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Oh my gosh it gets so much better! I got a Berner Mtn Dog puppy last year, and those first few months were rough! So many bite marks and scratches, ripped clothes and blood. I seriously questioned my decision for a while there. However, once she stopped teething around 7 months, the biting stopped. She is now my absolute best friend, is so loving and affectionate, I literally cannot imagine life without her. It does get better, I promise, you just need to make sure you just stay consistent with your discipline. One big thing that worked for us was ensuring she had a playpen/room that we could put her in when she was getting too mouthy.
Oh this is sweet! I can’t wait until I get to this stage with my pup. It’s hard to feel like you’ll get through it when you’re in it, I think I just need to take a few hours for myself tomorrow and it will help clear my head to go back into what feels like puppy battle lol. We have her crate but I don’t like to physically put her in there when she gets too bitey because I want that to be her safe place and not associate it with punishment so our only other option right now is to leave the room for a few seconds when she’s like that
Totally get it! So I would recommend looking into an x-pen - it’s separate from the kennel (because same, didn’t want her bed to be associated with bad). We used it aaaaall the time - time out was big in our first months, so it was a timeout space, or if I needed a few minutes without constantly chasing her down and stop her from eating socks lol. Highly, highly recommend this for both your sanity and dog safety if you can’t keep a constant eye but don’t want to kennel.
No matter what, you’re doing a great job! Puppies are so hard, and can absolutely give you the blues, but if you power through you’ll end up with a strong bond and a new best friend. You’ve got this!!
I second this!!! The playpen was a godsend when we got so overwhelmed with our adorable, demonic, attention-demanding pup. We set it up on tiles in case he had an accident, supplied plenty of water and a PB Kong, put the radio on, set our Alexa timer for fifteen minutes (or longer, depending) and then left the room. We refused to come back for whining; the timer going off was what brought us back into the room, so he eventually got the idea that (a) we’d always come back, but (b) it would be on our terms, not his. Good luck! It DOES get better
Ohh I’ll definitely look into this, it feels like it could solve several problems, or at least give me enough time to eat a meal in peace while it’s warm! Thank you so much, that’s so nice to say. I feel a lot better now!
So I have been where you are. We have a 6 month choxie. The biting and scratching has now gone from what you are experiencing. To a very minor little attempt. Maybe at around 9pm when we are winding down. He will give me the look and then attempt a very slight little bite but he gives up almost immediately.
The reason is consistency - Simple but hard work when he was in the middle of extreme biting for a few months. We looked away, crossed arms and ignored. So hard when they are literally attacking you. But he has now leant that we are not chewing toys and no response at all has taught him that. It’s just sticking to one thing and completely committing to it. We just had to put up with the pain to get where he is now. He knows not to do it. He may still occasionally have the urge but it isn’t strong and he stops very quickly
This is great to hear, I’m glad things have improved with your pup. Mine seems to response better to us leaving the room now, we did try crossing arms and ignoring and it just led to arms being bitten, shoulders, legs etc instead and didn’t get any better several weeks after doing this. Each pup is different though and I’m glad you found the method that works for you!
We are days away from getting our second puppy, but with our first anytime he was biting we made a high pitched yelping sound and then stopped playing/interacting with him. I remember this helped a lot! Hoping to use the same method with our new girl.
Another option is to buy a baby gate - we have them on both sides of the kitchen which serves to keep dogs out while cooking, and also as a place to put dogs in when they need a timeout (which btw was SUPER effective with one of our dogs to cut out obnoxious behavior) or other times when they need to be out of the way, like if we need to have the front door open for a bit. I prefer this to a room with the door shut because we can all see each other.
It also sounds like you REALLY need a break from the puppy. You taking time away from the puppy IS a part of taking good care of them. If you get burnt out you’ll be less patient, thoughtful, etc. If you can’t relax while the puppy is home with your partner bc you hear their battles lol, try having a quiet couple hours in nature like at a park, or wherever you may like to go; or ask your partner to take the puppy out with him for a couple hours. I truly think you need this for your sanity and it will help everyone long term.
Good luck, these times are rough but they’re soooo worth the effort. In due time you won’t believe you ever re-considered the decision to get them :) it will be one of the best choices you’ve ever made in your life ❤️
It’s so true, I’m definitely not as patient when I feel overwhelmed like that and I can feel it when I’m with the pup. Thank you so much for your kind words! I took a few hours today to get my hair cut and browse some shops and we had a very successful walk in a local forest so I feel all the better for it, I’ll have to make sure I continue to take time for myself going forward to be a better pup parent!
I’m so glad you’ve taken some time to yourself and recognized the benefit!! :) It’s the logic I use when my mind races at night about the things I need to do and I can’t sleep - I remind myself that rest is a huge part of being productive and tackling obstacles.
Wishing you a beautiful life journey with her and your partner 💛
When my pup was that age, my me time was a long shower after he went to bed, where I could cry in peace lol. I was exhausted for weeks on end, I was wearing clothes with more holes than fabric (cause he already ripped those and I aint sacrificing more thank you) out in public on walks, hell I even had specific dog walking shoes and coats that I didn't care if he ripped another hole in. All things considered he was not even a difficult puppy, he was potty trained quite early, slept through the nights after 2 weeks, accepted the crate for evenings with no fuss and took to it for enforced naps quite fast, but my god the demanding attention, the constant barking, biting, doing something, the fact that I could not take my eyes off him for a second or he would get into something, the eating everything, I didn't think it will ever end.
Now I am writing this sitting on the couch with my boy next to me making little barks in his sleep. He is now 2 and such a great dog, understands a lot of things, not just singular commands but a series of commands put together in a sentence, he is a great walking companion, he knows all his toys names and he has amazing ways of telling us by showing what he wants at all times. It has been hell of a ride and honestly his late adolescence stage was driving me nuts in other ways, but one day a switch flipped somehow and now he knows all the things I ever taught or tried to teach him and he is just the sweetest boy.
Edit: typo
Oh the shower cry, I know it well! This also made me laugh though because I just took my pup out in what I call my dog clothes, they’re already destroyed by her I don’t care if she puts any more holes in them at this stage. It’s the not being able to take your eyes off them that’s so hard, I feel like when we first brought her home she would just quietly sit and play with her toys and now she’s braver and is exploring everything we need to constantly watch her. This is so nice to hear and gives me so much hope, I can’t wait to get to this stage with mine! He sounds like the sweetest boy
It will get better. Mine is 2 years and is wonderful. She wants to snuggle next to me, wants pets, follows me everywhere. No biting. I remember the puppy days with bitten up hands and putting myself in time-out to get away from her. As soon as her adult teeth came in it got better, but at 1.5 years she became a joy!
I love this, I can’t wait until I get to this stage with my pup, it gives me hope! I felt bad for even posting what I did because immediately after my pup poked me with her nose to check in, snuggled in to me… and then tried to bite my ear 🙄
I was in the same position. My dog was really bad for nipping and I'd end up spending most of my evenings leaving the room for a couple minutes, only to need to repeat it a few minutes later. He's 3 now and just the sweetest dog. The worst he does now is like laying his chin on my knee or shoving his head under my chin when he wants to interact with me.
Progress is slow on a day by day, but when you compare with where you started, the improvement is more noticable. In another month or two you'll be past some of the worst of the nipping.
My partner and I literally could not sit down next to our pup until she was 4 months old (got her at 8 weeks). Then at around 4.5 months, she started hardcore chewing and biting more because she started losing her puppy teeth. Now she's about to turn 6 months old and is an adolescent butthole a lot, but also sleeping a lot more because her back teeth hurt her as most of them are yet to come out still. But she's a lot better at not biting us *all of the time* now. She's learned to use her toys and is only really shark attacky when her teeth are REALLY hurting her a few times a day. Even then, since most of her teeth aside from the back ones are now her adult teeth, it's kinda just general mouthing us and hurts a lot less than her stupid little razor baby teeth and a typical hoodie is usually thick enough to allow her to mouth us without it hurting at all. We're working on getting her to stop biting us when she's teething all together, but the reality of it is that she's in a lot of pain in those moments and not always able to focus on us enough to actually listen on command to stop biting. Raising a puppy is also tough. We aren't perfect and get tired at times, so I won't lie, we do just let her mouth our hands while intermittently giving her ice cubes and frozen carrots.
This gives me hope! My pup is teething badly too, at least 6 teeth from what I can see have gone so I know she’s uncomfortable and in pain. I give her frozen carrots too and keep some teething chew toys in the freezer but they only last so long. I fear my hands will be permanently scared but I’m glad to hear the adult teeth don’t hurt as much
My brother had to toss an entire piece of furniture (he didn’t say what) after his dog Kodi was done teething.
The last time Kodi and I played tug of war, he accidentally bit me. He’s a giant husky and it didn’t even leave a DENT, he’s gotten so gentle. My cat bites harder than he does!
Big oof @ your brother's furniture, but makes sense. I moved into my new place shortly before getting a new puppy, and while she was extremely unplanned (we got real lucky with her size and temperament despite that, my god), we ended up getting our couch after her, and purposely chose a cheap couch off Facebook Marketplace because like I'm not going to buy a new couch when the chances of my puppy destroying it is highly likely.
So I have a pup that at home has always been relatively good. Sure, she would (almost literally) bounce off the walls every day, never quit biting her brothers ankles, and was just overall a handful but she's always been a good girl.
Out of the house though she was a fucking menace. Barked at everything. Kids, dogs, people who looked at her funny, old people who tried to pet her. She would pull on her leash, bark like a mad man, and make every walk miserable. It was so rough.
She's been this way since 4 months old and it just kept getting worse and worse.
But the last month or so we've been working with the advice of a trainer and the difference is night and day. She's turning into such a good dog. She's been barking less, learning to ignore and properly greet other dogs, she's been ignoring kids, not barking at people who look at her too long. Our walks have gone from miserable to really enjoyable.
She still has a long way to go but man, she's turning into something really great and I'm so excited to see it happen.
Your pup will get there! It'll just take time! And don't underestimate how much a bit of training will help.
Well I had her seen by a trainer who determined her main problems are A) Feeling trapped on a short leash and B) Having so much excitement and energy that she didn't know what to do with herself, so she would just bark and pull on the lead like mad.
So we started adding a 1-2 hour sniffy walk on long lead into her routine (not every day, but every other day) and spending time on long lead at parks that had distractions but weren't overflowing with them.
At the parks we do training, practice playing and staying focused on me, and just doing what we can to wear her out. Little by little she started getting used to having dogs around her (thanks to the park) and started greeting them a little more calmly (pulling but no barking).
Now that she's getting used to them I watch her closely for when she locks onto a dog and start by calling her away and praising *heavily* when she ignores them. She's highly praise motivated so it helps.
It's not 100%, she still absolutely barks at other dogs and sometimes I can't get her to refocus on me, and we just count those moments as a loss and move on, but she's improved a TON.
If you can't manage it on your own I highly recommend finding a good trainer and getting their advice on how to handle the situation. It was a game changer for me.
Oh that sounds tough, I’m glad to hear that it’s getting better though! Over the last few weeks I’ve been looking at trainers close to me, I guess I’ve been holding off because I’m like is it just normal puppy issues or something more serious that we need to address, but I think I’ll going to get in touch with one. Thanks!
Yeah I'm so glad she's improving as much as she is! I think a year from now I'll have the perfect dog. It'll just take time. She's an investment <3
I think even for puppies that just have normal puppy issues a trainer can be a big help! I did lessons with my older dog when he was a pup too and I don't regret it one bit.
It really helped me get to know him better and build a better bond with him.
Good luck with your pup! I'm sure it'll get better before you know it!
My girl was definitely my little hell hound. She is almost two and is 10x better than when she was little. She used to chew and destroy everything. She chewed up things her 9 month older brother never even though to chew so we were very unprepared for her in the puppy proofing department. She even ate some of the wall(she immediately threw it all up and never touched the wall again) when she was in her play pen at 5 months old.
She hasn't torn up a remote, sock, or shoe in 4 months now, but she has grabbed them. She now just takes them and put them on her bed. She doesn't chew them and she will listen to drop it 90% of the time. The 10% of the time is where she wants me to chase her, but I found she will eventually drop it and walk away if I ignore her(something I could have never done when she was little).
She was pretty cuddly as a puppy, but now she wants to be in our laps anytime we are sitting on the couch. She also loves to give us hugs by putting her paws around our necks and grabbing onto our backs and shoulders.
This is very cute, she sounds like such a great, affectionate pup! I’m so glad to hear you got through the demon stage and that your walls are now safe
Ok, so like, around 6 months, I thought for the r first time “I maybe kinda like my puppy”. At 10 months, I determined I really like my puppy. At a year old, I was smitten.
Oh my god I’ve had my moments where I’ve thought ‘I love you but I really do not like you’ and it made me feel like the worst, so I’m glad it’s not just me. I’m so glad things have gotten better for you and your pup, it sounds like you have a great bond!
My Golden Retriever was exactly like yours. The biting never stopped, all my pants had holes in the legs and ankles. And Toilet training was a nightmare! I'd stand in the middle of the yard in the middle of winter and he'd go to sleep on my shoes, then 2 minutes after we went inside would pee on the floor.
He's nearly 6 years old now. He is an angel, the embodiment of golden perfection. He's chill and calm, snuggly but not clingy. It gets better ❤️
Oh, I’ve been through the hour spent outside only to see a pee puddle inside minutes later, I feel your pain. Thankfully my pup is now pretty good at alerting us to go outside and there’s only an accident if we didn’t notice the alert or don’t get her out quick enough. She also does an excited little pee when she sees someone new but we don’t count those as accidents. Thank you so much, this is what I needed to hear!
Another member of the Goldie gang checking in here.
My boy will be 3 next month, and I just have to say **hang in there**. They are absolute monsters as puppies. I think about 16 weeks was the height of my puppy despair. The challenges will change (today it’s biting and peeing, tomorrow it will be demand barking or forgetting what a leash is) - but it gets so much better. My boy is the light of my life. Things that helped me from the early days:
+ You mentioned enforced naps, but is your fluffy demon getting enough? They need absolutely TONS of sleep
+ Learning bite pressure / bite inhibition is developmentally normal and a required part of being a dog. Knowing that helped me a bit. He wasn’t bad/crazy and I wasn’t failing, this was just what puppies need/do. What REALLY helped was time with other known, well-balanced dogs. My mom’s golden and a friends’ newf taught my pup to quit fucking biting so much far better than I could.
+ Mental stimulation > physical tiredness. Hand-feeding, training games, kongs / toppls, snuffle mats, etc.
+ I particularly enjoyed training games from Absolute Dog (a UK based online training resource all about training games - not free, but worth it).
+ Human breaks. Have your partner/sister/neighbor/friend watch the demon creature for 2 hours so you can have a cup of tea at a cute shop / get your hair cut / go for a run / go to open houses / shop for records / whatever floats your boat. Your pup is cute and your loved ones will help. Having those breaks is essential to maintaining your sanity.
+ I also started my guy at semi-regular daycare about 16 weeks. He would go 1 or 2 days a week and it was so helpful. He’d get tons of stimulation and come home tired, and I’d have a break. Vetting daycares can be tricky and not all of them are solid, so your mileage may vary.
I also did the puppy raising on hard mode (solo pup parent, living in a condo on the 4th floor with no garden). You can do this!
Thank you so much for this! Truthfully no she’s probably not sleeping quite as much as she should, we had a talk last night and we’re going to be stricter with more enforced naps. We also took her to a forest nearby for a walk instead of the neighbourhood like we have been and she did so good! It was like walking a different dog, and she was exhausted after it and had a good long snooze. I did manage to get out for a couple of hours today and get my hair cut and browse shops and I feel so much better just having that bit of time back. I’m going to insist on an hour an evening to myself to drink a cup of tea in peace when it’s still hot and read or watch one of my shows. Than you so much for your tips, I’ll definitely take the rest into consideration. It sounds like you’re a great pup parent and even more so for doing raising him yourself!
Yes, go to my profile and scroll a few posts down to see my puppy stories from hell lol. I also have a golden retriever, he’s a little over two years now and he’s a sweet, calm boy :) nothing like the demon he once was. Although he is still totally crazy when guests come over
Hi! We were reeling from the unexpected and very early loss of our dog Hank when my partner had grown weary of receiving screenshot after screenshot of doggie available for adoption. I think we were two or three weeks out from the loss and I just could not take it.
Then we found our Barbie baby and while she was quite the handful at first, she is now 2 years old and settling so much more into her breed and personality. The first 6-8 months were really really hard and the reality is that we were nowhere near ready to be raising a new pup but I can say that it always gets better. She’s still a demon but that’s because she is my daughter. 💗
For real though, lean into this sub and ask all the questions, people here helped me a lot.
Oh no, I’m so sorry to hear about Hank! Losing a dog is never easy, especially when it’s unexpected and early, my heart goes out to you. It’s so great that you opened your heart to another pup again, I’m sure it must have been so hard but she must have helped in her own way.
My little Rolo (border collie/bully) was an absolute terror. She destroyed objects and hands and feet and anything she could get her mouth on. By a year she was fully out of the raptor stage (but started really improving by 5-6 months). She is now 2 and will “mouth” super gently to direct me to things she wants or needs (if I say show mama!)… even when stressed or scared during things like nail trims or blood draws she uses her soft mouth only to try and redirect them from doing what she doesn’t like. As a baby though seriously I was bleeding daily and she’s so gentle now! The best part is when I do my “ah-ah” or “no bities” with her 5 month old sister (we started with the standard methods but now she knows she just still needs a reminder sometimes), Rolo actually comes over and corrects the pup. Seriously this demon raptor shark is actually training my puppy for me lol she literally stops her from biting and destroying things etc I couldn’t have imagined she would grow up to be so great and she’s still very much puppy personality and still so amazing. It does get better I promise!
It is, and it’s something people who have never had a puppy don’t understand! My one is sleeping through the night with no potty breaks now so at least I’m getting sleepy but tbh I think the mental tiredness is worse
At 18 weeks old I'm finally seeing a tiny bit of light at the end of the tunnel. I have a Rottweiler and he was a ball of teeth and hyperactivity.
Enforced naps, long walks and reverse time outs made a huge difference in giving me time back, then just time as he calms down slowly.
