Puppy bitting and Humping

[Prithis]

Join our free community today.

Connect with other like-minded dog lovers!

Login or Register

Hi,

We are first time pet owner. Our golden retriever is 3.5 months old now.

He has started bitting on my wife's clothes. It usually starts in the evening whilst he is playing with his toys and my wife is sitting on the sofa with me. He would suddenly switch from chewing on his toy to chewing on my wife's clothes. He starts growling as he continues.

Things we have tried for about 2 weeks:

• Paying no attention - we sit still on the sofa saying nothing, no eye contact. If things continues, she gets up and walks to the corner of the room. We say nothing in attempt to make it really boring for him.
• Squeal loudly does not work.
• Saying no or leave it - Next she says no firmly. This does not have any effect. Leave it works on other times with his toys.
• If things continue, which it does in most cases, we put him in the play pen with no toy for about 5 mins. He barks for a bit then calms down. Once he comes out he is charming as ever. He picks a toy and come sits under her leg whilst she is sitting on the sofa. We do stroke him lovingly and say good boy.

To make matter worse, today he has started humping which is bitting on her clothes . and clinging on to her leg. His puppy teeth hurts. It is hard not to get angry and frustrated with this.

Occasionally he bits on my clothes too. I do exactly as above but it usually stops way sooner for me.

I would really appreciate any advice. If anyone had similar problem we would love to know what you did.

Thanks a lot in advance.

Thanks,

Prithis

 

[Ari_RR]

I think everyone had this problem
Our boy (intact, by the way) never had humping problems, but he definitely went through a phase of jumping on humans. They all go through this phase (well, maybe with some very rare exceptions which I am yet to meet).

What worked for us was to leave the room. This worked very quickly, just a couple of days.

Every time he jumped on anyone - we would get up and leave the room, leave him by himself. 15-20-30 seconds later we would come back and resume whatever we were doing. A lot of get up/leave/come back over those couple of days, but he caught on quickly. He jumps - everyone leaves, and all fun stops.

One of the prerequisites for this method is to have nothing around that he shouldn't get his paws on, otherwise you can't really get up and leave. But this should be standard operating procedure anyway, IMHO. Cookies in the cupboard, shoes in the closet, socks in the drawer, etc.

Another thing - this worked great for us indoors, but obviously you can't apply this when outside. Outside - we would just fold our arms, turn out back to him, stop all communication...

In addition - also important - keep looking for triggers, and eventually you will be able to avoid some of such moments.

And - also important - keep looking for warning signs, and as soon as you notice that look ("I am gonna jump on you, human!") - try to redirect him to something else. Playing with a toy, or a quick training session with treats, for example.

I found that any reaction is stimulating and rewarding, even if meant to be discouraging. In fact, I think at this crazy age the more upset you get - the more enjoyable the experience. Not only he got to rip your shirt, but he also got his humans all excited and out of sorts. From the point of view of a wild teenager - great accomplishment

Good luck. This will pass soon. One day he will be all serious and grown-up and well behaved, and you will be thinking "where is my crazy biting jumping unruly monster?! I miss him!"

When things get really bad, and scratches hurt and you are running out of shirts and pants have holes in them - sense of humor is the best defense. Good wine helps too. And - last point - I would try to wear old clothes around him, long sleeves.. nothing of much value.

Good luck!

 

[merlina]

Yup! Totally normal. By the time one of ours was getting mature our second best clothes were ready for the rag bag. This is a puppy still- a young animal that experiences the world by mouth. No hands- and we all remember being whacked in the face by a human baby!- means it's teeth all the way. Enjoy this mad little creature while you can- unlike babies they become stodgy middle-aged dogs all too soon.

 

[JudyN]

You do need to be very consistent - and that includes all family members. Tell yourself that it will work rather than that you'll try it for a bit.

Also, watch out for the extinction burst. When his wild behaviour doesn't get the exciting results he wants he may well become worse before he gets better.

The calmer you can be, the better this will work. If you're concerned about your clothes, stock up on stuff from charity shops so you don't mind if it gets torn. I spent a very hot first summer with my pup wearing a charity shop denim jacket both to give my arms some protection and to hide the bruises...

