Why Should You Train Your Golden Retriever Puppy
Before I got my golden retriever, Oliver, and I thought about training him, one of the things that went through my mind was that I didnt want him to be a robot that just followed my commands and didnt live or enjoy his own life.
As it turns out, I was thinking about it completely the wrong way.
In fact, training Oliver has helped him enjoy life more, and here are three reasons why:
1. More freedom
The better trained your dog is, the more freedom they will have.
For instance, when Oliver was a wild, untrained puppy, we couldnt take him to public places like coffee shops.
When we finally started getting him under control, he was able to go more places with us and spend more time with us.
Another example is when we had guests over.
Oliver would jump all over them when they first came over, so there was a time when we had to put him in the backyard and then slowly let him greet people one by one.
He hated being out there when he knew people were over, but by us training him, and him being a good student, he now doesnt jump anymore and gets to experience the joy of greeting people when they come in the house .
2. Safety
Training can have huge safety implications for your dog.
For instance, lets say you drop a pill on the ground and your dog is right there under you.
If your dog isnt trained to leave it, or at least trained to drop it if she gets it in her mouth, that could be very dangerous for her.
3. More enjoyable
Begin The Training Process As Soon As Possible
It’s never too early to start training your puppy. In fact, the earlier you begin, the easier it will be to develop good habits. Most dog owners bring their pups home at around six to eight weeks of age.
While you may be tempted to let your dog have a few days of worry-free living when you first bring them home, it’s not a good idea.
Your puppy may start to develop bad habits straight off the bat. If you don’t address these issues, your dog will see that there are no repercussions to their actions. Start building that trust as soon as possible. Golden Retrievers are very intelligent creatures, so they’ll have no problem picking up training techniques at only a few months old.
How To Give The Treats To Your Golden Retriever Properly
You should be careful when giving treats to your dog. Unhealthy treats should be given occasionally. Consider using the 10 percent rule when it comes to giving treats to your dog.
The treats should not exceed 10 percent of the daily caloric intake. For instance, if you have a forty-pound retriever, it would need an approximate of 1400 kcal every day. Any additional treats should not be more than 140 kcal during the day. The rest 1260 kcal should be your dogs normal food.
Also, you should keep in mind that the caloric intake depends on the age, size, exercise, and temperament of the dog. Small golden retrievers need more food than older dogs. Moreover, active dogs need more calories than inactive dogs of the same size.
Dogs that train, play, or fidget a lot all need large calories. You should consider these factors when giving treats to your dog.
A problem that is often encountered regarding dog treats is with begging dogs. Your dog may learn how to beg for more food such as soft paw placed on the lap, twirling, and almost inaudible whimper. You need to stop falling for the antics for more treats.
You need to avoid situations that may encourage your dog to beg. This includes not eating in front of the dog and keeping your dog away from the kitchen when preparing meals. You should invite the dog once you have finished eating or preparing the meal and give cuddles and pats.
You May Like: Best Golden Retriever Breeders In The Northeast
Positive Dog Obedience Training With Healthy Dog Treats
Damsel and Angel play a game of fetch with the golden retriever favorite dog toys her tennis ball using Drools Absolute Vitamin Biscuit- Dog Supplement. This helps in positive dog obedience training. Teaching my dog to fetch can be a fun dog fetch game when kids are involved. To train a dog to fetch, encourage your pet to go after something that he likes, for example, in this case, Angels favorite tennis ball or even a Kong toy like kong stick, etc.
Motivate the dog to come back with the toy using delicious dog training treats. Any dog treat will do but make sure you give in small bits here quantity does not matter only quality and number matters. Dog sitting can be made fun for dogs and people alike by involving in such train a dog to fetch session using dog training products and dog toys with a combination of healthy dog treats.
Puppy fetch training is one of the most early-stage training that you can undertake if your pooch is a purebred retriever. Golden retrievers and Labrador retrievers have the inherent genetic makeup to go after and fetch to please their masters all of course for a delicious healthy dog training treats!
Cesar Millans book How to Raise the Perfect Dog: Through Puppyhood and Beyond is an awesome read and details on the best techniques on dog training for behaviour training and creating the perfect environment to raise a well-balanced dog.
Use Rewards To Your Advantage
Positive reinforcement is the best way to teach your puppy new skills. Golden Retrievers are very loving creatures that don’t typically display alpha-like behaviors with humans. Instead, they respond to a gentle touch.
