Golden Retriever behaviour

K

Kitten

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Our Golden Retriever is 18 months old. Since he was about 8 months he started showing signs of aggression. First 'resource guarding' which we accept is part of a GR's dna - so we work around it i.e. when he has something he deems 'high value', we distract in order to distance him from what he has (assuming it's something we don't want him to have like a remote control, item of clothing etc). He bit my neighbour when I dropped some tea lights and she tried to get one out of his mouth - it all happened very quickly. She had to get a tetanus. Roll on a few months and when we try and get him off the couch he growls pretty viciously in that I would be afraid to grab his collar in fear of a bite. The most recent incident was when I was on the porch chatting to the same neighbour who had her dog on a lead with her - he's a red setter, 8 months old, male. My dog got out the front door (my fault for leaving it slightly ajar) and he went big time for her dog. My husband quickly grabbed his collar and he bit my husband - again tetanus needed.

We spoke with a number of people - dogs trust, our vet, the place where he was 'trained' for 4 weeks (in residence) and they all said the same. Not a 'firing' offence as the other dog was a 'fully intact male' on my dogs territory and as he was 'in fight' he just 'transferred' to my husband hence the bite.

So, we got him neutered. He is 2 weeks on and the cone is off. We are just home from a 90 minute walk with him and he started zoomies which I know is a 'happy dog', however we have managed to keep him off the new couch over the past few weeks but he jumped all over it and when my husband went to get him off it he growled very viscously, so much so my husband didn't reach for his collar. This wasn't resource guarding, it was pure behavioural.

We have 4 adult sons in the house so it's a constant hive of activity. There are always friends in. I am worried he is going to bite again and after this morning am at a loss. The vet did say the neutering could diminish the male to male dog aggression but may not stymie the behavioural issues.

He is adored, a gorgeous dog, is well fed and walked twice a day. We wonder is it that there are too many 'masters' and he has assumed the role of pack leader?

I am clueless what to do, all I knoow is if he bites again we are wholly responsible and the consequences are very serious.

Any advice please.
AM
 
Hello,

I've been through that entire experience, and more, tbh.

It's very testing, but try not to loose heart.

If you are Dublin based, or even the surrounding counties, see the link below, for contact details of a qualified dog trainer & behaviourist, that we worked with. I'd recommend her in a heartbeat, and you'll quickly find online that I'm not the only one who rates Siobhan Owens...

http://www.dublinpetschool.com (Dublin Pet School)

As a starting point, buy a muzzel and get your dog into the habit of wearing it, in the house initially, then when going for walks. It needs to become a permanent fixture, when you go out, to protect others, but also to protect both you and your dog.

Lots and lots of exercise, is an important part of managing the dog. A tired male dog is notably easier to manage. I appreciate that you are already exercising your dog, but young males have lots of energy.

Consider agility training, for the dog, which brings in both physical and mental challenges for your dog, but is also good fun and something that an owner and dog can enjoy, practice at home etc.

You can buy games that make the dog use it's mind, and are very useful for the wet days - as it's another way to tire them out. If the dog will retrieve, throwing a tennis ball from the top of the stairs and having the dog run up and down, to fetch it and return it, can also help burn off their energy.

We tried various natural supplements, but never really noticed any benefit from them.

Also, get a nice dog cushion and put your scent on it, then get the dog into a routine of sitting in it, close to where you sit, on the sofa, but never on the sofa. If the dog tries to get on the sofa, a strict "No", followed by you (or all of you) getting up and leaving the room, will soon teach the dog that jumping on the sofa won't get him closer to you, or promoted "within his pack", but actually excluded.

Don't give up !
 
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Ideally you want an accredited animal behaviourist.

There's not many in Ireland.

