[mariartist]

This is long because I’m frustrated and lost. 10 week old puppy now humping my leg any time I am around. Anytime we go outside in the backyard, he pulls massive clumps of dirt and grass out of the ground and eats it along with twigs or anything else he can find, unless we pull it out of his mouth. He’s also started eating the carpet. I know it’s because he is bored but my husband and I both work from home so he isn’t ever really alone unless we step out for one hour or he’s napping in his pen. He goes out every two hours for potty and walking around the yard, and has play time sessions many times a day. We play with him a lot inside and outside—flirt pole, kick the ball around an outdoor pen that we built (large backyard no fence) tons of toys, we try to also do some training like sit, come, teach him is name, heel, but he only understands a few commands when he smells the treats. He runs away from me when he’s on leash in the backyard even if he is pulled hard. I am failing at this and I don’t know what to do. We were supposed to do a puppy zoom class today but it got canceled have to wait til next week for in person class but I’m scared to take him around other puppies because he is out of control. He can’t walk on leash without biting it and prefers to run in the opposite direction as fast as he can. He has gotten a lot worse today. I’m terrified of this behavior when he’s an 80 pound full grown dog and I don’t know if he will ever mellow out. I enjoy training him and am not scared to put in the work physical and mental, I just don’t know how. I feel like this puppy hates me and would be better off with someone else 😞 I have wanted a golden for so many years and am so sad that I’m failing. I guess this is a rant/asking for any advice or reassurance

 

[zinnia]

Hang in there — you’ve only had him a few weeks; you’re not failing yet! If you take him to classes and are diligent in training him, he won’t be this way when he’s full grown. He’s just a baby and you’re a brand-new owner — cut yourselves some slack…and go to those classes! You’ve got this!

 

[abee]

Sometimes I feel like that myself. But everyone says it does get better. Just need to be persistent on training and retraining. Have you also done anything for mental stimulation? I think mentally stimulating them wears them out more than physical. Stuffed kongs, puzzle toys, slow feeders. I also like natural chews, it keeps my pup occupied for a good amount of time (yak cheese, bully stick, natural chews). Also naps. They need a lot of nap time.

 

[cwag]

10 week old puppies are something else. Maybe it will be reassuring to know there are so many people coming her for help for puppies this age. If you go to the search engine here and under advanced search type in quotes "10 week old puppy" . There are lots of threads there about out of control puppies and lots of advice. Look for answers from Nolefan and ceegee. They both have great advice. It would be well worth the money to have a trainer come in a couple times if you can't get to a class. 10 week old puppies are just little babies acting in a way that is natural to them. Your job is to patiently teach them the rules and behaviors they need. Golden puppies can be wild things but they learn quickly and are eager to work for rewards and please their people. When a puppy is especially wild they either need more exercise or oddly more rest. If hes' been out playing for a while just put him in his crate if he's too wild to handle. If he fusses just ignore him til he goes to sleep. Hang in there. If you learn how to train him a lot of it it will improve quickly.

 

[mariartist]

Sometimes I feel like that myself. But everyone says it does get better. Just need to be persistent on training and retraining. Have you also done anything for mental stimulation? I think mentally stimulating them wears them out more than physical. Stuffed kongs, puzzle toys, slow feeders. I also like natural chews, it keeps my pup occupied for a good amount of time (yak cheese, bully stick, natural chews). Also naps. They need a lot of nap time.

Thanks for replying. We haven’t done the kong yet but because he scarfs his food down so fast, he’s using a slow feeder bowl. We give him different no hide chews as he really likes them, as well as lickymat with a little plain green yogurt. No puzzle toys yet, if I can get to the pet store I’ll pick something up. We do training sessions a couple times a day (sit, come etc) because I thought that was mental stimulation. But today he has stopped engaging in training and just bites my pants and humps my leg. He takes multiple naps a day, as I read they are supposed to nap a lot at this age. Praying this all gets better

 

[abee]

Thanks for replying. We haven’t done the kong yet but because he scarfs his food down so fast, he’s using a slow feeder bowl. We give him different no hide chews as he really likes them, as well as lickymat with a little plain green yogurt. No puzzle toys yet, if I can get to the pet store I’ll pick something up. We do training sessions a couple times a day (sit, come etc) because I thought that was mental stimulation. But today he has stopped engaging in training and just bites my pants and humps my leg. He takes multiple naps a day, as I read they are supposed to nap a lot at this age. Praying this all gets better

One thing I've done that slows down my dog is mixing kibble with water and freezing that in either a puzzle feeder or a slow feeder. Sometimes I throw in some plain canned pumpkin before I freeze. Freezing seems to cool down my dog (it's been 100F recently where I live), and it slows him down/keeps him mentally engaged (it takes a good 30 minutes or so to eat his food). Maybe he may need more mental stimulation at that age than a few training sessions.

