# Puppy attacking my hands



## Natural (Sep 27, 2011)

Hello,

We have a 9 week old golden retriever. When I'm alone with her she acts insane. When I try to correct her she bites and growls at my hands. It's not even in a playful manner. Shedoesnt do this with my fiancé. She's chewing everything she can wrap her mouth around however this behavior is only with me. At least when it's this extreme.

I understand a puppies need to bite and chew but the biting of my hands is out of aggression. Her snout curls up to dhow her teeth. If I pass her a toy she attacks my hand.

If I try to say no or anything she gets worse and more aggressive. I'm beginning to lose my mind as this is a constant basis. It doesn't stop


----------



## RoughCollie (Mar 7, 2011)

Aidan does this once in awhile, still. It is playful behavior when he is wound up out of control. Sometimes it is due to him having a temper tantrum, but that did not begin until a couple of months ago. 

Last night, this happened during play time, and I tried something different. I put him in my lap and held him tightly, and spoke soothingly to him while stroking the front of his chest. It took him about a minute to calm down. I put him on the floor and he did it again. I repeated this, only I kept him in my lap for a few minutes. After that, he was playful, but did not try to bite me. If he had, I would have repeated this.

He did not struggle to get away, and he was not afraid or unhappy. At first, he did try to bite me both times, but I kept my hands away from his mouth. This is the basic technique I used to use on my kids when they were very young and had temper tantrums, except I didn't stroke their chests and they didn't try to bite me.


----------



## Greater Swiss (Jun 7, 2011)

Have you read The Bite Stops Here: http://www.dogforums.com/first-time-dog-owner/8377-bite-stops-here.html

It does help, but it does take a while. It looks like aggression but is (most likely anyway) play and she is overstimulated so getting rougher. Caeda was a bit like that. We did similar to The Bite Stops Here, but the point that made the biggest difference for us was getting up and going away from her (where she couldn't get us, either she would be tethered or we would leave the room). Just for a minute or two. It might only take a yelp and turning away, or it might take more, but our variation worked for us. Also, with a 9 week old puppy, don't correct in a typical sense, correct by removing yourself if you are going to do anything, and don't forget to give something appropriate to bite on, a toy or whatever. We tried once or twice to do what the vet suggested to us: grab her muzzle (fast) and basically make her bite her own lip. OH that was a bad idea. Worked for the vet once, but she didn't have to live with Caeda. For us it made her bite more immediately, and after a couple tries we decided it was the wrong way to go....just riled her up. Go with a gentler way of doing it with such a young pup. After all, she doesn't have any way to play or communicate with you at all other than her mouth and its going to take her a while to realize that it isn't appropriate and to learn how to control her bite. 
I know it sounds easier than it is, but be patient, it will take time.


----------



## Natural (Sep 27, 2011)

She isn't doing it in a playful way I don't think. I dont get it. She just bit my hand and made me bleed. She runs all over the house will not stop, if she does stop it's to chew up carpet, or cables or leg chairs. She will chew her toys for maybe 5 seconds. She's constantly growling. I dont get it. She was fine until we took her to the vet, she didnt act this way, after we took her home we started giving her anti biotics to kill worms because she had a lot of diarrhea. Since we brought her home she's been acting like this.


----------



## Greater Swiss (Jun 7, 2011)

I know its not what you want to hear (I didn't want to hear it either), but it sounds just like Caeda when she was that age. Pretty normal, although Caeda didn't growl constantly, though it was fairly often. Chairs, tables, socks, feet, ankles, legs, boots, drumsticks,housecoats were a favourite. We ended up losing a lot of blood in the first while and got a lot of teeth scrapes on top of it. Still are occasionally if she gets really hyped up, hasn't been exercised enough that day and forgets her "manners". 
I had thought Caeda's growling and nipping was aggression related for a long time until I heard her do a REAL aggressive growl. WOW there is a difference that you don't even realize until you hear it. Scary sound and she was only about 5 months old. 

I do admit though, the trip to the vet is interesting. If he is on antibiotics and he is in some pain or discomfort from the intestinal problems it might be making it worse. If it is that strong of a correlation it couldn't hurt to call your vet and mention the behaviour change or make another visit and see what the vet has to say. That's all I can suggest along with "The Bite Stops Here" and more time than I know you want it to take. 

