What comes in your mind when asked about your opinion of golden retriever dogs? Are they calm, well behaved, and lovely? Perhaps this perception is true when you have well-trained and well-groomed golden retriever. You might also perceive that if you have two Golden Retrievers, they will likely have similar behaviors. In fact, this perception is not always true. The way the golden retrievers behave depends upon the training they have. Therefore, you definitely need training guides for golden retriever since its very early age.
Training Guides for Golden Retriever: The Timeline
Just like training other breeds of dogs, training golden retriever must be provided at the right time, depending upon its age. Canine behaviorists behave that a golden retriever needs to get all the necessary training sessions before he is 2 years old.
This is the phase of basic skills and obedience. The younger the golden retriever puppies are, the easier for you to train the necessary behaviors. They are trainable and eager to please you. During the training session, make sure to meet all their physical and social needs. This is the time to develop bond and trust and to identify their potential.
The golden retriever puppies at the age of 2-6 months have several characteristics, which may influence results of the training:
- They have shorter attention span. It means that you have to design training sessions with short duration. Longer duration training has very small potential, if any, for success.
- They need to burn off energy. At the age of 2-6 months, the golden retriever puppies are very active. Therefore, choosing training sessions that require physical activities, or combining the training with physical activities, is more likely to bring the desired results.
- The golden retriever puppies are learning to carry things in their mouth. Note that at this age, it is very likely that they are learning to growl, to whine, and even to bark. Therefore, the training guides for golden retriever puppy should include how he uses his mouth properly.
- They love to communicate. This is the nature-given characteristic. However, make sure that they learn the right way of communication at this age. For instance, make sure that they can properly differentiate friendly vocalization from aggressive one.
- They develop the fear stage at this age. Actually, this is a normal stage, which rises along with their developmental period. Accordingly, how to train golden retriever to beat their fear is by developing their self-confidence. Make sure to introduce them with loud sounds like babies crying, fireworks, thunderstorms, bell ring, vacuums, vehicle sounds, and many more. Unexpected movements like children running may also lead to fear.
- Accordingly, purpose of the training when the golden retriever is 2 to 6 month is to establish routines and rules, to build the boundaries between the master and the puppy, and to develop self-confidence when facing unexpected thing or separation. The following are some details of grooming and care you can give to the golden retriever puppies:
- Always keep their body clean. For instance, trim their nails every week and brush their teeth several times a week. These are good activities to build the bond between you and the puppy;
- Occasional bathing is also a recommended activity to establish comfort zone between the master and the golden retriever puppy.
Training Guides for Golden Retriever Puppy: The Skills
As mentioned above, the age of 2 to 6 months is the ideal timeline for the golden retriever to learn the necessary skills as follows:
Potty Training
This is the first obedience training session that the golden retriever needs at the earliest stage of their life. Therefore, it is necessary to start the training as early as possible. Why? Just like the other breeds of puppy, the golden retriever puppies cannot hold their bladder too long. They need to go to the outdoor bathroom or to the potty spot frequently. Of the puppies do not develop the right habit, you can lose your mind due to the sharp smell they leave everywhere.
The potty training commonly includes two options, namely, providing a potty or ‘indoor bathroom’ or determining an outdoor bathroom, where the puppies can go immediately anytime they need it. The following are the steps:
- Place a potty or anything that the puppies can use for quick relief, in case that they need to eliminate when you are not at home;
- Specify at outdoor space (whether it is a corner at the backyard of your house) to be used as an ‘outdoor bathroom.’
- Identify the time (i.e. the interval) when the puppies need to go out.
- Make sure to take them to the same spot anytime they need to eliminate outside.
Treat the puppies anytime they can eliminate themselves to the defined place. If they can do this properly, the potty training is just completed. However, if they fail, never use physical interference as a form of punishment. Never yell at the dogs. Instead, ignore them and do not provide the treats until they show the desired behavior. Use calm intonation when speaking to the puppies.
Meeting and Greeting
Introduce the dogs to outside world as early as possible. Meeting others (other people or other dogs) is important to build their social instinct. The more frequent they meet others; the more capable are the puppies to manage fears and anxiety. For this, you can do the following things:
- Take your dogs out regularly. Note that the golden retriever puppies need physical exercises to burn off their energy. Taking them for afternoon walk is a great idea to have them socialize and burn off energy.
- Do not prevent the puppies from having contact with others. The way you react determines how the puppy responds. Let others hug and kiss them. Just show positive emotion to provide the puppies with assurance and confidence;
- Let them to be exposed to outside sounds and smells. These help them understand that they are not alone on earth.