 

[goldengalofNE]

His behavior sounds pretty par for the course for a golden puppy of that age. One thing I’ll add is that a treat ball dispenser is a great, cheap device to invest in. We give ours his lunch in it and it takes him a good 10-15 minutes of running around like a madman to finish it. It’s mentally stimulating and tires him out so that he’ll sleep during a midday Zoom meeting.

Keep training sessions short—he’s a baby and has a short attention span. If he starts chewing on something he isn’t supposed to, or getting into somewhere he doesn’t belong, redirect. He’s too young to really grasp good vs bad behavior, but if you continually redirect towards good behavior, it will help click as he gets older.

 

[michaeldwilson]

Since he's 10 weeks old, you've probably had him for only a couple of weeks. Try not to be hard on yourself! Being a good dog owner takes time and patience on the order of months, not weeks. You will soon receive lots of help from the puppy class. Lots of kindness and patience toward your puppy and toward you will go a long way. Eventually you'll have the dog you've always wanted to own. Best of luck!

 

[Genevieve's mom]

Gee, this sounds like the same issues we are having with our puppy. She is 15 weeks old now and the biting has quieted down. We just keep putting other things in her mouth to get her to stop biting our arms and hands. She too "eats everything" she can find - gravel, leaves, cobwebs, tiny sticks, etc. It can all be very frustrating and I also wonder what we might be doing wrong - but I think it's just how puppies are. The best we can do is redirect, take stuff out of their mouths, try our best to be patient and understanding although it isn't always easy. And she is definitely the Energizer Bunny. Nothing slows her down - even if she plays with our adult Golden for three hours, she isn't ready to quit.

We use a round ball type of treat dispenser for one of her meals and it keeps her occupied longer than kibble in her bowl. And it's supposed to help with mental stimulation.

We were fortunate to get her into a puppy class but she does "excitement peeing" while there which is a bit embarrassing but the instructors are not bothered by it. She is also battling UTIs so house training has been a real issue.

Best thing I can say -- You are not alone!

Hope this helps.

 

[Ffcmm]

you both will benefit from some training classes. In person would be best. Nothing to be afraid of, think of it this way- you go classes with your unruly wild puppy, and finish off as the most improved!

If you still feel overwhelmed/have more behavioral 'action points' you want to address additional private classes will help tremendously. He likes you, but everything else is just so interesting right now, so just work on improving the bond.

with regards to the leg humping, it is most likely because he is overstimulated and your appearance is exciting for him- correct this swiftly and FIRMLY as leg humping can become habitual, nothing to do with whether he is intact or not. I have a zero tolerance humping policy in my household (meaning no humping or toys, pillows humans or other dogs), and my 3 year old intact male does not hump at all ( he used to do excitement humping but my repeated swift corrections stopped this.)

It will take time, above all remember he is still so so young. Hang in there.

 

[Rocksor]

Thanks for replying. We haven’t done the kong yet but because he scarfs his food down so fast, he’s using a slow feeder bowl. We give him different no hide chews as he really likes them, as well as lickymat with a little plain green yogurt. No puzzle toys yet, if I can get to the pet store I’ll pick something up. We do training sessions a couple times a day (sit, come etc) because I thought that was mental stimulation. But today he has stopped engaging in training and just bites my pants and humps my leg. He takes multiple naps a day, as I read they are supposed to nap a lot at this age. Praying this all gets better

We didn't use a kong at that age. We used the West Paw small topple since it was so much easier for him and he saw the jackpot frozen food, so soak his kibble in water for a few hours (or overnight) in the refrigerator, and put 1/4 cup of it into one of these. It took him about 20 minutes to lick and eat it. At that age, ours was only up for an hour, so his routine after waking from a nap was potty break, 5-10 minutes play time with him (this gets his physically tired out in time for mental stimulation), potty break (3 minutes of waiting at most), 5 minute training (come, go to crate, physical handling, gently taking food from hand, brushing, walking around the house with leash on tethered to us, etc... just focus on 1 and if he does well after 3-5 repetitions, move to something else if he's up to it), potty break, then training for feeding time (sit and wait as I slowly put some food into the bowl, then give me eye contact before you can eat) then 20 minutes West Paw topple (licking helps to calm him down), potty break, play time on his own, then nap time (he's really tired by then). Anytime after drinking water in those sessions, go out to potty area (if he hasn't done his business in the last 10 minutes).

