The right time to start your Golden Retriever puppy training is even before you’ve brought your new pet home. And the reason for it is that here everything depends on you and your behavior. You need to think carefully and decide what it ok and what it not ok for your dog to do. What rooms will your Golden be allowed to and what are closed for him? Will he be allowed on the furniture? Allowed to jump up? Allowed on the lap? Answering this question remember that if you Golden learns to jump up when he weights 10 pounds, he’ll do the same when he’s 50 pounds. Will you be still thrilled by such behavior? Once you’ve decided this things training Golden Retriever puppies is easy.
Remember, the habits that you dog form in the first eight weeks will influence its behavior when its six months and one year old.
So it’s better to lay down a proper foundation from the very beginning. Once you’ve decided the main rules for your Golden retriever stick to them firmly. You’ll only confuse your pup by allowing it on the couch when it’s two month old and forbidding in half a year. You are the parent and provider for your pup, so it is important that you establish trustful relations from the very beginning.
There is a number of issues you will need to deal with. And the fist one is nipping. It is the habit well-known by dog owners for centuries. The reason for it is that one of the ways for the puppy to learn about the world around is by putting stuff in the mouth and biting it. You’ll need to fight this habit. The habit is encouraged by different games were you use your arm or leg as an object for casing and catching. It’s not the best idea, the better way it to choose a toy for this type of games (a rope will be a good choice). Nipping should be discouraged by a firm “no” or “enough” which will usually do the job of stopping your pup. By the way, stabbing you pup’s muzzle or face won’t help at all.
If you caught you young Golden chewing your shoe the best thing you can do is to say a firm “no” and replace it with a chewing toy and praise him with food for accepting it. Puppies normally chew out of curiosity or teething so don’t leave your pup unattended when you let it outside the crate. If you allow your pup to develop this habit it might grow up a real destructor.
The next issue to address is bucking. There is no need to encourage bucking in Golden Retrievers. If you want your dog to buck at the front door when someone is coming, just wait till it’ll grow up a bit. An adult dog will just do it naturally. On the other hand if you encourage bucking and growling by imitating these sounds during games with your pup, one day you might find yourself to be an owner of an extremely noisy dog.
You would also want any of your family members to be able to take food or toys away you’re your dog if necessary. For this reason you should teach your pup properly from the very childhood. The best way to do it is by regularly placing your hand in the food bowl when the pup is eating. You should also give and then take away the toys from time to time. Eventually your pup will get used to the idea that sometimes it’s necessary to give these things away.
You’ll also find that sometimes Golden Retrievers “smile” and “talk”.
They just wrinkle their nose and make growl sounds often with toys in their mouth. It means… Well, actually it means what it looks like — they are just happy and enjoying themselves. So they are actually smiling.You may find that some of your visitors may take it for the growl of aggression. Just explain them what it means.
Finally, I want to make a point that it is possible and fairly easy to train a Golden Retriever puppy yourself.
But it’s as easy to spoil it with unprofessional training. So despite the fact that you can do it yourself I would recommend you to visit obedience courses. Especially if it’s your first dog. Such courses will help both you and your dog understand the proper way of communication with each other. Moreover, for your pup it is going to be and exciting experience with lots of other dogs and stranger. There also will be a lot of distraction for your Golden, which is actually a good thing because you dog will learn to listen to you in such an environment. One day it may save your dog’s life.
While your pup will learn new tricks, you will learn the right way to teach them. You’ll also find that seeing you pleased and happy makes your Golden happy too, creating an additional motivation for him to serve you. As you’ll find out very soon positive motivation works with Goldens better than negative reinforcement (which doesn’t really work at all). So pay attention to this matter as you chose the courses for your Golden. Also be aware, that small courses work better than the large once. Finally, the courses should have proper training facilitates so beware of any courses that are established in someone’s back yard, garage or in the park.