[Mindy72183]

Help! Trapper is 6 months old, healthy and was neutered 2 weeks ago. But he will not leave my kids alone!! He is constantly mouthing them, trying to walk all over on them, pull their shirt sleeves, knock them over and so on. Sometimes i think he is trying to inititate play but the little ones get upset, they are only 3 & 4. It seems he thinks of them as littermates or something b/c he does not display this behavior towards me. I have tried seperating them, laying him still on his side, telling thousands of times "no!" and nothing is working. To even have a few minutes to type this email i had to put him on the porch otherwise he'd be in here biting at the kids. He has not broken skin but about an hour ago he made a mark on my daughter's face just below her eye that kind of looks like a scratch but she says he bit. I am upset because i love him dearly and get sooo upset when i read articles that are saying if you have a dog like this than there is no hope for him and if you got him from a puppy mill that is your own fault. And in fact he was rescued from a puppy mill at age 10 weeks and hey, i adopted because i thought i would be a great thing to do! I am just so on my last nerve here, he's on top of the kids nonstop and making them freak out. I'm contemplating asking hubby for a early xmas gift and get trapper a trainer that can come into the home b/c i don't really have a sitter for my kids to take him somewhere outside of the house... Does anyone see this as aggression? Please be honest. Oh, and trying to spray their sleeves with no chew sprays does not phase him in the least! Again...help!!

 

[Ljilly28]

First of all, set yourself up some good management tools like a mat or a bed with a tether/ leash. You can even do this in the three main parts of the house the family stays, so he can learn to relax in the midst of things. Teach Trapper the "SETTLE" command or "MAT" and give him a kong/bone. Reward, praise and give him lovely treats when you catch him being good/quiet; ignore him if he is hyped on his tether. That way, he can be with the family but won't be marauding. Kids and a teenage puppy are tough, but it will get easier!

Make sure Trapper gets pottied and a great bout of execise outside running and playing( his time) then he comes inside and stays on his bed( your time) and switch off between lots of focused time on Trapper training him/playing and time on the tether. It is easy to over-use it, but it is a great tool.

 

[SheetsSM]

Typical puppy that needs training & more exercise.

 

[Mindy72183]

Should probably go for a professional trainer, huh? He was a better listener at 3-4 months than he is now. He just really picks on my kids NON STOP! Thanks 4 your responses, appreciate the help.

 

[SheetsSM]

Things will get better, but the whole family has to be on the same page (consistency) and these young goldens need an outlet to burn their energy (physical & mental exercise). Bringing in a professional trainer will train YOU on how to train Trapper. I personally found the basic manners classes rewarding as it sure as heck helped understand on how to communicate my expectations to my foster dogs. Just remember a trainer may work with you an hour a week, but you (the whole family) will have homework to do throughout the week. Hang in there, you can do this!

 

[fostermom]

To add to the other suggestions:

Baby gates work wonders when it comes to keeping the dogs where you want them to be. I would definitely say he needs more exercise, too. A tired dog is a good dog!

 

[laprincessa]

You also have to teach the kids, young as they are, that they have to be calm around the puppy - if they're running, and flinging hands around, etc, he will take it as puppy play.

He may also be teething - and he'll mouth anything he can find then.

 

[Mindy72183]

I think I am going to get a gate. As for the tether, is there something like that I can anchor indoors?? Not familiar with it. Thank you...

 

[Finn's Fan]

Have you ever crated him? If you can, using a crate gives everyone a few minutes peace, and also has the benefit of allowing the puppy to calm down when he's too amped up. If you do use or plan to use a crate, make sure your children know and respect that this is the pup's safe zone, so no finger poking or otherwise interfering with him when he's in there. His behavior is perfectly normal for an adolescent golden in the midst of short, probably loud, little kids. Upping his exercise would also help with his excess energy.

 

[Willow52]

To add to the other suggestions:

Baby gates work wonders when it comes to keeping the dogs where you want them to be. I would definitely say he needs more exercise, too. A tired dog is a good dog!

The baby gates are what I was thinking as well. Our 4 y.o. granddaughter lives here, Hank's pretty mellow, so far anyway, but there are times when she wants to have a snack while watching TV, is playing with small toys on a low table or has her little friend over. I put Hank in the kitchen at those times. He's so nosey and likes to be in the middle of things. Drives the kids nuts sometimes! I couldn't survive without those gates.

 

[mylissyk]

Even at 3 and 4 your kids and give him commands. Start having them do a little basic training, like sit and down. He sees them as playmates right now, you need to teach him they are also to be obeyed just like you.

I tether to the couch (pull out bed so it's heavy). Or loop the leash handle around the inside of a door knob then close the door. Baby gates are a good idea too.

Trapper is at the age where he will act like he doesn't hear you. If you can get a trainer to come in that would be a really good idea. Just be consistent, if he will not leave the kids alone remove him from their area. Do that often enough and he will start to figure out being rough with the kids gets him put away from the family.

 

[iamswiss]

I have also a 3 year old and I know what you are talking about. Bailey also goes often after him.
What I do is I give my son treats and his giving her some basic commands and she's actually not trying to bite then.
If Bailey goes to crazy I put her on the tie down (we have an anchor in the wall in our common area). Most of the time I ended up separating my son and Bailey (we have still gates up), so my son is often in the living room and she's in the kitchen/dining room area.
We had a dog trainer over last night and he suggested trying a metal can with coins in there (I already tried the soda can with the coins), specifically I use a coffee travel mug (makes more noise then the soda can) and it already works great on her.

