Continued Training: Adolescent Golden Retrievers
After one year, your golden retriever is technically no longer a puppy. They remain in their adolescence from about 1-3 years old. Sometimes during this period, even after a puppy has been very successfully trained, adolescent dogs might regress in their training. Dogs, like humans, like to test their boundaries. The best way to set a boundaryis to keep setting it without wavering.
This training at this age is also important to follow in the event you adopt a golden retriever in their adolescence
Adolescent Golden Retriever Training
– My Golden Retriever wont respond to my commands anymore!
You have been training your GR puppy for months, he has become the most well behaved puppy in historythen one day, he just wont do what you say! This is classic adolescence behavior and may start happening when your golden is between 8-10 months. Just like humans, dogs also have an adolescence period, and just like humans, they like to test boundaries. During this time it is very important that you continue training basic obedience commands:
| Take your golden retriever dog to an obedience class that uses positive methods only! |
If your dog wont answer to your command, gently but firmly keep asking until he does. NEVER give up, otherwise they learn that if they ignore you long enough you will stop bothering them. Adolescence is also a period of physiological changes in the dog, you may notice that they will start interacting with other dogs differently. It is important to continue with socialization exercises to keep all interactions positive. Bring treats with you everywhere and treat your dog for having friendly encounters with other dogs. It may seem like free treats to you, but it is not. You are building a strong and positive association with other dogs, so your pooch will keep treating them nicely.
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Every user will need to ask questions. The program also includes the opportunity to share your collective experiences with other dog owners. Not only can you shoot a question to the founder, but you can also even meet new people alike.
This forum contains extensive information, from troubleshooting to solutions.
Dogs love meeting new people. This service is also available. Adrienne is available to answer any questions you may have about your dogs.
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Make It A Lifetime Commitment
Even when your dog has very good manners and is a treasured member of the family, there are always new things to learn. Dog training provides excellent brain stimulation, which helps use your Goldens high energy level. It also strengthens the human-animal bond, which enriches the entire household. Explore new sports and activities, like nosework, agility, rally and therapy visits.
Whether you begin with an 8-week-old puppy, an adolescent rescue or a senior dog, these tips can help your new Golden Retriever understand what to do in his new home. It also enables you to help him burn energy, provide stimulation and build a strong bond between you and your dog.
Try The Golden Retriever Obedience Training Class
If you think that you cannot train your dog properly and anyone in the family can train the dog in basic obedience, you can enroll him to a good obedience class as well. The experts there will ensure that your golden retriever obedience training goes well and that your dog learns to behave in the best manner.
Instructors who are experienced can be also contacted for advanced Golden Retriever obedience training. You must also see that the instructor that you have appointed does not use punishment and intimidation to train your dog. You must emphasize that while your dog is being trained in obedience only positive reinforcement are used. You must also ensure that your Golden Retrievers obedience training is regular and consistent. The Golden Retriever training sessions should be short and engaging. The hallmarks of Golden Retrievers are their biddable, intelligent, and obedient nature and these characteristics are equally valuable and fundamental to a Goldens role as a companion, family pet, or working dog.
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Make Dog Training A Family Project
Be sure your Golden Retriever has a positive relationship with every member of the familyincluding other pets. Encourage each family member to practice basic skills with the dog, including sit, down, off , stay, come and all done . Encourage everyone to work on emphasizing a default behavior.
You can help other pets feel safe around your Golden by using equipment to separate them as needed when supervision isnt possible.
Work With Linear Progression
Most training routines fail because theyre not linear. If a training routine lacks a linear progression it fails because your golden wont understand why things are becoming more challenging. Thats why you need to instill a training routine that has a linear progression and reward system. This way your golden will know that certain routines will increase in difficulty.
When it comes to a linear progression you want to start while your golden is a puppy. Begin with simple training commands like sit,come,stay, and down. Once your golden gets acclimated to simple commands, you can start to ramp up the difficulty. Dont hesitate to start with more complex training techniques while theyre still young.
