Golden Retriever Dog Forums banner

Worried if my puppy loves me!

3K views 15 replies 10 participants last post by  Pkay 
#1 · (Edited)
I had dream of having a lovable dog from my childhood. I jus enjoy, When I hear stories of dog being so lovable that cuddles up when we are down and gets happy by jus seeing us.

Well... I got my Golden puppy Tyrion from a AKC breeder when he was 7 weeks old. He is 10 weeks old now. He is smart and active. Every two hours I take him outside for potty and let him be there for 10 minutes and then come home and let him play for 20 minutes and put him inside crate. He doesnt seem to love me. I dont know what went wrong in these 3 weeks. He bites me aggressively whenever I try to play with him. I am sure its not play biting. He lowers his head down and pulls my pant and then try to grab my skin and shake his head vigorously. I see whale eye or half moon eye when he bites me. ( So many punctures, wounds and cuts in my hands and legs :frown2: ) I tried yelp and then move away. but did not work. He started to bite even harder. Now I an trying time out. I move to the next room and close the door for less than a minute and come out. He doesnt seem to care me leaving and he starts to play with other toys.

When I do belly rubs and massage his ears and feet he seems to like it and tries not to bite me.

Also, When going outside for potty and returning, He will not come when I call him. He jus ignores me or jus look at me and then turns to do his work.( Lying down and playing with a stick). He follows me at home only when he thinks I am gonna give hime treat of food. or else he doest come when called. Seem like he looks at my hand and then decides to come or not!

I am scared of him biting me! I feel he is too dominant and little aggressive. How should I earn respect and love from him ?

I take him to puppy parties once a week to socialize with other puppies and he is into training as well.

Any tips would help me a lot!
 
See less See more
#2 ·
You've only had him for three weeks. Bonding with dogs take time, and especially puppies, since their attention spans are so short and they're so curious about everything in the world around them. They're seeing everything for the first time!

Your puppy is more than likely not aggressive at all, just play biting. You need to stick with one correction method. If he begins to bite you, say "no" or "no bite" and replace your hand/pants/etc with something that is appropriate to chew on. Don't try to pull your hand out of his mouth because then he'll see it as a game. Even if it hurts, try to make your hand the least boring thing in the room. Go limp and try to redirect his attention to an appropriate toy or treat.

Do you have him on a lead when you're taking him out for potty breaks? If not, do so ASAP, even if it's inside of a yard. 10 week old puppies usually don't have 100% reliable recalls and it's always good to have a hand on them even if they're away from you. I got a 30 foot lead for Cooper for the yard and when I take him out in the front I have a normal 6 foot lead. Call him in a happy voice and if he doesn't come on his own, tug (gently) on the lead and pull him to you. He will most likely go along with it and end up running to you.

Also, make sure when you're calling him something good comes out of it. He won't want to come to you if you're calling him to come inside, because then the fun ends for him! When he's outside, call him, and when he comes to you, reward heavily, then let him go play for another minute or two. That way he knows that coming to you won't result in negative things IE "playtime is over!".

Never buy a puppy (or dog) expecting them to love you in such a short amount of time. Same with making friends. You don't make a best friend in less than a month. It takes time and patience.

Good luck!
 
#3 ·
Thank You! Your reply took off my frustration!

Tyrion is leashed always when he is outside. Even if I pull him the leash or raise him with his harness most of the time he doesnt move. He stretches and lay flat in the grass. I wait for him for more than 5 minutes and then carry him inside.

Also, Let me know if I make any mistake in crating him. At night his last water is 8PM. He then wakes up and barks at 11PM,2PM and then 5PM. When can we expect him to sleep thro the night?

In the morning mostly he could hold for less than 2 hours. He barks at 1.50 hrs and If I dont take him outside and wait to see if he can hold his bladder, he pees inside his crate. But, At times he can hold for 2.30 hours.
Should I attend for his barking to avoid accidents inside crate ? Will that not teach him that barking is to calling me!
He already thinks that if he barks I will come and take him outside. Is this the normal way ?
 
#4 ·
In the morning mostly he could hold for less than 2 hours. He barks at 1.50 hrs and If I dont take him outside and wait to see if he can hold his bladder, he pees inside his crate. But, At times he can hold for 2.30 hours.

