He bit my son - 2008-06-13

Question

I have a 13-month-old golden retriever that was properly trained at the age of 6 months. Everything was smooth until last night he bit my 15-year-old son who tried to take a treat out of his mouth. My son was been silly but my dog was very harsh and my son now has 2 stiches. Pls any advice?

Answer

It is important never take anything away from a dog unless the dog has learned to ‘give’. This is an exercise that I urge you to start asap (and should have been done at puppy class) – trade and get the dog to release things in lieu of praise or another reward. In this way the dog learns to ‘trade, exchange or give’ as he/she knows that you will not steel what they considers theirs. Being a retriever, doing this with two tennis balls would make a good start. He gets given one, if he ‘gives’ you the one he has got he can have the other one, etc. Try to rebuild the bond between your son and his dog by implementing a hand-feed session. Your son feeds the dog from his hand for a few days, so the dog learns to trust him with food and understand that your son controls the food supply – not the dog. This should also assist with the dog being less food protective.