luvmydog

I'm very sorry for you and your family. You did all that you could and you allowed your dog to go peacefully while at your side. I hope that you can open your heart to another furry friend for your family in the future. Your son sounds like an absolute sweetheart and I'm so sorry that your parenting skills were ridiculously questioned. To me, you sound like a very caring mother and animal lover.

[quote name='pyrless']I REALLY don't think any of us on this board are qualified to diagnose or treat this situation, and I REALLY don't think PupsMom came here to have her parenting skills called into question. PupsMom, you need a professional opinion asap.[/quote] *Applauds* You are absolutely correct!!!

As I said in another post, I believe people are too quick to say "put the dog to sleep" once it bites. We are dealing with DOGS, not people! Dogs communicate with each other by biting sometimes. Now, I'm not saying it's acceptable for a dog to bite a human...it's not, BUT, I believe all other options need to be exhausted first (i.e., first and foremost, seeking a qualified behaviorist, ruling out medical problems, then possibly re-homing a dog with someone more qualified to deal with these issues) before coming to the conclusion to put the dog to sleep. I also believe that some dogs cannot be rehabilitated and therefore, it's in the best interest for everyone, including the dog for it to be humanely euthanized. I suggest everyone on this forum read the book, "Culture Clash".

Exactly my point. I'm not worrying about stunting his growth, I'm well aware that dogs which are neutered early tend to be larger b/c the growth plates take longer to close. [quote name='JackieMaya']There is a similar way of thinking as to castrating horses. People used to think that gelding stallions too young would stunt their growth. But in fact the opposite has been proven true. [/quote]

I always have a hard time when I see, "put that dog to sleep". I'm sorry, but over the internet, do you really think you can make that kind of assessment? I absolutely agree that it is not acceptable for a dog to bite a person of any age. But, how about letting a trained behaviorist give a recommendation on what to do with the dog. Pupsmom, you absolutely need to seek immediate help from a professional behaviorist for your dog. In the meantime, please don't allow your children and dog to interact with each other. I'm sorry you're having to deal with this.

I just want to clarify something. My concern has never been for my golden to grow large, rather to grow properly. Although I do not remember her exact words, and I may not have my medical terminology completely correct here but my breeder advised that with goldens who are neutered too early, their growth plates do not close. Thus, they get the very long, out of proportion legs. If I understand correctly, allowing the testosterone in their system (neuternig a bit later) causes the growth plates to close as they were intended. I was also advised that the testosterone will allow his head to get that teady bear male look, which he's developing nicely. My vet actually has never had a problem with me waiting until 11 months. My dog has no aggressive tendencies what-so-ever, unless you consider humping aggressive. By the way, he started humping when he was 3 months old. His favorite victim was his stuffed lobster.

Thank you Rottentwo! Lots of helpful suggestions and I appreciate it. We actually already have a 20 ft cotton lead. He's generally VERY good at recalls when he's on the land...it's in the water that he becomes deaf. I can let him drag the lead into the water...the only thing I worry about is if he's trying to hump the dog on the way back to land, the lead would be trailing behind him so I wouldn't be able to grab a hold of the lead. I think I've learned to tell which dog he's going to attempt to hump before he does it, so I should be proactive and stop it before it actually occurs. I could grab the lead before he even hits the water when I think the situation is going to occur. We do lots of walking...1.5 mile every morning, then a 20 min walk in the afternoon, the evenings are when we generally take him to the park. We also do lots of fetch in the house throughout the day and we bring tennis balls for fetching at the pond. He is a high energy guy, but I love it. I agree with you all, I will not even consider the e-collar. I will also talk with my breeder to see how much it will effect his growth if I neuter him now as opposed to 11 mos.

"and how exactly can you tell your dog is humping if both the dogs are underwater?...sounds very odd behaviour" It's very obvious he's trying to hump...I've seen the humping motion when he's in shallow water. It is odd. We may just have to restrict him from the pond all together when there are other dogs around.

I respect your reasons for keeping him on leash and I mostly agree. But, this guy needs to get out and run in some way. We live in a condo, therefore, no yard. We are not allowed to jog with him at this young of an age due to his growing joints. We saw the dog park as a good solution. Also, he LOVES swimming and I know that's a great form of exercise. Thanks for the suggestions...I'm going to have to think about all of this further.

He's a golden retriever. He's been through 3 consecutive obedience classes...does wonderfully in them. Please, I would love to hear your positive methods of dealing with this issue...can you share them on this board?

He's off leash at a fenced in dog park that has a pond. This is where he gets most of his exercise

From what I understand, they make waterproof e-collars. I honestly don't want to use one, that's why I'm seeking opinions on other solutions.

No, he will be neutered at 11 months. The breeder suggest to wait until a year to allow proper growth, but I will be doing it at 11 months.

Hi...I have a young dog, 8 months. He's wonderful, but he has an *issue*. He's humping dogs in the water. He has learned not to hump them on land, but once another dog is in the water, my dog swims after he or she and tries to mount them. Then, of course the other dog is struggling to stay above water. I actually had to swim out and rescue a dog yesterday b/c my dog would not get off her. It's very embarrassing. I cannot think of any way to correct his behavior besides using an electronic collar. I have never used one of these and it's not my first choice, but I cannot think of any other way to stop his behavior as I cannot get ahold of him in the water and he's ignoring my commands. Anyone have any other suggestions? Edited to add, he is not yet neutered but will be by 11 months.