Should I attend for his barking to avoid accidents inside crate ? Will that not teach him that barking is to calling me!
He already thinks that if he barks I will come and take him outside. Is this the normal way ?
First of all, let me say that your original post is EXACTLY what we experienced with Albus. We definitely had moments where we were concerned that he didn't like us. He was very brutal with the biting, and we definitely (mistakenly) interpreted it as aggression. It wasn't. I now know it's their way of playing. The barking and growling that come with it? just part of the play.

*The only slight difference is that we got Albus at 8 weeks. Most of the reading I've done says that they learn most of their bite inhibition from their littermates between weeks 7 and 8. Tyrion may have missed out on a little bit of that important stage.*

Either way, right around week 10/11, we started seeing a big change. If my experience is any indicator, I am extremely confident that your little guy will come around, and probably very soon at that. The first few weeks were brutal for us, but now I am thoroughly convinced that Albus feels a bond for us just as strong as the bond we now feel for him. You will have the same experience as long you stay patient and loving.

As for sleeping though the night, though, he should already be doing that, especially if you're cutting off his water at 8:00PM. Albus was sleeping though the night after 5 days of being home, and probably could have been doing it sooner but I was proactively waking him up at 3:00AM for a few nights so he could make it through morning.

Don't feel bad. I didn't know any of this either. I called his breeder after 3 days of him being home, and she was the one who told me he was ready to sleep through the night. He probably won't have an accident in the crate unless it's a huge emergency, but you'll have to get to a point where he usually sleeps through the night so that when he DOES bark, you'll know it's for real. (The only time Albus has woken us up in the middle of the night was when he was sick with diarrhea and totally needed to go. The beauty of having him consistently sleeping through the night was that when he finally did bark in the middle of the night, I was sure it was a true emergency...)

Anyway, hang in there. Your experience sounds totally normal. I guarantee it will get better.
 
#8 ·
My experience is in agreement with Cooper's Mom. My Sonja is 12 weeks old now and is "crate trained" to use the small downstairs bathroom as a crate like environment. She actually asks to go to bed at 9 to 9:30 and wakes up at about 5am. Out we go to potty and no accidents in the bathroom. This is the third golden pup I have raised this way and have had excellent results. During the day she naps in there after breakfast.
 

Attachments

#10 ·
Hang in there, it's just a pup, and he does love you!!!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
  • Like
Reactions: Pkay
#11 ·
You will experience a lot of moments of self doubt raising some puppies. Their bodies and brains are growing at an alarming rate during the first six months. We experienced several moments during the first six months of our Duffy's life that caused us to wonder out loud if he was missing a gene or two. It has been ten years since we had brought a new dog into the house, and twenty since bringing up an 8 week old pup.
He's nearly two now and a perfectly velcro shadow. Having a sense of humor during the first year helps a lot though.
 
#12 ·
Totally understand and felt the same way. I've had lots of puppies over the years and lots of golden rescues but this was my 1st golden puppy and it was totally different. I went through lots of bandaids, wore lots of heavy sweatshirts to protect my arms and yes it was hot! The good news is it will get better. They are babies and need time to adjust. Give it a few weeks, spend as much time as you can spare and enjoy this time... they don't stay small long. I kept kibble close at hand and tried to keep her busy with learning to sit, down and whatever you can to interact with them and not get eaten :) Before you know it they won't want to leave your side.
 
#13 ·
Thank you all for your support!
So from all your inputs, I am planning to do the following changes to my routine.
His last meal of the day - 6PM and last water for the day at 7.30PM.
Bed time at 9.30 PM after pee. No Nap from 6 to 9.30.

Please let me know if I am missing something.
 
#15 ·
As another Game of Thrones fan, I have to make a joke, forgive me. Maybe if you named him Jon Snow, he would be more cuddly? Just joking. Maybe he doesn't like the crate? Does he chews and destroys everything? We never crated Doc(Holliday) (yes, I am a major nerd and proud of it) and after few weeks he never chewed or broke anything. Maybe try having a sleeping bed for Tyrion next to your bed? That way he feels closer to you. I think he will love you, he seems to be associating you with the crate and he seems to hate the crate. I am not an expert, but that is my observation and a suggestion.
 
#16 ·
? Yeah ... Even I say this to my husband.
We should have named him snow!?

He chews well but not a destroyer. He is now 13 weeks old and his biting has been reduced. He is now testing our patience . He never listens to off cue and come cue.
working it out with a trainer.
According to my trainer he is little dominant!? He gets his way done most of the time and gets frustrated if we don't allow him to get what he wants and starts to bite again.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top