You should never hit your puppy or yell at them. This will only teach them to fear you, which could lead to a host of other issues when they get older.
Rewards and praise are the way to go. Invest in some training treats that you can give to your puppy whenever they do something good.
These small treats are often low in calories, yet packed with flavor. They’ll love the reward and associate good behavior with the treat, making the training process much easier.
Read Also: Retriever Dog Harness
The Best Puppy Treats For Golden Retrievers
TheBarkSpace.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an affiliate, this website earns from qualifying purchases.
Golden retriever puppies love to please, and are eager to learn, so a steady supply of treats can make training fun for both you and your puppy.
When using treats to train and encourage good behavior on your dogs part, you will want to make sure you are using healthy options that wont encourage overeating, while tasting good enough that your puppy will be eager for more.
But what are the best puppy treats for Golden Retrievers?
In this article, well explore several considerations for choosing the right treat for your Golden Retriever pup and highlight several options that could potentially make a good fit for your pup.
Blue Buffalo Health Bars Dog Treats
The Blue Buffalo Health Bars dog treat can taste delightful for your canine pet. This is a favorite among health-conscious dog owners. The dog treat has a great crunchy feel. It does not contain any soy, wheat, or corn that can cause an allergic reaction in golden retrievers.
Eating the crunchy delight can also clean the gums and teeth of your dog. The dog treat has no chemicals, additives, or any preservatives. It is completely digestible and is a perfect alternative to rawhide.
Also Check: How Often To Bathe Golden Retriever Puppy
Best Puppy Treats For Golden Retrievers
Given the numerous dog food options, you may find yourself in a state of confusion every time you head out to buy treats for your golden retriever puppy. And we understand that you would only want the best kind of reward for your little ball of fur that is so eager to learn and get trained.
Wholesome Pride Sweet Potato Chews
- Great for all dogs.
- Available in a 16-ounce resealable bag.
Sweet Potato Chews are my Golden Retriever Ellies favourite treat! She majorly drools over these. They are a healthy treat made from only one ingredient, sweet potatoes.
These treats are dehydrated to preserve the nutrients and have just the right amount of chew to them. They are a great source of fibre and are rich in beta carotene, vitamins and minerals.
Single-ingredient treats are a great choice for dogs who have food sensitivities, and not every treat has to be a meaty treat.
These sweet potato chews will vary in texture and size, but your dog will still find them drool-worthy. They are low in fat so you can feel good about giving your Golden this treat.
Recommended Reading: European Golden Retriever Vs American
Make It Rewarding To Keep Them Interested
Having a golden retriever will make this part of training much easier, and oh-so-fun. While some dogs are strictly food motivated, and others are picky about their treats, goldens are generally excited to get any attention or reward from their person, even if its just a few minutes of playtime. Nevertheless, make sure not to take advantage of this or youll risk your dogs losing interest in training! Its never a bad idea to have some treats on hand and a few minutes to spare shes earned some playtime or even a walk!
Know The Breeds Behaviors And Channel Them Nondestructively
While many love the gentle, sweet side of the golden retriever, its easy to overlook the higher-energy, active side thats just as characteristic of the breed. Traditionally, golden retrievers were bred to carry waterfowl in their mouths. Although most goldens arent hunting nowadays, they still need a lot of activity and have a tendency to get quite mouthy, especially as puppies.
To discourage your golden retriever from biting, chewing, or being otherwise destructive, encourage her to channel her energy toward an item thats supposed to be chewed . Let her burn energy frisking with her four-legged friends or bring her on your run to keep her active.
Also Check: Golden Retriever Grooming Styles Pictures
Editors Pick: Whimzees Natural Grain Free Dental Dog Treats
The Facts:
- Vegetarian treats that help clean your dogs teeth
- Made with just six ingredients
- Great for dogs with allergies or sensitivities
Does your four-legged friend have a refined palate? These vegetarian treats are gluten-free and full of fiber. Also not on the ingredients list: GMOs, artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. Instead, these tasty snacks are made with just six easily-digestible ingredients to boost your pups health. And the craggly alligator shape is designed to help reach all the small spaces in your dogs mouth, thereby helping to prevent bad breath and the buildup of plaque and tartar. We always order these for our two-year-old Husky mix, and she cant get enough of them! our colleague tells us. Available for small and medium sized dogs.
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.
You May Like: Dry Canyon Goldens
Purebites Mini Trainers Beef Liver
These treats are made with only a single ingredient beef liver.
