Rehoming puppy

[Hellin301]

Please help me.

My puppy is 8 weeks (golden retriever) and I’ve came home today after family were minding him. He was calm enough with them but perhaps overly tired. I was just sitting on the floor beside him - not playing. He came running over and bit the side of my chest; hard. I was in a lot of pain and shouted at him to leave. I wouldn’t have shouted at him if it wasn’t really bloody painful. He wouldn’t listen, I then went to stand up and he grabbed my arm. Again, biting very hard. Harder than he has done before.

I’m covered in bites, which are actually bleeding. I have been working on telling him to leave which he can do, with shoes and clothes but for some reason if he gets a hold of an arm, foot, hand or another body part he will bite very hard and refuses to listen when I tell him to leave.

Someone please help me as that biting is beyond what should be tolerated. I can’t have a puppy that is actively and in my opinion aggressively chewing me to bits. I wouldn’t be so worried if I thought it was play but I actually thought it was aggression as he was growling so loudly.

If this is going to continue to happen I think I need to hold my hands up and say I’m not the right owner for him which will break my heart

Unfortunately some people do get very defensive on here - they come from a good place but it can be very off-putting. Please try not to take it to heart.

It doesn't sound like you're doing anything wrong, you're just struggling and that's normal. It does get better

@GameSetMatch

An eight week pup will bite, Pups bite. Its too young to be away from its Mum, 12 weeks is the right age. Why did you leave it with family, he’s confused an anxious.

I've always had pups at 8 weeks - it's really quite normal for most breeds.

OP my last puppy was a proper little crocodile - honestly, they all do it and it seems like forever but it'll only be a few weeks. I would very quickly substitute a toy for my flesh and try to distract him with it, throwing it gets them away from you.

Does he have a crate or playpen where he can't get to you? A loud yelp or 'aaacckkkk' when they bite also helps, then ignore or put them in the playpen, game over. They can interact again when they calm down. They do get over excited and over tired just like children. He needs somewhere to go and chill, if they have free range access to you all the time it's difficult to nip in the bud.

Puppies are actually hard work and sometimes incredibly annoying for a few weeks, but it'll pass. Have you read 'The Perfect Puppy' by Gwen Bailey? Worth a read. Good luck

[quote Hellin301]@Loveyourideas - thank you.

As long as I’m not doing anything out of the ordinary. That half an hour of madness is just that. And it’s that half an hour that I really struggle with. He’s manic, and yes I think it’s probably over tiredness or over excitement. I’ll work harder on withdrawing attention for a few minutes and see how that goes over the next number of weeks/ months.[/quote]
I used to call it the witching hour. We could set a watch by it as he turned into a bitey shark hence the MN name. Timeouts to enforce naps and calmness helped for us.

If you know, and you will get to know, the trigger times you can try and avoid them by being calm and using pens/crates/baby gates etc to help enforce timeouts.

Have you got a crate or cage.
We had one all kitted out for our puppy, toys, soft blanket, water where it couldn’t be knocked.
If your puppy is being aggressive, it’s only a baby and has to learn to behave, put it quickly and quietly in its cage for 5 minutes to calm itself.

It’s not a punishment, as this will be your dogs bed and safe place.
Buy a puppy book, as others have said, he well could have been over played with, over tired and stressed, just like a baby or small child.
A puppy is like having a baby, a lot of commitment

@Hellin301

I have got helpful advice from a few people! Yes. And thank you to those people

There’s a lot of people telling me to take him back, I make them sick, I shouldn’t have any animal let alone a dog, and that I’m a terrible person. Really? How is that constructive to helping in this situation

I didn’t come on here to get flamed

Your thread is literally titled 'rehoming puppy' you've talked about dominance, said you think your puppy is aggressive and suggested yourself you should rehome him. Posters are responding to that.

If you'd posted asking for constructive advice on dealing with puppy biting you'd have got it, but there's no point in blaming posters for responding to the info you've given.

I agree about speaking to a professional. Don’t see it as a criticism but as a way to benefit from enjoying each other’s company from the start. This is your first puppy and you don’t know what you are doing. You wouldn’t drive a car without lessons and this is the same.

@Veterinari the OP is stressed and upset. The first few weeks of owning a puppy is really flipping hard, everyone second guesses themselves and thinks they made a mistake. Puppies are aggressive in their play as they haven’t learnt acceptable play yet.

The amount of similar threads on The Doghouse, I’m disappointed posters didn’t recognise a tired and worried new owner and be a bit more sympathetic.