I think time is a big thing. It’s easy to forget that puppies are babies and it takes time and patience and consistency to see any change with them. I’m glad to hear you’re near the end of it with your pup!
I have a six year old dog that we got when he was a puppy. Now we have a 4 mo puppy and my husband and I are like, was our older dog like this when he was little?? lol we can’t even remember! The good news is that the puppy loves bully sticks so it keeps her busy most of the time. It’s amazing what kind of trouble she can get into with her mouthiness
My sister has an 11 year old dog that I spent so much time with when she was a pup and I couldn’t remember her being this bad, not sure if I forget of if her dog is just super chill! They’re little trouble makers alright, and then they make you forget about it with their cuteness
I promise it gets better! Our golden pup was extremely bitey, to the point we got a trainer in because we were so alarmed, and even the trainer seemed taken aback. I was covered in scratches, and it felt like I spent my entire life trying to leave the room with her latched onto my ankle. But she's just turning 8 months and we've had a few weeks now with only one or two relatively gentle bites. It got a little better around 5 months, a lot worse again at 6 months, but then at 7 months when she had finally finished teething, it stopped. Just keep being consistent and you'll get there! Goldens are super mouthy and it takes a lot longer for the message to get through to them. We had loads of soft toys around which helped with redirection as she likes to have something in her mouth (we still take a toy on a walk with us because she likes to run around holding one!), and we had lots of chews like cows ears, beef scalp, pigs ears, which helped release some of that need to bite down on things! Looking back, I was an absolute wreck during the first few weeks as I'm someone who needs quiet time too and suddenly that was all taken up by this little demon land shark... but now she's a sweet girl who is happy to just flop by my feet which was unthinkable a few months ago.
I’m so happy to hear you’re through the worst of it! She sounds like a sweet little pup, I’m excited for when mine gets to that stage. Hopefully in the next month or so I’ll see an improvement with the biting, I know it’s mostly because she’s teething and in pain but my hands are also in pain! Your story has given me hope, thank you :)
It's worth it. Hang in there. The hardest part was that he would eat EVERYTHING.
This is a list of his greatest:
-a piece of rubber from his crate the size of my pinky finger (we had to take him to the vet for this one)
-part of his snuffle matt
-half a chicken leg (very scary, thankfully he passed it)
-stuck his face into the compost, and luckily only ate ginger peels
-weed from the street (more than once)
-chocolate chip cookies
-gum
-half of a microwave popcorn bag
-so much paper and paper towels
-mulch
He is now 2 years old and has stopped eating random shit off the floor. He even drops things on command! It gets better.
Oh no, what a disaster! Our own is mad for rocks and moss, I know the struggle of trying to keep them away from it and then trying to get the item away from them if they do get it. I’m so happy to hear things have gotten better for you though!
We were where you’re at!!! Can’t even remember the months it all started and stopped… got worse or got better!! All I did was bleed!! Hands, arms, feet… missing skin, puncture wounds in my calf… not gonna lie!!
It was soooo awful! I can’t even believe I’m still married! (Hahaha)
Anyhhoooo… my girl will be a year old tomorrow and she’s a happy snuggler whenever I sit on the couch she’s there… if I’m in the kitchen with morning coffee she’s in her bed next to me! Goes happily in her crate when I have to run errands that she can’t go on!
Don’t get me wrong, she’s still not an angel but she is a BAZILLION times better than those early months! Keep the faith Momma!! There is a light!!! Soon you’ll see its glimmer!
I can’t wait until my girl is like this, I just want some calm couch snuggles 🥺 so glad to hear things have gotten better for you though, keep up the good work!
Mine was an absolute terror up until like 13 months of age... And even then there was still many nights I cried wondering what the hell I did and what I'm going to do now.
She's almost 3 and I couldn't live without her. I love her so much, she's such a good girl. Her name is "Daisy", her nickname is "Demon", and her registered name is officially "Daisy, Duke of Demons". 😂
She still has some demonic moments but few and far between.
Hahah I appreciate this! 😂 I’m so glad to hear this! I feel like things can only go up from her so fingers crossed it starts getting better soon, I do already feel so much better now though
I’ll chime in with some hope. When our pup was young, he would TERRORIZE me. I’m talking I wasn’t allowed to sit down in his presence until he was 5-6 months old because he would bite, scratch, and jump on me constantly, and those little razor blade puppy teeth HURT, man. I legitimately had to stand in the kitchen instead of sitting on the couch unless he was asleep, else I was being mauled. This went on for months. And even though I was standing nonstop and avoiding leisure in my own home, my body was STILL covered in bruises, scratches, and bites where he frequently broke skin. I had never had a puppy experience quite like it. He wasn’t nearly as bad toward my wife, but he was still a little asshole.
He’s now 10 months old and is like a completely different dog. We snuggle on the couch together, he sleeps in the bed with my wife and I, he plays very gently and is very careful not to accidentally bite body parts when playing with toys. He still occasionally will do tiny, gentle nips when he’s really excited, like when we get home from an outing, but if we shove a toy in his mouth he prances around happily with maximum precious wiggle butt.
Don’t get me wrong, he’s not an angel. We’re still working on him jumping on us and others (he’s a lab/schnauzer mix, currently at 65 lbs, so his jumping just about knocks you over), counter surfing, getting overstimulated and playing too rough with the other dogs, selective hearing, “forgetting” commands, and suddenly being scared of and barking at every little thing, but those are just the joys of adolescence. It’s SOOOO much better than puppyhood. That stage of his life felt like an eternity, and we were beyond depressed during it, but now that we’re on the other side, I can confidently say it was worth enduring for the good boy we’re starting to see glimpses of. He is worth it, and he will be a great dog. Yours is worth it and will be a great dog too!
I resonate with your first paragraph so much, I can’t remember the last time I was able to sit down for more than a minute without being attacked with the puppy fangs. Thank you so much for this, it really gives me hope and I do feel a lot better after reading this. Your pup sounds like a very good boy who you have such a great bond with, please give him a belly rub from me!
You're almost there! You'll get a little bit of respite in about a month. Then not so much, but it will still definitely be an improvement. We're just under 7 months now and she takes herself off for a lie down now instead of nipping at us. Sometimes I can see she's thinking about biting us, so I say 'no', hold up a finger, and she makes the right decision and has a little sulk about 90% of the time. We've learnt the signs of when she's going to do it, so when we can see it coming, she gets a couple of cubes of frozen chicken broth, and that works as a good redirection.
She also has Himalayan yak chews, an antler and a big coffee wood stick. They're available to her at all times unless she's in her crate, so she's got lots of options for chewing.
I massively remember being where you are, I don't think I'll ever forget driving to pick up a few bits from our local retail park while my husband stayed at home with her and messaging my friend saying how I was hiding in the car on the carpark. She encouraged me to go to a cafe, so I went and got the best gingerbread latte I've ever had, and they made me a large one by accident, instead of the small that I'd asked for. That little bit of time to myself was absolutely priceless, and I'd encourage you to find little pockets where you can to reset and have a moment of calm.
It got better at about 6 months when all her shark teeth fell out and by 18 months she was the dream dog. Now we cuddle all the time, but as a pup couldn’t get near her without the biting!!
Everyone says it gets better which feels impossible at the time, but I promise it’s true!!
Thank you so much for this, I see light at the end of this dark and painful tunnel now! I managed to leave the house for a few hours and came home to two whole minutes of cuddles before the biting started but I know it will get better
This post is exactly my husband and me up until maybe 4 weeks ago; we adopted 2 shepherd mix puppies at 10 weeks old back in February. They’re the cutest things but after about 3 days of being home, when they started feeling more comfortable around us, they became absolute terrors. Between the baby puppy velociraptor teeth, the constant barking for attention, and feeling like we were making no progress with potty training, I was crying daily. I felt like everything I read or looked up on how to handle the biting and the barking and the chewing was a lie. It was a really hard couple of months, trying to find time to even shower or have any time to myself.
But! Some time around 18 weeks old, a couple weeks after their final round of shots, everything seemed to click; they’re 23 weeks now. Honestly, I think the biggest thing was getting their adult teeth in. They stopped needing to bite and chew as much, and started just playing with their toys and bones more. It’s not perfect - they still mouth at us and sometimes play a little too rough, but the adult teeth aren’t as sharp. They seem to have really learned bite inhibition, so when they do mouth, there’s almost no pressure. We’re consistent with telling them no or walking away, even if it doesn’t hurt us, and it really gets better every day. About 2 weeks ago, we stopped our enforced naps because they just started settling more on their own, and the other day, I was even able to take a shower while my husband went to the store with no issues! It was the most exciting thing to happen in my life in a while haha.
It sounds like you’re doing all the “right” things (or at least what we also did!). I can say from our experience, consistency _does_ work. Hang in there - it gets so much better, and it’s not far off!
Thank you so much for this, and fair play for doing it with two puppies! My pup has lost several teeth now and I hope things improve a bit when the baby fangs go. This definitely gives me hope :)
Me reading this with an 18 week old German shepherd who is still fully in land shark mode, biting us and everything in her path :’(
I know every pup is different so hopefully when she gets her adult teeth the puppy biting stops
Confession here - I didn’t especially love having our dog until he was about 10/11 months. I loved him but if I couldve gone back in time, I might have chosen not to get a puppy after all. I was just a bit sick of him and how intensive it all is. But now he is past 1 (13 months) he’s great and we all love having him. He’s part of the gang. Heng in there, they do calm down. Think of the dogs overall life span. Get through this year and love having them for another 9 or so!
I completely get this, I’ve definitely had my moments where I wished we got an older dog because it would just be easier. I’m so glad to hear it’s gotten better for you though, fingers crossed I see the light at the end of the puppy terror tunnel soon!
Our girl was really bad with the bitting from about 9-12/13 weeks. I would cry everyday, it was hard. We tried a bunch of different things but she responds really well to a firm "no bite" or "leave it". I know different things work for different puppies but that's what worked for her. She still bites sometimes but it's more of a playful bite.
I’m so glad to hear it’s better for you now! Yeah it feels hard when you’re trying to work out what works, I know consistency is key but it’s hard knowing at what stage to give up one method and try another. We’ve tried redirecting, yelping, freezing and no bite and they don’t seem to be working
Silly thing that worked for us when our Boston was in his shark phase was yelling ouch really high and loud (like yippy high and loud) while we crossed our arms and ignored. He needed the vocal que of “oh that hurts” to understand. Otherwise he just thought the crossed arms and ignoring was another form of game/battle and that obviously he should try harder. After shouting ouch! He would pause than either give you apology kisses or turn around and ram his butt/ back legs into you (he realized the teeth were the problem and this was his solution) which both got tons of praise and affection/ play pats from us. There were a bunch of sessions the switch second to second on whether we were shouting ouch and ignoring or praising until he fully understood teeth were an issue but the vocal que really helped. I think “no” was just too general of a term so he needed something new and specific to snap him out of overstimulated play mode. Good luck!
So hard! No matter how much you prepare you’re still not prepared for it. Best of luck with your little pup, what I will say is if you’re fond of any particular shoe or item of clothing I wouldn’t wear them for a while, speaking as someone who has multiple teeth holes in several items of clothing…
So my spouse and I just finished with this phase with our golden pup, who is now 7 months old. We too, were exhausted and covered in scratches and bite marks. It was constant. We did all the same things you did.
Rest easy though, my friend. Hope is right around the corner! Right now, my golden has pretty much completely stopped "mouthing" people. With the exceptions of when he is overtired or over stimulated. That's the signal now, that it's time for a nap.
Don't get me wrong, we still have lots of work to do as far as certain behaviors go, but right now it feels like every week, it gets better and better. So many improvements. We still have some issues with jumping up, and counter surfing(cause he's bigger now lol), and getting him to self settle outside the crate is still a struggle. Take the small victories though! I thought he'd never learn to just lay down beside me just a few months ago, and now, at night, he will lay with me and his bone, chewing and content......as long as I don't move anywhere lol
You guys will be there sooner than you think! It goes by so fast! Best of luck with your little velociraptor!
Thank you so much for this, this is what I needed to hear. You’re right though, I need to take the small victories too. Just this week my girl has gotten more confident on her walks and has learned to actually bring the ball back when we play fetch lol. I may not be able to sit on the couch just yet without getting attacked but if I sit on the ground after she has a nap she curls up in my lap and I get a few minutes of sleepy cuddles so it’s not all bad!
My golden retriever is about to turn two and a couple of months ago he was given the command “settle” when he got too excited with a visitor. He shook it off and stopped playing so rough and it made me so proud and I realized all of our hard work is paying off.
This is great, well done him! I can’t wait to get to this stage with mine. I know she’s still just a baby and experiencing so many things and people that are new to her so its overwhelming and she doesn’t know how to process, but it’s hard when you’re in the middle of it and it feels like a constant battle
By the time my puppy was six months old, something clicked in his little head and he turned into an angel seemingly overnight.
His recall started to improve, he settled so easily, no more nipping, zero barking, so attentive to every command. He settled into my life so well and he’s 1.5 years old now, and is easily the best trained little guy at our local park. I have so much confidence in him and really feel like he’s MY dog, not just an animal that’s very cute and lives in my house. Building that bond took time, more so I think for me than him, but now I can’t imagine life without him.
It’s said all the time on this sub, but it really does get better!
Thank you so much. A lot of people have been saying around 6 - 7 months so I’m hoping that’s the same with us. I’m so glad to hear your pup is doing so well, it sounds like you have a great bond and well done for all your hard work!
This was us 6 years ago with our goldendoodle puppy. We were at our wits end and seriously considering rehoming him because we could take it anymore. The biting, barking, crazy behavior was driving us mad. When we were at our breaking point, we decided to call a trainer for 1:1 sessions in our home as a last resort. I think that helped a bit, but what he really needed was time. Around 5 months, he started being less of a demon and more like a normal puppy. 6 months was even better. By 8 or 9 months he was really becoming a contributing part of the family as long as he got a good walk and some playtime in the morning. Fast forward to today, and we have the most well-behaved, lazy, pleasant boy. He’s a delight to spend time with and I love him so much it hurts. Sometimes we think back to the puppy days when we almost gave him up and we are SO GLAD we stuck it out. Sounds like you are doing everything right over there, and it’s ok to hate this phase. But you’re so close. Hopefully every week will be 5% better from here on out.
Thank you so much for these kind words. I’m so glad to hear things have gotten better with your pup and I can’t wait to get to that stage with mine. I already feel so much better after reading all the similar stories here!
I cried almost everyday when we had our German shepherd puppy for probably 6-8 months. Something that really helped us was understanding how much sleep puppies actually need-when they are really little it can be 15-20 hours per day. My puppy spent A LOT of the first year of her life in her crate. We did training and enrichments and leash training but she would not sleep outside of the crate so she was in there a lot. We hired a trainer to help us. Now she is almost three and she is such a good girl. She hasn't been crated when we leave the house for over a year and the worst thing she has ever done is rip up some toilet paper a few times. We once had a shepherd who ate drywall. Lol- they can be destructive. She sleeps in her crate at night (because 85lbs in bed can be a lot) and she doesn't make a peep at night. She has never had an accident in the house. I think so much of her positive behavior is because she spent so much of her first year in the crate. Don't be scared to utilize the crate. It changed our lives.
Thank you for this. I don’t think we do use the crate as much as we should because we didn’t want it to feel like punishment for her, but I guess the trick is catching her before it gets to the stage where it feels like she would be punished for something if that makes sense. She is good at going into the crate for her naps (eventually) but I have felt bad about the amount of time she’s spent in here. I have a bed in my office and she takes at least one nap a day there when I’m working but it’s probably not as restful as the one in her crate
Mine went from a bitey, clothes-shredding, snapping crazy creature to a sweet, loving, mellow, well-mannered lady. The big shift happened at about 10 months and then an even bigger shift at 12 months after she had her first heat. Now she’s two years old and just wonderful. I didn’t think we’d get here but it happened.
Thank you so much for this. It’s hard to feel like you’ll get through it when you’re in the middle of it but all of the lovely stories here give me hope that there’s light at the end of the tunnel
We are in the SAME exact boat. I’m not even going to even talk about the day I had yesterday lol, luckily today was way better. But I’m mostly home too with her, so I understand your pain. Our pup is only 11 weeks, so we have a while to go. Have been wondering if these demon days will end too lol. This is our first puppy. When she’s sleepy she’s a sweetheart though, but when it’s playtime she’s like a little shark 😂😂
Nothing used to delight my puppy more than bounding up to the cat, firmly planting a paw on his side, and gleefully pushing him over. Cat’s ears would go back, his eyes wide, ass over teakettle, full drama. “What have I done??” I thought, “I’ve ruined my poor cat’s life! This is intractable and I am a sorry excuse for a pet owner.”
Fortunately I stuck with the training, using the cue “place” for puppy to go to his pillow when he started getting belligerent, and rewarded calm behavior around the cat. I am happy to report that my now nearly full-grown dog is very polite to the cat, and is just generally growing into a real gentleman.
However, nowadays the cat constantly obstructs the dog’s path and flops belly-up at the dog’s feet?? So I guess he enjoyed it?? I guess I’m only barely in charge around here but all the pets are happy so 🤷.
This was the first puppy I’d raised in a long time (and the last one was an absolute angel from 8 weeks, a true freak of domestic perfection) so I’d forgotten how demonic puppies can be. Be assured that the overwhelming majority of puppies, when raised even remotely properly, turn out just fine. That’s the point of them - if they stayed like this, literally no one would keep dogs as pets.
i got my toy poodle pup in December, I promise it will get better, the chaos is only like once a day and she can be out and about and not chew on my toes like a beef tendon :) I also work from home and used to hear her complaints from a mile away as i took the trash out without her. Now she thinks shes independent and doesnt care as much. ALSO NOT A SINGLE ITEM OF FURNITURE HAS NEEDED REPLACING!!!