 

[JessandJackson]

I agree with Judy and also her 2nd paragraph of where you think he is being fab then slides back..Jackson's 7 months and we have only had him 5-6 weeks. There have been phases (i.e 3-5 days) where he has just been an utter diamond; it has left us even saying well, when are we due the devil eyes, nipping and random jumping / humping. it's getting better I will admit it but I don't think it really starts to go until they hit their first Birthday. J has even been neutered @ Battersea but when I take my sweet time getting ready for his walk, he'll note me putting my walking gear on and want to lick and hump me / nibble my neck. I try and go about my business throughout the house as calmly and quietly as possible. Dependant on your dog size, I personally cannot afford to have a Tasmanian devil in my flat.

 

[Prithis]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and sharing your experience.

We have started distracting him as soon as we notice its about to start. We had one day of success so far. Distraction seems to stop him from reaching state of excitement

 

[Jane white]

Hi,

We are first time pet owner. Our golden retriever is 3.5 months old now.

He has started bitting on my wife's clothes. It usually starts in the evening whilst he is playing with his toys and my wife is sitting on the sofa with me. He would suddenly switch from chewing on his toy to chewing on my wife's clothes. He starts growling as he continues.

Things we have tried for about 2 weeks:

• Paying no attention - we sit still on the sofa saying nothing, no eye contact. If things continues, she gets up and walks to the corner of the room. We say nothing in attempt to make it really boring for him.
• Squeal loudly does not work.
• Saying no or leave it - Next she says no firmly. This does not have any effect. Leave it works on other times with his toys.
• If things continue, which it does in most cases, we put him in the play pen with no toy for about 5 mins. He barks for a bit then calms down. Once he comes out he is charming as ever. He picks a toy and come sits under her leg whilst she is sitting on the sofa. We do stroke him lovingly and say good boy.

To make matter worse, today he has started humping which is bitting on her clothes . and clinging on to her leg. His puppy teeth hurts. It is hard not to get angry and frustrated with this.

Occasionally he bits on my clothes too. I do exactly as above but it usually stops way sooner for me.

I would really appreciate any advice. If anyone had similar problem we would love to know what you did.

Thanks a lot in advance.

Thanks,

Prithis

 

[Jane white]

I no exactly where you are coming from I have a 2 year old Golden Retriever. She was humping at 8 weeks and the breader gave me the big teddy she would do it on. At 12 months she was a nightmare I had taken her to puppy training at 16 weeks I spent most of the time trying to distract her from either biting my arm which really did hurt or biting the line which I needed to put on her. I tolerated it because the trainer would say distract her which was easier said than done. I decided I needed to take her to another dog club but had to start from puppy class where I learnt what the best way to get over the problem. Everyone said she was a beautiful dog but all I could see was the biting getting worse and I would have to wear a fleece to protect my arms.
The turning point came when one of the trainers said to me to change my voice I really did not know what they were talking about. I got to the stage where I thought I would have to send her to boot camp. Some one of heard and volunteered to show me what to do properly. This guy was unbelievable with 2 lessons with him I had a dog that I could control. I have never looked back. Yes it was with treats but also firm handling. When she went to bite me I would hold both sides of her neck and in no uncertain terms say no to her. She went from her biting me to me in control.
I did not want her on my sofa he came to my house and told me not to talk to her but every time she came to get up push her down I did this 5 times she never attempts to get up 12 months on. You will get over this stage if you put the work in. You do not have to shout but to use a deeper firm voice. When she is naughty just push her away without talking to her or looking at her she will soon know what behaviour she is doing is not exceptable. On humping mine still likes to hump teddy which is now in my garage. Hope this helps start interacting with her to stimulate her brain they are clever dogs and most have a brain. Not boasting but mine can do about 30 tricks but this helps when we cannot get out she just wants to please me so I sit in my kitchen retrieving toys
I wished I had found this trainer when she was a puppy. But it all down to the owner showing the dog what is exceptable and use a firm voice without shouting.
Good luck hope you see a change in him.