To dog owners--I have a puppy question

[Centrist Simon Steele]

So we have a new puppy--well, we got her in November, and she's seven months old.  A white golden doodle--so cute. Anyway, I plan to ask the vet the next time we go in, but that's in May, and this is no emergency, so I thought I'd see if you guys had any answers.

First, our pup is not a destructive chewer--just a CHEWER. She chews everything she is supposed to, and rarely she gets into things she's not supposed to (if my son leaves his door open, she'll go for his socks or tissue paper, but she NEVER goes for shoes or remotes or anything like that). Mostly she knows to only focus on toys. But man, she chews like no other. All her puppy teeth are out, yet she keeps doing it. She is a bundle of energy too. I walk her 2-3 miles a day depending on time, so I am not sure if she is getting enough exercise--but those walks hover from 45 minutes to more than an hour (bad hip, I can't always hoof it anymore).

When we pet her though, she does want to gnaw on us. It never hurts anymore, and she always stops when we say to stop, but it's kind of like--shouldn't she have learned by now? I get her a giant nylabone, and it's gone in like an hour. Is there something wrong with this dog? Lol. I know there's not, but I want to at least get her to stop going for our hands. She knows better. She tries so hard not to. She is a real pleaser. Usually I just give her a toy to chew on while I pet her, but when she wants to rough house, I have to really work to amp her down.

I am a first-time dog owner. Any advice would be great. Maybe I'm expecting too much too soon? She has quit trying to chew  on the neighborhood kids at least. And I've gotten her to stop jumping (with close attention) when we approach strangers. These are the most difficult areas for her. I've thought about obedience training, but the good ones around here are really expensive. I may have to find a second job if I want to do that--which I would do.

 

[Astromech]

That's the golden retriever in her. Goldens are notoriously mouthy. They will "mouth", but have very soft mouths and usually aren't destructive. Just make sure she has ample toys she can play with. It sounds like your puppy is only playing with what she is supposed to, so no problem.

On the exercise front, get used to them having a LOT of energy, especially as puppies. 2-3 miles per day should be more than enough. Also a good fetch session during the day. Not sure about the poodle half, but golden retrievers can't get enough of that. Just make sure the puppy also gets enough rest and recuperation for her growing body. She's 7 months, so not too young anymore. I'm assuming she's a Velcro dog, so she'll do whatever you are willing to. Probably loves the water too.

TLDR, everything sounds completely, adorably normal.

[Centrist Simon Steele]

4 hours ago, Astromech said:

That's the golden retriever in her. Goldens are notoriously mouthy. They will "mouth", but have very soft mouths and usually aren't destructive. Just make sure she has ample toys she can play with. It sounds like your puppy is only playing with what she is supposed to, so no problem.

On the exercise front, get used to them having a LOT of energy, especially as puppies. 2-3 miles per day should be more than enough. Also a good fetch session during the day. Not sure about the poodle half, but golden retrievers can't get enough of that. Just make sure the puppy also gets enough rest and recuperation for her growing body. She's 7 months, so not too young anymore. I'm assuming she's a Velcro dog, so she'll do whatever you are willing to. Probably loves the water too.

TLDR, everything sounds completely, adorably normal.

 

That's all great news. She loves fetch--we have a lot of strict no leash laws where I live, so it's tough getting her to places where I can play fetch, but I've found a few. I'm glad to hear she's on the right path--she seems to love doing what I do as you noted. And she's majority Golden, and very little poodle, so I am guessing the poodle traits are pretty suppressed. 

[Dr. Pepper]

You can do a lot of things to stimulate and exhaust the pup without having to do vigorous exercise.

Do you have a hallway?  Or even just a long room?  When my dog was still a pup I would just throw a ball down the length of the room or a hallway in order to wear him out since I couldn't always get him to places where he could run around.  It didn't even matter that the hallway was short, he'd go back and forth getting that ball and then crash.  Sometimes I'd include the stairs.  If that's an option, I throw the ball down the stairs and get him to fetch and bring it back.  

Expending energy doesn't just have to be running and walking.  Think about brain things, learning new tricks, something to occupy their mind.  Just five to ten minutes a day sit/stay/down/up/jump/etc, whatever tricks.  Add a new one every one in a while.  This is great for a dog that follows you around.  You can make her sit and watch you while you do the dishes, occasionally making her change positions or get into a different pose.  I also taught my pup to find treats so now I'll hide some treats around the room while he's sleeping or in his crate and then tell him to find.  I've made mini obstacle courses around the house.  Nothing outrageous, just as I'm walking through the house I tell dog to sit there, get down here, jump over that over there.  I've put things in the way for him to weave in and out of.  Occupying the mind is everything.

