I'm really hoping someone can give me advice, I need it! Last Saturday my husband and I adopted a 7-month old Golden boy named Macho. The original owner couldn't keep him because he didn't have the time/energy/will to work with him. He had a young daughter and honestly, I think Macho became too much for them as he's already 81 lbs and full of energy. But before I get into the problem, let me just say that 1) I know we've only had him for a few days--I never expected him to come into a new environment and adjust perfectly, 2) we plan on neutering him as soon as possible, and 3) we do plan on enrolling him in obedience training as soon as he is neutered. I'm here seeking advice for the interim.

It's worth noting that my husband and I both work full-time. Before work we take him out to go to the bathroom and then I walk him for 30 minutes right before I leave. During the day we confine him to the back hallway with a see-through baby gate. He has his crate in there (which he doesn't love), toys, and water. I leave the radio on for him, too. I've been coming home at noon everyday to let him out and check on him to see how he's doing. He's yet to do anything bad--no accidents, no chewing, no nothing! I spend about 30 minutes walking him before I head back to work. At nights we try to take him for at least a 3 mile walk.

So, here's my issue: Two nights ago I came home, let him out, and fed him before my husband arrived from work. He was calm and sweet with me before this. As soon as my husband walked in he got super excited, which I find normal. But then he "turned on me" and started jumping all over me and nipping. There is no growling or aggressive biting, but it still hurts. As I mentioned, he's 81 lbs! Since then, he's been getting this way every day, mostly later at night. I've tried walking into him, I've tried crossing my arms and ignoring him, I've tried pushing him off and saying "No!" or "Off!", but none of it seems to work. Sometimes he'll just jump up on me from behind and jump on my back when I'm least expecting it. He leaves scratches all over me and it's really starting to become an issue. After my failed attempts of getting him to stop, my husband usually has to step in and physically pull him off of me. He does it to my husband a little while he's trying to calm him down, but not to the extent that he does to me. I don't like pushing him off because I feel he will interpret that as play and encourage his behavior.

Tonight I took him for a 5 mile walk/jog/sprint and thought I would definitely wear him out and prevent this from happening, but it didn't have any effect on his behavior.

Is this a dominance issue? Is he just playing? How do I get it to stop (until we can start classes)? Any advice would be much appreciated.

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It sounds like he's playing.. normal golden puppy behavior. usually called zoomies if they are in an open area where they can run around but he is so excited he is jumping on you. Turn your back till he calms down. Work on sit, down, stay. Yes, he really needs the obedience classes.. you can do this before he is neutered. My dogs weren't neutered till after age one.And went to obedience at 4months.
You can try keeping him on a leash in the house so you have more control. Others will have more advice. It's been a long time since we had a puppy.
Good luck. He sounds wonderful and like a sweet boy.

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It's play. Keep in mind he probably has a lot of pent of energy because he's been sitting around sleeping all day. And he's feeling good and he is happy to see you guys and is getting carried away with the playing.

He will settle down... but he will need a lot of training. Right now he might not see you as boss just yet. You are wonderful people who gave him a home and come home and play with him, run with him, walk with him, and are giving him a great life.

I do suggest you or your husband putting a leash and collar on him when you anticipate him going into happy fit, and just gently hold his collar, speak calmly (not a high voice), and keep him calm until you and the hubby get settled in. Use the leash and collar checks to keep his feet on the floor.

There are things you can do to stop the mouthing, but I'd rather a good trainer show you exactly how to do them. It doesn't involve lemon juice -which never worked for me anyway.

Did you adopt from a golden rescue? They might have new dog training programs (some rescues make them mandatory) that could help you sort this out. But it will take time.

Even my sweet little Jacky munchkin left bruises on my legs from his nipping (learned from the collie) while we would be doing our training. Drove me nuts.

Oooh, he's reaching the adolescent stage. Usually at this point, puppies stop the fast growth of their new bodies so they have all this extra energy. Unfortunately, their "outlet" of this excess energy usually involves behaviour humans find inappropriate, ie nipping and jumping. The good news is that this is only a bad stage and it's entirely manageable with some effort and hard work.

First off, bump up all his physical exercise. How does he walk on a leash? I prefer walking my dog rather than running with him since I found running just gets him pumped up and more energetic. Try waking up earlier in the mornings and take him out for an hour walk (rather than half an hour) in the mornings. I find the morning walks the most important walks of the day. Usually dogs sleep 8-12 hours during the night, get a quick walk in the morning and then are left in the house with no mental stimulation for the next 8 hours until their people get home, and THEN they get a big walk. Making the evening walks the longest are more for the human's benefit than the dogs (since people have more time in the evening). Really, really try to increase the length of the walk in the morning. When you're walking, make sure he's walking next to you with a slack leash. Change direction often, change pace frequently...make sure your normal pace is that of walking as if you're late for an appointment. No stopping to smell the roses!