Not only do dogs love this stuff, but its also healthy and packed with nutrition for your pup.
While there are many beef liver treats available for purchase, these specific treats come cut into perfect, small cubes an ideal size for training.
These freeze-dried treats arent sticky or greasy at all, so they work well for times when you want to carry some treats in your pocket.
Nudges Natural Dog Treats Jerky Cuts
- Real USA sourced chicken is the number 1 ingredient.
- Slow oven-dried jerky cuts.
- Easy to tear into smaller pieces.
- No artificial flavours, no preservatives, & no animal By-products.
- No corn, wheat or soy.
- All-natural.
- Contains glucosamine & chondroitin to support bone & joint health.
- 36-ounce resealable package.
- Also available in beef or duck.
These jerky cuts are soft and chewy and your Golden Retriever will find them irresistible. As soon as you open this bag of treats Im sure your Golden will be right beside you drooling from that savoury delicious smell.
You can either give them whole or break off bite-sized pieces to use for training. These treats are healthy and natural and completely made in the USA.
The added glucosamine and chondroitin will help support your Goldens bone and joint health.
There are 3 delicious flavours to choose from, and real All-American meat of the highest quality is the first ingredient.
These treats do contain sugar, but it is listed further down the list. Youre going to find that sugar is a common ingredient in most treats and it is sometimes unavoidable. However, when given in moderation these treats are completely safe and healthy.
Dogs go nuts for these treats! They are high-quality and delicious. They smell and feel just like real jerky. The bag that they come in seals in the freshness with a ziplock-style closure.
Recommended Reading: When Is National Golden Retriever Day
How To Use Treats When Training Your Dog
When using treats during training, timing is everything.
First
If you ask for a behavior, and your dog complies, give them a treat immediately , along with lavish praise. Your dog will begin to associate the command with the wanted behavior and the treat.
Then
While your dog is learning a behavior, give them a treat every single time they obey your command. As your dog becomes more proficient, you can become more picky, only rewarding them for a quick, perfect response.
Lastly
If you are just starting out with a brand new skill, you will have to use your treat to lure your dog into position.
For example, if you are teaching your dog to sit for the very first time, follow this method:
Just be sure to keep in mind that a lure is usually only necessary when teaching a new command, and should be discontinued once your dog is reliably complying with your request.
Best Value: Old Mother Hubbard Crunchy Classic Natural Dog Treats
The Facts:
- A mix of different flavors including chicken and cheddar
- Available in mini, small and large for dogs of all sizes
- Big bags full of small, crunchy biscuits give you the most bang for your buck
Made in North America, these bone-shaped baked treats come in four different flavorsoriginal, chicken, cheddar and char tar . Each biscuit is made with real ingredients like wheat, oatmeal, chicken, cheese, eggs, apples and carrots. We tried a few different treats for Snoop, our five-month-old shar-pei mix, but he always spit them out. Hes pretty picky but he absolutely loves these! one PureWow staffer tells us. Dog owners also love that these treats come in miniature sizes, which means that a single 3.8- or 20-pound bag will last for a long timeand for all of your dogs tricks.
Also Check: What Temperature Can A Golden Retriever Withstand
Teaching Your Dog To Obey In Every Situation
I remember teaching Oliver to sit pretty quickly.
Im not going to lie, I was a little proud of how fast he learned, but when we took him to my parents house and I tried to show him off, he would not sit no matter how hard I tried to get him to.
Then when we returned home that night, he was sitting perfectly every time!
Dogs dont generalize well, meaning that even though Oliver knew sit means sit in my living room, he didnt know that sit means sit in my parents living room as well.
Eventually, he learned that sit means sit no matter where we are, but then we faced another problem: whenever other dogs were around he wouldnt pay attention to me and sit when I asked him to.
So heres how to get your puppy to obey you in every situation, even with distractions: practice.
Practice in different rooms in your house, in the backyard, in the driveway, on your walks, at the park.
Also, practice with different distractions around, like around other dogs or people.
And heres a note for when you practice: take baby steps.
You want your dog to obey you every time you ask them to, so slowly teach them new behaviors in new environments, and slowly add in new distractions.
For example, if you just taught your puppy how to sit in the living room, teach them to sit in the kitchen next, not at your local park.
And if your dog is great with obeying while there are no other dogs around, take him to a park, stay 100 feet away from other dogs, then try to get him to obey.