There are also dog puzzles you can find on Amazon that are helpful with stimulating their minds.  Make her work for your pets.  You can google "no free lunch dog training" to learn more.  

Do not ever let her chew on anyone.  Say "ouch" very loudly when she does that. The very moment she touches skin with her teeth say ouch. Very loud  Startle her with it.  Over and over any time teeth touches skin, every single time.  Never miss a teeth-to-skin OUCH.  Even if it might be an accident that her teeth touch your toe because she was just a tiny bit too excited, you startle her with OUCH.  She'll get it eventually.

For chewers, just keep redirecting her to what is appropriate to chew and what isn't.  I have a standard poodle and he could destroy a 'non-destructive ultra chewers' toy in like five minutes.  I can't remember what exactly I found that worked for him, but I do remember that I tended to have lots of chew toys.  I'd only give him access to one at a time.  I found one toy at a time helped him learn quicker that everything else was off limits except these specific things that I gave him.  He really loved rope toys, big huge rope toys.  I found some antlers the he enjoyed under supervision for a while.  

I've found obedience training helpful in some ways, but not entirely necessary.  You can get the same info from youtube videos.  It's all mostly just doing the same thing over and over and over and over.  Dog training is rather annoying, tbh.  

[HexMachina]

My two dogs (cockerpoo and a cocker spaniel) were both very mouthy as puppies. It's totally normal, but as Dr. Pepper says just make sure you keep them on appropriate things to chew. I can recall what age is appropriate for this, but we found giving them both a nylabone very helpful. They'd often lay on their beds at night and just gently gnaw away on them. We actually ended up not using the puppy ones though. We found they just destroyed them far too quickly.

Puppies are real bundles of energy. In some cases you may need to adjust the amount of food you give them, but mostly it's just because they are growing quickly and want to play. If you have a garden that you can let them race around in that is a great way to get their energy out. Walk them too, but just letting them wander in and out of the garden and race around when they need to can be a great help.

We took both of our pups to a training class, to get accustomed to the basics. Sit, stay, down, etc. Some of them are really good (we would never take them to one that encourages punishment though. Look for 'rewards-based' classes, learning through positive reinforcement). We took them once a week, and aside from the benefits of the training it was also a great way to introduce them to other dogs and get them to socialise in a controlled manner. This wasn't so much a problem for our two, since both played with my aunty's labradors from being Puppies, but I know some dogs can become very shy/timid if they aren't around other dogs too much.

How is house training going? Does she let you know if she needs to be out yet? 

[drawkcabi]

Your puppy sounds completely normal.

Both the last two dogs I had as puppies were serious chewers. They also knew (most of the time) what they could chew on and what not to. The phase of where they liked to chew on me lasted well into their second year. I remember at one point have no pairs of shorts that did not have holes in them around the hems from my puppy constantly jumping up and trying to grab onto me.

My last dog I had as a puppy was a voracious chewer. I'd get Winter nylabones and she'd have gnaw them down to a knuckle in a few days. I could not give her big rawhide bones because she would not let up with it until it was all gone and she could make one, even a really big one, disappear in about an hour, and then she'd get sick and throw up all day. I had to give her smaller raw hide chips so I could better control what she was putting in her body and she got about one chip per day.

With the nylabone, I had to stop giving them to her as well because I was afraid too much of those were getting into her stomach as well. I finally found something that worked better, at least, than everything else. That was the Hartz Chew 'n' Clean Bones. Winter absolutely LOVED these. When I'd come home from the store and place my shopping bags on the floor, Winter would root through them hoping to find a new one, and whenever she did see a new one in its package, she would go berserk with excitement. She never wore the knuckles off of these (maybe once or twice she did, but that's out of more than a dozen) and she'd chew on them for hours. It also helped her get some of the pent up energy out of her. The only thing is, I had to watch where she left them, when she chewed on them they got rough and sharp, especially the colored parts, and I like to walk around in bare feet...ouch!!!

Congratulations on the puppy!  

 

[Swordfish]

Yeah, agree with others.  This seems pretty normal.

Few tidbits to consider...  Sounds like you should be fine with the amount of walking and fetching, but also do not neglect the mental exercise.  Puppy brains need to be tired out too.   30-45 minutes of consistent, challenging training a day can work wonders on behavior issues, and general doggy anxiety(of which chewing may or may not be a symptom).

Simple soup bones from the butcher make pretty good chew toys as well, and are cheap, and they get the bonus of the marrow.  Though not perfect for all dogs, most dogs do fine with them, and you'll find out soon enough if there's an issue.

Good luck!

 

[Centrist Simon Steele]

18 hours ago, Dr. Pepper said:

You can do a lot of things to stimulate and exhaust the pup without having to do vigorous exercise.