I'm no expert, I hope someone else chimes in, but from what I've experienced with Caeda and read you are dealing with pretty normal (though perhaps extreme) puppy behaviour. Good luck!


----------



## Natural (Sep 27, 2011)

Yeah she gets super hyper, and literally is jumping and galloping like a deer. She was eating a pig ear before and chewed it like crazy but we took it away thinking it was contributing to her being sick. She rips around the house faster then my cats ever have. I've never seen a puppy with so much energy in all my life.

I know it's not aggression because I can get close to her she doesn't growl at me approaching I can put my hand in her food take her toys away etc. I just hope it goes away and calms down. We can't walk her for 7 more weeks! She wont have all her shots until then. Hope she likes snow because there's going to be a whole mess of it 7 weeks from now haha.


----------



## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

I understand now. You had a sick pup with diarrhea. She was 'calm' because she was sick. She's now healthy and going crazy (in a good way) with energy... She is a typical out-of-control Retriever. She's also VERY intelligent, and training will help. Get training now! BTW, when it starts snowing, she's gonna be turbo-charged!!! Pls get videos...It'll be hilarious!
She is NOT aggressive, but is playing, and doesn't yet know the rules. As mentioned, read the Sticky: The Bite Stops Here.
Also, read the two free books: http://www.dogstardaily.com/free-downloads .

Some Tweaks to Bite Inhibition (to get her to stop biting when she wants to play):
1. When the pup bites, then yelp. It should sound about like what the pup does when you step on its paw...
don't step on her paw for a sample . When you yelp, the pup should startle briefly and stop nipping. Praise and pet. SHe'll bite, again.
2. When she bites the second time, Yelp. When she stops, praise and pet. SHe'll nip again, although it may be a little gentler. ...
3. When she bites a third time, Yelp (see a pattern?). But this time, turn your back for 15 - 30 secs. If she comes around and play bows or barks, then that is an apology. This is important. Accept it, praise and pet... and cringe in expectation of the next nip...
4. When she bites the 4th time, Yelp, then leave the area, placing her in a 2 min. time-out. It is better if you can leave, rather than moving her. Then, return and interact. (SHe's still hungry...)
5. When she nips the fifth time, yelp, and leave the area, stopping interaction for now.
(You don't have to let her bite you 5 times, before leaving, but understand the steps and body language)

Pups need to sleep over night in order to learn their lessons. So, keep doing this for 3 days. By the third day, you should notice signficant Bite Inhibition. SHe may still nip, but it will be softer and she won't draw blood. Keep up the training and make sure that everyone yelps.... Very powerful method.

If you learn the technique, then you can apply the "yelp" to other circumstances, also. I believe that "yelp" is "Please don't do that, I don't like it." in dog communication.


----------



## jeffsrealm (Sep 21, 2011)

This is all normal behavior for a puppy. I agree with everyone. Start with the bite stops here from the prior links. Also when they really get wound up and zooming all over the place, often referred to as the Zoomies. Best just to roll with it. Try to guide them. I actually ran and zoomed with mine up and down the hall, we had a great old time. 

A couple of suggestions.
1. Exercise, take the pup for some short walks. If you are just going around the neighborhood you should be fine. Also concrete and asphalt places, the germs don't live there, they die pretty quick. Trust me getting them used to the leash ASAP is a great thing. Even if you just walk around your house in circles. He needs to burn off some of that puppy energy. My 11 week old lab and I go for 3 short walks a day. 3-4 houses down and back. Yesterday he was so wound up I had to take him for a walk. We went about a quarter mile, which is long, but he is still small enough for me to carry if he gets tired. Then when we turned to go back he ran all the way home. When he got home he still wanted to play and was an angel playing. He just needed to burn off some energy. You just want to keep him away from places where dogs you don't really know have been. Like parks and things. However, the neighborhood should be fine. Should be, I don't know exactly where you live, but typical neighborhoods in the US will be fine. It is also good for them to get out experience things. Mine is just now smelling things and then this weekend seen his first flock of geese. He had heard them fly over before but his eyes could never focus, this weekend he could actually see them and he got so excited. Don't be afraid to venture out with your pup. Just use common sense, avoid parks and places where lots of dogs go until all vaccines. However, off the beaten path is pretty safe actually.