 

[reneechristine8]

Hang in there! It will get better!

We also had a very rambunctious puppy. He didn't do all the same things as yours, but he did bite us, the furniture, cords, the trim, and just about everything else he wasn't supposed to bite until he was about 4 months old. His energy levels were seemingly insatiable. Finding the right balance between "sufficiently worn out to nap in his crate" and "overtired demon puppy" was a challenge. He was also a complete nut during puppy socialization class — whining, barking, flipping out at the end of his leash, not listening, etc. All of the other puppies in class were angels compared to him. I definitely cried once thinking I got way more dog than we were prepared for.

That being said, just last night I turned to my husband and said, "you know, I can't remember the last time he bit or chewed on something he wasn't supposed to," as our 5mo puppy calmly laid at our feet while we watched a movie before bed. It took lots of bonding, daily training, enforcing boundaries, and SO MUCH redirection, but he's really coming along! We've now finished a level 1 training with adult dogs and a leash walking class and he did amazing in both. His energy levels are still very high, but much easier to manage with a short hike in the woods or swimming in the lake tiring him out for at least a couple hours. And he'll snooze on the cold kitchen floor when he's tired instead of getting progressively more demonic like he did just a couple months ago. Last weekend we took him on a tent camping trip and he was just great the entire time.

As far as my advice goes, be persistent and set a schedule. It sounds like you're doing a good job of working on training every day, but could maybe improve in the "setting a schedule" area. Lots of puppies act worse when they're overtired so if I were you I'd try doing enforced naps in the crate. If you want to keep him occupied in there and associate the crate with good things, you could throw in a stuffed kong or toppl (we have 2 toppls that we freeze every day with a meal's worth of food). I also used to take my puppy to a park or field with a 10-ft leash and just let him sniff around which would usually wear him out (this is also a good time to work on recall).

Good luck!

 

[pawsnpaca]

It's a Puppy, Not a Problem

Left to their own devices, what do puppies like to do?They like to bark, play, run through the house (sometimes with muddy feet), jump on people, put things in their mouths and chew on them, eat tasty foods, explore, sniff things, dig holes in mud and sand and dirt, and a host of other things...

www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com

Kidnapped From Planet Dog - Whole Dog Journal

Sometimes new owners tell me getting a puppy was supposed to be fun, but all I feel is stress. Here's what new owners need to remember.

www.whole-dog-journal.com

 

[sam34]

Pretty normal behavior. Hopefully you'll live through it. You mentioned a pen but not a crate. Is he crate trained? When you can't watch him 100% or you just need to get away from him the crate is essential. Do you have a house lead on him at all times when he's in the house? Great for control when you need it (ie, humping and biting without having to try and grab a collar). Also don't expect much when trying to "walk" a 10 week old on a leash. You have to train that. Start in the house by having the dog follow your hand with a treat at your side. House lead on, but don't pull on it. It's just there for control if you need it. The dog should learn to follow your hand and treat, figure 8's, walking at your side, etc. Then you can work on trying the same thing outside, eventually.

McCann dog training in Ontario has a utube page with a lot of info concerning puppy training on it. Their puppy videos are great and may help you.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5QwYlOxcT1higtcJVGzCCg

 

[mariartist]

Hang in there! It will get better!

We also had a very rambunctious puppy. He didn't do all the same things as yours, but he did bite us, the furniture, cords, the trim, and just about everything else he wasn't supposed to bite until he was about 4 months old. His energy levels were seemingly insatiable. Finding the right balance between "sufficiently worn out to nap in his crate" and "overtired demon puppy" was a challenge. He was also a complete nut during puppy socialization class — whining, barking, flipping out at the end of his leash, not listening, etc. All of the other puppies in class were angels compared to him. I definitely cried once thinking I got way more dog than we were prepared for.

