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How To Train Your Golden Retriever

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What Makes The Down Command So Useful When Can It Be Used

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There are many situations in every day life when you can use obedience commands and the down is possibly the most useful. Its an excellent way to control your dog and keep them in check.

Here are just a few of the reasons for which the down command is so useful:

  • Massive safety benefits to nail them to the spot if a dangerous situation is forming. For instance if your dog is on the other side of a road, about to cross and a car is coming you can command a down until safe and then call or go to get them.
  • Its more reliable than a sit to stop an impulsive dog. For instance if your Golden is the type to chase a motorbike or squirrel, when in a sit they can explosively bolt in an instant. But they are calmer in a down, less poised for action and so it takes more to go from a down to a run, giving you greater opportunity to interrupt and correct them.
  • A down is more relaxed than a sit and dogs will find it easier to hold a down for far longer than a sit. So if you need your dog to stay in one spot for any length of time, the down is the perfect command to use when you need them to stay put.
  • Because a down is such a relaxed position, its very useful to calm an over-excited dog. If your Golden is getting too boisterous around children or other dogs, ask for a down and it will calm them and take the edge off their boisterous energy.

How To Crate Train Your Golden Retriever

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Making the decision to crate train your golden retriever doesnt come lightly. Research tells you of all the many varied opinions on crate training.

In this article, Ill share with you the answers to the following questions:

  • What is crate training?
  • Why should I crate train my golden retriever?
  • How do I start?
  • Which crates are best to use?
  • When will it be okay to stop crating my golden?
  • What are the pros and cons of crate training a golden retriever?

As you read through the article, think about your own situation and that of your dog. Will crate training your golden be the best for you? Lets take a look at the answers to our questions.

  • Last Thoughts on Crate Training
  • Don’t Play Tug With The Leash

    If your dog is in the habit of pulling on the leash, it is very important to not pull back. Big dogs like golden retrievers tend to respond to pressure on their leashes with even more pressure, leading to a tug of war between you and your dog. That’s taking a bad habit and making it worse. Instead, stop and wait until your dog comes back to your side, or call him back by name. Don’t reel him in, but keep the leash slack and relaxed and wait for him to come.

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    Difficulty Walking On Leash

    Some Goldens either never really got the hang of leash training, werent ever trained, or have regressed due to poor reinforcement. Either way, its important to correct this behavior as soon as possible. While on a walk, if your pup goes wild, stop.

    Wait until your pup calms down. Once they do, continue the walk. You will literally repeat this repeatedly. Granted, youll need ample amounts of time to make this successful. Try walking three times a day this way for a few weeks to see if the behavior improves.

    How To Train A Golden Retriever Puppy To Walk On A Leash

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    Walking on a leash is not a natural ability in puppies they need to learn it, but its easier than you may think!

    To train a Golden Retriever puppy to walk on a leash, practice at home first by introducing him to a collar and/or harness. Teach a leash cue, and start very short walks. If the pup pulls, dont yank or drag the leash, stand fast, and wait for him to come back to you. Reward with a treat and praise.

    Review the following steps:

  • Introduce your Golden Retriever puppy to a harness and/or collar and leash by first allowing him to get used to it gradually. You can do this by letting him wear them for a few minutes inside the house or yard. I find the best harnesses to be front-attached as they discourage pulling, such as the Walk Your Dog With Love No-Pull Harness. I use this one as it gives you more control, is inexpensive, and comes in various colors and styles.
  • Teach a leash cue to call your puppys attention when you want to put the leash on. It could be a come while holding the leash, but most dogs will soon learn to associate the sound of you picking up his leash and collar with a walk. Give a treat when your dog obeys the command.
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    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.

    Training Golden Retrievers 05 Tips For Success

    Golden Retrievers or Goldies are excellent animal companions. They are known for being affectionate, loyal and able to form lifelong bonds with humans. They are also quite intelligent and very trainable. In General Golden Retrievers are incredibly loyal, social, and trustworthy however, they do not come into the world filled with manners. Though they possess a friendly and eager-to-please demeanor but training golden retrievers will be necessary to differentiate between desirable and unacceptable action. Some training Golden Retrievers tips have been discussed below. Applying these tips make your Golden Retriever a well-mannered dog companion.Tthe more knowledge you are armed with, the easier the training will be for you and your dog.