2. Naps, puppies do need a lot of sleep. However just like a little kid trying to avoid sleep the kids sometimes gets to be a brat. Puppies will do the same thing trying to keep themselves awake they don't want to miss a thing. Sometimes you just need to put the puppy in his crate for some quiet time. Maybe an hour or two. This can do wonders for your puppy just having a nap.


----------



## Darkmoon (Mar 12, 2007)

NORMAL. Yes 100% NORMAL. I have a puppy who is 6 1/2 months now and she still thinks its a great thing to attack and bite my ankles when she's hyped up and playful. If I didn't know better as in if this was my first dog or not knowing dog behavior, what she does would scare the heck out of me. The loud growls, barks, snarles.... It's all a game. I've taught her "sit" and when ever the game gets out of control, I tell her to "sit" which she does and that ends the game. It's a lot of hard work, she's MUCH better then she was at 14weeks old where NOTHING would stop her and her bites HURT (stupid puppy teeth!). Just make sure your giving your puppy enough outlet for their energy as well. A happy puppy AND owner is a Tired puppy!

Just read "the bite stops here" and put it into practice and before you know it she'll be 6 months old and it will stop. As for chewing, get use to it. It's a CONSTANT battle over chewing around here. I buy Deer and Elk Antlers for her to chew on which she LOVES. She'll focus on those instead of my table and makes my life wonderful.


----------



## jeffsrealm (Sep 21, 2011)

Oh yeah and forgot, burn that energy, burn it every chance you get. I am training manners as well while eating but one meal a day is with a Kong Wobbler, just put his food in there and turns a 1 minute meal into 25 minutes of him working for his meal. http://www.kongcompany.com/products/dogs/wobbler/wobbler-1

Also puppy kongs, once the runs are gone, take a puppy kong and put a few small treats in it and then cap the end with a spoon full of peanut butter then freeze it overnight. I always keep one ready to go. The cold sooths puppy teething and it will keep him busy and challenge his mind. 

Don't forget training. I have had my puppy home for 3 weeks, he sits, knows down, shake, working on come and leave it. Leave it is to the point now where I can throw some food on the floor and walk through it and say leave it, and he will not eat the food but look up at me. These challenge the mind of a puppy as well which really is tiring. Just keep training sessions short, 10-15 minutes tops. Maybe 2 times a day but do them. 

A tired puppy is a good puppy.


----------



## Natural (Sep 27, 2011)

I know everyone keeps saying it's normal, but her hyperness I find to be off the wall. She was earlier trying to eat my tile floor. I can't turn my back on her for one second. She bit me hard, I yelped, Turned away, (was sitting on the floor) and she kept biting my back.

The biting and such I understand is her way of playing. But the "zoomies" as another put it. How Zoomie, is normal? Is there ever too much? My biggest fear is that I can't control her energy, and if I can't do that, i'm nervous about how insane she'll be as an adult.

I know she sits in her room all day and when we come home she just wants to play, she has a ton of energy from sleeping. I'm thinking of walking her down the middle of the road just to tire her out after work every day. Even walking with her in my arms seems to calm her down. I'm going to take her to work to pick up my fiance today. She works in a call center and it's full of people so they should really give her a run for her money I imagine.

She has been taking metronidazole and I was curious if it might be causing a side effect at all. But I looked it up and found nothing. I have a cat that sometimes gets crazy and rips all over the house, this dog is worse haha. It's stressful, I dont want to ruin this dogs behaviour and manners etc and it makes me not want her because i'm worried that i'm failing the dog. I love this dog, and never want to see her go at all. She's a beauty.


----------



## jeffsrealm (Sep 21, 2011)

I would say she is just wound up. She really needs to go out and walk. Like I said my lab puppy @11 weeks gets 3 walks a day. First thing in the morning before breakfast right after work, then about an hour before bed. Still gets the zoomies but no where near as bad as if I didn't walk him. He is getting that way because simply he needs excercise. 

for example my puppy this weekend we got up at 6 like usual went out and then cuddled up together and went back to bed until 9. You talk about a terror, he was actually mean. Biting me, my pants, into everything. That's when we went for the quarter mile walk I mentioned above. we came back and he was a totally different dog. This was quarter mile there and back so half mile total. You have a Golden retriever, I have a yellow lab. they have very similar exercise requirements. You just need to get her out and walk her. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. You have all the initial shots don't you the ones they can get at 6 weeks. They get a boosters at 11 weeks and 15 weeks or there about. Mine just got his second booster today. However she should be fine walking outside. however at 9 weeks you should already have distemper, parvo, hepatitis, parain, your basically doing boosters until rabies, I also did bordella but thats optional. However with all those she is fine to go out and about. you just want to avoid places where lots of dogs congregate.


