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Not quite sure what to do, please read below?

So I've been house-sitting an adorable 11-month-old golden retriever this week. He is adorable and seemingly well trained, also he walks extremely well on a leash, and is exceptionally potty trained. But- he loves to play bite, which is fine except he's a big dog and occasionally takes it too far. He also tends to not listen to commands, most of the time he doesn't even respond to his own name. So, for example, he's play biting and you tell him, no, or to stop. He just continues on biting. On top of all of this, he will literally hump anything and everything. The other day we were out with another (male) dog, and he mounted him over 20 times. Now I know that for the most part that is him trying to assert his dominance, but he also continuously tried to hump his blanket for over a half hour last night. On top of this, there seems to maybe be some neglect from his owner's side- this dog doesn't even have a dog bed even though he isn't allowed on any of the furniture (their entire home is hardwood too), there's not a single brush in sight and it looks like he's never been brushed before. The day I started house-sitting, the dog was so hyperactive, I had to take him on a crazy long walk and he was still restless at night.

I think I'll bring the behavior up at the end of the stay, but should I bring up the dog maybe needing a dog bed and longer walks in the day?

I'm not sure what to do, I know I really have no place to judge or take action.

3 Answers

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Not having a bed and not having a brush are not examples of neglect, even if the dog has never once been groomed and is not allowed on the furniture. Examples of neglect would be a dog who is obviously underfed or not provided fresh water, has a medical issue that is not being treated, or does not have adequate shelter from the elements. Many people have different standards for how to take care of dogs, and a different standard in itself is not indicative of mistreatment.
This Rover article is great for puppy mouthing behavior. https://www.rover.com/blog/educating-... I actually use a high-pitched yelp sound instead of the word "ow". There is a difference between "bite inhibition," where you teach a puppy to be gentle with human skin, and "bite prohibition" where you teach a puppy not to use teeth on human skin at all. The techniques you use are the same, you just use them at different moments. Also, here's a good discussion of this topic from a previous post - https://www.rover.com/community/quest...
Also, he's probably ignoring your commands because he's overexcited (unless he just doesn't know the command you're using). Following the techniques described in the article will help you reduce his excitement so he will be able to follow your instructions again.

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He's a baby. He's not even fully grown yet. He's not even one year old yet :) You need to stop believing people who tell you that puppies hump others and toys because of "being dominant". Not having a brush doesnt mean he's neglected, a lot of people get dogs groomed professionally. Play biting can hurt, but since it seems that owners haven't addressed it, you can tell he's not trained well (yet). You need to ask them for advice on what to do when the puppy bites. They will tell you what technique they use.

Good luck. Puppies are cute and adorable, but not always that easy :)

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Any unusual behavior you observe while you are in the care, custody, and control of the dog should be brought up to the owner; but they may already be aware of it. And of course you can also mention additional exercise, but I might be hesitant to bring up the issue of the bed. I see you are a new sitter, best of luck in the future, you will encounter all types of situations over time.