Nipping pup?

G

gt_andy

Forum Member
Just got a female Golden Retriever Pup. Its about 17 weeks old and is about 25ilbs already.

I have owned dogs in the past but they were previously trained or older. This is my first pup. She listens very well with potty training, and basic commands (sit, lay down, and stay).

I'm having an issue with her nipping or biteing. Normally this would not be a problem with me because it really doesn't hurt and I know pups like to play and chew. But I also have a 2yr old (Aiden) in the house. Its a little much for him to handle the pup and bites. I mean the pup weights as much as Aiden. She has no problem nocking him down and tuggin his legs or hands. This will NOT be tolerated!

So my question is... Any ideas on things I can do to help prevent the biting? I try not to use my hand for punishment but sometimes she gets out of control and its the only thing i can use in the heat of the moment. The pup also begins to gets very aggressive (almost like attact mode) when she knows she is in trouble. She will start to bite much harder and growl. Other then that she is a great dog and gets along with Aiden and the rest of the family well. Just when she gets excited.

Any ideas? What have you all done to correct these issues.
 
We exercise her to the max. So it isn't a issue with not getting enough exercise. We have also got her bones and chew toys to try and take place of Aidens arms and legs.
 
This will sound goofy but here's what I would do: On a frequent basis, physically flip her over and pin her, upside down, with your hand on her throat (do not choke her but make sure she's aware of what you're doing and that your hand is there) and stare her down at this time until she looks away.

This is a naturally occurring gesture that will establish your dominance over her. In the wild, another dog will wrestle with her and hold her (with her throat in his mouth) until she submits. This behavior is hard-written into her natural instincts and is in no way mean or cruel, you're just speaking to her in a language she can understand (obviously she cannot understand english.) What you are doing is putting her in her place in the pecking order of your pack, and this will basically let her know that she is in LAST place. Dogs do not have any emotions in this respect and she will not feel mistreated or insulted, but will be abundantly aware of her place in line. I did this daily with my Doberman in the beginning and even now and again when he gets ranbunctious, works like a charm. This is a necessary thing to do now and again as she will from time to time attempt to move up the chain and you cannot allow her to have any control over where she is. Misbehaved dogs feel that they are higher up in the chain and in most instances are the Leader, which in your case can easily be a fatal error.

Our relationship with dogs basically allows them to use their natural social skills in our world, which if you really look at it, is quite the same. Everyone has a boss of some sort, and the rest are subordinates.

I did a lot of research into the natural psychological order of the dog world and I think all the treats and punishments in the world will be ineffective because she only understands things on one particular level.

Give it a try.
 
by you saying "On a frequent basis, physically flip her over and pin her, upside down, with your hand on her throat"

Even if she hasnt dont anything bad? or only when she is bad.
 
Like i said. She is a great dog. Fully listens! just has a issue with biting.. I know she is a pup and that comes with owning a puppy.. But i still want to get a grasp on this before its out of control. I dont want her thinking its ok to use her mouth as a form of play in her adult years.
 
i have owned a few goldens and never heard of a situation like this. i would try to crate her if she bites after a swat to the noise with newspaper as a timeout type method. is it an akc? why did you just get her at 17 weeks old? who had her prior? or if she bites and growls, mussel her and tell her no and then crate her. ive never had or seen a golden that growels back and bites. only biting if teething. but nothing hard unless ruffhousing with them.
 
I did it once a day for about a month after I got my dag, right when I walked in the door. He never acted like he feared me, and remember that even if you beat the living hell out of your dog (which I NEVER would do or recommend,) he'll forget about in a few minutes. Dogs don't hold a grudge.

I'd say too that if she gets a little nippy DO IT IMMEDIATELY. This is a better correction that yelling, etc. They don't know what's wrong when people react and treat dogs like other people. Obviously, if your kid does something wrong you can communicate it to them, wherein dogs speak dog, which isn't verbal. Your yelling is just like loud barking to them, so they know you are upset but not why. Dogs also cannot understand consonants, just vowels, so talking to them is pointless. They do understand body language and can sense your feelings based on your body language, so learning to speak in body language will get you further than anything else.

Remember not to lose your temper. Dogs can definitley sense aggression, and they'll respond in kind. Not getting angry is hard when she nips your baby, try to control it, or you'll only teach the dog how to be aggressive, and that will put her (in her eyes) further up on the ladder which is exactly what you don't want. We've had several dogs and I have learned everything the hard way by screwing up.

Also, it's a lot easier to flip and pin her if she's 25# and not 100#. She'll try to get out of it, that's the point, just don't let her, you must dominate her and win ALL THE TIME. In the wild dogs never correct one another by screaming, throwing things, pushing thier noses in shit or smacking each other with a rolled up magazine. They're incapable of recognizing what you want from them unless your communication is right on, so speaking to the dog in a language it can understand is paramount.

Remember too that dogs inherently are there to please superiors-- it's just the way they're wired. If you do some research into canine psychology you'll see what I mean. Even watch that Caesar guy, he preaches the same stuff.

By the way, you don't have to flip her and pin her too aggressively (just calm and firm), think of it as the same as calmly saying to your kid: "that's not how we behave..."
 
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We got her from another couple that didnt have time for her. I believe they had her from 8 weeks - till i got her. Not sure how they treated her..

not sure what yo speak of when saying akc? ???