----------



## Natural (Sep 27, 2011)

Yeah, I think I'm just nervous to take her out. She had her first shot at 8 weeks. So about 1.5 weeks ago. There's just so many dogs on our block. At least 10 dogs down my street and they all take them out to their front yards to go to the bathroom and let them all run loose. That's what gets me nervous however if none of these dogs were vaccinated they probably would have killed each other off by now haha. My sister had two dobermans and a golden retriever and she took them out. They were fine. I just don't want anything to happen to her that's all!


----------



## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

Ask your vet about Parvo and Distemper in your location. Most places in the US, the Vets are conservative, waiting until the third set of shots, even though there is a growing opinion that socializing is more important than a small risk of infection.

However, you can ask your sister or people, to bring their up to date dogs over to play with your pup at your house. Also, you can invite a few people to your house every 2 - 3 days for puppy parties. In addition, Goldens are very smart, and you can start training her now.... as much as she will learn - Sit, Down, Stay, Her Name, Bark on Cue, Bow on Cue, etc....

Also, go back and read my tweak steps to Bite Inhibition in the previous post.... it works well with Labs and even better with Goldens - I originally wrote it for a Lab pup. The Yelp is a marker of wrong behavior, you need to get a startle from her, and every time she bites, even on the back, you yelp. Watch her carefully for an apology - that's important for feedback and communication. But you have to follow the steps, and be consistent for at least 3 days. (If she were a Lab pup, I'd say to go ahead and step on her paw... she won't care  )

... But be happy you don't have a Lab, b/c they can be furry vampires... and they are eating machines. They are great dogs... but evil puppies ready to dominate the world by eating it one item or person at a time....


----------



## jeffsrealm (Sep 21, 2011)

hanksimon said:


> ... But be happy you don't have a Lab, b/c they can be furry vampires... and they are eating machines. They are great dogs... but evil puppies ready to dominate the world by eating it one item or person at a time....


LOL, hey I resemble that remark as I am slowly being eaten finger by finger and toe by toe. 

Anyway yeah Hank is right you need to get them socialized. My pup at 11 weeks has meets about 4 people a day every day. Several on walks. Neighbors and so on and just the random person out for a walk. This is important to do now as well because like you said Winter is coming. Right now people are out and about. You want your puppy out to meet people and learn people are fun. I have even had my puppy go to the police station and meet police officers in full uniform to learn not to be afraid of them. Also my one neighbor is a fireman so I have gone and visited him at work as well in full gear because just in case. Imagine the worst, your dog trapped in a fire, but scared to come to the fire fighter for help or fighting the fire fighter trying to get him out of the house. They need to learn to trust people, all kinds of people. This also wears a pup out. It is mental stimulation. Right now at her age is prime time to learn these things. 

Also check with your vet. My vet has puppy play and learn every 2 weeks, which is not puppy kindergarten but puppies treated there are certified by the vet and healthy with no parasites and so on. Those pups are invited to come to the vets office every 2 weeks in the evening and they have the vet, there the groomer there, they trainer there to ask questions also to sell their services but still great for puppies. Also in a sterile environment the puppies get to play and everything. Also I have had my sisters labs come over and I have taken him over there. Dogs learn from dogs. While you are a good owner to be concerned, you can't shelter your dog or this makes a fearful dog. They have to get out and experience life. I worry about my puppy but I do set up scenarios in where he won't get hurt but it is painful for me to watch. For example the dog 3 houses over just this morning when we went out to potty, the dog was out and barked at us. My lab came running to me afraid and wanted me to pick him up. I just stood there strong, told him it was ok in a calming voice and pretty soon he was like, huh well I guess this is no big deal. Also my sisters labs, especially the older one is probably the most perfect lab I have ever met. 115lbs with little to no fat, just built like a brick. I can get on the ground and wrestle with him and he puts his mouth around my arm and all I feel is slobbery gums. Never a tooth is ever felt. No matter how rough we get, yet I have seen him pop tennis balls in his mouth. I trust him implicitly. Also he has raised 3 puppies already. So first lab I turned my puppy lose on was him and my pup went right over and bit his tail. He yelped turned growled and put my pup right on his back in his whole mouth and growled at him. Painful as heck for me to watch, but I knew at no time was my pup in any danger. He needed to learn his manners and his place. A few hours later they were playing and running around the house and just having a good old time together. A 115lb giant yellow lab and my little 12 pounder at the time just having a great time. I understand your fear, however, you have to face your fears so your puppy can face hers.

