Golden Retriever Puppy 4 month old

[AndreaGrimmmoog]

Hi Adrienne, my Golden Retriever puppy is jumping on the leash & he is over 50lbs by now which makes it dangerous while walking him. He also likes to carry something at all times in his muzzle. I allow bigger sticks but he carries a pine cone nicely by now without chewing it up. I know he is teething. Has a ton of energy. Any advice you can give me to stop this behavior? 
Thank you 

Andrea

 

[Adrienne]

Hi there,

Welcome to the forums!

Is he jumping while he's walked on leash or is he actually jumping up and grabbing/ biting the leash as he's walked? 

Have you noticed any triggers on walks when this happens? Like seeing other people/dogs, at the end of the walks/ beginning of the walk?

 

[Adrienne]

Hi Andrea,

Based on the info you have provided in your other thread, I can share some general guidelines for pups who jump up and bite on the leash while walking. However, it would be helpful identifying if there are any particular triggers/events evoking the behavior (leash biting when the walk starts, when it ends, upon seeing other people or dogs on walks) or if this is just simply a combo of play/ seeking soothing things to chew in a teething puppy. In any case, the goal is to tackle this early before it becomes an established habit. 

We can accomplish this in two main ways:

1) distracting him in a timely manner and keeping his mind off the leash by providing alternate behaviors to engage in

2) making the leash less enticing to bite 

So with distracting,  you'll aim to toss treats on the ground before he has a chance to grab the leash. This way, you'll be reinforcing the behavior of not biting the leash, therefore creating a replacement behavior. You pup can't be focusing on grabbing the falling treats and grabbing the leash at the same time since his mouth is already occupied by chewing kibble. 

As he gets good at this, you can also insert some training. For instance, you can try distracting the pup by asking a few steps of attention-heeling very now and then with a tasty treat at high level, that surpasses the leash in value (in other words, the treats attract the pup more than the biting the leash as dogs can't bite the leash and eat at the same time). https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/heeling-attention-heeling/

With making the leash less enticing to bite, you can use a metal chain leash (which most pups do not like to chew and is often the easiest fix-although we have a pup here  who loves to chew on chain possibly due to the cold feel on the gums-hi Shiloh!) or temporarily you can slide a 5-foot piece of narrow-gauge, lightweight PVC pipe over your leash (although impractical). I know some people spray taste deterrents like Granny's Bite apple or Bitter Yuck on leashes to make it taste bad, but some dogs even like the taste of this stuff and it can be hard to remove from our hands if we happen to touch it. There are some leashes made of steel cable, but they seem to not have great reviews due to breaking apart (the handle mostly). 

You have mentioned that your pup likes carrying something in his muzzle. Providing this option on walks can also work to your advantage. Just make sure that whatever you offer for him to hold is valuable enough for him to choose it over the leash. Provide it only on walks, to make it more enticing.

With time and consistency, once your puppy is a little more mature and you can take him on longer more enriching walks (with your vet's consent, once he has finished his vaccination) you should see a reduction in wanting to chew the leash as your puppy may start getting more interested in his surroundings and at the same time he may have gained better impulse control.  Many pups outgrow chewing leashes just as they outgrow chasing their tails. However, if we keep on allowing them to, the behavior may establish and put roots. 

I am attaching a little cheat sheet I created a while back on ways to tackle leash biting, so you can see the various options. Please note that basket muzzles are only for severe cases, not you case). 

 

For teething your pup may enjoy cold things, like the frozen washrag trick you can read about here;

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/behavior-training/chewing/

There are also puppy teething rings and toys meant to be frozen to sooth teething pups. Some dog owners provide frozen fruit such as strawberries or bits of banana. The goal is too sooth those gums and also provide outlets for chewing so that the leash is tempting. 

Hope this helps,

Best,

Adrienne