How To Train a Golden Retriever Puppy Not To Bite

All puppies have a tendency to bite, regardless of the breed. Biting is instinctive, so puppies don’t perceive it as bad behavior.

Like children, puppies aren’t yet self-aware and don’t understand that biting is wrong. The owner’s objective is to show the puppy that such behavior is discouraged.

However, not every golden retriever training method is equally effective.

To achieve success, you should know what causes biting, the most common mistakes in puppy training, and which disciplining methods work the best for your dog.

Understand Why Puppies Bite

To teach a puppy not to bite, you should first identify the root of such behavior. The most common reason a puppy bites and chews is teething.

Like human babies, puppies first start growing a set of baby teeth at three weeks old. Your puppy should have all its deciduous teeth erupted by six weeks old, which will start changing to permanent teeth at around 12 weeks.

Puppy teeth change for permanent teeth for several months, so a golden retriever puppy biting and chewing until six months old is normal. But although it’s natural, it shouldn’t be encouraged.

Other reasons a puppy bites the owner may be tiredness, overexcitement, or frustration. Young puppies must sleep at least 16 hours daily and get fussy when tired but unable to nap.

Sometimes, puppies don’t even realize they need to sleep to feel better. In this case, the owner must provide the puppy with a quiet resting place and give scheduled rest periods.

Overexcitement in puppies occurs because they have little self-control. The easiest way to prevent biting, in this case, is to stop playing with the puppy when it appears too emotionally aroused.

If your golden retriever puppy plays too rough, learn to evaluate its excitement on a scale from one to ten, where ten is biting. You should stop playing when your puppy’s excitement level cripples to seven.

Sometimes, owners accidentally send their puppies “bite me” signals by making squeaking noises or quick movements, triggering their hunting instincts. Lastly, a puppy may be biting its owner to draw attention because it needs to go potty or is hungry.

Look for patterns in your puppy’s behavior. Writing down when your puppy bites you can be helpful. Take a note of whether your dog bites you when playing with a particular toy, after a walk, before a nap, or in other situations.

Ignore the Puppy When It Bites

Whenever your puppy bites you, stop giving it any attention. The owner’s attention is the most precious thing for puppies, and inattention is their primary fear. Your goal is to show your puppy that biting equals no fun.

Turn around and go away. Leave the room if possible. You don’t need to ignore your puppy for long because puppies have a short attention span.

However, you shouldn’t pay any attention to your golden retriever until it completely calms down.

Not paying attention to a whining and biting puppy can be challenging, but you shouldn’t give in. Be dedicated and patient because the results won’t be immediate.

Your puppy may take a while to draw connections between its behavior and your reaction. Remember to keep the response consistent – go away from your puppy every time it starts biting.

Tell The Puppy “No”

If you can’t force yourself to ignore your puppy, say “no” firmly and loudly whenever it starts biting. Your voice tone is more important than your words because dogs can’t understand human language.

Don’t say “no” in a cute voice you usually use to talk to your puppy. Accompany the words with physical signals – move your hand away, grab your puppy’s mouth, and close it carefully but firmly.

Even if the bite doesn’t hurt and you find it cute, don’t show any signs of pleasure or fun. Don’t smile, and don’t pet your puppy for at least five minutes after it bites you.

Use Bitter Spray

Don’t expect immediate results when training your puppy not to bite. Your puppy needs time to draw connections between biting and you ignoring it or talking to it in a stern voice.

Try a bitter spray if you find the biting too annoying and are looking for a training method that gives instant results.

You can find a bitter spray to stop puppy biting in pet stores or make one yourself from two parts of apple cider vinegar and one part of water.

Always spray your hands with the solution before playing with your puppy, and it should lose interest in your hands quickly. However, this method may not be as effective if your puppy bites different body parts.

For example, if your golden retriever puppy is biting clothes, you would have to apply the spray on all your garments. In this case, ignoring your pup or talking to it in a firm voice may be easier.

Reward Desired Behavior

Positive reinforcement is the most effective golden retriever training method for any age. Give your puppy a treat whenever it plays for a long time without biting. Whenever your puppy chews a toy instead of your fingers, reward it.

Treats are also an excellent distraction for puppies. If you’ve noticed patterns in your puppy’s behavior, preempt biting by giving it a treat when you see the first signs of undesired behavior.

However, be careful not to overfeed your dog. Golden retrievers are prone to obesity, and even puppies are at risk despite their fast metabolism. Ensure that treats don’t exceed 10% of your puppy’s daily calorie intake.

Get The Puppy Some Toys

Don’t expect to eliminate biting entirely until your puppy grows up because the golden retriever puppy biting phase lasts until six to seven months old. Puppy teeth are itching when they grow, so be understanding.

Instead of punishing your puppy for biting, provide it with a legal biting target. Substitute your fingers for dog toys. Get many toys and ensure they are always available around the house and in the garden.

The best dog toys for teething are chewy because hard toys can only worsen a puppy’s dental pain. When choosing a toy, try to indent it with your finger or flex it with your hand.

An anti-stress ball is a good example of the required texture. However, ensure that your puppy can’t tear the toy apart and choke on it. You may also consider chew treats for dogs, such as dried rawhide cheeks and beef sticks.

Bones are too hard for puppies and pose a choking hazard, while a rope toy is an excellent choice. Consider also frozen chew toys that cool a puppy’s teeth, thus easing the pain. Alternatively, you may freeze a carrot.

Start Training Early

The success of puppy training largely depends on timing. Start disciplining your puppy as early as possible because you don’t want to wait until your puppy gets into the habit of chewing your hands, legs, and clothes.

Suppose you paid no attention to your puppy’s biting when it was younger, and it thought that biting was acceptable. Then, one day, you suddenly begin disciplining it for actions that were previously allowed.

Such a change in the reaction may confuse your puppy and not bring the desired results. But if you start training early, you may achieve success quickly.

Beginning to teach your puppy not to bite early can also help you with further training. This way, you can identify which training method works the best for your dog and avoid wasting time.

Be Consistent

Regardless of your preferred training method, maintain a consistent response to your puppy’s biting. If you constantly change your reaction to biting, your puppy will struggle to draw connections between its actions and consequences.

Never ignore discouraged behavior. If you sometimes discipline your dog and sometimes pay no attention to biting, it may not understand that biting is discouraged.

Ensure that everyone in your household uses the same training method. If everyone uses a different approach, the training will have no result, but if you use the same treats or the same tone of voice, you can double the training effectiveness.

Don’t Use Harsh Punishment

Using harsh punishment is one of the most common mistakes in golden retriever training. One would argue that punishment is highly effective in asserting dominance over a dog and fighting undesired behaviors, and that’s partially true.

However, if the punishment isn’t administered correctly, it may only aggravate behavioral problems and cause new ones. Don’t shout at your puppy or slap it for biting because it may start fearing you and only bite you more out of frustration.

Punishment must be administered right away, ideally, while the undesired behavior occurs, and be adequate. Avoid any punishment administered directly by you.

On the other hand, punishment in the form of avoidance devices that lead to unpleasant yet not dangerous outcomes, such as bitter spray, can be effective.

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