IMO the pup doesnt bite hard while playing or to adults. But its different with the child. Shes being a bully and has torn his clothes or even drawn blood.. That is something I will not tolerate. She just get agressive when I grab he muzzle.
 
gt_andy said:
Like i said. She is a great dog. Fully listens! just has a issue with biting.. I know she is a pup and that comes with owning a puppy.. But i still want to get a grasp on this before its out of control. I dont want her thinking its ok to use her mouth as a form of play in her adult years.
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She'll always do this, hence chew toys. They don't have ahands to keep busy with hobbies, so they use their mouths. I see she's teething, which makes mouth play that much more common. That'll wane as time goes on but she needs to be kept exercised thoroughly and needs something to chew on, or else she'll hit the furniture, shoes, etc.
 
gt_andy said:
We got her from another couple that didnt have time for her. I believe they had her from 8 weeks - till i got her. Not sure how they treated her..

not sure what yo speak of when saying akc? ???

IMO the pup doesnt bite hard while playing or to adults. But its different with the child. Shes being a bully and has torn his clothes or even drawn blood.. That is something I will not tolerate. She just get agressive when I grab he muzzle.
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She thinks she's the kid's superior and is exercising her dominance, exactly like I said she was. Grab that muzzle firmly but gently, wihtout anger, and let her know physically by restraint that this shit is not tolerated from her. And on that note, don't grab it in playtime, that sends a confusing message.
 
Im sure she will calm as she ages.. Im just concerned that Im doing something wrong to cause the aggression.

I do know she had adult teeth coming in. Could this just be a phase?
 
What Dr Teeth said is a good idea, I have two large Dobermans along with small kids. I have the kids get in on the rolling over and rubbing the belly.

That being said I have found that when my pups wanted to nip I would just stick my hand down their throat to the point of them gaging. Both of my dogs took about two or three rounds of that and they learnded that skin is not for chewing. Its not hitting but still they associate the chocking with your hand in their mouth. When my hand is in their throat I say no bite and offer them a chew toy, when they take the toy offer praise.

Good luck
 
81z28 said:
What Dr Teeth said is a good idea, I have two large Dobermans along with small kids. I have the kids get in on the rolling over and rubbing the belly.

That being said I have found that when my pups wanted to nip I would just stick my hand down their throat to the point of them gaging. Both of my dogs took about two or three rounds of that and they learnded that skin is not for chewing. Its not hitting but still they associate the chocking with your hand in their mouth. When my hand is in their throat I say no bite and offer them a chew toy, when they take the toy offer praise.

Good luck
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Great advice, same principle.

As an example in action, my wife's aunt moved to town with a severly poorly trained Akita that was the worst fucking dog I've ever seen, and how I didn't shoot this thing is a miracle. Anyway, everytime we came over she made a b-line for my son and nipped him. Next time we came over she came flying, he hid behind me and I hip-checked her into the wall, then bend down, grabbed her (and over her snout, thumb and middle finger in her mouth, directly behind the canines.) Twist 180 degrees so her head was upside down and believe me the body will follow, kind of like a doggie-jujitsu move. Bent over, grabbed the throat and stared her down. She looked at me like WTF? Finally looked away and I let her go. She walked off calmly, glanced at me and from that day forward never approached my son and would come up to me, flip over at my feet and and ask for tummy rubs. My aunt-in-law was amazed, said she couldn't get her to behave and I said "I see that." To this day this dog give me no shit whatsoever.

Seems it does good to be a mouth expert and a martial-artist. :D

Point is, dogs just want your acceptance and need to know where they stand--they don't really care where in line they are per se, but will try from time to time to move up the wrungs of the ladder. I think you'll agree that this one just needs a little fine tuning and she'll be a gem.

Good luck.
 
Yeah I drug my little lab around by the scruff a lot when he acted up with others. When he bit with those little sharp teeth id pin him to the floor by his throat and say NO BITE. I always told my girlfriend that... " this is what his mom would do! :)"

With Aiden, I would make the dog stay away. They both want to chew on each other and dont kmow any better not to.
 
AutoRoc said:
Yeah I drug my little lab around by the scruff a lot when he acted up with others. When he bit with those little sharp teeth id pin him to the floor by his throat and say NO BITE. I always told my girlfriend that... " this is what his mom would do! :)"

With Aiden, I would make the dog stay away. They both want to chew on each other and dont kmow any better not to.
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Another great thought, IMO. Mothers do grab them by the scruff and shake them when they're entranced on something they shouldn't. Kind of like yelling "PAY ATTENTION!" to a little child.

Either way, great advice all around.
 
puppies bite. it goes away naturally with time. A dog learns by sound as well. It's not like they really understand words you say. The training I took my dog through (Who loved to nip and bite play) is to sit with her and let her chew on me. When it got to the point that I felt it would hurt a kid, I'd make a loud noise, like "OW". It took about a month, but she eventually learned A: Ow mean stop biting, and B: that biting hard wasn't good.

As stated, they have their mouths, that's what they play with, so don't ever feel like you're going to get them to stop using it. Teach them to use it responsibly.
 
My girlfriend taught our dog "OW" also. Still works too. I just say "AY!" as his attention getter or concentration breaker.
 
AutoRoc said:
My girlfriend taught our dog "OW" also. Still works too. I just say "AY!" as his attention getter or concentration breaker.
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Inasmuch as I said they don't understand language, to this day when I raise my voice my dog sulks and runs for cover, even if I'm not directing it at him. Never once hit him either, unless we were playing and gave him a little tap. He's bopped me with his paw once or twice, kind of funny to see a dog try to box. LOL.
 
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