That being said, just last night I turned to my husband and said, "you know, I can't remember the last time he bit or chewed on something he wasn't supposed to," as our 5mo puppy calmly laid at our feet while we watched a movie before bed. It took lots of bonding, daily training, enforcing boundaries, and SO MUCH redirection, but he's really coming along! We've now finished a level 1 training with adult dogs and a leash walking class and he did amazing in both. His energy levels are still very high, but much easier to manage with a short hike in the woods or swimming in the lake tiring him out for at least a couple hours. And he'll snooze on the cold kitchen floor when he's tired instead of getting progressively more demonic like he did just a couple months ago. Last weekend we took him on a tent camping trip and he was just great the entire time.

As far as my advice goes, be persistent and set a schedule. It sounds like you're doing a good job of working on training every day, but could maybe improve in the "setting a schedule" area. Lots of puppies act worse when they're overtired so if I were you I'd try doing enforced naps in the crate. If you want to keep him occupied in there and associate the crate with good things, you could throw in a stuffed kong or toppl (we have 2 toppls that we freeze every day with a meal's worth of food). I also used to take my puppy to a park or field with a 10-ft leash and just let him sniff around which would usually wear him out (this is also a good time to work on recall).

Good luck!

Thank you for your thoughtful response. I worry about taking him anywhere besides my backyard or somewhere familiar because he has a love affair with putting little stones in his mouth. We make sure we don’t have any, but just earlier he found one and put it in his mouth. I pulled it out in time. Yes, I never know if I’m making him nap too much or not enough. One thing I will say is he’s incredibly well potty trained. He has had a couple accidents because we didn’t take him out in time, but he goes right away when we take him out. He’s able to hold it about 2 hours with no accidents a little longer at night. I will try to come up with a tighter schedule but it’s hard with my work etc. we also don’t have friends or family with dogs so when he’s done with his shots thinking of taking him to puppy day care so he can have some fun with other pups once or twice a week.

 

[reneechristine8]

Thank you for your thoughtful response. I worry about taking him anywhere besides my backyard or somewhere familiar because he has a love affair with putting little stones in his mouth. We make sure we don’t have any, but just earlier he found one and put it in his mouth. I pulled it out in time. Yes, I never know if I’m making him nap too much or not enough. One thing I will say is he’s incredibly well potty trained. He has had a couple accidents because we didn’t take him out in time, but he goes right away when we take him out. He’s able to hold it about 2 hours with no accidents a little longer at night. I will try to come up with a tighter schedule but it’s hard with my work etc. we also don’t have friends or family with dogs so when he’s done with his shots thinking of taking him to puppy day care so he can have some fun with other pups once or twice a week.

In my experience, people really fall into one of two camps regarding taking puppies places and meeting other dogs prior to 4 months/full set of vaccinations. After talking with my vet (which I recommend you do too), we decided that the importance of having a well socialized dog outweighed the potential risks of going to parks (not dog parks though!) and meeting other healthy, well-behaved vaccinated dogs/puppies. In addition to taking a puppy socialization class from 8 weeks-12 weeks, we had regular playdates with friends and family members who had dogs that did well with puppies. Playing with other dogs and puppies will help your pup learn bite inhibition, get some energy out, and learn better manners around other dogs generally. If you want to go that route and don't have friends or family members with dogs, I'd check out your local training facilities for puppy socialization classes and post in your neighborhood FB group or on Nextdoor to see if anyone near you wants to set up some playdates.

As far as picking up rocks and sticks goes, we addressed this by always bringing a toy with on walks or out in the yard. If our puppy got something he wasn't supposed to, we'd squeak the toy and act all excited and he'd drop whatever he had to play with us. The added bonus of this "game" is that it builds the bond between you and your puppy and is the first step towards teaching "drop it."

 

[mariartist]

Pretty normal behavior. Hopefully you'll live through it. You mentioned a pen but not a crate. Is he crate trained? When you can't watch him 100% or you just need to get away from him the crate is essential. Do you have a house lead on him at all times when he's in the house? Great for control when you need it (ie, humping and biting without having to try and grab a collar). Also don't expect much when trying to "walk" a 10 week old on a leash. You have to train that. Start in the house by having the dog follow your hand with a treat at your side. House lead on, but don't pull on it. It's just there for control if you need it. The dog should learn to follow your hand and treat, figure 8's, walking at your side, etc. Then you can work on trying the same thing outside, eventually.