Additionally, goldens are great at helping humans with tasks, finding things, and tracking scents. If youre looking for more advanced techniques feel free to experiment with your golden to see what theyre capable of. There is a good chance they will surprise you.
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Meeting Another Dog: How To Introduce Your Puppy To A New Dog
Its important to socialise puppies when theyre still young to really make sure theyre at their friendliest and kindest with other dogs as adults. In humans or dogs worlds, everybody likes a friendly guy.
A good way to do this is by organising a visit from one of your friends dogs.
PRO TIP: The other dog should be friendly with puppies, and up to date with their vaccinations!
How to do it
PRO TIP
We know that all you may want is to let loose in some off lead play. But lets not get ahead of ourselves, keep the adult dog on lead for now there will be plenty of time to play later on. Dont worry youre not being a Debbie Downer, youre just making sure your puppy is safe, and is able to go one step at a time!
Choose Your Training Method And Stick To It
There are a couple of different training methods you can go with. The most common is voice commands. With this method, you’ll need to create identifiable words or phrases that you will teach your dog to remember.
Plan these commands out and write them down. Changing commands in the middle of training will only confuse your puppy and set the process back.
Another method is to use an object that produces a sound. Whistle training and click training work on the same principles as training with voice commands. However, instead of saying commands, you use the device.
Golden Retrievers are very responsive to whistle training. Whistles produce a distinct sound that can be heard from a good distance away. Though, if you choose to use a dog whistle or clicker, you’ll need to create your sound patterns and invest in a solid device that can last for many years.
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How To Succeed In Golden Retriever Obedience Training
You need to first learn how to train your dog a command and behavior in the quiet and calm of your home where there are no distractions.
Then once youve successfully trained a command in your home, you need to proof the command by re-training it step by step from the beginning in many different environments.
A few suggestions are:
- A friends home and garden
- Out in the street
- In a busy area of town
- In a shopping mall
It may seem strange to practice commands in a busy town center or shopping mall, but the results will pay dividends.
But not only do you train your Golden in many environments, you also have to proof commands with a variety of distractions around too.
A dog may be able to sit and stay in a quiet park, but its a different story to do the same when there are 15 screaming children playing football nearby and 2 dogs running around.
So next you need to start adding in distractions. A few examples are:
- Around other people and children
- Around other dogs
- In all sorts of different weather conditions
- In close proximity to noisy vehicle engines
- With other animals nearby
You should train them with no distractions, then with distractions far away, then move yourselves ever closer so the distractions are stronger.
There are many, many other types of environments and distractions we could list but Im sure you get the idea.
Now, what if you hit a roadblock in your training and you just cant seem to teach your dog a command or they just wont obey in a particular situation?
History Of Golden Retrievers
The Golden Retriever originated in Scotland at the end of the 19th century. The breeds lineage dates back to many different hunting breeds that primarily retrieved waterfowl. These origin breeds were often dignified, reserved, and aloof.
They were great companions in the field, but not as affable and warm at home. Thus a breeder set out to combine the homely canine and the hunting utility into one, and what resulted was the Golden Retriever breed.
This is important as the hunt remains present in this breed. This means that despite the perfect family dog reputation of a Golden Retriever, their lust for stimulation and their work-oriented demeanors are innate to them. Its important to know the lineage of any dog if youre going to train them, and the Golden Retrieverdespite their popularityis no exception to this rule.
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Watch The World Go By
Although you cant take your pup for walks just yet, you can still start teaching them that the outdoors is a rather nice place to be.
How to do it:
TIPS
This exercise is all about building positive associations with the outside world, so no need to rush.
If your puppy seems worried by something, move further away rather than closer to it. In the world of puppies, taking facing your fears literally doesnt really work it will just be overwhelming and make them more fearful rather than less!
Be Clear On What You Want Your Golden Retriever Puppy To Know
At every stage of training, its important to set clear expectations about what is expected of your Golden Retriever and what he can expect from you in return. Setting understandable expectations for your young puppy will help them to be happy and confident in the home.
