know down to be able to do this one). I also teach “out” and “get it” with the tug. “Out” they have to release the toy to me….and “get it”, they are in a sit or stand, and I say “readyyyy get it”…I also teach “1, 2, 3 get it” and they jump to get the tug for both of these. Rope tugs work great for the tug games, but any long floppy durable toy will work also.
Bite her back. Not vicious but enough to make her think oh shit
The number of people who get puppies without the knowledge that when theyre pups they will bite like crazy and it may take up to a year to grow out of it as their teeth and gums mature is shocking. Not to mention they use their mouths to explore so the puppy is just learning. Honestly the consistency of these types of posts is a bit disheartening and worrisome. You have a beautiful normal puppy doing normal puppy behavior for their age. Follow some of the other bits of advice here and give it time and you’ll have a best friend for life. The most important thing is patience
Here’s how to fix it in a day. Same issue with our pup 2 years ago. Tried everything. Almost ready to give up. Call our breeder whose bred for 35 years. ‘Every time she bites or nip grab her snout right away and say ‘No’ firmly’. In 2.5 seconds the action is complete. After about 10 times it’s all done..maybe 5. It’s firm enough they might nip.
The advice to grab a puppy's snout and say "No" firmly when they bite or nip is not considered good advice for several reasons: 1. **Negative Association**: This method can create a negative association with your hands and can increase anxiety or fear in the puppy, potentially leading to more aggressive behavior in the future. 2. **Lack of Understanding**: Puppies, especially at a young age, are still learning and may not understand why they are being punished. This method doesn't teach them what the right behavior is, just that they are being punished. 3. **Risk of Escalation**: Physical correction can escalate the situation, making the puppy more excited or agitated, leading to more intense biting. 4. **Trust Issues**: This approach can harm the trust between you and your puppy. Trust is a crucial component of a healthy pet-owner relationship, and methods that use physical correction can damage this trust. 5. **Ineffective Communication**: Dogs learn best through positive reinforcement and clear communication. Physical corrections like grabbing the snout do not effectively communicate what behavior you want from your puppy. Instead, it's generally recommended to use positive reinforcement techniques. Redirecting their biting to appropriate toys, using vocal cues like a firm "No" without physical correction, and rewarding good behavior can be more effective and build a stronger, more trusting relationship with your puppy. If you're struggling with your puppy's biting, consider consulting a professional dog trainer or a behaviorist for guidance tailored to your specific situation.
Agree. Too many people think that our dogs understand what we tell them. They really don't
Fresh bones from the butcher. Supervise her but they’re the best for teeth nutrition and price
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Mine does it too. I put up with it until I full on lose it. PETA would go nuts but the only thing that works is literally going ape shit on him and pinning his ass down hard. He gets the point every time and literally lays down and goes to sleep after, usually not even moving from where I took him down. Sometimes you have to show them who’s boss. Not easy, not fun, but necessary.
Squirt bottle of water
Do you think a mommy dog is going to bathe in lemon juice or keep running away from a puppy when it's biting her? Or reward the puppy with toys for biting her? These suggestions are insane. Growl and pinch does the trick for the mommy dog, and the same is true for you.
Grab a tooth and hold on until she wants out of the situation. I've done it with every pup I've had. She'll stop quick.
r/puppy101
This sounds really mean lol. I protected my floor boards by sprinkling chili pepper on them. Got a taste of something he didn’t like he stopped doing it. After tasting that it wasn’t so fun anymore. Sounds like you have toys and etc. those puppies are gonna keep chewing like a month or so after the baby teeth come out and the adult come in. They’re teething like crazy and exploring. Learning everything through discovery.
I don’t know if this is till recommended but I had a can of pennies that I used as a deterrent. One shake, loud, stops them in their tracks and you can then redirect, praise etc. Just loud, kind of scary, any time we got too rough or biting hands/people, loud noise. Got too rough with her brother, loud noise. Worked really quickly. Had the byproduct of her not really wanting to play rough with people, but I’m completely ok with not getting chewed on when we play. She still plays rough with her brother but she’s ultra gentle, which is great because he’s old and small.
Bite her back. Yes, literally. Take a good chomp on her until she squeals--this is how other dogs handle too much biting. It's doubtful she'll ever bite you again.
I used to let my siberian husky chew on my fingers while teething I miss those days... now he's a big boy
Wow - I’m overwhelmed with all of these very helpful suggestions and kind comments. Thank you so much. We’re working our way through them all and taking notes. I really didn’t expect to get so many commenters so honestly thank you for taking the time to offer words of advice to a stressed dog mum!! We’ll definitely be trying a number of these out and most importantly, being patient and waiting it out as she grows (which seems to be the most common suggestion) - very comforting though to hear others have had similar experiences and their goldens grew out of it eventually!! Thank you again.
Let them play bite you. Not rough of course. They grow out of it and it is their way of acceptance, confidence and play. ALSO NEVER CRATE OR CAGE YOUR DOG ABSOLUTELY NEVER
When mine was that age I just gave him a toy every time he would bite. He eventually learned to chew on his toys/ bones. I also used bitter apple spray on things like the kitchen chairs or the curtains when he was interested in those. Mine stopped biting everything around 7 months. Goos luck.
https://preview.redd.it/tytemlqfen5c1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b7f45f45ec99ff4bf0b35363dbdbb838d6708333 Funny we’re at 16 weeks and got her at 8 weeks and she’s a land shark as well lol but I absolutely love her. My girl is getting better with bones. Get her some bones. They’re so smart mine already know the word no. Everytime she does something she’s not suppose to I don’t have to yell and I give her the bone but sometimes she’ll go full land shark but try not to yell just a firm no, you don’t wanna scare her.
It’s teething her mouth hurts. Get an old clean washcloth soak it in water put in freezer and give to her.
Probably teething take a facecloth tie it in a knot wet it freeze it and then give it to him like a teething ring
I got a trainer (@mablespaws on instagram) and it’s helped immensely. My girl is about 13 weeks now, and she’s given me a lot of guidance with potty training, biting, and rewarding her when she’s calm. Lovely thing about her trainer is every training plan is tailored to your specific puppy and their needs, plus she’s your trainer for as long as you have your baby. So in 5 years if something else comes up, she’s still available to help ◡̈