McCann dog training in Ontario has a utube page with a lot of info concerning puppy training on it. Their puppy videos are great and may help you.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5QwYlOxcT1higtcJVGzCCg

Thank you so much for your response. He has a pen in the living room as he isn’t unsupervised in the house at all and only has access to one room and his pen with a crate attached. So no house lead. We have the rest of the house gated off. He is absolutely miserable inside the crate so we leave him in his pen which is safe and puppy proof. We put him in his crate when we drive somewhere, and he just whines and cries the whole time. We had him in his crate the first few nights but again he just cried and whine the entire night. He does so much better in his little pen
he is very well potty trained and doesn’t have accidents. He’s had maybe two and that was because we didn’t take him out in time. He likes going to potty outside so wr take him to the backyard every two or so hours to go and it’s been going well. So when we’re out there after potty I try to do a little walking on leash with him. But it may be safer inside. He loves putting everything in his mouth. I’ll definitely watch the video you recommend, thank you!

In my experience, people really fall into one of two camps regarding taking puppies places and meeting other dogs prior to 4 months/full set of vaccinations. After talking with my vet (which I recommend you do too), we decided that the importance of having a well socialized dog outweighed the potential risks of going to parks (not dog parks though!) and meeting other healthy, well-behaved vaccinated dogs/puppies. In addition to taking a puppy socialization class from 8 weeks-12 weeks, we had regular playdates with friends and family members who had dogs that did well with puppies. Playing with other dogs and puppies will help your pup learn bite inhibition, get some energy out, and learn better manners around other dogs generally. If you want to go that route and don't have friends or family members with dogs, I'd check out your local training facilities for puppy socialization classes and post in your neighborhood FB group or on Nextdoor to see if anyone near you wants to set up some playdates.

As far as picking up rocks and sticks goes, we addressed this by always bringing a toy with on walks or out in the yard. If our puppy got something he wasn't supposed to, we'd squeak the toy and act all excited and he'd drop whatever he had to play with us. The added bonus of this "game" is that it builds the bond between you and your puppy and is the first step towards teaching "drop it."

I agree and at this point he has had two rounds of shots, and his vet said just avoid very dense dog areas like dog parks and the pet stores, everything else is ok. We have an in person puppy class scheduled for Wednesday I’m excited to see him around other puppies. It’s a 5 week course that meets once a week. Hoping maybe to meet some other puppy owners and set up some play dates that’s a good idea thank you!

 

[Rocksor]

Are you feeding him inside the crate, giving him the lick mat in the crate, and giving him chews in the crate? Our puppy cried in the crate during the day, but after a week of eating in the crate for every meal (3 times a day), using lick mats (1x a day), chews (1x a day), and training him to go into the crate (2 x 3 minutes trainings a day) he is okay being in there now.

I agree and at this point he has had two rounds of shots, and his vet said just avoid very dense dog areas like dog parks and the pet stores, everything else is ok. We have an in person puppy class scheduled for Wednesday I’m excited to see him around other puppies. It’s a 5 week course that meets once a week. Hoping maybe to meet some other puppy owners and set up some play dates that’s a good idea thank you!

Don't have your puppy meet other puppy classmates on a leash before or after the class. The instructor should tell/show you how it's done/not done. It's a habit you will have to train out of him if you allow it, and if you wait until he is bigger it will be a problem.

 

[sam34]

Don't give up on the crate even if he's housebroken. As mentioned in the post above, it takes some training and some tough love, as well. The crate is so important. It becomes a place the dog can go that's his. At this age, he should be sleeping in it and spending time in it when you can't keep an eye on him. Also, it is the best place to put the dog in a car for any trips. Much safer for you and him.

 

[Bandit's Mom]

Puppies are a challenge. Golden puppies a particular challenge.

I remember a moment when my first golden was acting up in the middle of the night and I really felt not up to the task. I seriously thought of sending her back to the breeder.

Of course, the dog settled eventually (insofar as goldens ever actually settle) and we had eight wonderful years with her - lost her to cancer, sadly.

My current golden was an easier puppy. She never chewed on anything! Never has - has no interest in chewy treats.