Golden retrievers have pretty much become the poster boys of the world of dogs.
They are one of the first breeds to come to your mind when you think about dogs.
They are one of the most commonly bought dog breeds, and because of this, you need to know how to get the best out of your little golden ray of sunshine.
With the help of this guide, you will not only learn a lot more about your adorable little dog, but you will also learn to be a good trainer.
Know Your Golden Retriever Puppy
The best thing about having a golden retriever is that even if you are a first time parent, golden retrievers are very people-oriented and they will mingle with you and your family much more quickly than other dog breeds.
They are large and highly energetic, who will grow very quickly and are not always aware of how big they are.
They are also known to respond very well to high-level treats, so the good news is that with the right tools, you can easily have your golden retriever trained.
A Calm Demeanor Goes A Long Mile
Golden Retrievers are a fun-loving kind of breed, and while they are pups, you should get most of the initial training done via fun games and healthy interactions.
They tend to respond very well to such methods, and it is very commonly seen that using a playful and jolly voice over a stern voice has many benefits in the early stages of training your golden retriever.
Golden retrievers tend to be easily distracted, and it is very much possible that this often happens early on.
Do not worry because this is completely normal, and golden retrievers have a short attention span as they are very much intrigued by their surroundings in the beginning.
What you need to do at such times is use a calm and happy voice to get your golden retriever’s attention.
Make sure that the dog is intrigued and has your attention when going over something important.
Get Your Basics Right
Like it happens with any dog, you have to establish certain house rules early on and have to have a firm grip on what goes and does not go around your house.
Dogs need to understand the rules that everyone adheres to from the very beginning so that the lessons remain imbibed in their memory for a long time to come.
Having a firm but not very strict demeanor usually works best.
Being overly jolly or not establishing can lead to terrible repercussions like misbehavior and failure to comply with authority.
On the other hand, being too hard on your dog can also make it fear you or not like you.
Be careful about these things and establish the fine line between work and play with your dog so that everything goes on harmoniously.
There are various ways to go about your dog training, but at the end of the day, it always boils down to three basics which are:
- Rewarding – Rewarding is essential for your dog as it is the bedrock of making your dog disciplined.
Rewarding follows the same mechanism as the psychological technique ‘Classical Conditioning.’ What you are doing is that you are conditioning your dog to maintain behavior as that gives it a certain reward.
Then as this action is carried out consistently, your dog will by itself invoke good behavior to receive the said rewards.
These rewards need not necessarily be on a large scale.
Many a time, a simple pat on the head or some kind words said in a playful voice followed by positive contact can get your dog to behave in the desired manner.
- Not condoning bad behavior– While good rewarding behavior has its place, not condoning bad behavior is quintessential when it comes to the training.
Though it sounds very similar to rewarding, this is different. Your dog very much needs to know what kind of behavior will result in negative responses.
When your dog sits on the bed, and you use a stern voice and call out its name, it realizes that this action is not something that you permit in the house.
It will then come to you for affection, and only when it has gotten out of the bed and has come onto the floor, do you give affection.
This way, you’ve not just told it what not to do, but you have also rewarded it for understanding that it had to get out of bed.
- Consistency- One of the major things to try and maintain is that you remain consistent with your actions.
Golden retrievers respond highly to emotions, and if you give it mixed signals by allowing certain things at one time and promoting them at another, then it gets confused and receives mixed signals which it does not know how to interpret.
Learn To Change The Gears
One thing that you have to especially keep in mind is that golden retrievers interact with their surroundings a lot more than other breeds, and because of this, they will be disoriented most of the time when they are puppies.
When you are carrying out intense training, be sure to use surroundings that the dog is familiar with so that you can have its undivided attention.
As a pup, the golden retriever will not be up for training for a long period and will run around or try to do something else later.
This is completely normal. Golden retrievers are very energetic, and as puppies, you should not train then for more than five minutes at a time.
Even with old dogs, until and unless they are very well acquainted with their surroundings, they will not be up for spending long periods of training.
Train golden retriever puppy is a question of patience and remaining calm.
You cannot get angry or lose control because things don’t seem to go according to your plan.
Over a longer period, your dog will eventually come around, and you have to understand that.
Train Golden Retriever Puppy Regularly
As we have seen so far, consistency is very important for the training of golden retrievers, and you need to establish a training time daily.
Golden retrievers have a strong sense of routine, once things like walks and meal times are set, their body clock will work very well, and they will adhere to their times.
If a certain training time is established every day, the golden retriever will eventually realize that this is a part of the daily routine and then approach it with much lesser reluctance.
It is also important for you to carry out training inside and outside the house.
Training your dog outdoors is especially important for those of us who don’t live in the suburbs.
Your golden retriever will often run wild outdoor, and you need to be able to keep it in control
Maintain Safety
Golden retrievers are incredibly hyperactive, and they spend a major part of their day running around and frolicking.
As a result, they are also very prone to injuries and other hazards. This is even truer, especially when you are outdoors.
Because of their big bodies, they tend to pull you with great strength, and they are a little ball of energy once they are outside the house.
You need to ensure that your golden retriever puppy is safe at all times, and the first thing you need is a neck collar and a leash.
Neck collars tend to come in a lot of shapes and sizes, and your dog will like certain types over other ones.
Using a 4-6-foot leash is ideally enough because you need to be close to your golden retriever at all times.
These dogs will tend to run around a lot when outside and get carried away and tend to pull you everywhere. Be sure to buy a good leash that is not fragile.
While there is not a lot that you can do to stop your dog from running up and down your house in circles, you can still always ensure that no hazards are lying on the ground that can harm your dog.
Your cornered tables can be blunted or covered with other materials.
Conclusion
Overall it is a lot of fun even for you to train your little golden retriever puppy, and the experience you have is one that you will remember for eons to come.
Be sure to be both friendly and stern as and when needed and you will raise a fine handsome golden retriever in no time.