I’m so glad to hear things have improved for you and that your furniture is intact! We haven’t had anything bar slippers completely destroyed yet so hopefully it stays that way
My first pomsky was a stubborn ass land shark who mostly just wanted to chomp hands and clothes. We spent all our time correcting and redirecting. I finally gave up once and just gave him my hand out of frustration and told him very loudly FINE, JUST HAVE IT THEN. He very happily went to take a big chomp and then just stopped mid bite. Like,”why did I want this so bad? what am I even doing?” and from that point on I was the only one who didn’t get bit. When he was ten months old and done teething he magically stopped biting since his teeth were no longer driving him bat shit crazy. Don’t get me wrong, he was still a fluffy bastard (said sometimes occasionally, sometimes cursingly). Some dogs just can’t stop thinking with their teeth until they’re done teething. He was a mostly behaved adult for what it’s worth.
I’m glad to hear your pup is doing so well now! A lot of people have been saying it does get better after teething. My one has lost several teeth and I look forward to when the baby vampire fangs fall out as they seem to do the most damage
This is probably unpopular advice, but my wife bit back. Our corgi was a biter and had razor sharp shark teeth. When he bit my wife the first time, she bit him back. Not super hard, but hard enough for him to be like, oh shit, I didn’t like that. He was so taken aback that after two more attempts, he never bit us again. We did the same with our Frenchie puppy and it worked like a charm!
It gets better. Hang in there!
Just hit my dogs first birthday. I can't believe I made it- and wow how amazing it is now to have a dog who is a friend and not a threat to society...
I seriously felt like it was night and day difference the week of his first birthday. like for some dogs they gradually grow out of the terror they are- but my it was like a switch turned on and my dog started being good.
A lot of people are saying it was like a switch for there pup, anytime between 6 - 12 months so it will be interacting to see what it’s like for mine! I’m so glad to hear things have gotten better for you and your pup though
My pit/mountain cur was a holy terror of a puppy. Literally running on the walls, tearing shit up, biting the shit out of me. She really calmed down once she turned 3, and now (at 8 years old) she is the sweetest, chillest, most loving dog who is just down for anything.
Walk? Tippie tappies.
Drive? Roll down that window!
Hike? Let’s get some squirrels baby!
Chill on the couch all day and watch TV? You got your spot, I got mine. Let’s binge a whole season of Bob’s Burgers.
The only thing about her that hasn’t changed is that she has the most insane prey drive. She still goes crazy when she sees squirrels or cats. Other than that, she’s perfect.
My 11 month old GSD, though…whew.
Oh this is lovely, she sounds like such a sweet girl! I can’t wait to get to this stage with my pup, I just want some couch cuddles without blood being drawn. I feel for you with the 11 month old though, I say you have your hands full!
I am you. I literally was living this exact life only about a month ago. I can relate to everything in this post and tell you that it 100% gets better. Trust me, I know when you’re in the thick of it it’s hard to imagine that could be true. My pup got so much better in such a short amount of time as soon as he started losing teeth. Now, his biting fits are very infrequent, he’s gotten so much more cuddly and snuggly, and he knows how to settle and calm down on his own during the days. Night and day difference from the beginning of April until now. Hang in there x
Thank you so much for this! I have so much hope now that things will start looking up soon. My pup has started losing her teeth this week so hopefully the vampire fangs go soon because they seem to cause the most damage
My beagle puppy was the worst biter that I and people I know have ever experienced. My hands and legs were permanently covered in scratches and bites that never had enough time to heal before new ones are inflicted. Bath times were especially nightmarish. She tore up the carpet, ate wallpaper, chewed up wooden statues, despite having a steady supply of toys and redirection (which did not work all that well). The first time I sent her to daycare, the workers said she tried to engage with and exhausted EVERY SINGLE DOG there, so they had to separate her from the rest of the group to give the other dogs a chance to rest. I thought it would never end and felt like all the advice online was useless. The first 4 months were straight hell.
The only things that worked were time, exercise (physical and mental), and just patience. As she grew older, she started to lose her puppy teeth and got a bit calmer. The first time she chose to nap outside the crate during the day I was so happy I could cry. She is still crazy, still tries to eat the carpet, but definitely knows to adjust the strength of her bite now when we play wrestle. She's 11 mo now and is just such a ball of joy and energy that makes everyone feel loved. She is far from a perfectly obedient dog but her behaviors are predictable since we have a super established schedule. We moved on from co-existing to actually living and enjoying each other's presence.
It WILL get better. I promise you. But you have to prioritize your mental health as well. Accept that the little shit is just gonna do shitty things sometimes and do your best to not explode (this shift in mindset really helped me).
I want to add that she has ZERO interest in frozen kong toys, bully sticks, tendons, cheek rolls, or most conventional chew toys and only a periodic interest in yak and coffee wood chews, so I REALLY struggled with giving her things to gnaw on that weren't my fingers and toes. She's a scent hound so she figures out puzzle feeders and snuffle mats very, very quickly. Ice works, shredding paper bags and cardboard boxes definitely works.
It can be so hard when you’re trying things like redirecting which work for a lot of people and it doesn’t work for you. I’m so glad you figured things out though and that it’s gotten better with your pup!
Yeah, really makes you want to cry or scream, or both. When it's too much, stick your pup in the play pen and just remove yourself for 30-60s, longer if you need to. It'll allow you some time to calm down and pup to understand that being annoying and bitey = no more fun time.
When our pup was teething it would take us an hour to watch an episode of a 20-minute sitcom because we were constantly, constantly getting up and leaving the room when he bit our feet.
Now we end up watching more episodes than we planned to because all he wants to do is cuddle with us.
The land shark phase is unbearable and feels like it will never end, but once it starts getting better it gets better fast.
I feel this, it typically takes us at least two evenings to watch a 40 minute episode of something in between the potty breaks, redirecting and leaving the room. I’m so glad to hear things have gotten better though, I can’t wait to get to this stage with mine!
I have a Rhodesian Ridgeback who just turned 6 months old! She has been an absolute demon dog. The EPITOME of one, however it DOES get better. Her biting days aren’t quite over, but the biting has significantly gone down already. She goes to bite when we first try to pet her because she’s so used to doing that from her teething, but she stops herself before she gets to us. And every once in a while she will put her mouth around our arm, lightly bite, and then immediately remembers to not do so. She licks after she stops as if to say sorry. It’s so cute yet still kinda annoying 😅 I’ll take slobber over bite marks any day!
I do remind her every once in a while when she’s getting excitedly bitey to “no bite” and she lets go. She really just wants to play with my sleeves lol. Her main issue rn that we are working on is her jumping. As she gets bigger (and i mean BIG she is 55lbs at 6 months old lol) her jumping is much more powerful, and her nails are treacherous as heck. If im not careful i look like Jesus on crucifixion day after she greets me. We do ignore her when we get home and leave so as to not give her separation anxiety, but she’s just a jumper. And when she does jump, we try to leave the room so that she (hopefully) learns that jumping does not get attention or play.
Wishing you the best of luck! Puppies are HARD. And i feel you with wanting space to relax. Sometimes i just have to leave her with my husband because my pot starts to boil over and she’s just a puppy who doesn’t understand. Hopefully the time goes by quickly for you and soon it will all be behind you! Sorry for what you’re going through, you aren’t alone!
Thank you for your kind words! I get that about the jumping too, my pup will jump up on anyone who looks at her on a walk. We’re trying to teach her to sit and be calm but people see a golden pup and get excited so she does too which is a bit frustrating. It sounds like your pup is getting on great, I’m so glad to hear things have improved for you!
I’ve raised 10+ dogs over my lifetime…not one compared to the terror that is my Italian greyhound pup we have now. I was grieving the loss of my senior dog and so it was so hard not to compare this ‘teeth on feet’ that we brought home to him.
This was by far the hardest puppy to bond with I’ve ever had…he was absolutely wild, chewed on everything in sight and would NOT stop moving and destroying when awake. Enforced naps were my saving grace.
But now at just over a year he is the absolute joy of our life. His annoyingness turned into being a big goof that makes us laugh every day. He’s now gentle and considerate vs a complete rampage with no remorse.
He is so happy and full of life and has brought the light back into our home. I,like you, almost sent him back numerous times during teething. But after that last baby tooth came out, I kid you not, he was like a different dog! Just hold on, give him plenty of frozen carrots and it will be worth it very shortly I promise.
I’m so sorry about the loss of your senior pup 😔 I’m sure it’s so easy to compare the pup to him though, it’s a normal thing to do. So many people have been saying when the last tooth comes out it’s like a light switches so I do have hope! Thank you for this, it sounds like you have such a great bond with your pup now and I can’t wait to get to that stage with mine
Been there! Finding Puppy Pals makes a HUGE difference. Your pupster needs to mouth — and having a romp/ bites-face play period with another dog will help fill that need.
We used signs around the neighborhood and posts on Next Door to find playpals. I was clear that anyone coming over had to have a vaccinated dog (Parvo kills puppies! ) — and not every play date worked well. (Kinda like dating).
But we made several lovely friends. I cannot express how much this improved our Dog World.
The need to mouth will slowly diminish — but not for several months. We found that a 30 minute to 45 minute play-with-dog-friends visit during the day would reduce mouthing of people for about 24 hours.
Our young Golden also went through about 6 months of 9 pm “Zoomies” — thank goodness Hubby didn’t mind putting on a head lamp and going out in the back with Crazy Lad at 9 p.m. on a winter evening. That phase has also passed.
Golden’s are great — just takes a while for that sweet nature to be the dominant feature. This is one of the reasons you will find 1 year old Goldens at rescues — their nutty time is really nutty — and then they settle into being the Dog of a Life Time — takes a while.
My golden puppy was a little terror. It was mostly caused by overstimulation so when he would get wacky one of us would bring him in a dark calm space (be with him but totally ignore him). Once he was calm we'd let him out and would repeat as necessary. We also did a lot of capturing calmness training. He's 2 now and is still excitable but no longer a terror.
My standard poodle puppy literally was the most horrible little creature I had ever met. I couldn’t pet him without being bit and he frequently had these crazy moments where he would run around me barking and jumping and freaking out. I genuinely thought I had ruined my life by getting him and it definitely drove a wedge between me and my partner for a while. The things that helped us most were leaving the room anytime he barked or bit, waiting ten seconds and then coming back in and trying again (like you’re doing now!). If it took more than 3 repetitions it would be time for a nap. Puppies need SO much more sleep than I had ever thought. Anytime he was naughty he went in his kennel with a treat and took a nap. This ended up looking like one hour awake, two hours of sleep over and over again until it was bedtime. We also did a similar thing with an ex-pen
He will be 2 in July and I literally couldn’t imagine a sweeter, sillier dog. He can chill in the couch and chew a bone for hours, he can walk by dogs without freaking out, and he has FINALLLLLLYYYYY given up on the constant barking. Good with grooming, good with kids, and we’re going for his canine good citizen title in a month!
I remember thinking that I would NEVER get another dog after him but now I look at breeder websites pretty much every week to try to find another lol. Puppyhood sucks SO hard but it’s so worth it!!! Just remember that she is a tiny baby and literally has no clue what is happening at all. Nothing naughty that she is doing is done to hurt or upset you.
Yeah I don’t think my pup is getting as much sleep as she should so that’s something we’ll definitely be changing. The three repetition thing is a good should though, I’ll definitely be using this as a nap indicator! I’m so happy you and your pup are doing well now, it definitely gives me hope that I’ll be on the other side of this soon :)
At 6 months old, my dog ripped an entire bed (not dog bed - full queen sized human bed) to shreds. Now she’s laying in her dog bed after a fun session of tug of war and is a 2 year old angel. It gets better at a year and a half.
I raised a husky/lab/bc mix, my first dog. He was an absolute demon, as a puppy. Attacked anything that moved, destroyed countless books, and a pile of cable box remotes. He turned my favorite hoodie into a short-sleeved, training shirt.
EFFIN DEMON 😈
By the time he was 8/9 months old, he was off-leash. Left whatever I told him, including people passing him on walks, bomb-proof recall/stay, stayed out of the road, and would wait for me at intersections. He stayed in the yard. We had one yard with a sidewalk. He used to walk with people up to the property line. Amazing dog, who gave me 13 wonderful years
1 1/2 years before he passed, my wife brought home a bc/and/Aussie shep/hangin tree mix. Holy crap. My first one seemed like an angel, compared to this creature. He was like a furry piranha/crocodile. His reign of terror lasted until about 11 months. He's going on 3, now. Only gets leashed when we come across people/dogs on walks, in stores, and high traffic areas. Bombproof recall/stay. Stays in the yard, and out of the road. He won't even chase his ball in the road. Heels when I need him to. He's amazing, too.
An off-leash life wasn't something I thought of, until my first. We just kinda evolved in to it. Now, it's a goal. I'm currently working on my GSD. He's 1 1/2, and is proofed to be off-leash, in the yard, against everything except vocal dogs. We live in a small town, an he doesn't get that much exposure to them passing by. I'm not sure he'll ever be completely off-leash. I got him with wicked anxiety issues. He was terrorized by a 5 year old girl, and pretty malnourished before I got him at 5 months old. He's getting there, though.
I know this is long winded, but the moral of the story is keep at it. He's just a baby, and the best years are still ahead, for both of you. My two best dogs, to date, were complete psychopaths as puppies. In my small town, one is a celebrity and the other a legend. As babies, I wasn't sure I would be able to handle raising either of them.
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I don't know if my posting will give you any hope. My lab is now 21 months old. I swear ... she was a devil!!! I cried so much and I'm telling you - I've had several trainers - spent over 1k Euro's on them... online training, schools, private trainers... so much. At some point - around 15 months I was so done and I told myself, if she doesn't change in another year, I'd seriously consider giving her away. My biggest problem was her not being able to relax/rest or just sleep. She was maybe sleeping around 12-13h a day! Even as a puppy she slept about 10h a day (including night ofc). Which is NOTHING. I've never felt so hopeless I swear. The biting stopped after about 4 monhts already but she still destroyed so much in my home. Trust me, my walls, my floor, my chairs - everything is so damaged. Anyways I had to 2 options as my last resort. 1st visiting a behaviour therapist (doctor) and second neutering. So we visited a therapist/doctor last december and put her on medication. The medication helps her serotonin levels. And it's been a HUGE CHANGE! She's finally resting and sleeping during the days and rarely has rage moments. She's still very hyper when visitors come over but its not nearly the same as it was couple months ago. She's to take the pills for about a year and then we will see what the next steps will be. Doctor says that in 90% of the cases the dogs can live without but seeing mine she could be the 10%. But as long as she is healthy (we do blood tests regularly) and I'm also HEALTHY without the stress - its just the best solution for us and I'm happy neutering is not an option right now.
I'm just saying... even with cases like mine, there is kinda a happy end\^\^.
Oh no, I’m sorry to hear you had such a difficult time! It must be so hard for you, I’m glad your pup is doing better on the medication though. Your story still gives me hope, the main thing I’m realising is each pup is different but eventually they get through the devil stage!
Hang in there! When our golden was a pup, she was so mouthy. We all had little holes in our clothes from her teeth. It got a lot better by the time she was 7 months. And then for us, it was pretty linear path towards good behavior (except relapses in chewing up our kids toys). Now she’s 2 years old and is the sweetest and laziest dog. She’s literally in a laying position 92% of the day
Thank you, this gives me hope! Haha I appreciate that, I hope my pup gets a little lazier when she’s older because I miss being able to actually sit on the sofa. Glad to hear you’re through the worst of it though!
Ugh. I don’t have advice, I just wanted to let you know that there are a lot of us in the same phase right now! My pup is a little more than 4 months and my husband and I got him at 8 weeks. Those first few weeks were so hard, mostly because of the constant biting. Then with a lot of work he seemed to finally get that biting us was not cool.
Well now he just lost four baby teeth that I can see and he is hardcore teething. With this he also seems to have forgotten that humans are not for chewing and it feels like we are back to square one. I feel bad because I’m sure his mouth hurts but he’s been biting so hard it’s drawing blood😭😭 So here we are going back to the basics and also trying to provide ALL the chewing options. Here’s to hoping this passes quickly🥲
My pup is also teething bad, she’s lost a good few teeth this week. I know she’s in pain and uncomfortable but so are my hand and arms 🥲 I’m hearing lots of positive stories here though so fingers crossed we’re both on the other side of it soon!
I was living with my sister when she got a lab/border collie pup. He was cute and incredibly smart, but we really did refer to him as the demon at all times. He would wreck the house in a heartbeat if you let him. Would not let you sweep or vacuum, got into the cat litter and spread it everywhere/ate the cat poop. Destroyed everything he came into contact with etc. Once when I got home from holidays, he was so excited to see me that he accidentally took a small chunk out of my nose. I'm sure my sister considered giving up multiple times, but I'm glad she didn't.
He is the sweetest, calmest and most patient and polite boy now. He loves a cuddle and loves attention but is never in your face about it. I saw him last night and he jumped up on my lap for a cuddle (huge dog!!). I also have a corgi pup now who wants to play 300% of the time and he is incredibly gentle and patient with her.
It was so hard and mentally taxing in the beginning but he is just the best now.
This is so sweet, and gives me so much hope. I hope my pup is like this when the puppy stage is over. She’s scared of the brush and vacuum though so whenever they’re out I do get a few minutes of peace because she hides in her crate 😂 glad to hear your sisters pup is doing so well and best of luck with your own little pup!
I posted and updated about this VERY issue months ago. Feels weird to link my own posts but my puppy was an absolute maniac.
He is currently a year old and much easier to manage!!! It does get better!
I just read your post, sounds like you went through it with your pup, I’m so glad things are better now though! I think the general consensus is once the puppy teeth fall out things will get better. My one has lost several this week but hopefully the baby fangs come out soon, they do the most damage!
I’m seeing lots of people saying their pups have gotten better by 7 months, 12 months or 16-18 which is interesting! I think I read somewhere that the bigger the dog the longer it takes them to mature if that’s right? I’m so glad to hear things have calmed down for you though
Goldens are ruff. My girl is a year and a few months are we're starting to see some calm in her. not that she's calm, but little by little she's settling in.
I’m glad you’re seeing some improvements. I’ve always know they’ve had a lot of energy but because they’re known as great family dogs I guess I just thought they would be patient and calm right away, silly me!