Do you have a hallway?  Or even just a long room?  When my dog was still a pup I would just throw a ball down the length of the room or a hallway in order to wear him out since I couldn't always get him to places where he could run around.  It didn't even matter that the hallway was short, he'd go back and forth getting that ball and then crash.  Sometimes I'd include the stairs.  If that's an option, I throw the ball down the stairs and get him to fetch and bring it back.  

Expending energy doesn't just have to be running and walking.  [. . .]

 

I've found obedience training helpful in some ways, but not entirely necessary.  You can get the same info from youtube videos.  It's all mostly just doing the same thing over and over and over and over.  Dog training is rather annoying, tbh.  

 

DP, thanks for so many good ideas! We did "find the treat" just a bit ago, and she loved it and caught on after about two tries, lol. I don't know why I didn't think of these ideas. Having her change positions while she sits and watches me clean the kitchen--perfect idea for interacting and reinforcing following commands. This was so fun. I do play fetch with her in our hallway because every night around 7:30 pm she becomes a white fluffy tornado jumping and tearing around the house. I think she'll love obstacles courses. Yesterday she jumped up on her kennel and then on the otherside to get into my son's room. We used the kennel as a block to get into the room, but no more for that I guess. She can really JUMP.

17 hours ago, HelenaExMachina said:

My two dogs (cockerpoo and a cocker spaniel) were both very mouthy as puppies. It's totally normal, but as Dr. Pepper says just make sure you keep them on appropriate things to chew. I can recall what age is appropriate for this, but we found giving them both a nylabone very helpful. They'd often lay on their beds at night and just gently gnaw away on them. We actually ended up not using the puppy ones though. We found they just destroyed them far too quickly.

Puppies are real bundles of energy. In some cases you may need to adjust the amount of food you give them, but mostly it's just because they are growing quickly and want to play. If you have a garden that you can let them race around in that is a great way to get their energy out. Walk them too, but just letting them wander in and out of the garden and race around when they need to can be a great help.

We took both of our pups to a training class, to get accustomed to the basics. Sit, stay, down, etc. Some of them are really good (we would never take them to one that encourages punishment though. Look for 'rewards-based' classes, learning through positive reinforcement). We took them once a week, and aside from the benefits of the training it was also a great way to introduce them to other dogs and get them to socialise in a controlled manner. This wasn't so much a problem for our two, since both played with my aunty's labradors from being Puppies, but I know some dogs can become very shy/timid if they aren't around other dogs too much.

How is house training going? Does she let you know if she needs to be out yet? 

 

I'll keep searching for good chew toys--she'll eat those GIANT nylabones to nothing within an hour or two. She just loves it. And she's so happy when she gets them. I tried Bully Sticks (I know what they are) and those lasted much longer, but they are really expensive. She is letting us know, subtly, she needs to go out. She'll ask but maybe once or twice. She does better with me than my son. He is really ADHD (for real--and he isn't medicated like me), so he doesn't see her grabbing food off his plate of snacks right in front of him if he is watching TV. He's gotten worse lately--ugh. 12 year olds.

17 hours ago, drawkcabi said:

Your puppy sounds completely normal.

Both the last two dogs I had as puppies were serious chewers. They also knew (most of the time) what they could chew on and what not to. The phase of where they liked to chew on me lasted well into their second year. I remember at one point have no pairs of shorts that did not have holes in them around the hems from my puppy constantly jumping up and trying to grab onto me.

[. . .]

The only thing is, I had to watch where she left them, when she chewed on them they got rough and sharp, especially the colored parts, and I like to walk around in bare feet...ouch!!!

Congratulations on the puppy!  

 

 

Thank you--we are so happy to finally have one. I'll check out those chews you mentioned. I'm glad to hear this sounds fairly normal. She's definitely not hurting when she chews on us--her puppy teeth being gone really have made a difference. And like I said, she seems to mostly get what is okay to chew and what is not. The sock thing is weird--because she won't ever go for shoes. But maybe it's because she misses my son because I have him 7 days on and off.

2 hours ago, Swordfish said:

Yeah, agree with others.  This seems pretty normal.

Few tidbits to consider...  Sounds like you should be fine with the amount of walking and fetching, but also do not neglect the mental exercise.  Puppy brains need to be tired out too.   30-45 minutes of consistent, challenging training a day can work wonders on behavior issues, and general doggy anxiety(of which chewing may or may not be a symptom).

Simple soup bones from the butcher make pretty good chew toys as well, and are cheap, and they get the bonus of the marrow.  Though not perfect for all dogs, most dogs do fine with them, and you'll find out soon enough if there's an issue.