Overall, golden retrievers are social dog. You had better encourage this natural character instead of trying to protect them from the outside world. In the future, you will see that this social nature will be helpful.
Preventing the Puppies from Biting
Biting can be a problem. Note that the golden retriever is learning to use their mouth to carry things, and biting is naturally the easiest way to do this. However, when the puppies begin to bite things like shoes, toys, and even your fingers, you will need to anticipate more problems in the future, if the problem is not solved immediately.
The following steps may be helpful as a part of training guides for golden retriever:
- Identify the times where they try to bite. For instance, if they begin biting when they are hungry, identify the time when the puppies actually need foods.
- Do not give anything while they are still biting.
- Say “no” and combine the command with hand gestures.
- While you are preparing the foods, keep the puppies busy by providing them with toys.
- Give the foods as the treat when they calm.
- Stick with this method anytime the puppies bite. Eventually, they will learn that biting is no fun, as they cannot get any treats.
Training the Basic Skills
Just like the other breeds of dogs, the golden retriever puppies need to learn the basic skills from early age. The following are among the basic skills to teach the golden retriever puppies:
- Leash training. Make sure to work this training. You can start by taking the puppy for a short walk. Put the leash on loosely. If he starts to pull on the leash, stop walking, wait, and see him. Do not move, do not let the puppy go anywhere, and do not give him any treats. Then, walk again after he calms down, and give him some treats after he shows the desired behavior.
- Sitting. Teach him to sit by using “Sit!” command and placing the treats at lower place. Do not give the treats until he sits properly. As soon as he does the desired action, give him some treats.
- Coming. Imagine how frustrating it is if the puppy does not respond when you call him. If you want the dog to come to you, the first thing you should do is introducing him his name. Call his name repeatedly. Anytime he responds properly, treat. Once the puppy is familiar with his name, it is easier for you to call him to come. As he responds to your calling, ask him to come by using hand gesture. Treat him anytime he responds correctly. If the puppy does not respond the first time you call him, try using additional distractions like food or toys.
- Teaching the puppy not to jump. Besides being important for golden retriever puppy, teaching the dog not to jump is also a part of training guides for adult golden retriever. Besides its danger, jumping habit can pose you with other problems. Imagine what may happen when the dog jumps to a stranger or a guest who is coming to your house. Turn around or ignore the puppy when jumps. Or, you can walk backward and give “down!” command. Praise him with treats when all his feet are on the ground.
Once again, praise the puppies only when they do or show the desired response. Instead, do not punish any mistake. Punishment only leads to anxiety and even aggressiveness on the part of the puppies. On the part of the master, repeated mistakes may lead to frustration. Therefore, approach the puppies with gentle voice, instead of yelling.
Training Guides for Adult Golden Retriever
Basically, training adult golden retriever is similar to training the puppies. However, you may need more patience and commitment when training the adult dogs. Why? They might have developed some habits and behavior before coming to you. It is okay if the are good behaviors. You will need extra effort to change the behaviors in adult dogs.
However, the approach remains the same. Never use physical punishment to the dogs. Instead, use gentle and calm voice. Reward for the good behaviors comes in the form of treats while punishment may come in the form of ignorance. Golden retrievers are active dogs. Therefore, the best way to train them to the desired behavior is engaging them in training sessions that involve physical activities.
The following are some options of activities to consider as a part of training guides for adult golden retriever:
- Daily walks. Set the schedule to take the dog for walk around your environment. Besides burning off their energy, the golden retriever can learn to socialize and realize the surrounding;
- Running. Golden retrievers are excellent partners for running. Wear them down by physical activities like jogging and running. When they are worn down, they will not have much more energy to bark all the night (for instance), as they will use the nighttime for rest;
- Playing fetch. This simple game is effective in handling down their energy. Choose an open area, where to play the game.
- Socializing. If the dog has been familiar with the environment and other dogs, engage your golden retriever with other well-behaved dogs. Besides learning to socialize, the dog can have fun time, which wears down his energy.
- Swimming. Most golden retrievers love water. Swimming is a great activity for the dog.
Engaging the golden retrievers in outdoor space is a great idea to keep them busy while building the bond between the owner and the dog. Then, make sure to reinforce all the good behaviors and reward the dog properly. Treating the dogs for any good behavior naturally tells them to do the same, and they will do so to get more treats.
When a routine has been established, make sure to stick to it every day. The more you stick to the routine and reinforce the new habits, the easier it is for you to train the golden retrievers. These are only parts of the actual training guides for golden retriever. When doing them, you will get more experience.
