Help for my Dog's Aggression

I am really scared for my golden retriever. He is 10 months old and he is very aggressive. He always has this need to chew. Not just objects but people. Me and my family are always bruised from him. When I go to pet him, he always tries to bite my hand. It used to be play biting but this morning he bit down harder than ever before. I don't like that now I have to be afraid to pet my own dog. He likes to get on my bed but when I try to pet him or if he's sitting on something and I lift him a little to get the object, he tries to bite me. When I walk him outside, he does this thing when we're on the way home where he will jump up and try to grab the leash so that he's the one leading the way instead of me. He makes these growling sounds that sound dangerous and scary. Another thing he does that we can't get a handle on is how whenever we leave the house after going out for a few hours or even five minutes, he goes crazy! He will cry, yell, growl, and jump on us as if he hasn't seen us in a century. I'm really scared that my family will return him. I don't want to give up on him. He's seeing a behavioralist some time next month but I would love some advice for him. It seems like there really is something mentally wrong with him. He has these nervous tendencies and a need for possession. He always feels like he needs to be on guard but it doesn't make sense because we never hurt him or give him any reason not to trust us. I want to believe there's hope in him. Has anyone had experiences like this and if so, what's the best advice you can give?

Your dog has entered his adolescence. And like most teenagers is pushing his boundaries and feeling insecure.

You must start training him now. You need to give him things to do and teach him his limits.

There's load of positive training tips on the internet. Kikopup is a good one.

But here's one about the biting. When he goes to bite you, do a high-pitched 'yip' and turn your back on him. If he lunges at you again, walk away and don't acknowledge him at all. Keep doing this until he works out that his behaviour will not get him what he wants. Then as soon as he is calm, acknowledge him and praise him. Always praise the good behaviour not the bad.

And in case you're wondering, the 'yip' is what puppies do when they are playfighting and one of them gets hurt. It will yip and the other puppy will usually stop. Your puppy will recognise this noise and should stop.

One other thing, teenage puppies can get easily overstimulated and into a zone where it becomes almost impossible to do anything with them. You need to recognise this is about to happen and get the dog's attention before it does. Redirect his interest onto something else and calmly talk him and stroke him in your happy voice so that he calms down as well.

And train him as much as you can. Take him on long walks to tire him out.

I know its sounds a lot of work. It is. But this stage doesn't last for ever and you will end up with a dog you can be proud of.

Here's the thing, we've tried that before where we act like we're in pain when he bites and he doesn't care. And we've tried it where when he jumps on us, we turn our backs but then he'll bite our ankles. When he bites us or furniture, we give him a bone to distract him but of course he wants what he can't have more.

Pups outgrow the yelping thing at quite a young age, at 10 months what he's doing is unacceptable. I never ignore unwanted behaviours I train them to behave differently. At 10 months I'd tell him to get off and push him away. I would not allow a dog on my bed that can't control himself. Most dogs get excited when you come home, it's up to you to teach him what's acceptable. Teach him to sit and wait before he gets any fuss. Had you trained him properly when he was a pup you'd save yourself a whole lot of grief.

Well, have to agree with Trouble.

Dogs don't get trained in 5 mins. It takes work. A lot of work and a lot of patience. You have to teach him not to do things. He won't learn by osmosis.

Just reread this. He bites you and you reward him with a bone? And you wonder why he bites you?

Reward the good behaviour not the bad.

Excuse me but we did train him and he's neutered. We did everything the books said to do and this isn't our first dog. Our first dog was well-behaved and had no aggression. We trained him the same way we did our first dog and this didn't happen.

It's not a "reward." It's giving him a bone as a distraction from what we don't want him to bite. When he tries to bite us, I give him an old bone of his and then he focuses on that for a short time. What are we supposed to do? Let him bite us? He doesn't stop when we push him off or tell him to stop. I don't need the judgment. I just need advice.

It does take time and should start when they are 8 weeks old or whatever age they come home at, at that age puppies are like a sponge soaking up all the information and it's fun. Training never really stops, you should be constantly practising in every day situations, life is so much easier with a well trained dog and I like an easy life.

Excuse me but if you trained him why can't you control him?
He isn't your first dog, all dogs are individuals and their training should be tailored to their needs.