Golden Retriever Training Tips – Keys to Success
Golden Retriever Training Should be a peaceful event
You call, and I answer. This is the motto of the gentle, obliging Golden Retriever, or Golden.
Lord Tweedmouth, an avid hunter who lived near the Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands, first bred this unexpectedly gentle giant to train for the retrieving game.
You may gravitate towards large dogs, but may not want one that has a Rottweiler’s mean appearance. The Golden Retriever will suit your needs.
As you should with any other dog, find out about the Golden Retriever’s characteristics before bringing him home. Set boundaries and expectations before training him.
This fellow wants to serve people in any way he can. Find out what kind of service suits him.
Fun facts about the Golden Retriever’s Temperament
Get to know your Golden before you begin training him. You will have a better idea of what training areas you will need to work on. Discover which areas of your Golden’s temperament you can nurture to make him greater than he already is.
1. The Golden Retriever is resilient.
This dog is genteel, but has incomparable resilience. He will overcome tough situations easily.
Homeward Bound is a story that surrounds a Golden Retriever named Shadow. When his owners put him and his companions at a friend’s home for too long, he makes a long and treacherous journey home to them.
A real case in point is Murphy, a Golden found after 20 months of being lost in a California forest. When his family received reports about a sighting of him at the French Meadows Reservoir, it left his old bed and several of their belongings with the camper who spotted him. He picked up the scent, and the camper returned him to his family.
2. He will love you, sometimes too much
The Golden Retriever is the ideal family pet. He will do anything to please his owners, and will develop separation anxiety when left alone for too long. Your dog may express his fears by chewing or turning your house upside down. He may also dig up your garden to show how frustrated he is.
To cure him, take him for daily walks. Being a diligent fellow, he is always searching for ways to help you. Let him carry a back pack with his water or food in it. Do not make a fuss when you leave your home or when you return. This will show the dog that your time apart is short-lived.
3. The Golden can become destructive.
Make it a point to set house rules for your Golden Retriever, since he is quite destructive.
Your Golden puppy would love to sink his teeth into your shoes and clothes, if he can get to them. His soft mouth, which can carry raw eggs without breaking them, has a flip side. It gives him the urge to bite.
Note that you should teach him not to nip your hands, as allowing him to do so may cause him to develop aggressive tendencies.
Teach your dog Bite Inhibition, or to change the pressure of his bite. Doing this is essential because he may bite out of fear. Yelp, the way a dog does, when he bites you. Put him in his crate, or correct him with a “No”. Do not correct him to the point that he is afraid of biting, as he may fear taking instructions from you.
If you catch him chewing, say “No” firmly and take what he has in his mouth away. Replace it with one of his chew toys and praise him for accepting it.
4. They are playful.
A Golden is playful and affectionate. During your golden retriever training, expend some of this playful energy by taking him for treks or walks.
The owner of these three Goldens takes her dogs for a trek in the forest.
If running lanes like the one in this video are not available, take your dogs to wide open spaces, or to the beach, for a good game of catch.
5. The Golden is not a one person dog
The Golden gets along well with everyone. His gentle disposition makes him a perfect companion for a child. Watch how he plays with a child and a tennis ball.
This said, remember that the Golden retriever is not a one person dog. Prepare to share his affection with everyone. The Golden trusts everybody. Being too friendly with strangers, he makes a terrible guard dog. Note that he does not bark much, which rules him out for guard duty.
6. The Golden loves to work.
The Golden Retriever loves to work. Rely on him to fetch the mail, wake your children or serve as your “doorbell.” Since his senses are so alert, count on him to tell you when someone is at the door. Training a Golden Retriever: What to look out for
Have an understanding of your Golden’s training needs before you put him through his paces. This is necessary for your training routines to succeed. Find out what kind of learner he is.
What kind of learner is the Golden Retriever?
1. A Fast learner
The third most popular dog in America is a superb learner, constantly at the head of obedience classes. This makes golden retriever training so much easier than most breeds.He is such a quick study that even novice trainers can teach them how to fetch. Peanut, in this video, learns simple tricks at an early ten weeks.
2. Ability to focus
The Golden’s ability to focus on his trainer makes him easy to teach. Watch how Penny turns and watches her trainer intently. She manages to complete agility exercises with ease.
3. Rewards and praise
The Golden, like all other dogs, works best with rewards and praise. Reward and reinforcement work exceptionally well with a Golden, because he loves nothing better than to make his trainer happy.
The Golden will not respond to harsh words, because he cannot grasp them the way a person can. He will know when you are angry, but may not understand why. Make sure that you use a positive tone when training him. Like all sporting dogs, the Golden has a soft temperament, so correct his misbehavior gently with a firm “No.”
4. Timing
Good timing is essential when teaching your Golden retriever desired behaviors. This dog is dependent on praise. If you catch your Golden showing the wrong behavior, correct him immediately, lest he thinks that it is what you want.
Setting expectations during Golden Retriever Training
1. Setting boundaries
Your Golden, if left unchecked, will run amok during training sessions. Show your Golden that you are the leader of his pack. According to dog experts, distressed owners complain when their Goldens run amok.