Oh God, my golden was awful as a puppy. Really, really full on for biting and she would growl and launch herself at me, snapping at any body part she could. Any kind of noise like the sometimes suggested 'yelping' would send her into a frenzy. She drew blood many times and being tired made her worse. I'd resort to grabbing the nearest toy and chucking it out the room then closing the baby gate so she would calm down.

I'd had 3 previous pups who were nothing like it so definitely not a novice owner.

But she grew out of it quickly. And honestly she is the best natured dog I've had. She's 13 now and since those few awful weeks she hasn't even growled in all those years. She's a total sweetheart.

I was thrown by how apparently aggressive my sweet golden fluff ball was but please just give him time.

OP, I do understand where you're coming from. Our Dpup (lab) is 9 months now and the first two months had me completely regretting getting him. The biting was awful, DD who is 7 was really scared. We all got lacerated.
However, we'd done our research, we knew he'd be a land shark, we took him to puppy classes and still do now. He doesn't mouth and bite any more, but there's always something!

Touch of the puppy blues maybe, I went through it with DDog who we’ve got now, thinking what have I done getting a puppy, she was a bitey, widdling, crying puppy at night, they need time & patience, took a few weeks for her to settle, wouldn’t be without her now but she was hard work at first, I forgot how hard they can be.

My pup is 5 months and still bites/ chews whatever she can get. It does come down to time, age of the pup and experience.

Op I think your getting a hard time because of your title. Your puppy isn't doing anything abnormal for a pup of their age. Which does I'm afraid suggest that you haven't done your research/had much contact with young puppies.
Puppies are bloody hard work. People's visions of what raising a puppy will be like and reality are often miles apart. I guess a bit like expectations vs reality of having kids.

With the biting wear jeans thick trousers and layers for the min. Always have something to shove in their mouths in place of your hand. Don't let play get to hyped up. A few minutes and then teach them to settle. No more than 5 mins at a time. Dogs can almost become addicted to the high that comes with running and playing - that's when your most likely to get bitten. Also they need lots and lots of sleep! Think 8 week old baby. They need lots of regular naps. If you haven't got one already, get a crate. Teach the puppy that that is their space and where they sleep. If they start getting bitey then they need some down time and need to be in the crate for a few mins.
Kongs are great for teething puppies as they give them something safe and soothing to bite on. Chuck them in the freezer for a bit first and they are even better. I stuff with pate or chicken for them to snack on. Frozen towels are also good for teething on.
I know you said you have got lots of toys. But have you got lots of different types of toys? Some of mine love rope toys to bite others have preferred rubber toys. Cuddly toys can also be good. Other things I find work well are snuffle mats as it keeps their brains occupied (and tires them out). Licky mats are fab too licking lowers adrenaline levels and helps them settle and relax.

I didn’t come on here to get flamed
Unfortunately that's too common on this board. As vanilla says, most posters are well-intentioned - and I think sometimes more sympathetic to the dog than the owner. I'm on a bunch of other dog forums and they're easier on owners/handlers than this one is.

It's really, really not at all unusual to struggle with a puppy, and to struggle to bond with a puppy, and they can be more pain than pleasure sometimes. As PP have said, don't give the puppy attention for biting, and make sure he gets enough rest. We have a manic jumper-up, so I know how hard it can be to ignore unwanted behaviour, and how quick you have to be to swoop in the second the puppy is behaving (because it won't last!) and reward that with fuss and praise - it's bloody hard work and it can feel relentless and as if you're not getting anywhere.

Then one day you realise that actually you have quite a nice dog on your hands...

@ArcherDog said
The amount of similar threads on The Doghouse, I’m disappointed posters didn’t recognise a tired and worried new owner and be a bit more sympathetic.
100% agree.

@autumndream

You need to return to him to the breeder so he can have a nice home with someone that knows what they're doing! You say you've done loads of research so why don't you know that puppies are little crocodiles? He's not aggressive! People like you literally make me sick

People like you make me sick. Didn't realise half of you new all about puppies the minute you popped out the womb! Shes hardly beaten the dog. Shes asking for advice. Dont be so ignorant and horrible.

I agree with you, OP. Some of the posters on here have been awful to you. Take advice from those who have been kind and write the rest off as a bunch of silly bitches.

Sorry if I've missed something, but how long have you had the pup, OP? Some breeders are unscrupulous, and they've really come out of the woodwork during the lockdown puppy buying mania, tempted by the crazy prices, and will allow them to leave for their new homes rather too early. I'm not blaming you for that, but it may explain the behaviour. Rough and tumble play with their Mum and littermates is what teaches them the delineation between play mouthing and biting too hard (lots of squealing and a grumpy mum during this phase!) but if he's been homed early and missed this important time, then he won't understand the difference yet and he's trying it out on you. It's unfortunate, but it's up to you to do that bit now. It's likely to get worse again when he's teething, too.