 

[Brody's Mom]

OMG! You have described my situation almost to the letter! In our house, the recipient of the unwanted behavior is my 12 yr. old son. Brody (7 months and just neutered), is relentless, he will not leave my son alone. He bites, nudges, runs between his legs, snaps at his crotch and generally pesters him CONSTANTLY, worse from late afternoon until bedtime. We've done puppy class, use the techniques we've learned, tried just about every suggestion from this forum and nothing seems to work for more than a few seconds. One I have not yet tried is the short leash they drag around the house...that sounds like a good idea, but it's a band-aid...I'd rather correct the behaviors... be proactive rather than reactive. I've read and been told that this is typical puppy behavior...really?? Not in my house. I've had it too. I'm very interested to hear how your situation is progressing, feel free to email me. I tried going that route but I don't have enough posts to be able to privately email you. Best of luck!
Michele

 

[GoldenJoy]

Baby gate! Baby gate! Baby gate!

Our 8 month old Golden is JUST NOW starting to be truly gentle with the kids! She has NEVER been aggressive or even pushy - just extremely playful, and she outweighs the kids! We have done a combination of separation (baby gates), training the KIDS, and lots of totally supervised kid/dog interaction, and it seems to be (finally) paying off. Hope you can work something out - there are SO many wonderful people on this board who have lots of great ideas. I have learned sooooooooo much from this site!!!!

 

[NuttinButGoldens]

This is all pretty normal. The good news is it does get better

When he hits 2-3 years old, and becomes this wonderful companion that is willing to please in any way possible, you'll forget about all this.

Until the next time

Gilmour is just now starting to settle down, and he is 11 months old. Yes, he still gets the Zoomies (that will never go away, and you don't really want it to), but they are a more 'controlled' zoomie

He only starts mouthing if I instigate it now.

Time, training and patience.

Remember, it DOES get better with time.

Help! Trapper is 6 months old, healthy and was neutered 2 weeks ago. But he will not leave my kids alone!! He is constantly mouthing them, trying to walk all over on them, pull their shirt sleeves, knock them over and so on. Sometimes i think he is trying to inititate play but the little ones get upset, they are only 3 & 4. It seems he thinks of them as littermates or something b/c he does not display this behavior towards me. I have tried seperating them, laying him still on his side, telling thousands of times "no!" and nothing is working. To even have a few minutes to type this email i had to put him on the porch otherwise he'd be in here biting at the kids. He has not broken skin but about an hour ago he made a mark on my daughter's face just below her eye that kind of looks like a scratch but she says he bit. I am upset because i love him dearly and get sooo upset when i read articles that are saying if you have a dog like this than there is no hope for him and if you got him from a puppy mill that is your own fault. And in fact he was rescued from a puppy mill at age 10 weeks and hey, i adopted because i thought i would be a great thing to do! I am just so on my last nerve here, he's on top of the kids nonstop and making them freak out. I'm contemplating asking hubby for a early xmas gift and get trapper a trainer that can come into the home b/c i don't really have a sitter for my kids to take him somewhere outside of the house... Does anyone see this as aggression? Please be honest. Oh, and trying to spray their sleeves with no chew sprays does not phase him in the least! Again...help!!

 

[NuttinButGoldens]

Absolutely. The Carlson Gates are the best, because they have a door that opens and the humanoids of the house can walk through, and they have little doors at the bottom for the cats, Chihuahua's, or whatever.

I have 6 of them in my house. Office, Bedroom, Bathroom (that's where the litter box is for the cat - No Kittie Jerky for Gilmour!), two closing off the front door entryway (there's an L-shaped closet there, with a gate on each side) and one at the kitchen door. I can control/keep him in various places as needed for cleaning, night time, visitors, etc...

To add to the other suggestions:

Baby gates work wonders when it comes to keeping the dogs where you want them to be. I would definitely say he needs more exercise, too. A tired dog is a good dog!

 

[NuttinButGoldens]

That is extremely good advice too. If the kids play "keep away" with their hands and the pups face, it will only drive him to play back. Keep away with the hands is a big no no to a mouthing pup.

And Ronin, the Siamese, has learned the best action is NOT to retreat running LOL He now just walks away calmly, and G-Man leaves him alone. The upside of this it has made him 100% comfortable with G-Man now, and he will walk right up to him, play with him, sleep curled up in his tummy, etc... Running only excites the Prey Drive. Not in the killing sense, but in the playing too rough sense.

You also have to teach the kids, young as they are, that they have to be calm around the puppy - if they're running, and flinging hands around, etc, he will take it as puppy play.

He may also be teething - and he'll mouth anything he can find then.

 

[NuttinButGoldens]

This is the Carlson Gate:

http://www.amazon.com/Carlson-930-Extra-Wide-Pet-Gate/dp/B000JJDI0G/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=pet-supplies&qid=1257555516&sr=1-13

Rarely is there a product I can recommend more highly than this one.

The baby gates are what I was thinking as well. Our 4 y.o. granddaughter lives here, Hank's pretty mellow, so far anyway, but there are times when she wants to have a snack while watching TV, is playing with small toys on a low table or has her little friend over. I put Hank in the kitchen at those times. He's so nosey and likes to be in the middle of things. Drives the kids nuts sometimes! I couldn't survive without those gates.