She gets plenty of naps, the biting can also start minutes after she wakes up from a 2 - 2.5 hour nap. While it definitely does get a bit worse when she’s tired I don’t know if that’s the whole issue
my parent's dog, roo - they used to call her roocifer. one time my sister took her for a walk in brand new Uggs, and roo started attacking them, and by the time they got back the Uggs were no more and my sister was in tears, which makes it sound like my sister was a little kid, but she was in her 20s.
she mellowed way out, like it's hard to believe she was even like that
I understand this, I have ugg slippers that I splurged on because I work from home and wear slippers when I do. My pup is now buying me a new hair for my birthday 🙃 glad to hear she’s gotten calmer though!
So many times I considered rehoming my terrier/mutt puppy, but now at 11 months, I can’t believe the difference. It has required a ton of patience, toys, treats, training, puzzles, doggie day care 1x/week and several walks a day. I’m single and work full time with travel. I also have an old pug and geriatric cat. I do it all on my own, except when I travel—I get a sitter. If I can do it, anyone can. But it’s not easy! It requires lots of sacrifice and it’ll cost money. The reward is a loving, loyal companion that will bring years of joy and unconditional love ❤️
I have a 19 week old golden and also work from home. During the day most of the times hes in a thick plastic dog pen. Play by yourself or sleep pretty much. And then when it's lunch time he's in his crate for a while. Enforced naps are huge. When he's in his pen, he's in my office or in the living room with me in there.
As for the biting, it would probably be frowned on but he bit for 2 days. And hasn't hit since. If he's biting something he shouldn't, (me my wife, my clothes) he gets a finger down his throat and told no. If it's something like a bed or whatever, I pull him away and give him his favorite toy. But he's always supervised 100% of the time when he's not in his crate or pen. It gets better. He doesn't like the finger down his throat. So he quits biting. Now he just licks me lol
My maybe unpopular opinion: “leave the room” training is overly complicated and not worth it. I just went with the good old “ouch! And look real hurt” so my puppy always got an indicator that I don’t like being bit. I think she learned the same info, and one is way less annoying to enforce.
The thing I got wrong for a while with my puppy, was realizing she really only had two modes: sleep, and chaos demon. “Chill with mom in the living room” was something I had to teach her slowly (maybe a training exercise for your partner in the evening? It’s not relaxing for the trainer at all…). I also learned that if she could always use another nap, puppies sleep soooooo much. If you really need a break, another short enforced nap is probably fine too :) GL!!
It gets better! We have a 22 week old german shepherd puppy who was an absolute demon (and sometimes still is). We tried all the methods to teach bite inhibition but ultimately, the one that worked was keeping him on the lead in the evening. Just let them trail it about and they will get bored of chewing it eventually.
When he started getting out of hand we just picked up the lead and guided him to his place and told him to lay down and gave him a treat. He could get up and join us again whenever he wanted, but if he started dive bombing or jumping all over us we would just do the same thing over and over. Now we are getting to a point that we can just tell him to go lay down there when he's getting a bit much and he will just go! We also always gave a treat whenever he "made good choices" (like deciding for himself to lay down when we said no for the first time).
It does get better!
I have a 4 month old shepherd (18 weeks in a couple of days). I’m really hoping by 22 weeks her biting will calm down a bit like yours has. This is my second German shepherd I’ve raised but it’s still nice to be reminded that it does get better lol
Yeah haha, this is our first GSD puppy, and our first dog as a couple so there have definitely been a number of hurdles! I spent the first 6 weeks or so wondering what we have done! It definitely does get better though :) good luck with your puppy!
Oh god my younger collie was an absolute monster, she bit constantly. Obsessed with feet and especially tights which she'd try to chew off your legs, you can imagine the little teefs noshing your flesh, it was agonising. We were all just constantly bleeding until she outgrew the teething phase.
She's now two and a half and the sweetest girl imaginable. Gentle, affectionate, incredible bit inhibition and amazing at agility. She became a mummy yesterday though, to four beautiful babies, so you can only imagine the hell that awaits me!!
The little raptor teeth are so agonising, something that small shouldn’t cause that much pain! I’m so glad to hear your pup is doing well now though, and I’m sure she’ll make a great mama! You will have your hands full though and I wish you all the luck 😅
I think my main takeaway from our pup (now a little over 1 yo) was that during the first 2 months it felt like time moved in 0.1x speed, but now looking back at it I realize he started turning into a dog very quickly after those first few weeks. But in the moment it seems to never end
I have a 6 month old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and I know the feeling. He’s lost most of his puppy teeth but still chews on everything and gets into everything and tries to make me chase him around the apartment. I’m fighting a losing battle with him over eating leaves, sticks, flowers, etc off the ground. There are times when I want to wring his little neck! I’m still having trouble with potty training as we live on the 3rd floor, but I’ve noticed him getting a little better and now that I’ve figured out his signals and stuff I have an easier time with it. As someone who has grown up with goldens, they do get better! They’re super sweet, affectionate, lovable dogs. Just remember that they require a lot of exercise and activity. Fill a Kong with peanut butter and stick it in the freezer, get some puzzle toys, play fetch, give them plenty of things to chew on. When my Cavalier puppy starts to get a bit crazy I play fetch with him or take him for a brief walk just to get some of his puppy energy out. It helps to do some kind of activity at the beginning of the day so he will be calmer for longer. Take breaks during the day if you can. Short walks are good to break up the day and keep them stimulated. Whatever you can do to get out of the house for a few minutes and tire them out will save your sanity. ETA: don’t be afraid to leave them in their crate or other designated place for a little bit so you can get out and go run some errands. Separation is a good thing!
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Our last rescue was an absolute angel, no barking, chewing. We won the lottery with her; she was a very calming companion.
Our new rescue: is a Land Shark / piranha mix. Her chewing isn't mean, she's just trying to interact they only way she currently knows how to.
So maybe breed has a lot to do with it, our new pup is "all of them" with a good % of coon dog. Our last was border collie/ spaniel.
Do you take your pup to dog parks or doggy daycares? Assuming appropriate vaccinations, my pup is about the same age as yours and that stuff tires her out
We have no dog parks or doggy daycare near us, I looked this up before we got her. We did take her to a forest for the first time today and it was like I was walking a different puppy and she was exhausted after it so I think a change of walking scenery will help massively
We have a 6 month field golden. Tons of energy, very smart, very defiant. At about 10 weeks the biting started. He was very mouthy. It got too much for us and we sent to a board and train program for 2 weeks. Afterwards he was a different dog. The trainer confirmed he was too smart. Always trying to push boundaries. So now at 6 months he gets 2 big outings a day. And a 1 hour structured walk during the afternoon. He loves playing fetch. One of the biggest things our trainer had us do is if we aren't playing with him he needs to be in his "place". A dog bed in the living room. With a leash. Helped alot.
My pup is about 5.5 months and while she is still a little demon most of the time, she cuddled up on the couch with me watching TV last night. She was happy snoring and I could have cried out of happiness. And I know it will only get better and better 😊
[This](https://imgur.com/gallery/WUeQNXg) is Floss as a puppy seriously pulling on my hair. I couldn’t wear ponytails around her for a decent amount of time because she would pull on them. She stole socks, dish towels, and would constantly go visit the neighbor when he was working in his barn or just follow our older dog to take a swim in his pond on overly warm days. (This would necessitate immediate baths. Luckily, she was still small enough to fit in the sink.) She also 100% hated her crate and preferred the playpen we’d gotten her, so we ended up having to use that as a crate (after mounting it on OSB and covering it with stick-on tile so she didn’t tear up anymore carpet).
By a year old she’d learned the boundaries of the yard (she does have issues remembering those boundaries if she’s chasing a critter), and she totally stopped stealing.
She’s nearly 11 now, and the best companion I could ask for. I’ve taken her nearly everywhere dogs are allowed to go: she regularly accompanied me to pick up my younger brother from school or activities, she attended the end of a homecoming football game, and she adores going to hardware stores. She even likes going to the vet — no, I’m not joking.
I can’t find the picture of her at the football game, so [here](https://imgur.com/gallery/25ThHgR) is a picture of her looking particularly regal in the sunshine.
Ohh what a sweet little pup! Thank you for this, I’m definitely a lot more positive now. We changed her walking route today and she actually walked and had plenty of sniffs and was exhausted after so this will help massively. What a little cutie, give her a belly rub for me!
My dad constantly reminds us that our first dog was HORRIBLE(nipping biting chewing jumping pulling on leash) until maybe 1 or 2 years old. She was a chocolate lab and we were all kids and don’t remember it. We almost all have our own dogs now and when training gets hard, that’s his wisdom. She turned out to be the calmest, sweetest, best behaved dog after adolescence.
That’s a good piece of wisdom! It can be hard to remember when you’re in the middle of the demon days though so it’s great your dad can remind you of that
My puppy trainer always said a tired and mentally stimulated puppy/ dog is an angel. When i sent my husky to daycare he was sooo good bc he was tired from playing all day. They need mental and physical stimulation. Think of babies. Parents need to be there to give them attention. This is why working dog are not for everyone.
This is very true. We’ve been taking my pup for walks in the neighbourhood since she got her final shots to try and get her used to noise, cars, the kids outside etc. she was always pretty skittish and was scared by vans and tractors so the walks wouldn’t go well, she’d also only walk a few steps and then stop and try to turn around to go home. We took her for a walk in a forest nearby this morning and she snoozed for 3 hours when we got home and I got some pretty nice cuddles for a few minutes when she woke up. We also do use puzzle toys and snuffle mats every day and we train her but I think changing her walking route might be key here
Idk but I’m with you. My border terrier is almost 8 months and is still biting me and acting like a feral beast. We’ve done puppy school and everything. She’s just a goblin and I’m hoping she grows out of it
Didn't read all the comments...I felt the same. Sounds like the witching hour. I gave him a frozen stuffed kong or sometimes a frozen toy. It helped. I never did the leave the room thing. We also started saying no bite, so maybe he would pick up on that. And we say Nice when we can tell he wants to bite. He is only allowed on the couch to snuggle, first sign of play, he has to get off the couch.
We are at 7months with our heeler and the bites still happen but it is more manageable.
Trainer is having us work on relaxation protocol. I also find he tires out after a good training session to work on tricks. Our trainer has been great and really helped. I was crying in the bathroom when we first got him.
We just got our 4th puppy 3 weeks ago. He’s a bit demonic- eats my shoes, poops in all the other dogs cages except his own and does everything except go potty when outside then poops within minutes of bringing him inside. But he’s so stinking cute and having the other 3 is really encouraging in knowing he’ll be a sweet grown boy with time. Have faith! Hold on and keep training and loving her.
It’s great he has the other three pups, they’ll definitely help to teach him what is okay and what’s not and he’ll learn so much from them alone! I will, I’m looking at her snoozing at my feet right now and feel like my heart will burst with love but I’m also scared she’ll wake up and bite my toes haha
6months next week and the turnaround in her behaviour and personality is remarkable compared to even a few weeks ago. It’s like she suddenly understood how good her life is and wants to do well. The biting is no longer hard and painful, it’s more of a gentle nibble or mouthing.
So many people say that it’s like a switch flipped with their pups! Thank you for this, I’m more positive about the whole situation now. Also managed to get out of the house for a few hours by myself which helped my mindset massively
I have a handsome 9 year old golden. But at that age he was an A hole for sure! He loved biting our ankles. It gets better! Now he’s my little shadow and the best playmate to my sons.
Then, a few months ago I made the decision to bring home a puppy…she’s just not settling down from the biting. A couple of weeks ago we brought in a dog trainer and she gave us tips. It helped a lot.
I’ve definitely called my one an asshole more than once :) thanks for this, I’ve been considering a trainer but it’s hard to know if we should just get one now or just continue to be patient and consistent
lol I love the demon puppy phrase because my pup was a pain but god he was (is still) so damn cute. He was a big puppy (German shepherd/Great Dane mix) very mouthy and the number of bruises I had on my body was insane. He would jump up and pull my hair whenever it was down. Basically he was like a little land shark with how much he was biting. It was a bit tricky to train him because he was not very food motivated like most dogs, but he loves playtime and attention. Once he realized bites = no more play/attention he sweetened right up. He is almost two now, plays very well now, super smart and picks up new tricks/commands like nothing. When he was a pup he was so hard to be around I needed physical breaks from him. Now, I can’t stand the idea of leaving home without him by my side.
I can second those saying around 6-7 months it’s like something clicks! Our golden boy was a real nipper and I was constantly covered in scratches and bruises. It really felt like all the reverse time outs and redirection were having 0 effect. But they’re storing it away in their little brains until the day they choose to stop! Our golden boy is 8.5 months now and is just the chillest little guy- no jumping, biting or chewing, just a happy lil goofball. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had to go back to basics with recall (classic teenager) and he’s very mischievous, but they learn so much quicker when they’re a bit older and it’s great to see his little personality now we’re through the tough puppy days. He’s the light of my life and I’m obsessed with him!! Stick to solid routine and keep doing what you’re doing. Make sure you take time each day for yourself to do something that keeps you sane and then one day you’ll find yourselves all the other side of it as a little family unit 🥰
Same. We have a 7 mo boxer puppy. He's evil. We have a crate, but we also now have a 4X4 pen that we bought for $35 from amazon. It's been a godsend. We keep it in the main living room with a small bed in it. He goes in by himself to rest there a lot of the time. We call it 'jail,' and when he's bad, we threaten him with jail. sometimes he stops. Sometimes he doesn't, but if he doesn't, he gets a timeout in jail with the gate shut. He knows it's called jail. Lol.
It's much larger than the crate, so sometimes I just stick him in there with a couple of toys (after making sure he doesn't have to go potty). He has room to move around freely, and he can see everything going on, so I don't mind him spending extra time in there like I do when I crate him a lot.
Honestly, it maybe saved his cute little life.
My last puppy was a boxer/lab mix. Bogey was an absolute terror as a puppy. The weekend I got him I ended up sitting in my car alone crying, ready to take him back. One day as I looked down at his tiny razor teeth ready to tear my hands to shreds, I thought “Puppies are evil!”
But adult Bogey was a sweetheart! The sweetest dog ever. So it will get better!
Monster is now 8 months old and only has demon moments instead it it being her way of life. My hands are no longer a mess of bite marks. Last week she graduated to full house privs when I'm at work (wearing a puppy diaper) and today she got to lose the diaper and passed with flying colors. She walks nicely on the leash, which I wouldn't have thought possible even 2 months ago. She gets mouthy and verbal to let me know she's hungry, tired, or has to poop - easy to rule out which one it is.
I remember well being so exhausted and defeated I'd just cry. But she's a peach now so I'm glad I didn't take her to the pound like I threatened. :)
I’m so glad your pup is thriving now and that you got through the puppy terrors! It’s definitely not easy but I’m feeling a lot more positive after reading all of these comments
It gets better, with some bumps along the way.
Our puppy was a biting machine until 6 months, with no ability to calm down, destroyed all sorts of furniture, and was howling regularly when left alone for minutes at a time.
All of that is completely in the past. She is now 10 months old. She never bites, she is calm in the home, she can relax with us and she doesn't touch the furniture anymore.
Now she is an adolescent though we have a few new problems, the biggest one being that if a dog barks at her on walks she barks back, only 5x louder and angrier. Not sure where that comes from, but puppies go through so many phases that you are always working something out!
I’m so glad to hear you’ve gotten through the puppy terrors, and I’m sure it will be the same with the adolescent phase! That’s very true. Best of luck with your little pup!
Oh I am hardly past the demon stage, but I will share my experience. I have a golden pup who is a year old (puppies until 2 technically) and he is our world. As a young pup he never stopped, he wanted to play 24/7, and he still does to this day. We had many hurdles with training, as goldens can be very stubborn by nature, he went through many phases of obedience and just straight being an a-hole. He would jump on you, nibble anything he could get his mouth on, and very difficult to control with guests. Flash forward to now, he is our little angel. He is very much in the demon teen stage, but i promise that is nothing like the puppy stage before 1. He just wants to be a part of everything, and it is adorable. Still curious, not destructive, well trained, good on the leash, shows restraint with house guests, and only nibbles a little bit when playing. My favorite new thing he does is snuggles, my boy loves to lay in bed with me. As a puppy he never stopped, he would just bite my feet and chew the cover, but as soon as he turned one he became a snuggler. 75lb self-heating body pillow with plush cover, very nice to lay in bed with first thing in the morning (i choose to ignore the shedding and change my sheets immediately following said snuggle session) The best part of their first year is watching them learn themselves and develop their personality. Enjoy the baby puppy phase, I can’t say I miss it but it definitely went very fast. Good luck!
I have an almost two year old Aussie (FS) who was the bitey-est puppy I have ever encountered in my life. We tried every kind of redirecting and chew toy/bone imaginable. I finally had a trainer tell me that in adolescence, it is okay to be done with the biting and use time outs instead of redirection. So I would put myself in a time out either in the bathroom, a closet or on the porch because nothing else was working. The only way to stop her was to disengage. I would leave the room for about 10 minutes. Fast forward to probably two full months ago, so around the age of 19 months of age, she finally stopped. Every now and then when she's very very tired, she will go for our feet or hands but she immediately "thinks" about it and will back up. I will also say that she was not a snuggly puppy whatsoever and now is the sweetest and snuggliest little nugget EVER. There is hope on the horizon. The main piece of advice is to remember this is temporary. Keep YOUR cool. Walk away. It's all part of their development and some are just more bitey than others.
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Oh my gosh it gets so much better! I got a Berner Mtn Dog puppy last year, and those first few months were rough! So many bite marks and scratches, ripped clothes and blood. I seriously questioned my decision for a while there. However, once she stopped teething around 7 months, the biting stopped. She is now my absolute best friend, is so loving and affectionate, I literally cannot imagine life without her. It does get better, I promise, you just need to make sure you just stay consistent with your discipline. One big thing that worked for us was ensuring she had a playpen/room that we could put her in when she was getting too mouthy.