Find an APBC Member | Certified Pet Behaviourists

Search for qualified APBC members near you for expert help with pet behaviour challenges. Verified professionals across the UK.
www.apbc.org.uk www.apbc.org.uk

This is one I know of

About Me

Expert, Compassionate Behaviourist You Can Trust. With a Masters, Clinical Accreditation and years of experience, I provide science-backed, empathetic support for you and your dog. Based in Kildare, Ireland, here to help you and your dog build a happier life together.
www.brighthound.ie www.brighthound.ie
 
nothing to add in help but just to commiserate it must be stressful, everyone thinks of goldens as such placid friendly dogs, but i know of a few friends with them and they have to have muzzles on for walks as well.

We have a cocker and they can be prone to resource guarding, one thing i have always done with her is make her wait for permission to eat so ill put the food in her bowl and she will sit there but wait until i say eat. It has definitely helped her in that regard so much so that she doesnt really resource guard anything now.
 
If you are getting a behaviourist in for the dog, just make sure they are recommended - lot of people out there claiming to help the dog, but I had one in a couple of years back to help with a rescue dog we got in, and she was as useful as ... well she wasn't any good.

I do take your point of master - the dog seems to see itself as equal to the family, so do need to treat the dog as a "dog". One voice to dominate does help, we have older kids ( teens ) and our dog was a bit all over all the place initially with them in relation to the dog bevahiours, so the family needed training too.

Also, the zoomies don't always indicate happy behaviour - such can be an outlet for a dogs frustration , restriction , some pent up energy, so always try to note at what stage the dog shows these behaviours. I know the dog is walked twice a day, but such a dog needs very active walking - it will need to run and as mentioned above, they will need to burn off that energy as much as possible.

When training the dog, don't overload them with too much too soon and a consistent message by all the household needs to be followed. If the dog goes on the chair, then down it comes and out the back yard ot into a utility room, on it's own, for a period of time and repeat. A feeding time trigger is also a very good one as @Blackrock1 mentioned - but again the same trigger word each time. It may feel cruel to get the dog to sit while the food is in front of them, but it's getting them to show restrain and respect your position. It's only for a small while, less than 10seconds, but be consistent again.

Best of luck with things - and small steps, but please make sure the dog is muzzled in public - you seem to have very understanding neighbours.
 
Jazz01 said:
so the family needed training too.
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100%. No point is sending your dog to be trained in isolation from those he'll live with
Jazz01 said:
the zoomies don't always indicate happy behaviour
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again 100%
Jazz01 said:
but be consistent
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I cannot over emphasise this, but it has to be from all members of the family otherwise confusion will reign.

Big dogs can be a handful. I'm an experienced Rottweiler owner and an advocate for the breed, and excerise, lots of it, is key with big dogs, as is allowing your dog a voice. Growling, there are various kinds, is your dog saying something is amiss; you'll need to know what they find threatening, worrying or wrong in a situation. Punishing a dog that growls can result in a bad-tempered, confused dog.

I'm no longer as fit or able as I once was so to be fair to my favourite breed and to me, my JR bitch (aged 14) is my only canine companion these days.

Best of luck. You'll get back what you invest in a companion animal many times over.
 
Kitten said:
He bit my neighbour when I dropped some tea lights and she tried to get one out of his mouth - it all happened very quickly.
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Kitten said:
My husband quickly grabbed his collar and he bit my husband - again tetanus needed.
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Kitten said:
I am worried he is going to bite again
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So you take him to a park. You throw a ball and a child picks up the ball and the dog savages the child. An ambulance is called and the Gardai are called. The Garda asks you if he has ever bitten before and you say, yes, two times.

Sorry, but I think you have to get real here.

Under no circumstances, can you take this dog out without a lead and a muzzle. He is a dangerous dog.

It is said that a dog is allowed one bite. You have allowed two bites and you are worried that he might bite again.

I don't know the law. But it is not right to have a dangerous dog on the loose. How many bites will you allow him before facing the inevitable?

Brendan
 
Brendan Burgess said:
So you take him to a park. You throw a ball and a child picks up the ball and the dog savages the child
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No one mentioned that the dog will be left out loose in a public park and the OP is aware of the situation. It's been recommended to purchase a muzzle for the dog, while out in public.

Lots of little steps in trying to get the dog to be safe for everyone around him, starting with home life.