    After you bring a Golden Retriever home, training the Golden Retriever is the first responsibility that you are obliged to perform. Golden Retriever training is not an uphill task due to their intelligence, obedience, and eagerness to please the handler nature. Regardless if you just brought home a puppy or an adult, “training golden retrievers” is exciting because they catch on to things quickly, if you work with them. An untrained golden retriever can lead to jumping on people to greet them face to face, but golden retrievers can weigh 80 pounds full grown, so a jump on a child can easily knock them over. This is why it is vital to begin the training as soon as you bring your puppy or dog home.

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    What Are The Biggest Worries And Concerns When Training A Golden Retriever

    1. Golden Retrievers Can Be MischievousGolden retriever pups have a real mischievous side, so it is important to stay on top of their behavior. Golden retrievers are so intelligent but can become easily bored especially if there is not enough mental stimulation. Typically a Golden Retriever needs up to two hours of exercise every day, and which includes mental exercises.

    2. Golden Retrievers Have A Short Attention SpanRather than long training sessions once a week, your Golden Retriever will respond much better to daily short training sessions 10 minutes at a time. It is important to provide a variety of activities to burn off that Golden Retriever energy.

    3. Golden Retrievers Are Social DogsAlong with the one-to-one training, your Golden Retriever must also be socialized well, with people and animals outside of the immediate family. A puppy kindergarten class is an amazing way to start socialization while making training fun.

    Two Techniques To Train Your Golden Retriever To Lie Down

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    Luckily for us, our dogs already know how to lie down and this makes our task so much easier. We only have to make them do so on command.

    Our aim is to train our Golden Retriever to lie down completely when we ask, with their belly touching the floor and their front legs stretched ahead of them. No bum in the air, not merely crouched, but all the way down, belly to the floor.

    And then they should wait for us to release them.

    As with all training there are many techniques and methods you could use. In this article I will concentrate on the two most simple which are both kind, positive and highly effective: Luring and capturing.

    So lets begin

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    A Word On Physical Coercion

    For those of you that read my article on training the sit command, youll remember I wrote how you can physically put them into a sit. This isnt something Im going to recommend or write about for the down command.

    Physical coercion for a sit is both easy to do and very gentle if done as described. But forcing a dog into a down is not. There are some right and wrong ways to do this, but if youre unskilled its very easy to get wrong and you can harm a puppys growing joints.

    So I advise you to use the two methods Ive already described. I promise you will succeed with these methods plus a little patience and dedication. Theres no need for physical coercion.

    Tire Out Your Dog Before Walks

    Every time you put on the leash, your dog gets super excited. Golden retrievers tend to get more excited than most other breeds. Try tiring your dog out before taking him for a walk. You might find that it makes a difference. Easy ways to do this is to play fetch with them, or make them chase their favorite toys. Sometimes, your dog might even be too tired to go for a walk.

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    Adopting A Trained Golden Retriever

    Adopting a trained dog does not mean that your job as a dog owner is done. When you adopt any dog, your job is only beginning. Golden Retrievers often live for 10-12 years, making them a serious, long-term commitment. Even if your puppy has already learned how to sit, stay, and walk on a leash, it will still need life-long reinforcement of those rules and commands. Without a strong, knowledgeable owner, the Golden Retriever training your dog experienced as a puppy will quickly become nothing more than a dim memory. It is up to you to continue your dogs training and help your Golden Retriever grow up into a healthy, obedient, socialized companion.

    When you adopt a dog, be sure to ask the breeder about their training techniques so you can build on those commands. For example, many breeders crate train their puppies, and they may be able to offer advice on finding an appropriate crate for your dog. If you need assistance, there are many Golden Retriever training programs available nationwide to help first-time dog owners learn how to communicate with their pet. Training a dog can be an intimidating idea, but adopting a pre-trained dog can be a great way to get a head start and make it easier for you to continue their training at home.

    Which Crates Are Best To Use

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    Determining which crates work best is a personal preference. However, if youve never used one, you may not be sure what to look for.

    You can start with a small crate and later upgrade to a large or extra large crate when your golden grows. However, crates can be expensive, and you may want to only make a one time investment.

    If thats the case, find a crate that has a partition so that you can make an area small enough for your puppy. If they have too much room to ramble, they wont be as willing to refrain from going potty in it. Give them enough room to stand, stretch, and lay down comfortably.