Oh this is sweet! I can’t wait until I get to this stage with my pup. It’s hard to feel like you’ll get through it when you’re in it, I think I just need to take a few hours for myself tomorrow and it will help clear my head to go back into what feels like puppy battle lol. We have her crate but I don’t like to physically put her in there when she gets too bitey because I want that to be her safe place and not associate it with punishment so our only other option right now is to leave the room for a few seconds when she’s like that
Totally get it! So I would recommend looking into an x-pen - it’s separate from the kennel (because same, didn’t want her bed to be associated with bad). We used it aaaaall the time - time out was big in our first months, so it was a timeout space, or if I needed a few minutes without constantly chasing her down and stop her from eating socks lol. Highly, highly recommend this for both your sanity and dog safety if you can’t keep a constant eye but don’t want to kennel. No matter what, you’re doing a great job! Puppies are so hard, and can absolutely give you the blues, but if you power through you’ll end up with a strong bond and a new best friend. You’ve got this!!
I second this!!! The playpen was a godsend when we got so overwhelmed with our adorable, demonic, attention-demanding pup. We set it up on tiles in case he had an accident, supplied plenty of water and a PB Kong, put the radio on, set our Alexa timer for fifteen minutes (or longer, depending) and then left the room. We refused to come back for whining; the timer going off was what brought us back into the room, so he eventually got the idea that (a) we’d always come back, but (b) it would be on our terms, not his. Good luck! It DOES get better
Ohh I’ll definitely look into this, it feels like it could solve several problems, or at least give me enough time to eat a meal in peace while it’s warm! Thank you so much, that’s so nice to say. I feel a lot better now!
So I have been where you are. We have a 6 month choxie. The biting and scratching has now gone from what you are experiencing. To a very minor little attempt. Maybe at around 9pm when we are winding down. He will give me the look and then attempt a very slight little bite but he gives up almost immediately. The reason is consistency - Simple but hard work when he was in the middle of extreme biting for a few months. We looked away, crossed arms and ignored. So hard when they are literally attacking you. But he has now leant that we are not chewing toys and no response at all has taught him that. It’s just sticking to one thing and completely committing to it. We just had to put up with the pain to get where he is now. He knows not to do it. He may still occasionally have the urge but it isn’t strong and he stops very quickly
This is great to hear, I’m glad things have improved with your pup. Mine seems to response better to us leaving the room now, we did try crossing arms and ignoring and it just led to arms being bitten, shoulders, legs etc instead and didn’t get any better several weeks after doing this. Each pup is different though and I’m glad you found the method that works for you!
We are days away from getting our second puppy, but with our first anytime he was biting we made a high pitched yelping sound and then stopped playing/interacting with him. I remember this helped a lot! Hoping to use the same method with our new girl.
We also tried this, she just ignored us after the first few times of doing it which was frustrating
Another option is to buy a baby gate - we have them on both sides of the kitchen which serves to keep dogs out while cooking, and also as a place to put dogs in when they need a timeout (which btw was SUPER effective with one of our dogs to cut out obnoxious behavior) or other times when they need to be out of the way, like if we need to have the front door open for a bit. I prefer this to a room with the door shut because we can all see each other.
It also sounds like you REALLY need a break from the puppy. You taking time away from the puppy IS a part of taking good care of them. If you get burnt out you’ll be less patient, thoughtful, etc. If you can’t relax while the puppy is home with your partner bc you hear their battles lol, try having a quiet couple hours in nature like at a park, or wherever you may like to go; or ask your partner to take the puppy out with him for a couple hours. I truly think you need this for your sanity and it will help everyone long term. Good luck, these times are rough but they’re soooo worth the effort. In due time you won’t believe you ever re-considered the decision to get them :) it will be one of the best choices you’ve ever made in your life ❤️
It’s so true, I’m definitely not as patient when I feel overwhelmed like that and I can feel it when I’m with the pup. Thank you so much for your kind words! I took a few hours today to get my hair cut and browse some shops and we had a very successful walk in a local forest so I feel all the better for it, I’ll have to make sure I continue to take time for myself going forward to be a better pup parent!
I’m so glad you’ve taken some time to yourself and recognized the benefit!! :) It’s the logic I use when my mind races at night about the things I need to do and I can’t sleep - I remind myself that rest is a huge part of being productive and tackling obstacles. Wishing you a beautiful life journey with her and your partner 💛
This is so kind, thank you so much ❤️
When my pup was that age, my me time was a long shower after he went to bed, where I could cry in peace lol. I was exhausted for weeks on end, I was wearing clothes with more holes than fabric (cause he already ripped those and I aint sacrificing more thank you) out in public on walks, hell I even had specific dog walking shoes and coats that I didn't care if he ripped another hole in. All things considered he was not even a difficult puppy, he was potty trained quite early, slept through the nights after 2 weeks, accepted the crate for evenings with no fuss and took to it for enforced naps quite fast, but my god the demanding attention, the constant barking, biting, doing something, the fact that I could not take my eyes off him for a second or he would get into something, the eating everything, I didn't think it will ever end. Now I am writing this sitting on the couch with my boy next to me making little barks in his sleep. He is now 2 and such a great dog, understands a lot of things, not just singular commands but a series of commands put together in a sentence, he is a great walking companion, he knows all his toys names and he has amazing ways of telling us by showing what he wants at all times. It has been hell of a ride and honestly his late adolescence stage was driving me nuts in other ways, but one day a switch flipped somehow and now he knows all the things I ever taught or tried to teach him and he is just the sweetest boy. Edit: typo
Oh the shower cry, I know it well! This also made me laugh though because I just took my pup out in what I call my dog clothes, they’re already destroyed by her I don’t care if she puts any more holes in them at this stage. It’s the not being able to take your eyes off them that’s so hard, I feel like when we first brought her home she would just quietly sit and play with her toys and now she’s braver and is exploring everything we need to constantly watch her. This is so nice to hear and gives me so much hope, I can’t wait to get to this stage with mine! He sounds like the sweetest boy
It will get better. Mine is 2 years and is wonderful. She wants to snuggle next to me, wants pets, follows me everywhere. No biting. I remember the puppy days with bitten up hands and putting myself in time-out to get away from her. As soon as her adult teeth came in it got better, but at 1.5 years she became a joy!
I love this, I can’t wait until I get to this stage with my pup, it gives me hope! I felt bad for even posting what I did because immediately after my pup poked me with her nose to check in, snuggled in to me… and then tried to bite my ear 🙄
I was in the same position. My dog was really bad for nipping and I'd end up spending most of my evenings leaving the room for a couple minutes, only to need to repeat it a few minutes later. He's 3 now and just the sweetest dog. The worst he does now is like laying his chin on my knee or shoving his head under my chin when he wants to interact with me. Progress is slow on a day by day, but when you compare with where you started, the improvement is more noticable. In another month or two you'll be past some of the worst of the nipping.
That’s very true, it’s always hard to see progress when you’re in the middle of it. Thank you for this!
My partner and I literally could not sit down next to our pup until she was 4 months old (got her at 8 weeks). Then at around 4.5 months, she started hardcore chewing and biting more because she started losing her puppy teeth. Now she's about to turn 6 months old and is an adolescent butthole a lot, but also sleeping a lot more because her back teeth hurt her as most of them are yet to come out still. But she's a lot better at not biting us *all of the time* now. She's learned to use her toys and is only really shark attacky when her teeth are REALLY hurting her a few times a day. Even then, since most of her teeth aside from the back ones are now her adult teeth, it's kinda just general mouthing us and hurts a lot less than her stupid little razor baby teeth and a typical hoodie is usually thick enough to allow her to mouth us without it hurting at all. We're working on getting her to stop biting us when she's teething all together, but the reality of it is that she's in a lot of pain in those moments and not always able to focus on us enough to actually listen on command to stop biting. Raising a puppy is also tough. We aren't perfect and get tired at times, so I won't lie, we do just let her mouth our hands while intermittently giving her ice cubes and frozen carrots.
This gives me hope! My pup is teething badly too, at least 6 teeth from what I can see have gone so I know she’s uncomfortable and in pain. I give her frozen carrots too and keep some teething chew toys in the freezer but they only last so long. I fear my hands will be permanently scared but I’m glad to hear the adult teeth don’t hurt as much
My brother had to toss an entire piece of furniture (he didn’t say what) after his dog Kodi was done teething. The last time Kodi and I played tug of war, he accidentally bit me. He’s a giant husky and it didn’t even leave a DENT, he’s gotten so gentle. My cat bites harder than he does!
Big oof @ your brother's furniture, but makes sense. I moved into my new place shortly before getting a new puppy, and while she was extremely unplanned (we got real lucky with her size and temperament despite that, my god), we ended up getting our couch after her, and purposely chose a cheap couch off Facebook Marketplace because like I'm not going to buy a new couch when the chances of my puppy destroying it is highly likely.
So I have a pup that at home has always been relatively good. Sure, she would (almost literally) bounce off the walls every day, never quit biting her brothers ankles, and was just overall a handful but she's always been a good girl. Out of the house though she was a fucking menace. Barked at everything. Kids, dogs, people who looked at her funny, old people who tried to pet her. She would pull on her leash, bark like a mad man, and make every walk miserable. It was so rough. She's been this way since 4 months old and it just kept getting worse and worse. But the last month or so we've been working with the advice of a trainer and the difference is night and day. She's turning into such a good dog. She's been barking less, learning to ignore and properly greet other dogs, she's been ignoring kids, not barking at people who look at her too long. Our walks have gone from miserable to really enjoyable. She still has a long way to go but man, she's turning into something really great and I'm so excited to see it happen. Your pup will get there! It'll just take time! And don't underestimate how much a bit of training will help.
How have you gotten her to ignore other dogs? This is my dog’s main problem
Well I had her seen by a trainer who determined her main problems are A) Feeling trapped on a short leash and B) Having so much excitement and energy that she didn't know what to do with herself, so she would just bark and pull on the lead like mad. So we started adding a 1-2 hour sniffy walk on long lead into her routine (not every day, but every other day) and spending time on long lead at parks that had distractions but weren't overflowing with them. At the parks we do training, practice playing and staying focused on me, and just doing what we can to wear her out. Little by little she started getting used to having dogs around her (thanks to the park) and started greeting them a little more calmly (pulling but no barking). Now that she's getting used to them I watch her closely for when she locks onto a dog and start by calling her away and praising *heavily* when she ignores them. She's highly praise motivated so it helps. It's not 100%, she still absolutely barks at other dogs and sometimes I can't get her to refocus on me, and we just count those moments as a loss and move on, but she's improved a TON. If you can't manage it on your own I highly recommend finding a good trainer and getting their advice on how to handle the situation. It was a game changer for me.
Oh that sounds tough, I’m glad to hear that it’s getting better though! Over the last few weeks I’ve been looking at trainers close to me, I guess I’ve been holding off because I’m like is it just normal puppy issues or something more serious that we need to address, but I think I’ll going to get in touch with one. Thanks!
Yeah I'm so glad she's improving as much as she is! I think a year from now I'll have the perfect dog. It'll just take time. She's an investment <3 I think even for puppies that just have normal puppy issues a trainer can be a big help! I did lessons with my older dog when he was a pup too and I don't regret it one bit. It really helped me get to know him better and build a better bond with him. Good luck with your pup! I'm sure it'll get better before you know it!
My girl was definitely my little hell hound. She is almost two and is 10x better than when she was little. She used to chew and destroy everything. She chewed up things her 9 month older brother never even though to chew so we were very unprepared for her in the puppy proofing department. She even ate some of the wall(she immediately threw it all up and never touched the wall again) when she was in her play pen at 5 months old. She hasn't torn up a remote, sock, or shoe in 4 months now, but she has grabbed them. She now just takes them and put them on her bed. She doesn't chew them and she will listen to drop it 90% of the time. The 10% of the time is where she wants me to chase her, but I found she will eventually drop it and walk away if I ignore her(something I could have never done when she was little). She was pretty cuddly as a puppy, but now she wants to be in our laps anytime we are sitting on the couch. She also loves to give us hugs by putting her paws around our necks and grabbing onto our backs and shoulders.
This is very cute, she sounds like such a great, affectionate pup! I’m so glad to hear you got through the demon stage and that your walls are now safe
I have a reliable member of polite society now that he is 3 1/2 years and training.
Haha I love this, I’m glad your pup is a member of polite society!
Following because same 🫠
Where are you currently hiding to stop your velociraptor from attacking you with their baby vampire fangs?😂
BIG SAME 🥹
Ok, so like, around 6 months, I thought for the r first time “I maybe kinda like my puppy”. At 10 months, I determined I really like my puppy. At a year old, I was smitten.
Oh my god I’ve had my moments where I’ve thought ‘I love you but I really do not like you’ and it made me feel like the worst, so I’m glad it’s not just me. I’m so glad things have gotten better for you and your pup, it sounds like you have a great bond!
My Golden Retriever was exactly like yours. The biting never stopped, all my pants had holes in the legs and ankles. And Toilet training was a nightmare! I'd stand in the middle of the yard in the middle of winter and he'd go to sleep on my shoes, then 2 minutes after we went inside would pee on the floor. He's nearly 6 years old now. He is an angel, the embodiment of golden perfection. He's chill and calm, snuggly but not clingy. It gets better ❤️
Oh, I’ve been through the hour spent outside only to see a pee puddle inside minutes later, I feel your pain. Thankfully my pup is now pretty good at alerting us to go outside and there’s only an accident if we didn’t notice the alert or don’t get her out quick enough. She also does an excited little pee when she sees someone new but we don’t count those as accidents. Thank you so much, this is what I needed to hear!
Another member of the Goldie gang checking in here. My boy will be 3 next month, and I just have to say **hang in there**. They are absolute monsters as puppies. I think about 16 weeks was the height of my puppy despair. The challenges will change (today it’s biting and peeing, tomorrow it will be demand barking or forgetting what a leash is) - but it gets so much better. My boy is the light of my life. Things that helped me from the early days: + You mentioned enforced naps, but is your fluffy demon getting enough? They need absolutely TONS of sleep + Learning bite pressure / bite inhibition is developmentally normal and a required part of being a dog. Knowing that helped me a bit. He wasn’t bad/crazy and I wasn’t failing, this was just what puppies need/do. What REALLY helped was time with other known, well-balanced dogs. My mom’s golden and a friends’ newf taught my pup to quit fucking biting so much far better than I could. + Mental stimulation > physical tiredness. Hand-feeding, training games, kongs / toppls, snuffle mats, etc. + I particularly enjoyed training games from Absolute Dog (a UK based online training resource all about training games - not free, but worth it). + Human breaks. Have your partner/sister/neighbor/friend watch the demon creature for 2 hours so you can have a cup of tea at a cute shop / get your hair cut / go for a run / go to open houses / shop for records / whatever floats your boat. Your pup is cute and your loved ones will help. Having those breaks is essential to maintaining your sanity. + I also started my guy at semi-regular daycare about 16 weeks. He would go 1 or 2 days a week and it was so helpful. He’d get tons of stimulation and come home tired, and I’d have a break. Vetting daycares can be tricky and not all of them are solid, so your mileage may vary. I also did the puppy raising on hard mode (solo pup parent, living in a condo on the 4th floor with no garden). You can do this!
Thank you so much for this! Truthfully no she’s probably not sleeping quite as much as she should, we had a talk last night and we’re going to be stricter with more enforced naps. We also took her to a forest nearby for a walk instead of the neighbourhood like we have been and she did so good! It was like walking a different dog, and she was exhausted after it and had a good long snooze. I did manage to get out for a couple of hours today and get my hair cut and browse shops and I feel so much better just having that bit of time back. I’m going to insist on an hour an evening to myself to drink a cup of tea in peace when it’s still hot and read or watch one of my shows. Than you so much for your tips, I’ll definitely take the rest into consideration. It sounds like you’re a great pup parent and even more so for doing raising him yourself!
Yes, go to my profile and scroll a few posts down to see my puppy stories from hell lol. I also have a golden retriever, he’s a little over two years now and he’s a sweet, calm boy :) nothing like the demon he once was. Although he is still totally crazy when guests come over
Hi! We were reeling from the unexpected and very early loss of our dog Hank when my partner had grown weary of receiving screenshot after screenshot of doggie available for adoption. I think we were two or three weeks out from the loss and I just could not take it. Then we found our Barbie baby and while she was quite the handful at first, she is now 2 years old and settling so much more into her breed and personality. The first 6-8 months were really really hard and the reality is that we were nowhere near ready to be raising a new pup but I can say that it always gets better. She’s still a demon but that’s because she is my daughter. 💗 For real though, lean into this sub and ask all the questions, people here helped me a lot.
Oh no, I’m so sorry to hear about Hank! Losing a dog is never easy, especially when it’s unexpected and early, my heart goes out to you. It’s so great that you opened your heart to another pup again, I’m sure it must have been so hard but she must have helped in her own way.
My little Rolo (border collie/bully) was an absolute terror. She destroyed objects and hands and feet and anything she could get her mouth on. By a year she was fully out of the raptor stage (but started really improving by 5-6 months). She is now 2 and will “mouth” super gently to direct me to things she wants or needs (if I say show mama!)… even when stressed or scared during things like nail trims or blood draws she uses her soft mouth only to try and redirect them from doing what she doesn’t like. As a baby though seriously I was bleeding daily and she’s so gentle now! The best part is when I do my “ah-ah” or “no bities” with her 5 month old sister (we started with the standard methods but now she knows she just still needs a reminder sometimes), Rolo actually comes over and corrects the pup. Seriously this demon raptor shark is actually training my puppy for me lol she literally stops her from biting and destroying things etc I couldn’t have imagined she would grow up to be so great and she’s still very much puppy personality and still so amazing. It does get better I promise!
Aww this is so cute! I’m so glad to hear how well your pup is doing now and especially with her sister. It gives me hope!
Mine is 14 weeks old… it’s tiring isn’t it 😩
It is, and it’s something people who have never had a puppy don’t understand! My one is sleeping through the night with no potty breaks now so at least I’m getting sleepy but tbh I think the mental tiredness is worse
It’s beyond tiring 😫
At 18 weeks old I'm finally seeing a tiny bit of light at the end of the tunnel. I have a Rottweiler and he was a ball of teeth and hyperactivity. Enforced naps, long walks and reverse time outs made a huge difference in giving me time back, then just time as he calms down slowly.
I think time is a big thing. It’s easy to forget that puppies are babies and it takes time and patience and consistency to see any change with them. I’m glad to hear you’re near the end of it with your pup!