@Kitten knows that there is a need to have the dog muzzled when in public - that is a given with the dog's history, regardless of the progress of the family's behaviour and the dog's behaviour in the future. Risk of biting is too high to risk.
 
We had a dog who needed a muzzle as he had behavioural problems from mistreatment at a previous home and at the shelter. The vet said to look at it as protecting him as well as people and other dogs. He got treats when he wore it around the house, so he quickly got used to it. He wore it whenever he went outside so he knew to carry it to us when he wanted a walk.

Reaching for a dog's collar when they are upset can be difficult and dangerous. You can use a house lead, which is light and can be left on the dog when indoors, then you can always pick up the lead from a safe distance without escalating the situation.
 
You have a huge problem on your hands. I suggest you rid yourself of the dog and fast. I say this reluctantly as we have two dogs. I think you have been very lucky to-date, don't push your luck. No offence meant.
 
I registered solely to reply to this thread, we also have a golden retriever but a few things stuck out as red flags for me in your post. Firstly, the 4 week residential training, you can't send a dog away to be trained. Behaviour training is a constant process, good behaviour needs constant reinforcement as being good behaviour with a clearly different outcome than bad behaviour. Reward good behaviour, rather than punish bad for best results. Secondly, grabbing the collar is alarming. I have never grabbed my dogs collar and never would, that's teaching them physical reactions are okay... Thirdly, the neighbour trying to get the tea light out of the dogs mouth. Never try to take anything out of any dogs mouth, replace it with something they want more or distract them and they'll lose interest and drop it.

Your dog is not the huge problem as one user suggests. The best thing we ever did when we got our first dog year ago was attend dog training classes with our dog. It was one hour a week for 6 weeks run by the DSPCA. Not expensive or a huge time commitment but it taught us how to train our dog, how to reward good behaviour and how to disincentivise bad. Every day you need to reinforce good behaviours with your dog, ours still tests the boundaries at time much like a child. Knowing how to deal with that is the key and it's not grabbing the collar, pulling things from their mouth or sending them away for training.

Please attend some training classes so you know how to train your dog. They call them dog training but really it's the owners who need the training most of the time.
 
Salvadore said:
That said, most dogs will go nuts if you try to take anything out of their mouths.
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Very true, but the dog & the owner must have a situation that trust is there. You should be able to command the dog to drop whatever is in their mouth, but you should not be fearful of taking something out of their mouth.

The dog will / should warn with a growl if it's not happy or comfortable, and the owner should back off at that stage and try alternative way (bribe with food).

Having said that, if you can't open the dogs mouth for fear of a bite, then that is something that needs to be worked on. A dog's mouth / teeth need to be checked periodically and also the vet should be able to check their mouth. The dog must be trained to allow such actions, without it fearing the action.
 
As the owner of what a vet described as an "adorable piranha" (Maltese - but if you had a rod stuck up your backside, you'd probably bite the doctor too :p ), we noticed her aggression against children and men (never women) and simply never gave her the opportunity to be close to a child as the natural tendency of a child is to pet a cute white adorable "puppy". We did get a maltese specialist to do some training, but it didn't fully solve the issue but did ease it, so simply made sure she was always on a short lead outside and lift her up or cross the road if we meet another dog.


She's 10 now and a lot more docile as she's entering senior years, but we've always been aware that she could nip someone and therefore it was our responsibility to ensure such an opportunity did not and does not arise. She was a rehome, and we guess she was a puppy farm dog, but wouldn't give her up for anything as she is the funniest, weirdest, strangest little thing you can imagine.

On the flipside, we've another maltese/bichon cross and we'd feel safe leaving her with a new born baby. 14 years old and has never shown even the faintest hint of aggression - except for chasing cats away (that's allowed :p)

So, I think a combination of a behaviorist, and knowing there is that potential of biting and ensuring the opportunity doesn't arise and for a Golden retriever, a muzzle and a harness (rather than a collar) and as said before, a consistent message from everyone in the household.
 
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