Golden Retriever Dog Forums banner

Puppy Manners... Help

830 views 7 replies 6 participants last post by  dandiewind 
#1 ·
Today, Charlie is 9 weeks old. I am aware of his age and his tolerance level and that my patience level should be even higher.

Some days he does so good and other days, like today its just crazy. I took him for a walk this morning, I take him out every hour. He's peed once on the floor, out of no where, a half an hour after I took him out.

I get he's teeth but he has bones and toys. When he goes to bite us we say firmly "no!" and give him a bone, he always jumps back with more energy to bite us or our feet or our clothes or the furniture.

What am I doing wrong? What else can I do to change this behaviour!!!!
 
#2 ·
Your on the right track , persitance is the key.
When you take him outside. Stay out until he pees, then be happy, rewards pets etc, pretty soon he'll get the idea.
Be firm & continue with the No!, restrain him if necessary, : they don't always listen when they're pups , also I find you need to get their attention first, or they just interprit it as play.
Our Bella is 9 months & she will start snapping & grabbing if I let the play get our of hand.

Mike D
 
#3 ·
We have those days with Sage too. I find that when the biting gets out of control she really needs a nap and have taken to putting her in her crate. She will sleep for an hour or two...if she isn't tired I let her out after she has calmed down.

Redirecting works to a point with her, what really has started to work is training...training to touch, training to sit...training training and more training. It takes constant reinforcement and repetitions. I took to carrying treats or placing them strategically around the house. Last night we were on the couch and she went to bite at my face....this is normal play for her, and I said..uh uh...touch and she did, then she gave kisses. I expect this won't be the last time though that I have to stop her, it will need to be reinforced and reinforced again. We actually had snuggle time after that....this is rare

I have found, quite honestly that some things work and others don't. I have had a ton of suggestions, tried many of them, it's been trial and error. Today she wouldn't listen so I knew she was tired, put her in her crate and she is out for the count.

Sage is 11 wks and at 9 would potty in the house too. I honestly think she still will if I miss her signal to go out...but we have not had an accident in over a week now (knock on wood) I still keep to the rule that if she is out I need to have an eye on her at all times, it's pretty easy though as she doesn't wander far from me at any given time.

It does get better, try to take comfort in the good moments and move on from the bad. The good is getting more and more and the bad less and less....I look at is as bright spots of light in the darkness that is training and I can now see the dog she will become. We still have a long road but when we have break throughs like we did last night it makes all the hard times worth it....
 
#4 ·
You guys are great! Thank you!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mayve
#5 ·
An hour is too far apart at 9 weeks old he needs to go out and potty much more often, 20 to 30 minutes apart when he is awake and active. Immediately after waking, immediately after eating or drinking, immediately after playing, and every 20 or 30 minutes otherwise. If he has been playing and suddenly changes activity, take him out.

You have many, many weeks of consistent redirection before he even begins to understand no teeth on skin or clothing. It will not stop in just days. Keep doing what you are doing, put a toy in his mouth and encourage him to play with it.
 
#6 ·
My response doesn't specifically answer your issues you mentioned, but one thing you can do - and it's definitely not too early - is to teach him to sit for just about everything. Have him sit before you let him out of the crate, before you open a door for him to go outside, before you give him his meals, before he gets a treat, before you give him a toy and on and on. Be consistent with this. I did this with my last two puppies - that were frankly pretty wild :) - and it really worked wonders. It just helps them become well-behaved little citizens in your home and helps them to be polite.

Good luck! Puppies can be tough little customers to deal with sometimes. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Roushbabe
#7 ·
mylissyk - He actually does well every hour going to the bathroom during the day, was making I was doing everything I could.

Goldens R Great - Thank you!! He sits for every treat, in the elevator and before we go into the apt. He is doing great that way just get hyper so fast!

Thanks for your input guys!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Goldens R Great
#8 ·
I was totally at your stage a few weeks ago when we brought Rodney home. I was so afraid of him making any mistakes because I thought that I would ruin him or something.

Relax! He's only 9 weeks! Puppies are going to mess up, and they need time to learn everything.

Rodney is quite the biter, and the only thing that's worked if he refuses to chew his toys and will only chew our hands/clothing is leaving him alone for about 30 seconds. If you push your puppy off of you and make sounds at him (like saying "no"), he will probably just think you're playing. I know it's frustrating, but Rodney absolutely loves to be pushed around, and us pushing him off makes his SO CRAZY.

We just calmly get up and leave his x-pen, sometimes pointing at his face and saying, "No" very firmly. At first we went out of sight and only came back when he wasn't whining anymore (usually about 45 seconds). It took a lot of time because we had to do this multiple times in a row at first because he didn't understand why we were leaving. Once he caught on, though, he started understanding what we wanted from him during play: all four feet on the floor, and teeth on toys!

Now when he gets too nuts (barking, jumping, biting), I just step out of his pen, turn my back to him, and count to 10 in my head. If he's calm when I get to 10, I go back in the pen and play as long as he's got all 4 feet on the ground and is not biting me. If I have to do this 3 times in a row, I go through the checklist: Has he been fed/watered? Has he been to the bathroom in the last hour? Has he had enough outside time in the yard? Has he had a nap recently?

Usually one of those things is wrong; lately hes been very thirsty and that makes him act nutso. If I've catered to all his needs sufficiently, it's time for a timeout in the crate. I lure him in there with a treat, cover the crate with a blanket, and wait for him to go to sleep. He gets cranky when he's tired. :)

EDIT: I might add that Rodney, given his choice, would only chew on our hands. I don't know why he loves them so much (maybe the oils on our skin taste good? Texture?), but he does. Try to get him comparable toys. We got an antler from Amazon, and he loves it. It has marrow in it, so it's got a taste to it that he really likes. We also got some softer rubbery toys that he can really sink his teeth into.
 
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