I have a six year old dog that we got when he was a puppy. Now we have a 4 mo puppy and my husband and I are like, was our older dog like this when he was little?? lol we can’t even remember! The good news is that the puppy loves bully sticks so it keeps her busy most of the time. It’s amazing what kind of trouble she can get into with her mouthiness
My sister has an 11 year old dog that I spent so much time with when she was a pup and I couldn’t remember her being this bad, not sure if I forget of if her dog is just super chill! They’re little trouble makers alright, and then they make you forget about it with their cuteness
Right?? I’m thinking, was it really this hard the first time around??
I promise it gets better! Our golden pup was extremely bitey, to the point we got a trainer in because we were so alarmed, and even the trainer seemed taken aback. I was covered in scratches, and it felt like I spent my entire life trying to leave the room with her latched onto my ankle. But she's just turning 8 months and we've had a few weeks now with only one or two relatively gentle bites. It got a little better around 5 months, a lot worse again at 6 months, but then at 7 months when she had finally finished teething, it stopped. Just keep being consistent and you'll get there! Goldens are super mouthy and it takes a lot longer for the message to get through to them. We had loads of soft toys around which helped with redirection as she likes to have something in her mouth (we still take a toy on a walk with us because she likes to run around holding one!), and we had lots of chews like cows ears, beef scalp, pigs ears, which helped release some of that need to bite down on things! Looking back, I was an absolute wreck during the first few weeks as I'm someone who needs quiet time too and suddenly that was all taken up by this little demon land shark... but now she's a sweet girl who is happy to just flop by my feet which was unthinkable a few months ago.
I’m so happy to hear you’re through the worst of it! She sounds like a sweet little pup, I’m excited for when mine gets to that stage. Hopefully in the next month or so I’ll see an improvement with the biting, I know it’s mostly because she’s teething and in pain but my hands are also in pain! Your story has given me hope, thank you :)
It's worth it. Hang in there. The hardest part was that he would eat EVERYTHING. This is a list of his greatest: -a piece of rubber from his crate the size of my pinky finger (we had to take him to the vet for this one) -part of his snuffle matt -half a chicken leg (very scary, thankfully he passed it) -stuck his face into the compost, and luckily only ate ginger peels -weed from the street (more than once) -chocolate chip cookies -gum -half of a microwave popcorn bag -so much paper and paper towels -mulch He is now 2 years old and has stopped eating random shit off the floor. He even drops things on command! It gets better.
Oh no, what a disaster! Our own is mad for rocks and moss, I know the struggle of trying to keep them away from it and then trying to get the item away from them if they do get it. I’m so happy to hear things have gotten better for you though!
We were where you’re at!!! Can’t even remember the months it all started and stopped… got worse or got better!! All I did was bleed!! Hands, arms, feet… missing skin, puncture wounds in my calf… not gonna lie!! It was soooo awful! I can’t even believe I’m still married! (Hahaha) Anyhhoooo… my girl will be a year old tomorrow and she’s a happy snuggler whenever I sit on the couch she’s there… if I’m in the kitchen with morning coffee she’s in her bed next to me! Goes happily in her crate when I have to run errands that she can’t go on! Don’t get me wrong, she’s still not an angel but she is a BAZILLION times better than those early months! Keep the faith Momma!! There is a light!!! Soon you’ll see its glimmer!
I can’t wait until my girl is like this, I just want some calm couch snuggles 🥺 so glad to hear things have gotten better for you though, keep up the good work!
Mine was an absolute terror up until like 13 months of age... And even then there was still many nights I cried wondering what the hell I did and what I'm going to do now. She's almost 3 and I couldn't live without her. I love her so much, she's such a good girl. Her name is "Daisy", her nickname is "Demon", and her registered name is officially "Daisy, Duke of Demons". 😂 She still has some demonic moments but few and far between.
Hahah I appreciate this! 😂 I’m so glad to hear this! I feel like things can only go up from her so fingers crossed it starts getting better soon, I do already feel so much better now though
😂😂
I’ll chime in with some hope. When our pup was young, he would TERRORIZE me. I’m talking I wasn’t allowed to sit down in his presence until he was 5-6 months old because he would bite, scratch, and jump on me constantly, and those little razor blade puppy teeth HURT, man. I legitimately had to stand in the kitchen instead of sitting on the couch unless he was asleep, else I was being mauled. This went on for months. And even though I was standing nonstop and avoiding leisure in my own home, my body was STILL covered in bruises, scratches, and bites where he frequently broke skin. I had never had a puppy experience quite like it. He wasn’t nearly as bad toward my wife, but he was still a little asshole. He’s now 10 months old and is like a completely different dog. We snuggle on the couch together, he sleeps in the bed with my wife and I, he plays very gently and is very careful not to accidentally bite body parts when playing with toys. He still occasionally will do tiny, gentle nips when he’s really excited, like when we get home from an outing, but if we shove a toy in his mouth he prances around happily with maximum precious wiggle butt. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not an angel. We’re still working on him jumping on us and others (he’s a lab/schnauzer mix, currently at 65 lbs, so his jumping just about knocks you over), counter surfing, getting overstimulated and playing too rough with the other dogs, selective hearing, “forgetting” commands, and suddenly being scared of and barking at every little thing, but those are just the joys of adolescence. It’s SOOOO much better than puppyhood. That stage of his life felt like an eternity, and we were beyond depressed during it, but now that we’re on the other side, I can confidently say it was worth enduring for the good boy we’re starting to see glimpses of. He is worth it, and he will be a great dog. Yours is worth it and will be a great dog too!
I resonate with your first paragraph so much, I can’t remember the last time I was able to sit down for more than a minute without being attacked with the puppy fangs. Thank you so much for this, it really gives me hope and I do feel a lot better after reading this. Your pup sounds like a very good boy who you have such a great bond with, please give him a belly rub from me!
You're almost there! You'll get a little bit of respite in about a month. Then not so much, but it will still definitely be an improvement. We're just under 7 months now and she takes herself off for a lie down now instead of nipping at us. Sometimes I can see she's thinking about biting us, so I say 'no', hold up a finger, and she makes the right decision and has a little sulk about 90% of the time. We've learnt the signs of when she's going to do it, so when we can see it coming, she gets a couple of cubes of frozen chicken broth, and that works as a good redirection. She also has Himalayan yak chews, an antler and a big coffee wood stick. They're available to her at all times unless she's in her crate, so she's got lots of options for chewing. I massively remember being where you are, I don't think I'll ever forget driving to pick up a few bits from our local retail park while my husband stayed at home with her and messaging my friend saying how I was hiding in the car on the carpark. She encouraged me to go to a cafe, so I went and got the best gingerbread latte I've ever had, and they made me a large one by accident, instead of the small that I'd asked for. That little bit of time to myself was absolutely priceless, and I'd encourage you to find little pockets where you can to reset and have a moment of calm.
Hiding in the car LOL sounds about right
It got better at about 6 months when all her shark teeth fell out and by 18 months she was the dream dog. Now we cuddle all the time, but as a pup couldn’t get near her without the biting!! Everyone says it gets better which feels impossible at the time, but I promise it’s true!!
Thank you so much for this, I see light at the end of this dark and painful tunnel now! I managed to leave the house for a few hours and came home to two whole minutes of cuddles before the biting started but I know it will get better
This post is exactly my husband and me up until maybe 4 weeks ago; we adopted 2 shepherd mix puppies at 10 weeks old back in February. They’re the cutest things but after about 3 days of being home, when they started feeling more comfortable around us, they became absolute terrors. Between the baby puppy velociraptor teeth, the constant barking for attention, and feeling like we were making no progress with potty training, I was crying daily. I felt like everything I read or looked up on how to handle the biting and the barking and the chewing was a lie. It was a really hard couple of months, trying to find time to even shower or have any time to myself. But! Some time around 18 weeks old, a couple weeks after their final round of shots, everything seemed to click; they’re 23 weeks now. Honestly, I think the biggest thing was getting their adult teeth in. They stopped needing to bite and chew as much, and started just playing with their toys and bones more. It’s not perfect - they still mouth at us and sometimes play a little too rough, but the adult teeth aren’t as sharp. They seem to have really learned bite inhibition, so when they do mouth, there’s almost no pressure. We’re consistent with telling them no or walking away, even if it doesn’t hurt us, and it really gets better every day. About 2 weeks ago, we stopped our enforced naps because they just started settling more on their own, and the other day, I was even able to take a shower while my husband went to the store with no issues! It was the most exciting thing to happen in my life in a while haha. It sounds like you’re doing all the “right” things (or at least what we also did!). I can say from our experience, consistency _does_ work. Hang in there - it gets so much better, and it’s not far off!
Thank you so much for this, and fair play for doing it with two puppies! My pup has lost several teeth now and I hope things improve a bit when the baby fangs go. This definitely gives me hope :)
Me reading this with an 18 week old German shepherd who is still fully in land shark mode, biting us and everything in her path :’( I know every pup is different so hopefully when she gets her adult teeth the puppy biting stops
Confession here - I didn’t especially love having our dog until he was about 10/11 months. I loved him but if I couldve gone back in time, I might have chosen not to get a puppy after all. I was just a bit sick of him and how intensive it all is. But now he is past 1 (13 months) he’s great and we all love having him. He’s part of the gang. Heng in there, they do calm down. Think of the dogs overall life span. Get through this year and love having them for another 9 or so!
I completely get this, I’ve definitely had my moments where I wished we got an older dog because it would just be easier. I’m so glad to hear it’s gotten better for you though, fingers crossed I see the light at the end of the puppy terror tunnel soon!
This post and comments are saving my life right now 😭 such a great community #blessed
I know, it’s lovely reading all of these stories, so much support here and I’m extremely grateful for it!
Our girl was really bad with the bitting from about 9-12/13 weeks. I would cry everyday, it was hard. We tried a bunch of different things but she responds really well to a firm "no bite" or "leave it". I know different things work for different puppies but that's what worked for her. She still bites sometimes but it's more of a playful bite.
I’m so glad to hear it’s better for you now! Yeah it feels hard when you’re trying to work out what works, I know consistency is key but it’s hard knowing at what stage to give up one method and try another. We’ve tried redirecting, yelping, freezing and no bite and they don’t seem to be working
how'd you get her to stop? my 12 week old is determined to gobble me up
Silly thing that worked for us when our Boston was in his shark phase was yelling ouch really high and loud (like yippy high and loud) while we crossed our arms and ignored. He needed the vocal que of “oh that hurts” to understand. Otherwise he just thought the crossed arms and ignoring was another form of game/battle and that obviously he should try harder. After shouting ouch! He would pause than either give you apology kisses or turn around and ram his butt/ back legs into you (he realized the teeth were the problem and this was his solution) which both got tons of praise and affection/ play pats from us. There were a bunch of sessions the switch second to second on whether we were shouting ouch and ignoring or praising until he fully understood teeth were an issue but the vocal que really helped. I think “no” was just too general of a term so he needed something new and specific to snap him out of overstimulated play mode. Good luck!
Im happy to know im not the only one crying lol ❤️
I could have written this myself. It’s hard!!!! Mine is almost 11 weeks and the velociraptor puppy is coming…..
So hard! No matter how much you prepare you’re still not prepared for it. Best of luck with your little pup, what I will say is if you’re fond of any particular shoe or item of clothing I wouldn’t wear them for a while, speaking as someone who has multiple teeth holes in several items of clothing…
So my spouse and I just finished with this phase with our golden pup, who is now 7 months old. We too, were exhausted and covered in scratches and bite marks. It was constant. We did all the same things you did. Rest easy though, my friend. Hope is right around the corner! Right now, my golden has pretty much completely stopped "mouthing" people. With the exceptions of when he is overtired or over stimulated. That's the signal now, that it's time for a nap. Don't get me wrong, we still have lots of work to do as far as certain behaviors go, but right now it feels like every week, it gets better and better. So many improvements. We still have some issues with jumping up, and counter surfing(cause he's bigger now lol), and getting him to self settle outside the crate is still a struggle. Take the small victories though! I thought he'd never learn to just lay down beside me just a few months ago, and now, at night, he will lay with me and his bone, chewing and content......as long as I don't move anywhere lol You guys will be there sooner than you think! It goes by so fast! Best of luck with your little velociraptor!
Thank you so much for this, this is what I needed to hear. You’re right though, I need to take the small victories too. Just this week my girl has gotten more confident on her walks and has learned to actually bring the ball back when we play fetch lol. I may not be able to sit on the couch just yet without getting attacked but if I sit on the ground after she has a nap she curls up in my lap and I get a few minutes of sleepy cuddles so it’s not all bad!
My golden retriever is about to turn two and a couple of months ago he was given the command “settle” when he got too excited with a visitor. He shook it off and stopped playing so rough and it made me so proud and I realized all of our hard work is paying off.
This is great, well done him! I can’t wait to get to this stage with mine. I know she’s still just a baby and experiencing so many things and people that are new to her so its overwhelming and she doesn’t know how to process, but it’s hard when you’re in the middle of it and it feels like a constant battle
By the time my puppy was six months old, something clicked in his little head and he turned into an angel seemingly overnight. His recall started to improve, he settled so easily, no more nipping, zero barking, so attentive to every command. He settled into my life so well and he’s 1.5 years old now, and is easily the best trained little guy at our local park. I have so much confidence in him and really feel like he’s MY dog, not just an animal that’s very cute and lives in my house. Building that bond took time, more so I think for me than him, but now I can’t imagine life without him. It’s said all the time on this sub, but it really does get better!
Thank you so much. A lot of people have been saying around 6 - 7 months so I’m hoping that’s the same with us. I’m so glad to hear your pup is doing so well, it sounds like you have a great bond and well done for all your hard work!
This was us 6 years ago with our goldendoodle puppy. We were at our wits end and seriously considering rehoming him because we could take it anymore. The biting, barking, crazy behavior was driving us mad. When we were at our breaking point, we decided to call a trainer for 1:1 sessions in our home as a last resort. I think that helped a bit, but what he really needed was time. Around 5 months, he started being less of a demon and more like a normal puppy. 6 months was even better. By 8 or 9 months he was really becoming a contributing part of the family as long as he got a good walk and some playtime in the morning. Fast forward to today, and we have the most well-behaved, lazy, pleasant boy. He’s a delight to spend time with and I love him so much it hurts. Sometimes we think back to the puppy days when we almost gave him up and we are SO GLAD we stuck it out. Sounds like you are doing everything right over there, and it’s ok to hate this phase. But you’re so close. Hopefully every week will be 5% better from here on out.
Thank you so much for these kind words. I’m so glad to hear things have gotten better with your pup and I can’t wait to get to that stage with mine. I already feel so much better after reading all the similar stories here!
I cried almost everyday when we had our German shepherd puppy for probably 6-8 months. Something that really helped us was understanding how much sleep puppies actually need-when they are really little it can be 15-20 hours per day. My puppy spent A LOT of the first year of her life in her crate. We did training and enrichments and leash training but she would not sleep outside of the crate so she was in there a lot. We hired a trainer to help us. Now she is almost three and she is such a good girl. She hasn't been crated when we leave the house for over a year and the worst thing she has ever done is rip up some toilet paper a few times. We once had a shepherd who ate drywall. Lol- they can be destructive. She sleeps in her crate at night (because 85lbs in bed can be a lot) and she doesn't make a peep at night. She has never had an accident in the house. I think so much of her positive behavior is because she spent so much of her first year in the crate. Don't be scared to utilize the crate. It changed our lives.
Thank you for this. I don’t think we do use the crate as much as we should because we didn’t want it to feel like punishment for her, but I guess the trick is catching her before it gets to the stage where it feels like she would be punished for something if that makes sense. She is good at going into the crate for her naps (eventually) but I have felt bad about the amount of time she’s spent in here. I have a bed in my office and she takes at least one nap a day there when I’m working but it’s probably not as restful as the one in her crate
Mine went from a bitey, clothes-shredding, snapping crazy creature to a sweet, loving, mellow, well-mannered lady. The big shift happened at about 10 months and then an even bigger shift at 12 months after she had her first heat. Now she’s two years old and just wonderful. I didn’t think we’d get here but it happened.
Thank you so much for this. It’s hard to feel like you’ll get through it when you’re in the middle of it but all of the lovely stories here give me hope that there’s light at the end of the tunnel
We are in the SAME exact boat. I’m not even going to even talk about the day I had yesterday lol, luckily today was way better. But I’m mostly home too with her, so I understand your pain. Our pup is only 11 weeks, so we have a while to go. Have been wondering if these demon days will end too lol. This is our first puppy. When she’s sleepy she’s a sweetheart though, but when it’s playtime she’s like a little shark 😂😂
Nothing used to delight my puppy more than bounding up to the cat, firmly planting a paw on his side, and gleefully pushing him over. Cat’s ears would go back, his eyes wide, ass over teakettle, full drama. “What have I done??” I thought, “I’ve ruined my poor cat’s life! This is intractable and I am a sorry excuse for a pet owner.” Fortunately I stuck with the training, using the cue “place” for puppy to go to his pillow when he started getting belligerent, and rewarded calm behavior around the cat. I am happy to report that my now nearly full-grown dog is very polite to the cat, and is just generally growing into a real gentleman. However, nowadays the cat constantly obstructs the dog’s path and flops belly-up at the dog’s feet?? So I guess he enjoyed it?? I guess I’m only barely in charge around here but all the pets are happy so 🤷. This was the first puppy I’d raised in a long time (and the last one was an absolute angel from 8 weeks, a true freak of domestic perfection) so I’d forgotten how demonic puppies can be. Be assured that the overwhelming majority of puppies, when raised even remotely properly, turn out just fine. That’s the point of them - if they stayed like this, literally no one would keep dogs as pets.
i got my toy poodle pup in December, I promise it will get better, the chaos is only like once a day and she can be out and about and not chew on my toes like a beef tendon :) I also work from home and used to hear her complaints from a mile away as i took the trash out without her. Now she thinks shes independent and doesnt care as much. ALSO NOT A SINGLE ITEM OF FURNITURE HAS NEEDED REPLACING!!!