Consistency is important, since a Golden is notoriously playful. Know what behaviors you want from him and extract them from him gently, but consistently.
Try not to repeat the commands that you give to your Golden. If you do, he may stall by refusing to respond until he feels like doing so. This dallying may become ingrained. Alternatively, he may not respond because of distractions or confusion.
If you are trying to get your dog to sit, instruct him to do so only once. If he still refuses to, the command has probably not been well reinforced. Arrange another training session instead of overwhelming him with repetitions.
2. Mental Stimulation
A Golden becomes bored easily, so it is essential to stimulate their senses. Active dogs, they constantly have the words “What should I do?” on their minds.
Experts at Vetstreet suggest that you reserve at least an hour each day to walk your Golden. Alternatively, you could teach him how to run beside your bicycle.
A Golden loves a challenge. Tease him with a food puzzle. Place a treat in a Kong toy, and have him find ways to draw it out.
3. Exercise requirements
A Golden is prone to obesity, because he loves his food. Obesity is bad for dogs, as it is for humans. Having been bred for hunting and sports, the Golden has energy that does not seem to expire. Like the Golden Britt in this video, they love to romp and frolic.
A Golden can travel long distances. Take the time each week to bring him on long hikes. This is a dog which will do well on road trips, as he loves the thrill of discovering new landscapes.
A golden has two coats. One of these is a coarse, outer coat and the other a fine undercoat. Water resistant, that undercoat protects him as he swims. Scottish hunters used him to fetch water fowl. Unsurprisingly, he is a wonderful swimmer. Take him for swimming or water play sessions at the beach.
4. Length of training
The Golden is a hardy dog that overcomes challenges easily. Make the length of training longer. According to experts at Dogtime, they need at least 40-60 minutes of daily exercise. Mountain hiking or forest trekking are ideal activities for Goldens.
5. Moderate your expectations
A Golden, willing to please people, will do everything you ask of him. This may make you push him too hard. Moderate your expectations and know when your dog is too tired to continue with a training session.
6. Golden Retrivers Are Working Dogs
Goldens were, and still are, working dogs. They become listless without tasks to do. Make work part of his training.
Murphy, the Yellow Working Dog, is a well-trained Golden that helps his owner run errands for his service store.
7. Retrieving instincts
The word “retriever” will tell you what your Golden is most skilled at. Play retrieving games with your Golden and hone his retrieving instincts.
Games to play with Golden Retrievers
Your Golden’s background and temperament should point you to the types of games that he will enjoy playing. Make them sufficiently challenging. These games can teach him skills as well.
1. Retrieving games
Goldens should live up to their name and learn to retrieve. Start playing these games at an early age.
Your dog will love to catch the ball you throw at him, but may not always bring it back. Set up a game so that your Golden knows how to do so.
If your Golden drops the ball instead of bringing it back to you, send him back to it and praise him when he returns it. Avoid scolding him, as he will ignore you.
Should he keep away from you, walk away from him. This shows him that the game ends if he does not return the ball to you.
2. On My Nose
This game is suitable for a Golden that already responds well to basic commands. Try this if your dog already knows how to sit and stay.
Tell your dog to sit. Place a treat on his nose. After a few seconds say “ok”, then let him toss and catch the treat. Praise him when he catches it in mid-air.
3. What’s in a name?
This game will engage your Golden’s mind. He may master it faster than you think.
Start the game with two different items, like a ball and a bowl. Bounce the ball and send him after it. Praise him when he brings it back to you.
Once he has learned to return the ball to you, make the game slightly harder by putting the ball next to the bowl and sending him after it. If he brings the right item back, praise him. If he does not, send him back again.
After he does this well, put more items out, with the ball among them. He will have to recognize the ball and its scent. Praise your dog when he manages to retrieve the ball.
What kind of service dog should a Golden Retriever be?
Goldens, being highly intelligent and sensitive, are among the world’s best service dogs. This said, you will have to choose what service you want him involved in.
They make poor police dogs. He will play, instead of fight, the thief in the ski mask.
This said, they make wonderful physical assistance and seizure alert dogs because of their intelligence and devoted attention to their owners.
New York best-selling author Luis Carlos Motalvan is a war veteran who sustained a traumatic brain injury after being attacked by two men in Iraq. He was honorably discharged because he was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He could not even climb stairs without being reminded of his attack.
Tuesday, his Golden, is his source of comfort as he goes about his daily activities. Until Tuesday is a book about his life with this amazing assistance cum therapy dog.
On this note, Goldens make wonderful therapy dogs. Their emotional sensitivity makes them a wonder with patients. Carly, a Golden who works as such a dog, helps patients with pain management. At the hospital 10 hours a day, she is popular with them.
If you want a large, yet obliging dog that is well-behaved, the Golden Retriever is the dog for you. Remember that there are many ways your Golden can assist you, and others, as well. And training a Golden Retriever is always a joy as he is an everlasting willing learner.