So you said your sister has dogs too and if you trust them, have them meet your puppy. Never just take a puppy to their house have them meet first in neutral ground but have them meet and sooner the better. One of the big reasons I started with my sisters dogs right away is holidays are coming as well and I plan to bring my pup over on every holiday to play. There is no better time to start than now.

Also like I said my sister labs have that bite inhibition down. They really learned it from each other. However while they were biting machines, like Hank said vampires. Now they can be on the floor playing with mouths going after each other and I get down on the floor and stick my head right in there with theirs as well. Right in the midst of jaws snapping and things and I will never feel a tooth just slobbery tongues from then on. As soon as I lift my face out, snappy big jaws all over again. These dogs have been trained to be with other dogs and people from the time they were born and have never stopped.


----------



## Natural (Sep 27, 2011)

Yeah, my sisters dogs just recently got their shots again because they're going to be going to dog day care. Her golden is 9 years old and doberman is 8 years old. The doberman doesn't take crap and would be awesome for teaching the puppy. Both such very gentle dogs. That's a good idea and i'll have ot have them come over and head over there when my sister gets some free time.

I wuold love to take my dog out to burn some energy. I am going to take her into work as much as possible because she's going to meet such a diverse group of people. There's just so many people that work here she would be seeing new people every day. I brought her in last night because she was so hyper and she was so excited to see them. Wasn't nearly as much of a menace when we got home.

Thanks for all the support! I can tell she wants to be the dominant one. Little girl has a lot to learn. She is good with sitting and stubborn to lay down but she does do it. I"ll have to reward good behaviour more often and with more then just praise. Picked up a nice bunch of puppy treats last night.


----------



## chubby (Aug 18, 2011)

My puppy was the same way except not as severe as she was only 2 pounds, but I understand your frustration. I couldn't even feed her a treat without getting my finger bit and bleeding. I was worried about taking her for walks before she got her shots, but I finally did it, and there was a really drastic, noticeable improvement. Even if it means driving to a quieter block for a good 20 minute walk, it's worth it!! Butters' biting went down after about 4 weeks, so sometimes it's just a matter of time too. But exercise is definitely key!! Also, your dog will learn appropriate play manners by playing with other dogs, who will let him know when he's being too rough - make sure they are similar sized dogs as you don't want your dog to play with a 1 pound toy, or a giant breed either. 

The risk of your dog being put down from accidentally play biting a person warrants taking some risk and walking him in a public place. Choose a safe neighbourhood that has relatively clean sidewalks, and don't let your dog on the grass, just walk him on the sidewalk - avoid puddles, piles of dirt, etc. If your dog starts sniffing, just gently redirect him and train him to walk on a heel so he stays next to you.


----------



## jeffsrealm (Sep 21, 2011)

Remember easy on the treats, and a few good treats for your pup are baby carrots and then the one no one ever thinks about. Frozen green beans. Anything cold and frozen like that helps sooth teething. Just go easy on the carrots and green beans as well but they are healthier than a lot of regular treats. 

And congrats taking her to work she will meet all kinds of people. You will find everyone loves puppies. I have even been on a walk with my pup and had a car load of teen age girls stop in the middle of the road and get out to come see him. Now every time car goes by he gets excited sits right down on the sidewalk and looks up at me like where are all those girls again. He sighs and keeps walking as he realizes the car is not stopping.


----------



## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

I guess interaction with the sister's dog worked?


----------