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    How Long & How Often To Train Your Golden Retriever Puppy

    Life is hectic with a new puppy, but heres the good news: you can have a well-behaved puppy and train them in as little as five minutes a day.

    Puppies dont have long attention spans, so its actually unproductive to try to train them for more than five or ten minutes at a time.

    In fact, when your puppy is young, its better to keep training sessions as short as two to five minutes.

    This way, your puppy has fun the entire time and keeps a positive association with training sessions.

    As far as how often to train them, having three to five of these short training sessions is recommended.

    Now, you might be thinking, how am I going to train this wild puppy with such little training time?

    Well, in reality, every moment with them is a teaching moment.

    You spend the formal training sessions teaching them the basics, and then take advantage of little moments here and there to practice.

    For example, lets say youre taking your puppy on a walk and youve been working on come and sit.

    When you walk up the door you can ask your puppy to come, and then before you put the leash on, ask them to sit.

    Then, when you get back inside, you ask them to sit while you take the leash off.

    This isnt adding any real extra training time, but practicing behaviors as part of your everyday routine will help your puppy learn fast.

    Teaching Your Golden Retriever Bite Inhibition

    When your golden retriever is still a pup, they have no idea how hard they should bite. This is why you often noticed puppies nip incredibly hard. In fact, a puppies bite is often a lot harder than an adults. Heres how theyll naturally learn bite inhibition.

    Their Mom Teaches Them

    Up until theyre 8 weeks old, a golden retrievers mom is going to teach them how soft or hard their bites can be. From the moment shes born she wont be afraid to let a puppy know if theyre being too rough when they bite, and shell happily put them in their place if they are.

    You And Your Family

    From the 8 12 week mark, you and your family will need to teach your puppy how hard they should bite. To do this, every time your golden retriever bites any of you, you should yelp and slowly pull your hand away.

    In some cases, your puppy may become even more playful when you do this. When this is the case, youll need to move away from them and ignore them completely. Ignore them for a minute and once theyve calmed down begin playing with them.

    If they continue to bite keep doing this. If they bite two or three more times, just pull away from them, and stop playing altogether. This is what their litter mates would do, and theyll soon be learn that playing aggressively doesnt work.

    Give Them Things To Chew On

    Nyla bones, Kongs and other chew toys are all great choices.

    Exercise Them Enough

    Carry A Toy With You

    Play With Them In Non Contact Ways

    Train Them

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    Consider Using A Crate

    Crates can be a great tool in your training arsenal. They’re a catch-all piece of gear. A crate can be used for house training, obedience, and safety. If you ever have to leave your puppy alone, the crate will ensure that they can’t get into any trouble. It’s recommended that you use the crate at night as well.

    Over time, your puppy will start to see the crate as a place of comfort. They’ll go to it whenever they’re scared, tired, or just want to be alone. By introducing a crate early on in their lives, you can rest easy knowing that they’re comfortable using one.

    This can prove to be useful whenever you need to take your puppy to the vet or on an airplane. Typically, owners will stop using the crate full-time once their puppy has reached adulthood, using it only when it’s necessary.

    How To Housebreak A Golden Retriever

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    Housebreaking should start straight away when your puppy arrives home.

    When you arrive home with your Golden puppy go straight to the yard. After a long car journey they are very likely to want to go-potty.

    The key to successful housebreaking is to minimize accidents indoors as much as possible.

    Taking your Golden Retriever puppy out to the yard every hour is important during the first few weeks.

    Getting into a positive routine from the start will help your puppy learn faster. For the first month use the schedule below:

    Golden Retriever Training Schedule

    Toilet, play, chewing, toilet, bed!

    Every time you train go-potty remember your Golden Retriever will present clownish and playful behaviors.

    When you take him outside he will likely want to play. Ignore him and watch from a distance when he first goes outside. Wait for him to go-potty. As soon as hes finished toileting immediately play with him or give him a treat. Make sure he knows he did a great thing!

    If there is an accident, and there will be because puppies have small bladders, dont shout at him. He wont understand what he did wrong.

    Instead ignore your puppy and clean the area with biological washing powder mixed with water.

    As he gets older your Golden will realize that toileting in the house is boring, whereas toileting in the yard is super fun and worth him learning to hold on for!

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