Secondly, now that you've increased his physical stimulation, it's time to bump up his mental stimulation. I am a HUGE fan of mental stimulation. The problem with only increasing a dog's physical exercise is that they'll eventually become conditioned and they'll need even more exercise. For example, if you run with your dog for 3 miles a day, eventually 3 miles will be easy and now you need to run 5 miles to tire him out. Then 7 miles, then 10 miles. It's much easier to tire a dog out with mental exercise than physical. There are a few ways to do this:

- Kibble dispensing treats: feed all his meals in one of these life-savers. A-maze-ball, tug n jug, squirrel dude, or my favourite, the kong wobbler. Instead of scarfing down a meal in 2 minutes flat, your dog will have to think and work for his food - he'll be using his brain which is what will tire him out.

- It's great you're signing up for obedience classes soon! Obedience training is beneficial in two ways: the training and "homework" you do during the week, will tire him (more thinking = tired dog) and you'll have a super well behaved dog in the bargain, too! In the meantime, work on basic obedience (search the forum here for good advice) like sits, downs, stands, stays, leave it. Play mental games like "find me" or the "trade up" game. Teach him the names of his toys and how to bring them to you. Check some of the trick training threads and maybe invest in a clicker for fun training. Teach roll over, "bang you're dead", spin, crawl, bow, wave, shake a paw, anything you can. Try to spend an hour a day in ten minute increments doing obedience or trick training.

- You can give him a job! Buy him a backpack for his walks (keep it empty since he's still young). My dog is WAY more tired after a 30 min walk with his backpack than a 30 min walk without it. Teach him to bring in the mail, put away his toys, give him paper to throw away...etc.

- Along the lines of the kibble dispensing toys, I'd also buy two XL kongs (if you don't have them already) and stuff them with kibble, cookies, mashed banana and a smear of peanut butter then freeze them. Give him one in the morning when you leave so he has to work it to empty it, then give him the second one when you leave again at noon if he still seems a little hyper. Inthe evening, re-stuff and freeze over night. You might have to cut back on his meals when you supplement with the kong. If you're using 1/2 cup of kibble in the kongs, delete 1/2 cups from his daily meals.

Increasing his mental and physical stimulation should help the excess energy and prevent the jumping up/nipping. You can also keep a leash on him on times when you think he'll jump up (if evenings seem to be the worse) and step on it as it happens. OR you can reinforce working on your obedience - when he starts to jump up, tell him "sit" and reward. Dogs learn better from rewarding wanted behaviour than punishing unwanted behaviour.

Hope some of this helps! You can also check out my blog entry of "High Energy Dogs". Also, your dog is so cute!

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Koda did that when he was younger, nothing agressive, just pure playfulness, and unruly puppy behavior. My DH is still wearing those t-shirts with tiny ripped holes in them (near his shoulder blades)! Imagine how high he jumped and nipped!

Now that Koda is older (2 yrs old), he still gets really excited when people come over and visit, instead of jumping up and nipping us (or the visitors), he directs his excitement towards my older dog Zooey. Poor thing, she knows when it is coming, she will rush to a corner and sits quietly hoping that he doesn't see her. We still have to physically hold him back and give him some basic commands (sit, down, stay) to calm him down, redirect his focus.

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Been there with our Lexi......gosh she played soooo rough...she was also brought into our home during adolescence and had not had any obedience under her belt.
You've gotten good advice above...

Things to avoid....
Yelling - it just adds to his stimulation.
Collar grabbing to get him off you... - it just makes him better at avoiding your hands...a leash is a much safer.

HONESTLY - - with some consistent work and time, when he has learned alternate behaviors, the foolishness will disappear.

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I just worked with a golden who did this to his owner. In the winter, he ripped the stuffing out of her puffy ski parka by jumping up and nipping her chest, back and shoulders.

One short term helper is to let Macho drag a leash while you're home. If he starts his nipping and jumping, calmly step on the leash and then ignore him until he settles.


At other times, work on your "down" command with a ton of nice treats and praise. Try to get him so that he will drop to the floor in a down for a hand signal as well as a voice command. It is really helpful for this stage if his default can be down instead of sit. Likewise, you can work on the "Off" and "Up" commands when all is peaceful.

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Yes to what everyone else said...and I just wanted to say welcome to the forum from Janine, Chester and Murphy. Your new boy is very cute...I love the black spot "sweet spot" on his tongue.

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I have nothing to add to the great advice already given, just wanted to say hi and welcome to the forum!

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You get bonus points for sounding SO prepared and for realizing that pushing him off probably would be seen as play. You're doing a brilliant job!

Make a list of the times/triggers the sillyness tends to start. Try to prevent these opportunities. For example... if he's silly after you put him back in his area after a walk. Before entering the house... ask for a sit. Feed a treat. Go three steps into the house. Feed a treat. Go three more steps. Feed a treat. Ask him to go in his area. Feed a treat. Ask for a sit. Feed a treat. Close the gate. Toss a few treats on the floor. And then walk off to do your things. This is preventing him from being silly. He is learning appropriate ways to get your attention. The food is helping to keep him calm and thinking.

And if you mess up your prevention and he does start getting silly... if you can go behind a closed door and pry him off as you get in there... that's a good option. Another would be to toss a handful of treats on the floor. YES, that could reinforce his jumping behavior. But this behavior should be seen once a week or less...if you're seeing it more often, we need to improve prevention strategies. The treat toss may get him off of you so you don't fall over or get scratched or hurt.

Prevention!