Dogs thrive on consistency, so its important to set clear boundaries for them at every stage of their development from puppyhood through adolescence and into adulthood.
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Utilize Their Puppy Years
The Golden Retriever is a highly trainable breed. Its important that you utilize their puppy years to prepare them for a well-behaved adulthood, as this combination will evoke the best personality possible from your pup.
Take your dog to puppy classes! Theyre a breed that loves to learn, and professionals will teach them obedience, commands, and then show you how to incorporate the lessons at home.
If you choose to do it yourself, identify what you want from the process, and do your research. Know that Golden Retrievers can be a bit more fickle in their adolescent years and often require more work to keep them on track. But if you follow these tips, it should not prove difficult.
All said and done, the Golden Retriever has earned its reputation for a reason. Theyre fantastic dogs and blossom in their training. Dont be surprised to discover just how quickly your Golden learns what youre teaching him, and how hard you fall in love with the little pup.
How To Trim Your Golden Retriever Puppys Claws
The day has finally come. Today, were clipping your puppys claws.
Before you start, heres a couple of important things you need to know:
- In order for this to work, your puppy should be comfortable around the nail clippers. If you see them struggle, go back to the exercise from 2 weeks ago and have a go at it again.
- This one is quite important. Dog claws have a vein running through them this is called the quick. You dont want to cut out puppys claws too short as we will nick the quick and this will bleed. And it looks scary and you wont want to do it again.
- If your puppy has black claws and you are worried about the quick ask your vet or groomer to show you how to cut them.
How to do it
TIPS
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Golden Retriever Personality Traits
While Golden Retrievers dont have a high prey-drive because theyre hypersensitive to sensory input and stimulation as a whole, they can often be extremely excitable. Owners rave that their Goldens remain a puppy well into adulthood because that enthusiasm never wanes, and sometimes its one of their most coveted characteristics.
Other times not so much, as this excitably can become problematic when it seemingly has no end. The first time this is usually encountered is when training a puppy to comfortably walk on a leash. It usually takes a bit longer than usual to leash-train a Golden Retriever.
Lastly, when it comes to dogs as popular as the Golden Retriever, its incredibly important to thoroughly research the breeder youre purchasing your puppy from. The more demand for a breed, the larger the chance irresponsible breeders and puppy mills stress more importance on quantity than quality. If your dog is a product of irresponsible breeding, no amount of training is going to change their propensity to demonstrate poor characteristics.
With that being said, these are simply things to be aware of in the training process, and not points to dissuade you from purchasing a Golden Retriever. Theres a reason theyre Americas #3 dog, and thats because by in large theyre fantastic companions, lovable home bodies, and have astounding temperaments.
Toilet And House Training Suitable For Training Golden Retriever Puppies
Puppies have little control over their bladder until about 5 months of age and it is unfair to expect them to be house trained before this age. The two key elements when potty training Golden retrievers is confinement and timing. During confinement, you put your dog in its crate. Your puppy will attempt to come out if they have to go, as dogs will not relieve themselves in their den. This is where timing plays a key role. You need to be on stand-by to lead the your Golden Retriever puppy to the right toilet spot and let it do its thing. Order and routine make this training much easier.
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Fresno Dog Training Classes
As they say, dogs are a persons best friend. You can have many difficulties raising a dog as an owner. Chewing, pooping, dog fur everywhere, dogs barking everywhere you go, that stuff.
All dog owners will recognize this. I know because I have been there. Sometimes your dog will not eat at all. It is frustrating to see that, and sometimes you do need to put your foot down. But not all dogs behave that way.
From CPDT-KA certified dog trainer Adrienne Farricelli, she brings the essential guidebook.
Dog owners, this is Brain Training for Dogs.
This article will explain the programs intricacies, and how they help both dog and owner. The techniques mentioned here are from tried and tested methods.
Before you go on, you may want to check out this video by The Cagdot on YouTube that gives a quick overview. After, you will want to read the rest of our article for a more comprehensive review.