This article will discuss the possible causes of your symptoms and what you can do to fix them.
Why does my Golden Retriever bite me? It could be that it is hungry for attention, teething, or it has been inadvertently rewarding its behavior.
While there may be many reasons it is doing this, there are some things you can do to help determine the cause. You can also do a lot to stop it.
Your Golden Retriever biting your arms and hands
Here are some possible causes, and how to make them more likely.
It needs attention
It could be looking for attention from you or a response. It is more likely to do this if it does so more often if it is not getting enough attention, or if you pay more attention to it when it does.
It would be a good idea to play with it throughout the day, train it, and exercise it. It would be a good idea to not reward it for biting your arms. You would do this by hiding your arms and not paying attention to them. Once it calms down, you would then give it your attention. You would ignore it again if it behaves badly.
It’s teething
It could also be teething. It is more likely to do this if the puppy has suddenly started to do it, if it is still a puppy, and if it starts biting on other objects.
It would be a good idea to teach it not to bite your arms, as I mentioned earlier. It would be a good idea to give your dog lots of toys to chew on, so it can soothe its gums.
As a puppy, it was not trained to do so.
It might not have learned to respect your arms if you didn’t give it a lot of training when it was a puppy. It is crucial to train your dog, even if it’s an adult. It would be a good idea to begin training it by teaching it the basics, such as how to sit and stay, and then building up.
Inadvertently, you have reinforced the behavior
You could have accidentally trained your dog to do what you want by giving it treats when it does. It will most likely bite your arms more if you give it extra attention, toys, or treats.
It would be better to reward it for being good-mannered and stop giving in until it calms down.
Excitement
It could be trying to express its excitement. It is more likely to do this when it is near you or when it comes home.
It would be a good idea to pull your arms back and pay attention to the animal when it does it, and to reward it when it stops biting.
It’s exploring
When they are puppies, dogs interact with the environment with their noses and mouths as much as their eyes.
Your Golden Retriever could be interfacing with you and causing your hands and arms to itch. If it’s a puppy, this would be even more common.
It is important to train it to not bite your hands or arms, even if it is true.
Things to Consider
Here are some tips to help you deal with your Golden Retriever biting, grabbing or grasping your arms or hands.
It started doing it
It might be helpful to think back to when the first time it did it.
It would be more likely that it did it suddenly, such as when it was teething or learning rewards for doing so. Or it might just have started receiving less attention.
How old is your Golden Retriever?
It is also important to know how old the dog is. It is more likely that the puppy is still teething. However, it would still be beneficial to train it now to stop. It would be more likely if it was an adult that it learned that it can get what it wants.
It bites your hands and arms so hard!
You should also consider how aggressive it is. It is a good idea to seek professional help from a behaviorist or dog trainer in your area if it is aggressive. This will allow you to see the best way to get it to stop.
It bites you where and when it bites you
It is also worth considering the timing of when it happens and where it occurs, as it may be that timing plays a role in it.
If it does it more often when you are home, it could be because it is looking for attention and excitement. It would be wise to not reward it with attention until it stops biting.
How to get your Golden Retriever not to bite your hands and arms
Here are some options to get it to stop.
It is not your fault.
Positive reinforcement training is another option. This focuses on rewarding good behavior and reinforcing positive ones.
You would use it to get rid of it from biting.
- If necessary, get up and stop it biting your arms or fingers by standing straight up.
- Give it some time to calm down, then give it your attention again and prevent it from biting again.
- Keep doing this until the dog learns that biting can cause it to lose its attention.
- When it does well, reward it with a treat
The video below will show you how to train your Golden Retriever not to bite your arms.
Avoid negative reinforcement training
It could be that it has learned how to bite your hands because it gets what it wants. It would be better to help it redirect its behavior when it appears to be about to begin and to not reward it for doing so.
Other things to chew on
You could also give it something to chew on, especially if you are teething. You could also give toys, bones, and chews to it.
Be consistent
It is crucial to be consistent when training your Golden Retriever. You are unlikely to get great results in a single training session. However, it is possible to get better results by training your dog over a period of several weeks.
Ask for help from a behaviorist who is familiar with animals
You should seek professional help if you are unable to get your dog to stop, or if it is acting aggressively. You will be able see how to train your dog in a safe manner.