Good luck!

 

 

Mental exercise is something I do--but I have not been dedicated to like I should. I never thought about it I suppose. When I teach her something, she is so interested in learning, I am going to really focus on this. Today I did a short walk with her and my bike (walking my bike) because she is terrified of bikes (and a lot of strange objects--if the neighbor has put out a planter on their patio overnight, she will notice it the next day and be scared of it--very observant). So we walked with my bike, slowly, with a lot of careful, positive reinforcement. If I can get her to safely run with the bike someday--she'll love that.

[Fragile Bird]

The "ouch" exclamation mentioned above is a really helpful training trick to use. The dog regards you as part of her pack, and she would play bite fellow puppies. You need to teach her it's not acceptable.

You are so lucky she doesn't go for shoes, but that could change yet! I still remember years ago my brother buying new expensive shoes to wear with his suits at his first law firm job, and how he could have killed our golden mix pup when she ate the tassels and chewed the shoes. She also ate my watch strap when I left it on the coffee table one night.

Funny, now, but not so funny then, since we were young and poor and in the middle of a horrible recession with rampant inflation.

But exercising her brain is also super important, as was mentioned. Train for half an hour a day. Sit and stay and come are huge instructions to learn. Your dog could be in a dangerous situation where following orders is crucial. A friend has such a heartbreaking story about her dog dashing across the street, her yelling the dog's name in a panic as traffic was coming. If only she could have yelled stay....

 

[HexMachina]

1 hour ago, Simon Steele said:

DP, thanks for so many good ideas! We did "find the treat" just a bit ago, and she loved it and caught on after about two tries, lol. I don't know why I didn't think of these ideas. Having her change positions while she sits and watches me clean the kitchen--perfect idea for interacting and reinforcing following commands. This was so fun. I do play fetch with her in our hallway because every night around 7:30 pm she becomes a white fluffy tornado jumping and tearing around the house. I think she'll love obstacles courses. Yesterday she jumped up on her kennel and then on the otherside to get into my son's room. We used the kennel as a block to get into the room, but no more for that I guess. She can really JUMP.

I'll keep searching for good chew toys--she'll eat those GIANT nylabones to nothing within an hour or two. She just loves it. And she's so happy when she gets them. I tried Bully Sticks (I know what they are) and those lasted much longer, but they are really expensive. She is letting us know, subtly, she needs to go out. She'll ask but maybe once or twice. She does better with me than my son. He is really ADHD (for real--and he isn't medicated like me), so he doesn't see her grabbing food off his plate of snacks right in front of him if he is watching TV. He's gotten worse lately--ugh. 12 year olds.

Thank you--we are so happy to finally have one. I'll check out those chews you mentioned. I'm glad to hear this sounds fairly normal. She's definitely not hurting when she chews on us--her puppy teeth being gone really have made a difference. And like I said, she seems to mostly get what is okay to chew and what is not. The sock thing is weird--because she won't ever go for shoes. But maybe it's because she misses my son because I have him 7 days on and off.

Mental exercise is something I do--but I have not been dedicated to like I should. I never thought about it I suppose. When I teach her something, she is so interested in learning, I am going to really focus on this. Today I did a short walk with her and my bike (walking my bike) because she is terrified of bikes (and a lot of strange objects--if the neighbor has put out a planter on their patio overnight, she will notice it the next day and be scared of it--very observant). So we walked with my bike, slowly, with a lot of careful, positive reinforcement. If I can get her to safely run with the bike someday--she'll love that.

That she is starting to learn to let you know when she wants out is great, especially as she isn't only 7 months. Only other thing I will say is try and get her to keep to one area in the house when she doesn't go out. Obviously it makes clean up easier but it also gets them accustomed to going to one spot. And for us, it was handy because we would see the dogs go to their puppy pad and we could quickly usher them outside instead.

[drawkcabi]

My dog Chase only liked to chew on my shoes when I was in them. I'd put my shoes on and she'd grab the tongue of one then the other trying to hold me back from leaving.

She was the alpha dog, the only time I really had one, the rest were betas and omegas. For instance, when I would vacuum, all the other dogs would stay away, afraid of it, not Chase, she'd attack it! For a while I had an industrial vacuum with the bag on the outside, I was afraid she'd bite a hole in the thing! Also, all my other dogs liked to stay behind me or to my side when I walked, not Chase, she had to be in front. If I played a game with her and got in front of her and didn't let her pass me, she'd bite me in the butt! But when she was in front of me she always had to keep looking behind her to make sure I was there and she was going where I wanted to go. She'd keep on walking when she looked behind her though and more than once she ran not only into walls but also our grandfather clock. Silly girl.