Tips for Training a Golden Retriever

Training a Golden Retriever requires patience, consistency, and positive reinforcement. Check out these tips to effectively train your dog!

Having an untrained dog is missing the innate learning abilities of the pet and is probably something we usually ask when an animal comes to our home. In the case of the golden retriever, the same thing happens, and although it is a breed of dog with an enviable character, it also needs a good training to not only get the best out of it, but also for its owner in order to live in harmony and without added complications.

A golden retriever is a very intelligent dog, and if the training is appropriate, it is normal for them to behave practically as one more person in the family. In this sense, if you have a golden retriever but you are not an expert in this breed, follow our advice to train a golden retriever that we offer you, so that everything is much easier for you.

Train a golden retriever puppy

Training experts say that the highest success rate in dog training occurs when they start educating them from puppies, something that is quite logical because the same thing usually happens with us, humans. But it also gives very good results to start training a dog with an age between 6 months and 6 years, but yes, the ability of learning of the animal will be lower as it gets older.

It is in patience where most of the amateur trainers fail , which often do not insist on not seeing, in short periods of time, good results when changing the behavior of your pet. Therefore, it is best to start at an early age. If, for example, we train a Golden Retriever puppy at an age between 8 and 20 weeks of age , he will have his maximum learning capacity and he himself, once he learns something new, will look for more things to learn. At these early ages the dog’s body has not yet begun to produce hormones and that implies a higher success rate in dog training. The lack of hormones will make your puppy focus more on what you say and, if properly socialized, not in other dogs, people and other related distractions.

Normally, golden retriever puppies follow us from one side to another and take us as a total reference. The puppy will react in the same way that we do with other people and other animals, so if we greet someone vigorously, the pet will do the same and if, for example, we were nervous to meet a friend, the Dog will respond the same way.

When the dog begins to produce hormones, it is when his greatest instincts begin to be born to browse, and that is when we will realize if there was a previous training or not.

Teaching of hygienic habits

We must choose the place where our pet will meet their needs and the training to do them outside the home. It includes areas such as grass, earth or cement, while at home it will be better to opt for newspaper. The best and most effective way to teach the golden retriever is to always make your needs in the same place because changing it can be harder to internalize for him.

Especially puppies need to make their needs quite frequently and, especially, when they are very young we should get them done every hour and a half. As the puppy grows larger, we can do it less frequently.

Teaching your puppy to go to the bathroom is not especially complicated, but to remember it, do not forget to use positive reinforcement through congratulations and treats whenever you do it well to make sure you understand that you like their attitude.

For the arrival of the golden retriever puppy home, the ideal would be to provide an exclusive and well-defined area for him, since leaving the whole house may be too much space at first. A good technique is to prepare a place that is not excessively large so that the dog can do his needs, and accommodate his bed in the opposite place so he can sleep peacefully. In this way you will quickly learn that your needs have to be done outside the home or on newspaper when there is no other choice.

Training technique to get your attention

To start the golden retriever training and teach him something, what we have to do first is to get the dog to pay attention to us. Look for a specific word when you want to teach him something and when the animal pays attention, walk towards him and give him a prize at the same time you say “very good” or “good dog.”

Wait one or two minutes and repeat the same thing but this time having a reward in your hand and staying 30 cm from the dog. Just show him the prize while you say the same word to get his attention, such as “learn.” The dog will approach you; you will do the same and give him his prize.

The third times do the same, but stay a greater distance from the dog so that it is he who has to approach you. When giving the prize do not forget to congratulate your pet.

In this way we manage to take the first training steps, since we get the dog to understand that if he pays attention to his owner, he will get a reward. Likewise, it is important that in teaching to capture the attention of the golden retriever always choose the same word. “Attention”, “attentive”, can be good words, although you can choose any other with which you feel comfortable. The important thing is that the animal is always repeated and cannot be confused with one of the orders that you will teach later.

Basic Golden Retriever Training Recommendations

It is best to train the golden retriever daily in short sessions, between 3 and 5 sessions a day, which last a few minutes. It is not convenient for the sessions to be flattered a lot, since we want the greatest concentration of our pet and if so, it can get bored and not be so effective.

When you are in a negative mood, tired or in stressful situations, do not practice training with your dog, and remember that animals capture our energy. Training should be enjoyed and the pet should be praised effusively and sincerely whenever he does something right. Finishing with an exercise that we know will be positive is also recommended.

It is also important to know that we should not call the golden retriever to come to us in order to scold or correct him, since dogs only understand the present and, in this way, we will only get him to associate the punishment with the act of coming towards U.S. Undoubtedly, the consequences of this will be negative, since the dog will begin to fear us.

Taking a dog training course can be a good idea if you like this world. Parties, owner and animal will benefit greatly without a doubt.

A golden retriever is a dog with high learning abilities and outstanding intelligence and character, but that does not require a good training, since there may be cases in which they acquire bad habits.

The importance of constancy in training the golden retriever

When the golden retriever has learned to do his needs where we have stipulated, is correctly socialized and we have managed to internalize the word chosen to get his attention, we can continue with his education and move on to the basic orders. Among them, stand out the order “still”, “feel”, “come here” and “by my side” to make both the coexistence and the walks with the golden retriever become something pleasant and positive for everyone. To know how to teach your dog each of the basic orders, do not miss our article in which we offer you all our tricks and tips.

Without a doubt, and as we pointed out in the previous section, the key to training the golden retriever , and any other dog, lies in constancy and patience. If we are not constant and do not work daily with the dog, we pay the attention you need and do not play with it, we will not get the expected results. Likewise, not all dogs learn equally quickly or internalize all orders in the same way. Therefore, we must keep in mind that it can happen that assimilates where to do your needs without hardly any effort and that, on the contrary, it takes several days to understand that you must lie down to order.

Spend time with your golden retriever, offer all the care you need and you will have a partner willing to give you all his love and loyalty forever.