Another puppy biting thread SOS!

[Retrievemysanity]

Feeling so low and worn down today. We have an 18 week old golden retriever pup who we’ve had since 8 weeks old. First week was fab but then the biting started. It ramped up from 10 weeks but we did see some improvement a couple of weeks ago although things have gone backwards and now it feels worse than ever. She bites all of us and other people so it’s not restricted to just me or DH. Bloke at the park even commented that her teeth were a lot sharper than his 5 month old pup’s!

We’ve been using the Easy peasy Puppy Squeezy book which says to say ‘too bad’ and remove yourself from the situation for a bit but it doesn’t seem to be making much impact. A dog trainer also advised that we do this and said it’s probably teething related so we’ve carried on but it just feels like we are getting nowhere.

We’re on the dog training and advice support group on FB but the unit on there says it’s not teething, it’s attention seeking and not to ignore but redirect the biting with a toy. I always try and redirect with a toy before the bite happens but sometimes I’m not quick enough or she will move her head around the toy to get me.

We wear wellies in the house now to protect our ankles. So far this doesn’t deter her but at least it doesn’t hurt.

She has frozen carrots, fridge carrots, yak chews, pizzles, ears, lickimat, snufflemats. You name it, she’s got it! Spoke to the breeder who says it’s not normal and needs sorting before something bad happens. This has really stressed me out. I can’t think of anything else I can do. It doesn’t help that we are open plan and she has the run of the kitchen/diner although there is a pen she can go in but she barks continually in there unless she’s being fed.

I know she is teething as she’s lost a few already and if someone could assure me that in a few weeks this’ll resolve itself then that’d be great but I’ve heard lots of conflicting things from people on this point. All other things (house training, basic commands, eating etc) seem to be ok.

I’m so worried. I have 2 DD’s one has SEN, I got a retriever with her in mind because all I read said what lovely natures they have but this has terrified my DD I don’t think the other pups from the litter are like this and met the mum a few times and she’s lovely. Dog trainer thinks our pup is a lovely, soft, calm pup from what she’s seen (outside only) and to be fair, she is quite a calm girl on the whole it’s just like she can’t help herself with the biting. Can anyone help/reassure me?

@Retrievemysanity Hi there, how is it going with you? Have you had any improvements with the biting? Ours is just over 16 weeks, and has recently introduced a new feature: 'surprise jumping up and biting on walks' just to keep me on my toes.

She has also recently decided that she can sit on the sofa (we haven't allowed this) and then bites whoever attempts to lift her down! We now have sections of playpen barring her from jumping up onto it at all times.

Hope things are improving for you!

@FeelinglikeEeyore hiya! Sounds all fun and games with you! Good to hear the update.

Er, no improvements here unfortunately. She’s 23 weeks now. Bites people’s hands when they stroke her on walks and DH had an incident the other night where she was off lead as there was no one around, turned a corner and saw a lady quite a way away on the path and pup ran over to her leaping and biting her arms. Nightmare. I’ve signed up to the sexier than a squirrel absolute dogs course but the games just make her mental and bitey. Playing fetch makes her mental and bitey. The list goes on.

I’ve spoken to a vet friend who says it’s all normal and bumped into one of the mums from school who has a 9 month old of the same breed and she also had the same issue, says he still does it now but not as bad.

Trying to remain calm and positive but it’s hard. Lockdown and home schooling etc doesn’t help with the general mood but I’m trying!

@Retrievemysanity I am so sorry things haven't eased a bit. Your poor DH with the pup biting the lady. He must have been mortified. Ours had me in tears this morning on the park as we'd had a lovely walk, tried a bit of recall training (early before there were other dogs around) and I put her back on the lead and she just kept jumping and biting. It wasn't that it hurt particularly as I was really wrapped up for the cold, but it didn't feel like she was ever going to stop, no matter what I tried and it seemed so aggressive with lots of snarling. In the end I got the treats out and got her to sit and shake a paw and that seemed to snap her out of it.