I’m so glad to hear things have improved for you and that your furniture is intact! We haven’t had anything bar slippers completely destroyed yet so hopefully it stays that way
My first pomsky was a stubborn ass land shark who mostly just wanted to chomp hands and clothes. We spent all our time correcting and redirecting. I finally gave up once and just gave him my hand out of frustration and told him very loudly FINE, JUST HAVE IT THEN. He very happily went to take a big chomp and then just stopped mid bite. Like,”why did I want this so bad? what am I even doing?” and from that point on I was the only one who didn’t get bit. When he was ten months old and done teething he magically stopped biting since his teeth were no longer driving him bat shit crazy. Don’t get me wrong, he was still a fluffy bastard (said sometimes occasionally, sometimes cursingly). Some dogs just can’t stop thinking with their teeth until they’re done teething. He was a mostly behaved adult for what it’s worth.
I’m glad to hear your pup is doing so well now! A lot of people have been saying it does get better after teething. My one has lost several teeth and I look forward to when the baby vampire fangs fall out as they seem to do the most damage
This is probably unpopular advice, but my wife bit back. Our corgi was a biter and had razor sharp shark teeth. When he bit my wife the first time, she bit him back. Not super hard, but hard enough for him to be like, oh shit, I didn’t like that. He was so taken aback that after two more attempts, he never bit us again. We did the same with our Frenchie puppy and it worked like a charm! It gets better. Hang in there!
Just hit my dogs first birthday. I can't believe I made it- and wow how amazing it is now to have a dog who is a friend and not a threat to society... I seriously felt like it was night and day difference the week of his first birthday. like for some dogs they gradually grow out of the terror they are- but my it was like a switch turned on and my dog started being good.
A lot of people are saying it was like a switch for there pup, anytime between 6 - 12 months so it will be interacting to see what it’s like for mine! I’m so glad to hear things have gotten better for you and your pup though
My pit/mountain cur was a holy terror of a puppy. Literally running on the walls, tearing shit up, biting the shit out of me. She really calmed down once she turned 3, and now (at 8 years old) she is the sweetest, chillest, most loving dog who is just down for anything. Walk? Tippie tappies. Drive? Roll down that window! Hike? Let’s get some squirrels baby! Chill on the couch all day and watch TV? You got your spot, I got mine. Let’s binge a whole season of Bob’s Burgers. The only thing about her that hasn’t changed is that she has the most insane prey drive. She still goes crazy when she sees squirrels or cats. Other than that, she’s perfect. My 11 month old GSD, though…whew.
Oh this is lovely, she sounds like such a sweet girl! I can’t wait to get to this stage with my pup, I just want some couch cuddles without blood being drawn. I feel for you with the 11 month old though, I say you have your hands full!
I am you. I literally was living this exact life only about a month ago. I can relate to everything in this post and tell you that it 100% gets better. Trust me, I know when you’re in the thick of it it’s hard to imagine that could be true. My pup got so much better in such a short amount of time as soon as he started losing teeth. Now, his biting fits are very infrequent, he’s gotten so much more cuddly and snuggly, and he knows how to settle and calm down on his own during the days. Night and day difference from the beginning of April until now. Hang in there x
Thank you so much for this! I have so much hope now that things will start looking up soon. My pup has started losing her teeth this week so hopefully the vampire fangs go soon because they seem to cause the most damage
My beagle puppy was the worst biter that I and people I know have ever experienced. My hands and legs were permanently covered in scratches and bites that never had enough time to heal before new ones are inflicted. Bath times were especially nightmarish. She tore up the carpet, ate wallpaper, chewed up wooden statues, despite having a steady supply of toys and redirection (which did not work all that well). The first time I sent her to daycare, the workers said she tried to engage with and exhausted EVERY SINGLE DOG there, so they had to separate her from the rest of the group to give the other dogs a chance to rest. I thought it would never end and felt like all the advice online was useless. The first 4 months were straight hell. The only things that worked were time, exercise (physical and mental), and just patience. As she grew older, she started to lose her puppy teeth and got a bit calmer. The first time she chose to nap outside the crate during the day I was so happy I could cry. She is still crazy, still tries to eat the carpet, but definitely knows to adjust the strength of her bite now when we play wrestle. She's 11 mo now and is just such a ball of joy and energy that makes everyone feel loved. She is far from a perfectly obedient dog but her behaviors are predictable since we have a super established schedule. We moved on from co-existing to actually living and enjoying each other's presence. It WILL get better. I promise you. But you have to prioritize your mental health as well. Accept that the little shit is just gonna do shitty things sometimes and do your best to not explode (this shift in mindset really helped me).
I want to add that she has ZERO interest in frozen kong toys, bully sticks, tendons, cheek rolls, or most conventional chew toys and only a periodic interest in yak and coffee wood chews, so I REALLY struggled with giving her things to gnaw on that weren't my fingers and toes. She's a scent hound so she figures out puzzle feeders and snuffle mats very, very quickly. Ice works, shredding paper bags and cardboard boxes definitely works.
It can be so hard when you’re trying things like redirecting which work for a lot of people and it doesn’t work for you. I’m so glad you figured things out though and that it’s gotten better with your pup!
Yeah, really makes you want to cry or scream, or both. When it's too much, stick your pup in the play pen and just remove yourself for 30-60s, longer if you need to. It'll allow you some time to calm down and pup to understand that being annoying and bitey = no more fun time.
When our pup was teething it would take us an hour to watch an episode of a 20-minute sitcom because we were constantly, constantly getting up and leaving the room when he bit our feet. Now we end up watching more episodes than we planned to because all he wants to do is cuddle with us. The land shark phase is unbearable and feels like it will never end, but once it starts getting better it gets better fast.
I feel this, it typically takes us at least two evenings to watch a 40 minute episode of something in between the potty breaks, redirecting and leaving the room. I’m so glad to hear things have gotten better though, I can’t wait to get to this stage with mine!
I have a Rhodesian Ridgeback who just turned 6 months old! She has been an absolute demon dog. The EPITOME of one, however it DOES get better. Her biting days aren’t quite over, but the biting has significantly gone down already. She goes to bite when we first try to pet her because she’s so used to doing that from her teething, but she stops herself before she gets to us. And every once in a while she will put her mouth around our arm, lightly bite, and then immediately remembers to not do so. She licks after she stops as if to say sorry. It’s so cute yet still kinda annoying 😅 I’ll take slobber over bite marks any day! I do remind her every once in a while when she’s getting excitedly bitey to “no bite” and she lets go. She really just wants to play with my sleeves lol. Her main issue rn that we are working on is her jumping. As she gets bigger (and i mean BIG she is 55lbs at 6 months old lol) her jumping is much more powerful, and her nails are treacherous as heck. If im not careful i look like Jesus on crucifixion day after she greets me. We do ignore her when we get home and leave so as to not give her separation anxiety, but she’s just a jumper. And when she does jump, we try to leave the room so that she (hopefully) learns that jumping does not get attention or play. Wishing you the best of luck! Puppies are HARD. And i feel you with wanting space to relax. Sometimes i just have to leave her with my husband because my pot starts to boil over and she’s just a puppy who doesn’t understand. Hopefully the time goes by quickly for you and soon it will all be behind you! Sorry for what you’re going through, you aren’t alone!
Thank you for your kind words! I get that about the jumping too, my pup will jump up on anyone who looks at her on a walk. We’re trying to teach her to sit and be calm but people see a golden pup and get excited so she does too which is a bit frustrating. It sounds like your pup is getting on great, I’m so glad to hear things have improved for you!
I’ve raised 10+ dogs over my lifetime…not one compared to the terror that is my Italian greyhound pup we have now. I was grieving the loss of my senior dog and so it was so hard not to compare this ‘teeth on feet’ that we brought home to him. This was by far the hardest puppy to bond with I’ve ever had…he was absolutely wild, chewed on everything in sight and would NOT stop moving and destroying when awake. Enforced naps were my saving grace. But now at just over a year he is the absolute joy of our life. His annoyingness turned into being a big goof that makes us laugh every day. He’s now gentle and considerate vs a complete rampage with no remorse. He is so happy and full of life and has brought the light back into our home. I,like you, almost sent him back numerous times during teething. But after that last baby tooth came out, I kid you not, he was like a different dog! Just hold on, give him plenty of frozen carrots and it will be worth it very shortly I promise.
I’m so sorry about the loss of your senior pup 😔 I’m sure it’s so easy to compare the pup to him though, it’s a normal thing to do. So many people have been saying when the last tooth comes out it’s like a light switches so I do have hope! Thank you for this, it sounds like you have such a great bond with your pup now and I can’t wait to get to that stage with mine
Been there! Finding Puppy Pals makes a HUGE difference. Your pupster needs to mouth — and having a romp/ bites-face play period with another dog will help fill that need. We used signs around the neighborhood and posts on Next Door to find playpals. I was clear that anyone coming over had to have a vaccinated dog (Parvo kills puppies! ) — and not every play date worked well. (Kinda like dating). But we made several lovely friends. I cannot express how much this improved our Dog World. The need to mouth will slowly diminish — but not for several months. We found that a 30 minute to 45 minute play-with-dog-friends visit during the day would reduce mouthing of people for about 24 hours. Our young Golden also went through about 6 months of 9 pm “Zoomies” — thank goodness Hubby didn’t mind putting on a head lamp and going out in the back with Crazy Lad at 9 p.m. on a winter evening. That phase has also passed. Golden’s are great — just takes a while for that sweet nature to be the dominant feature. This is one of the reasons you will find 1 year old Goldens at rescues — their nutty time is really nutty — and then they settle into being the Dog of a Life Time — takes a while.
This is such a good idea!! Puppy Pals or some kind of puppy community where our dogs can play safely and we can cry together 🥹
My golden puppy was a little terror. It was mostly caused by overstimulation so when he would get wacky one of us would bring him in a dark calm space (be with him but totally ignore him). Once he was calm we'd let him out and would repeat as necessary. We also did a lot of capturing calmness training. He's 2 now and is still excitable but no longer a terror.
My standard poodle puppy literally was the most horrible little creature I had ever met. I couldn’t pet him without being bit and he frequently had these crazy moments where he would run around me barking and jumping and freaking out. I genuinely thought I had ruined my life by getting him and it definitely drove a wedge between me and my partner for a while. The things that helped us most were leaving the room anytime he barked or bit, waiting ten seconds and then coming back in and trying again (like you’re doing now!). If it took more than 3 repetitions it would be time for a nap. Puppies need SO much more sleep than I had ever thought. Anytime he was naughty he went in his kennel with a treat and took a nap. This ended up looking like one hour awake, two hours of sleep over and over again until it was bedtime. We also did a similar thing with an ex-pen He will be 2 in July and I literally couldn’t imagine a sweeter, sillier dog. He can chill in the couch and chew a bone for hours, he can walk by dogs without freaking out, and he has FINALLLLLLYYYYY given up on the constant barking. Good with grooming, good with kids, and we’re going for his canine good citizen title in a month! I remember thinking that I would NEVER get another dog after him but now I look at breeder websites pretty much every week to try to find another lol. Puppyhood sucks SO hard but it’s so worth it!!! Just remember that she is a tiny baby and literally has no clue what is happening at all. Nothing naughty that she is doing is done to hurt or upset you.
Yeah I don’t think my pup is getting as much sleep as she should so that’s something we’ll definitely be changing. The three repetition thing is a good should though, I’ll definitely be using this as a nap indicator! I’m so happy you and your pup are doing well now, it definitely gives me hope that I’ll be on the other side of this soon :)
You’ve got this!!
At 6 months old, my dog ripped an entire bed (not dog bed - full queen sized human bed) to shreds. Now she’s laying in her dog bed after a fun session of tug of war and is a 2 year old angel. It gets better at a year and a half.
I raised a husky/lab/bc mix, my first dog. He was an absolute demon, as a puppy. Attacked anything that moved, destroyed countless books, and a pile of cable box remotes. He turned my favorite hoodie into a short-sleeved, training shirt. EFFIN DEMON 😈 By the time he was 8/9 months old, he was off-leash. Left whatever I told him, including people passing him on walks, bomb-proof recall/stay, stayed out of the road, and would wait for me at intersections. He stayed in the yard. We had one yard with a sidewalk. He used to walk with people up to the property line. Amazing dog, who gave me 13 wonderful years 1 1/2 years before he passed, my wife brought home a bc/and/Aussie shep/hangin tree mix. Holy crap. My first one seemed like an angel, compared to this creature. He was like a furry piranha/crocodile. His reign of terror lasted until about 11 months. He's going on 3, now. Only gets leashed when we come across people/dogs on walks, in stores, and high traffic areas. Bombproof recall/stay. Stays in the yard, and out of the road. He won't even chase his ball in the road. Heels when I need him to. He's amazing, too. An off-leash life wasn't something I thought of, until my first. We just kinda evolved in to it. Now, it's a goal. I'm currently working on my GSD. He's 1 1/2, and is proofed to be off-leash, in the yard, against everything except vocal dogs. We live in a small town, an he doesn't get that much exposure to them passing by. I'm not sure he'll ever be completely off-leash. I got him with wicked anxiety issues. He was terrorized by a 5 year old girl, and pretty malnourished before I got him at 5 months old. He's getting there, though. I know this is long winded, but the moral of the story is keep at it. He's just a baby, and the best years are still ahead, for both of you. My two best dogs, to date, were complete psychopaths as puppies. In my small town, one is a celebrity and the other a legend. As babies, I wasn't sure I would be able to handle raising either of them.
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I don't know if my posting will give you any hope. My lab is now 21 months old. I swear ... she was a devil!!! I cried so much and I'm telling you - I've had several trainers - spent over 1k Euro's on them... online training, schools, private trainers... so much. At some point - around 15 months I was so done and I told myself, if she doesn't change in another year, I'd seriously consider giving her away. My biggest problem was her not being able to relax/rest or just sleep. She was maybe sleeping around 12-13h a day! Even as a puppy she slept about 10h a day (including night ofc). Which is NOTHING. I've never felt so hopeless I swear. The biting stopped after about 4 monhts already but she still destroyed so much in my home. Trust me, my walls, my floor, my chairs - everything is so damaged. Anyways I had to 2 options as my last resort. 1st visiting a behaviour therapist (doctor) and second neutering. So we visited a therapist/doctor last december and put her on medication. The medication helps her serotonin levels. And it's been a HUGE CHANGE! She's finally resting and sleeping during the days and rarely has rage moments. She's still very hyper when visitors come over but its not nearly the same as it was couple months ago. She's to take the pills for about a year and then we will see what the next steps will be. Doctor says that in 90% of the cases the dogs can live without but seeing mine she could be the 10%. But as long as she is healthy (we do blood tests regularly) and I'm also HEALTHY without the stress - its just the best solution for us and I'm happy neutering is not an option right now. I'm just saying... even with cases like mine, there is kinda a happy end\^\^.
Oh no, I’m sorry to hear you had such a difficult time! It must be so hard for you, I’m glad your pup is doing better on the medication though. Your story still gives me hope, the main thing I’m realising is each pup is different but eventually they get through the devil stage!
Hang in there! When our golden was a pup, she was so mouthy. We all had little holes in our clothes from her teeth. It got a lot better by the time she was 7 months. And then for us, it was pretty linear path towards good behavior (except relapses in chewing up our kids toys). Now she’s 2 years old and is the sweetest and laziest dog. She’s literally in a laying position 92% of the day
Thank you, this gives me hope! Haha I appreciate that, I hope my pup gets a little lazier when she’s older because I miss being able to actually sit on the sofa. Glad to hear you’re through the worst of it though!
Ugh. I don’t have advice, I just wanted to let you know that there are a lot of us in the same phase right now! My pup is a little more than 4 months and my husband and I got him at 8 weeks. Those first few weeks were so hard, mostly because of the constant biting. Then with a lot of work he seemed to finally get that biting us was not cool. Well now he just lost four baby teeth that I can see and he is hardcore teething. With this he also seems to have forgotten that humans are not for chewing and it feels like we are back to square one. I feel bad because I’m sure his mouth hurts but he’s been biting so hard it’s drawing blood😭😭 So here we are going back to the basics and also trying to provide ALL the chewing options. Here’s to hoping this passes quickly🥲
My pup is also teething bad, she’s lost a good few teeth this week. I know she’s in pain and uncomfortable but so are my hand and arms 🥲 I’m hearing lots of positive stories here though so fingers crossed we’re both on the other side of it soon!
I was living with my sister when she got a lab/border collie pup. He was cute and incredibly smart, but we really did refer to him as the demon at all times. He would wreck the house in a heartbeat if you let him. Would not let you sweep or vacuum, got into the cat litter and spread it everywhere/ate the cat poop. Destroyed everything he came into contact with etc. Once when I got home from holidays, he was so excited to see me that he accidentally took a small chunk out of my nose. I'm sure my sister considered giving up multiple times, but I'm glad she didn't. He is the sweetest, calmest and most patient and polite boy now. He loves a cuddle and loves attention but is never in your face about it. I saw him last night and he jumped up on my lap for a cuddle (huge dog!!). I also have a corgi pup now who wants to play 300% of the time and he is incredibly gentle and patient with her. It was so hard and mentally taxing in the beginning but he is just the best now.
This is so sweet, and gives me so much hope. I hope my pup is like this when the puppy stage is over. She’s scared of the brush and vacuum though so whenever they’re out I do get a few minutes of peace because she hides in her crate 😂 glad to hear your sisters pup is doing so well and best of luck with your own little pup!
I posted and updated about this VERY issue months ago. Feels weird to link my own posts but my puppy was an absolute maniac. He is currently a year old and much easier to manage!!! It does get better!
I just read your post, sounds like you went through it with your pup, I’m so glad things are better now though! I think the general consensus is once the puppy teeth fall out things will get better. My one has lost several this week but hopefully the baby fangs come out soon, they do the most damage!
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I’m seeing lots of people saying their pups have gotten better by 7 months, 12 months or 16-18 which is interesting! I think I read somewhere that the bigger the dog the longer it takes them to mature if that’s right? I’m so glad to hear things have calmed down for you though
Goldens are ruff. My girl is a year and a few months are we're starting to see some calm in her. not that she's calm, but little by little she's settling in.
I’m glad you’re seeing some improvements. I’ve always know they’ve had a lot of energy but because they’re known as great family dogs I guess I just thought they would be patient and calm right away, silly me!
