My parents got a purebread Golden Retriever (not neutered, about 2 and 1/2 months old) and he's very vicious.

It sounds to me as if he was improperly socialized during the time the breeder owned him. 6 weeks is a little early, for one thing, and for another, littermates usually curb these aggressive impulses by giving feedback during play. You may need to engage the services of an animal behaviorist.

This is a serious problem and must be nipped (ahem) in the bud. The whole family must work on this together. If you got a dog trainer, it would be better.

You must establish pack dominance immediately over this dog. When he puts his mouth on you say “Ow, ow,ow” in a loud, high-pitched voice.

Immediately give him a toy, and then put your hand firmly on the back of his neck and say “Drop”. If he drops the toy, praise him.

Take the toy away. If he growls, say “No” sharply.

Read this post for some more detailed instructions.

He could have been very unsocialized, he in my opinion, probably thinks himself as leader of the pack as well. He thinks he is top dog over you and your family members.. You need to find a trainer to help you re-assert your dominance over your dog, or it could end up a very bad situation for you and the dog.

Definitely seek out an animal behaviorist or an excellent dog trainer to train not only the dog but the members of the human family. @pdworkin is right, the puppy was inadequately socialized. Although it is common for people to take pups home at 6 weeks, you really ought to leave the litter together until 8 weeks at least, and preferably 12 weeks.

In the meantime, everyone who has contact with the puppy needs to follow @Marina‘s instructions. Also, if the puppy plays rough with anyone, that person should turn their back immediately and stop playing with the puppy. He needs to learn bite inhibition.

haha, I was gonna call for @Darwin, but I see she’s already well on her way. :)

~Edit~ already posted, lol

If you are not planning to breed him, he should also be neutered. That will help to a degree, but follow the rest of the advice given and train him with consistency. Every memer of the family needs to be on board with the program.

what is your question?

Go to a professional dog trainer to teach him who’s boss.

Only 2½ months? Those teeth puncture anything!! He’s not ‘vicious’, he’s being possessive of his toys. Definitely train him; here is something on bite inhibition. Just remember, at his age he just doesn’t know better; he is still a baby!

This is something that must be addressed swiftly and surely because a full grown golden who bites is a dangerous animal, and I have handled several goldens and labs who were vicious. I don’t know if it was because they were not properly socialized or they were not playing with a full deck. Some dogs (and people) are vicious.

The quickest way to break a pup of biting is to grab his muzzle and squeeze his lips against those pointy little canine teeth. Do it hard enough to make him yip. After you have done that a couple of times the problem will be solved.

^^ That’s actually how I’ve always handled it. Takes awhile w/the really stubborn ones.

He’s a puppy exhibiting play-aggression. Just like children, dogs need training in order to have happy and fulfilling lives. Put the dog in training school, and make sure everyone in the family takes it seriously and supports his training while he’s at home by not going against the advice. Consistency, patience, and love are key here. Do the right thing!

If you can’t afford training you can’t afford the dog and must re-home him or abandon him at a shelter. I’m serious.

@rooeytoo But rooey, mightn’t that teach the puppy not that biting is bad so much as that your touch delivers inexplicable pain? I hear that this is how hand-shyness happens.

My dad had a lot of dogs in his life as did his father and not a one went to dog training school. It is good for socialization but not a necessity to raise a well trained and behaving dog.

Go to the library and get a book on the Koehler Method of Dog Training. It is the method used by most military and police trainers and is one of the oldest documented methods used. And extremely successful.

@wildpotato – I have used that method on hundreds of dogs and I have never had one shy from my hand. It works and it gets the training process over and done with so that you can enjoy the company of your dog.

The Koehler Method has been around for a very long time. Some swear by it; it also has it’s critics. It has been called the “If you don’t like what he’s doing give him a correction, if he does it again, jerk him harder” method.

@pdorkin – Actually Koehler always said the cruelest thing you can do to your dog is to have to punish it twice for the same thing (I paraphrase). I have read all of his books numerous times and used them in structuring classes but I don’t recall ever seeing the line you have in quotes. I could be wrong, but it doesn’t sound like Koheler talk to me. He was however, a firm believer in discipline which is different from abuse although many now seem to believe they are the same.

From my personal experience over the last almost 40 years, when Koehler method was the predominant training used there were markedly fewer nasty, uncontrollable dogs.
Then marketing came into the picture, someone figured out that they could make money writing books on alternate methods and it is true, there are a lot of people making money on books and a lot more dogs surrendered to shelters because they do not fit in with the lifestyle (read they cannot be trusted, controlled) with their owner.

I think some alternate methods work, but they require much more time and energy to achieve the desired behavior. It seems to me that most people want their dogs to be a member of the family, not a 10 year training project.

Opinions differ, is what I said. The quote was not from Koehler; it was from his critics, as my post clearly indicates.

Unfortunately the words you choose gives a completely incorrect impression of Koehler’s methods.

Which is a shame, so many dogs are being surrendered and euthanized when literally a few quick lessons from Koehler’s book can turn a delinquent into a responsible family member.

Just recently I would see a woman almost daily being dragged along by her dalmation. When we meet I am usually running with my dog, her lead around my waist so I can run hands free. She told me she is going to get rid of the dog because she can’t walk it anymore, she can’t control it and is afraid she will fall. She has had the dog to 2 obedience courses with no success. I asked her if she would like to train with me for a couple of days, give the dog one last chance. After one session using Koehler’s method for heeling, she felt more confident. After 3 sessions she has the dog completely under control. She has the attention and respect of the dog, she is now alpha and they both know it.

Koehler saved that dog’s life and that scenario has been repeated more times than I can tell you just in my own personal experience.

I wasn’t recommending training for the puppy so much as training for the humans. Dogs want to find their place in the family, aka the pack, but they don’t speak English. Thus, the people need to learn enough dog to teach the rules of the pack.