We have also started puppy training via Zoom. In the first week the battery died on my laptop halfway through the class, so I had to crawl around trying to plug it in. Obviously, this got our pup a bit excited, so when we got back into the session, I was in the middle of being attacked. It was slightly embarrassing, but the trainer didn't say a thing!

I keep being told that other dogs have calmed down once they've got their adult teeth, but there is no sign of that here. Has yours lost any baby (puppy) teeth yet?

I see lots of serene looking beautiful retrievers around and wonder if we'll ever get anywhere near that. I also would like to see the odd improvement here or there, just something to cling on to. It is interesting though, I walk with a friend weekly and sometimes take Honey along and she commented on how much improvement she has seen over the last few weeks, so maybe I am just blind to it. Meanwhile I feel like Jim from Friday Night Dinner, afraid of my own dog, despite her size!

@FeelinglikeEeyore that did make me laugh about your zoom session! Can totally picture it. The trainers must see it all the time though.

Funnily enough yesterday and the day before were really good days for the biting here, not much at all. Today seems back to the old tricks, sigh!

Yes she’s lost a lot of baby teeth. I’m not sure her biting is teething related to be honest. I have noticed that with the adult teeth, the clothes don’t seem to get holes in as easily so that’s something!

Yours sounds exactly like mine with the jumping and snarling but mine won’t stop for ‘sit’ etc it’s like she’s possessed when she’s in those moods. It’s like anything excites her which means it’s hard to entertain her.

Hope the next few weeks are better for us both!

Hi @Retrievemysanity
How is it going? Any improvement? I was going to post earlier in the week as I had some wonderful advice from the Dogs Trust about the jumping and biting on walks. From what I had told them, Honey had started the biting on walks when she was frustrated because I had put her back on lead or she was having to stay on lead because there were lots of dogs she wanted to play with and couldn't. So, they suggested I vary the routine a bit, removing the lead and putting it back on for short intervals and calming her down in between by scattering food for her to sniff out when returning to the lead. The first time I tried this it worked wonderfully. It just distracted her long enough for her to forget her biting and was more successful than asking her to sit. We'd also been teaching her the 'middle' position from the Absolute Dogs training, which she seemed to do quite naturally. Anyway, disaster! On all subsequent walks, once she gets a bit bored/frustrated, she now pops up in between my legs and starts biting madly at any clothes, bits of coat she can reach, my hands, etc. in the expectation that I will then scatter food. Yesterday, she did it relentlessly for a good 10-15 minutes and ate all of the treats as I just didn't know what else to do to stop her. I'm thinking I might have to check if I'm up to date on my tetanus, I am so covered in wounds.

The 'middle' position has also proved to be ill-advised when she is off lead. She often runs around with my friend's dog, who she loves, but when she gets a bit tired, she pelts back at high speed to stand between my legs, or anyone else's who happens to be around. This made me particularly unpopular with a passing dog owner I've never met when she dashed between his legs and sat down. It did make me wonder how good her eyes are, but I think she just likes people and wants to share the love. Fortunately, my friend, who she does it to most, is very understanding. This first few months is seeming very long indeed. Like you, I'm not convinced the teething is actually causing the biting, but it certainly seems to put her in a bad mood. At least the process has started now, so if it does help in the long run, we're a step closer to that happening. Hope there is some light at the end of your tunnel?

Hiya @FeelinglikeEeyore well we committed the cardinal dog house sin and returned pup to the breeder last week. There were multiple reasons for this not just the biting (which had improved for a few days then returned with a vengeance!). It was 100 percent the right decision so yes lots of light at the end of our tunnel! Hope Honey is a good girl for you over the coming months

Hi @Retrievemysanity bless you, that can't have been an easy decision to make. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't considered it myself over the last few months. However, we are starting to see some little improvements here and there. Last night I actually managed to do some ironing and she only stole one piece of clothing! I daren't say it in case I jinx it somehow, but Honey has only drawn blood a couple of times this week and her biting is going in the right direction, albeit slowly. We have had times this week when I could sit with her on the floor for a period without getting bitten at all. I would say our experience is on the spectrum of normal puppy behaviour, but yours seemed far more extreme. Sometimes things just don't go as planned. Hope you're ok x