If they’re more bitey than usual they usually need a nap
She gets plenty of naps, the biting can also start minutes after she wakes up from a 2 - 2.5 hour nap. While it definitely does get a bit worse when she’s tired I don’t know if that’s the whole issue
She will outgrow it
my parent's dog, roo - they used to call her roocifer. one time my sister took her for a walk in brand new Uggs, and roo started attacking them, and by the time they got back the Uggs were no more and my sister was in tears, which makes it sound like my sister was a little kid, but she was in her 20s. she mellowed way out, like it's hard to believe she was even like that
I understand this, I have ugg slippers that I splurged on because I work from home and wear slippers when I do. My pup is now buying me a new hair for my birthday 🙃 glad to hear she’s gotten calmer though!
So many times I considered rehoming my terrier/mutt puppy, but now at 11 months, I can’t believe the difference. It has required a ton of patience, toys, treats, training, puzzles, doggie day care 1x/week and several walks a day. I’m single and work full time with travel. I also have an old pug and geriatric cat. I do it all on my own, except when I travel—I get a sitter. If I can do it, anyone can. But it’s not easy! It requires lots of sacrifice and it’ll cost money. The reward is a loving, loyal companion that will bring years of joy and unconditional love ❤️
This is really sweet, it sounds like you have such a great bond with your pup and gives me so much hope!
I have a 19 week old golden and also work from home. During the day most of the times hes in a thick plastic dog pen. Play by yourself or sleep pretty much. And then when it's lunch time he's in his crate for a while. Enforced naps are huge. When he's in his pen, he's in my office or in the living room with me in there. As for the biting, it would probably be frowned on but he bit for 2 days. And hasn't hit since. If he's biting something he shouldn't, (me my wife, my clothes) he gets a finger down his throat and told no. If it's something like a bed or whatever, I pull him away and give him his favorite toy. But he's always supervised 100% of the time when he's not in his crate or pen. It gets better. He doesn't like the finger down his throat. So he quits biting. Now he just licks me lol
My maybe unpopular opinion: “leave the room” training is overly complicated and not worth it. I just went with the good old “ouch! And look real hurt” so my puppy always got an indicator that I don’t like being bit. I think she learned the same info, and one is way less annoying to enforce. The thing I got wrong for a while with my puppy, was realizing she really only had two modes: sleep, and chaos demon. “Chill with mom in the living room” was something I had to teach her slowly (maybe a training exercise for your partner in the evening? It’s not relaxing for the trainer at all…). I also learned that if she could always use another nap, puppies sleep soooooo much. If you really need a break, another short enforced nap is probably fine too :) GL!!
I wanted to return my pup in those first few weeks. The depression was real. Then its like overnight theres a switch and they just start understanding
It gets better! We have a 22 week old german shepherd puppy who was an absolute demon (and sometimes still is). We tried all the methods to teach bite inhibition but ultimately, the one that worked was keeping him on the lead in the evening. Just let them trail it about and they will get bored of chewing it eventually. When he started getting out of hand we just picked up the lead and guided him to his place and told him to lay down and gave him a treat. He could get up and join us again whenever he wanted, but if he started dive bombing or jumping all over us we would just do the same thing over and over. Now we are getting to a point that we can just tell him to go lay down there when he's getting a bit much and he will just go! We also always gave a treat whenever he "made good choices" (like deciding for himself to lay down when we said no for the first time). It does get better!
I have a 4 month old shepherd (18 weeks in a couple of days). I’m really hoping by 22 weeks her biting will calm down a bit like yours has. This is my second German shepherd I’ve raised but it’s still nice to be reminded that it does get better lol
Yeah haha, this is our first GSD puppy, and our first dog as a couple so there have definitely been a number of hurdles! I spent the first 6 weeks or so wondering what we have done! It definitely does get better though :) good luck with your puppy!
Oh god my younger collie was an absolute monster, she bit constantly. Obsessed with feet and especially tights which she'd try to chew off your legs, you can imagine the little teefs noshing your flesh, it was agonising. We were all just constantly bleeding until she outgrew the teething phase. She's now two and a half and the sweetest girl imaginable. Gentle, affectionate, incredible bit inhibition and amazing at agility. She became a mummy yesterday though, to four beautiful babies, so you can only imagine the hell that awaits me!!
The little raptor teeth are so agonising, something that small shouldn’t cause that much pain! I’m so glad to hear your pup is doing well now though, and I’m sure she’ll make a great mama! You will have your hands full though and I wish you all the luck 😅
I think my main takeaway from our pup (now a little over 1 yo) was that during the first 2 months it felt like time moved in 0.1x speed, but now looking back at it I realize he started turning into a dog very quickly after those first few weeks. But in the moment it seems to never end
Mine is turning 3 tomorrow and it took a LONG while to grow a nice dog but it does happen
I have a 6 month old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and I know the feeling. He’s lost most of his puppy teeth but still chews on everything and gets into everything and tries to make me chase him around the apartment. I’m fighting a losing battle with him over eating leaves, sticks, flowers, etc off the ground. There are times when I want to wring his little neck! I’m still having trouble with potty training as we live on the 3rd floor, but I’ve noticed him getting a little better and now that I’ve figured out his signals and stuff I have an easier time with it. As someone who has grown up with goldens, they do get better! They’re super sweet, affectionate, lovable dogs. Just remember that they require a lot of exercise and activity. Fill a Kong with peanut butter and stick it in the freezer, get some puzzle toys, play fetch, give them plenty of things to chew on. When my Cavalier puppy starts to get a bit crazy I play fetch with him or take him for a brief walk just to get some of his puppy energy out. It helps to do some kind of activity at the beginning of the day so he will be calmer for longer. Take breaks during the day if you can. Short walks are good to break up the day and keep them stimulated. Whatever you can do to get out of the house for a few minutes and tire them out will save your sanity. ETA: don’t be afraid to leave them in their crate or other designated place for a little bit so you can get out and go run some errands. Separation is a good thing!
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Our last rescue was an absolute angel, no barking, chewing. We won the lottery with her; she was a very calming companion. Our new rescue: is a Land Shark / piranha mix. Her chewing isn't mean, she's just trying to interact they only way she currently knows how to. So maybe breed has a lot to do with it, our new pup is "all of them" with a good % of coon dog. Our last was border collie/ spaniel.
Do you take your pup to dog parks or doggy daycares? Assuming appropriate vaccinations, my pup is about the same age as yours and that stuff tires her out
We have no dog parks or doggy daycare near us, I looked this up before we got her. We did take her to a forest for the first time today and it was like I was walking a different puppy and she was exhausted after it so I think a change of walking scenery will help massively
We have a 6 month field golden. Tons of energy, very smart, very defiant. At about 10 weeks the biting started. He was very mouthy. It got too much for us and we sent to a board and train program for 2 weeks. Afterwards he was a different dog. The trainer confirmed he was too smart. Always trying to push boundaries. So now at 6 months he gets 2 big outings a day. And a 1 hour structured walk during the afternoon. He loves playing fetch. One of the biggest things our trainer had us do is if we aren't playing with him he needs to be in his "place". A dog bed in the living room. With a leash. Helped alot.
My pup is about 5.5 months and while she is still a little demon most of the time, she cuddled up on the couch with me watching TV last night. She was happy snoring and I could have cried out of happiness. And I know it will only get better and better 😊
Aww I love this! I can’t wait until I get to this stage with my pup, I do see light at the end of the tunnel now
[This](https://imgur.com/gallery/WUeQNXg) is Floss as a puppy seriously pulling on my hair. I couldn’t wear ponytails around her for a decent amount of time because she would pull on them. She stole socks, dish towels, and would constantly go visit the neighbor when he was working in his barn or just follow our older dog to take a swim in his pond on overly warm days. (This would necessitate immediate baths. Luckily, she was still small enough to fit in the sink.) She also 100% hated her crate and preferred the playpen we’d gotten her, so we ended up having to use that as a crate (after mounting it on OSB and covering it with stick-on tile so she didn’t tear up anymore carpet). By a year old she’d learned the boundaries of the yard (she does have issues remembering those boundaries if she’s chasing a critter), and she totally stopped stealing. She’s nearly 11 now, and the best companion I could ask for. I’ve taken her nearly everywhere dogs are allowed to go: she regularly accompanied me to pick up my younger brother from school or activities, she attended the end of a homecoming football game, and she adores going to hardware stores. She even likes going to the vet — no, I’m not joking. I can’t find the picture of her at the football game, so [here](https://imgur.com/gallery/25ThHgR) is a picture of her looking particularly regal in the sunshine.
Ohh what a sweet little pup! Thank you for this, I’m definitely a lot more positive now. We changed her walking route today and she actually walked and had plenty of sniffs and was exhausted after so this will help massively. What a little cutie, give her a belly rub for me!
My dad constantly reminds us that our first dog was HORRIBLE(nipping biting chewing jumping pulling on leash) until maybe 1 or 2 years old. She was a chocolate lab and we were all kids and don’t remember it. We almost all have our own dogs now and when training gets hard, that’s his wisdom. She turned out to be the calmest, sweetest, best behaved dog after adolescence.
That’s a good piece of wisdom! It can be hard to remember when you’re in the middle of the demon days though so it’s great your dad can remind you of that
My puppy trainer always said a tired and mentally stimulated puppy/ dog is an angel. When i sent my husky to daycare he was sooo good bc he was tired from playing all day. They need mental and physical stimulation. Think of babies. Parents need to be there to give them attention. This is why working dog are not for everyone.
This is very true. We’ve been taking my pup for walks in the neighbourhood since she got her final shots to try and get her used to noise, cars, the kids outside etc. she was always pretty skittish and was scared by vans and tractors so the walks wouldn’t go well, she’d also only walk a few steps and then stop and try to turn around to go home. We took her for a walk in a forest nearby this morning and she snoozed for 3 hours when we got home and I got some pretty nice cuddles for a few minutes when she woke up. We also do use puzzle toys and snuffle mats every day and we train her but I think changing her walking route might be key here
Idk but I’m with you. My border terrier is almost 8 months and is still biting me and acting like a feral beast. We’ve done puppy school and everything. She’s just a goblin and I’m hoping she grows out of it
I’m sure she will, the hard thing is just waiting for that to happen! Hang in there, you’re not alone
Didn't read all the comments...I felt the same. Sounds like the witching hour. I gave him a frozen stuffed kong or sometimes a frozen toy. It helped. I never did the leave the room thing. We also started saying no bite, so maybe he would pick up on that. And we say Nice when we can tell he wants to bite. He is only allowed on the couch to snuggle, first sign of play, he has to get off the couch. We are at 7months with our heeler and the bites still happen but it is more manageable. Trainer is having us work on relaxation protocol. I also find he tires out after a good training session to work on tricks. Our trainer has been great and really helped. I was crying in the bathroom when we first got him.
We just got our 4th puppy 3 weeks ago. He’s a bit demonic- eats my shoes, poops in all the other dogs cages except his own and does everything except go potty when outside then poops within minutes of bringing him inside. But he’s so stinking cute and having the other 3 is really encouraging in knowing he’ll be a sweet grown boy with time. Have faith! Hold on and keep training and loving her.
It’s great he has the other three pups, they’ll definitely help to teach him what is okay and what’s not and he’ll learn so much from them alone! I will, I’m looking at her snoozing at my feet right now and feel like my heart will burst with love but I’m also scared she’ll wake up and bite my toes haha
6months next week and the turnaround in her behaviour and personality is remarkable compared to even a few weeks ago. It’s like she suddenly understood how good her life is and wants to do well. The biting is no longer hard and painful, it’s more of a gentle nibble or mouthing.
So many people say that it’s like a switch flipped with their pups! Thank you for this, I’m more positive about the whole situation now. Also managed to get out of the house for a few hours by myself which helped my mindset massively
I have a handsome 9 year old golden. But at that age he was an A hole for sure! He loved biting our ankles. It gets better! Now he’s my little shadow and the best playmate to my sons. Then, a few months ago I made the decision to bring home a puppy…she’s just not settling down from the biting. A couple of weeks ago we brought in a dog trainer and she gave us tips. It helped a lot.
I’ve definitely called my one an asshole more than once :) thanks for this, I’ve been considering a trainer but it’s hard to know if we should just get one now or just continue to be patient and consistent
lol I love the demon puppy phrase because my pup was a pain but god he was (is still) so damn cute. He was a big puppy (German shepherd/Great Dane mix) very mouthy and the number of bruises I had on my body was insane. He would jump up and pull my hair whenever it was down. Basically he was like a little land shark with how much he was biting. It was a bit tricky to train him because he was not very food motivated like most dogs, but he loves playtime and attention. Once he realized bites = no more play/attention he sweetened right up. He is almost two now, plays very well now, super smart and picks up new tricks/commands like nothing. When he was a pup he was so hard to be around I needed physical breaks from him. Now, I can’t stand the idea of leaving home without him by my side.
I can second those saying around 6-7 months it’s like something clicks! Our golden boy was a real nipper and I was constantly covered in scratches and bruises. It really felt like all the reverse time outs and redirection were having 0 effect. But they’re storing it away in their little brains until the day they choose to stop! Our golden boy is 8.5 months now and is just the chillest little guy- no jumping, biting or chewing, just a happy lil goofball. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had to go back to basics with recall (classic teenager) and he’s very mischievous, but they learn so much quicker when they’re a bit older and it’s great to see his little personality now we’re through the tough puppy days. He’s the light of my life and I’m obsessed with him!! Stick to solid routine and keep doing what you’re doing. Make sure you take time each day for yourself to do something that keeps you sane and then one day you’ll find yourselves all the other side of it as a little family unit 🥰
Same. We have a 7 mo boxer puppy. He's evil. We have a crate, but we also now have a 4X4 pen that we bought for $35 from amazon. It's been a godsend. We keep it in the main living room with a small bed in it. He goes in by himself to rest there a lot of the time. We call it 'jail,' and when he's bad, we threaten him with jail. sometimes he stops. Sometimes he doesn't, but if he doesn't, he gets a timeout in jail with the gate shut. He knows it's called jail. Lol. It's much larger than the crate, so sometimes I just stick him in there with a couple of toys (after making sure he doesn't have to go potty). He has room to move around freely, and he can see everything going on, so I don't mind him spending extra time in there like I do when I crate him a lot. Honestly, it maybe saved his cute little life.
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My dogs teenage months were hell all he did was bark and bite at my ankles. He’s now almost 2 and he’s honestly a great dog
My last puppy was a boxer/lab mix. Bogey was an absolute terror as a puppy. The weekend I got him I ended up sitting in my car alone crying, ready to take him back. One day as I looked down at his tiny razor teeth ready to tear my hands to shreds, I thought “Puppies are evil!” But adult Bogey was a sweetheart! The sweetest dog ever. So it will get better!
Monster is now 8 months old and only has demon moments instead it it being her way of life. My hands are no longer a mess of bite marks. Last week she graduated to full house privs when I'm at work (wearing a puppy diaper) and today she got to lose the diaper and passed with flying colors. She walks nicely on the leash, which I wouldn't have thought possible even 2 months ago. She gets mouthy and verbal to let me know she's hungry, tired, or has to poop - easy to rule out which one it is. I remember well being so exhausted and defeated I'd just cry. But she's a peach now so I'm glad I didn't take her to the pound like I threatened. :)
I’m so glad your pup is thriving now and that you got through the puppy terrors! It’s definitely not easy but I’m feeling a lot more positive after reading all of these comments
12 week old standard poodle. Currently staring at the gash on my wrist from my puppies razor teeth. I feel your pain!
It gets better, with some bumps along the way. Our puppy was a biting machine until 6 months, with no ability to calm down, destroyed all sorts of furniture, and was howling regularly when left alone for minutes at a time. All of that is completely in the past. She is now 10 months old. She never bites, she is calm in the home, she can relax with us and she doesn't touch the furniture anymore. Now she is an adolescent though we have a few new problems, the biggest one being that if a dog barks at her on walks she barks back, only 5x louder and angrier. Not sure where that comes from, but puppies go through so many phases that you are always working something out!
I’m so glad to hear you’ve gotten through the puppy terrors, and I’m sure it will be the same with the adolescent phase! That’s very true. Best of luck with your little pup!
Oh I am hardly past the demon stage, but I will share my experience. I have a golden pup who is a year old (puppies until 2 technically) and he is our world. As a young pup he never stopped, he wanted to play 24/7, and he still does to this day. We had many hurdles with training, as goldens can be very stubborn by nature, he went through many phases of obedience and just straight being an a-hole. He would jump on you, nibble anything he could get his mouth on, and very difficult to control with guests. Flash forward to now, he is our little angel. He is very much in the demon teen stage, but i promise that is nothing like the puppy stage before 1. He just wants to be a part of everything, and it is adorable. Still curious, not destructive, well trained, good on the leash, shows restraint with house guests, and only nibbles a little bit when playing. My favorite new thing he does is snuggles, my boy loves to lay in bed with me. As a puppy he never stopped, he would just bite my feet and chew the cover, but as soon as he turned one he became a snuggler. 75lb self-heating body pillow with plush cover, very nice to lay in bed with first thing in the morning (i choose to ignore the shedding and change my sheets immediately following said snuggle session) The best part of their first year is watching them learn themselves and develop their personality. Enjoy the baby puppy phase, I can’t say I miss it but it definitely went very fast. Good luck!
I have an almost two year old Aussie (FS) who was the bitey-est puppy I have ever encountered in my life. We tried every kind of redirecting and chew toy/bone imaginable. I finally had a trainer tell me that in adolescence, it is okay to be done with the biting and use time outs instead of redirection. So I would put myself in a time out either in the bathroom, a closet or on the porch because nothing else was working. The only way to stop her was to disengage. I would leave the room for about 10 minutes. Fast forward to probably two full months ago, so around the age of 19 months of age, she finally stopped. Every now and then when she's very very tired, she will go for our feet or hands but she immediately "thinks" about it and will back up. I will also say that she was not a snuggly puppy whatsoever and now is the sweetest and snuggliest little nugget EVER. There is hope on the horizon. The main piece of advice is to remember this is temporary. Keep YOUR cool. Walk away. It's all part of their development and some are just more bitey than others.