Try not to shout, I realise it's a natural reaction, but you'll either over stimulate him and encourage him, or frighten him, neither of which are desirable outcomes. When he bites say "no"/"leave"/whatever you want the command to be, then get up and walk away from him. Ignore him for a bit until he's calm again, then praise him and give him a stroke or treat for being calm. He's not being aggressive, he's being a puppy, and it's your job to teach him the boundaries calmly and consistently.

8-9 weeks should be incredibly early days in your time of owning a puppy and I think it would be very unfair on the puppy for considering rehoming him at this stage. They're a lot of work, and they can be little shits, but if you put the work and patience in now, you'll be rewarded in the long-run. One of mine earned herself the moniker 'Satan's Hound' when she was young. She's still a bit of a pain, but she's also the kindest, most loving, loyal dog you could hope to meet, and were regularly complimented on how obedient she is, and I wouldn't trade her for the world.

Welcome to the viper pit.

OP I think you worded your post a little wrong, but thay doesn't give others the right to act like total bitches towards you.

I hope you get this sorted, my mom went through the exact same thing. Sending hugs

@autumndream

You need to return to him to the breeder so he can have a nice home with someone that knows what they're doing! You say you've done loads of research so why don't you know that puppies are little crocodiles? He's not aggressive! People like you literally make me sick

This

You shouldn't have been allowed to bring such a young puppy home. A reputable breeder would not let them leave until 12 weeks.

Sorry but you don't sound like a suitable owner at this point

@ivfbeenbusy

You shouldn't have been allowed to bring such a young puppy home. A reputable breeder would not let them leave until 12 weeks.

Sorry but you don't sound like a suitable owner at this point

8 weeks is quite normal actually.

@vanillandhoney

OP has clarified that the puppy is nine weeks old tomorrow which means she got him at eight weeks, which is the standard age to re-home a puppy.

Personally I think it's too young but I don't think fixating on that one piece of information is helpful to anyone. OP didn't do anything wrong by getting a puppy at eight weeks of age.

So she's only had him a week and he's nipping (like puppies do) and she's so surprised at this normal behaviour that she wants to rehome a puppy.... after a week?

Literally every puppy does this op. I have an American bulldog, a pitbull and a 11 week old ridgeback who I’m training out of this (she’s been the biggest cowbag out the lot). If you can handle an 8 week old golden then take it back to the breeder now, as it’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better

[quote ArcherDog]**@Veterinari* the OP is stressed and upset. The first few weeks of owning a puppy is really flipping hard, everyone second guesses themselves and thinks they made a mistake. Puppies are* aggressive in their play as they haven’t learnt acceptable play yet.

The amount of similar threads on The Doghouse, I’m disappointed posters didn’t recognise a tired and worried new owner and be a bit more sympathetic.[/quote]
@ArcherDog
No puppies are not aggressive in their play because no dog is. Play and aggression are driven by two entirely different emotional states. Plenty of dogs chase growl and nip as part of play - that's entirely normal dog interaction. Well socialised dogs will usually self-handicap those behaviours so that they remain gentle whilst playing. That is a learned social process that puppies have not yet gone through.

Aggression is a suite of behaviours driven by fear or a desire to compete for, or defend, a resource. It is nothing like play and confusing the two is not helpful.

What the OP's pup is displaying is normal developmental behaviour, in the same way that a toddler that bites or hits isn't an 'aggressive person' but simply expressing their emotions in a socially inappropriate way because they haven't yet learned normal social behaviour. Almost all social behaviour us learned, regardless of the species, and the OP's pup simply hadn't learned the rules yet.

She's the one suggesting rehoming, talking about dominance and saying she's done loads of research. As I said in my previous post, if she'd simplify asked for help rather than suggested her puppy was disposable whilst simultaneously telling everyone she'd done loads of research she'd have got a more sympathetic response.

Hello,
I would definitely speak to a dog trainer ASAP, it sounds as though you did research but even for experienced dog people puppies can be a nightmare and a massive shock.
I rehomed a dog and she was very dominant with me and even with my experience with dogs I needed help. She would literally bruise my arms and legs but once I got some help with training it all stopped and she is now a loving family dog (now 11 years old).
If you do decide to rehome him, if in the UK there is a law on dogs under 6 months called Lucy's Law which means dogs under six months that you haven't bred yourself should be returned to their breeder or given to a dog rescue and shouldn't be sold on.