Golden Retriever Training: A Complete Information

Training a dog is quite difficult but when we finally decide on bringing a pet like a Golden Retriever to our home, it seems a challenging task. Is there any need to train a dog and what is the best age that is suited for training the dog? If training is important then what are the smartest techniques that help a lot in changing the dog from a pet to a good companion?

Golden Retriever training should be started on the day you bring the dog into your house. Training of all types of routine tasks and behaviors like sitting, standing, toilet, sleeping, and even playing must be provided to the incoming dog. I have mentioned a complete training plan and some pro tips that help you get training results a lot quicker than any other procedure. So, continue reading!

Training and Phase Changes from Birth to 2 Years

Training starts from the very first you bring the dog to your apartment or if it is a newborn then you start it in the first few months. The Sooner the better and later training doesn’t impact a lot like training at the initial stages.

Here is the training program for up to 2 years.

First 6 Months of the Pet-Angle Phase

The first few months impact a lot in maintaining a good bond with the puppy. The puppy remembers its owner who gives food, protects it from different conditions, and shows affection towards the pet. The best time to teach the dog lessons of obedience is not above 6 months.

Purpose of Activity

Carefully plan a schedule, conduct exercise sessions, and observe your pet very closely. Try to show your expectations from the dog and show signs of liking and disliking so that it keeps on changing its behavior with time.

Initial Mile Stones

The puppy starts communicating with the people and surrounding environment. It’s better to take notice of the friendly and aggressive barking sounds of your pet. You need to make it learn to silence when you ask to do so.

Puppies sometimes fear people, pets, and other surrounding objects like high music, etc. Group training and gradual exposure to different sounds help in making the pet comfortable. It may jump into your lap whenever any different sound is heard so make sure that the intensity of the fear decreases gradually.

Taking Care of the Golden Retriever and Grooming Sessions

Caring for a dog is almost the same as any other living mammal. Timely nail trimming, preferably once a week, teeth cleaning of the pet, daily, brushing hairs of the pet to make him more comfortable are very important. Basic grooming tasks make the pet more healthy and energetic.

Bath is one of the most effective techniques in caring for a pet. Make sure paws, tail, or above all ears are clean after a thorough bath session. You can consult a professional for the first 2-3 baths and continue yourself at later stages.

Rebellion Phase of the Dog – 6 to 18 Months

The pet enters into a new stage after the first 6 months of its birth. If you have brought the pet in the first few weeks and made a close bond with the pet, then this phase will be a little easier. Otherwise, you need to establish a close bond with the pet to effectively control the rebellious behavior of the pet.

Milestones During the Rebellion Phase

You will see a quick change in the behavior of the pet as it will try to manipulate the orders. Don’t worry at all! The pet is eager to learn new things and you need to plan a proper method to eradicate rebellious behavior.

Here are some tips:

Give an order to the dog that is doable.
Appreciate the dog if it does well by bringing it its favorite food or anything else.
Give a minor punishment to the dog if it does something bad.
Punishment can take any form from extending the training session or bringing an average food that isn’t liked much by the dog.
Give simple to advanced challenges to the pet that will help him consume undesirable energies in solving various challenges.

The pet completes almost 80 percent of its growth at 18 months. So, the habits, developed at this stage, impact a lot in the behavior of the dog during the upcoming years. The rebellious behavior slowly vanishes at the age of 24 months. Proper care and training help handle the unwanted behavior of the dog.

Grooming of the Pet

The pet becomes accustomed to the already applied grooming techniques in the previous stage. Hairs grow bigger and therefore frequent brushing and bathing is required. The pet may show aggression during nail trimming but it will learn soon with a clear schedule. The importance of ear and teeth cleaning can’t be denied at all and needs daily cleanup.

Regular cleaning up the Golden Retriever gives some advantages. Some are as follows:

Establish a bond between the dog and its owner.
Nail trimming effectively reduces the probability of minor injuries during running.
Signs of allergies can be seen during grooming sessions and ultimately catered for very quickly.
Ear cleaning itself reduces the chances of insects taking a permanent place on the dog and helps tackling well with some diseases.
Bathing makes the dog feel more fresh and confident and the intensity of the bond increases.

Maturity Signs of the Pet – 18 to 24 Months Old Golden Retriever

Golden Retriever training becomes easy at this stage if training is given properly in the first two stages. If somehow you couldn’t complete the training sessions properly and see any rebellious nature at this stage, then you don’t need to waste any time and apply methods already discussed in the above section.

Growth Milestones During Maturity Age

By this time, the pet had almost grown near to maximum size. It has developed some habits, good or bad, that will impact in this stage. Exercise and giving different challenges to the dog become important at this stage.

The Golden Retriever gains weight very quickly compared to other similar dogs. Controlling the weight of the pet is easy but may become difficult if it doesn’t exercise. Make sure the pet goes out for exercise and small training sessions between 30 minutes to 45 minutes.

Swimming is among the best exercises for humans as well as dogs. The dog inherently loves swimming due to a mixed breed of Golden Doodle. Taking the dog to a swimming pool after 2-3 weeks will impact positively.

Purpose of the Activity

The foremost purpose of different activities at this stage is to habits strengthen at this stage. The pet understands the importance of teamwork and obedience. It knows clearly how to behave in the presence of its family members and what to do when a stranger comes. The upcoming time with the dog becomes memorable and we achieve a companion, if trained properly during the Golden Retriever training till 24 months.

Grooming of the Pet

After successful grooming sessions of Retriever in the above stages, the pet knows to behave properly during the sessions. Stick tight to cleaning of ears, teeth, and paws of the pet apart from brushing hair regularly. Swimming will help a lot to the pet.

Some Pro Tips for Training of the Pet

Golden retriever training is tricky but following some pro tips the job of training can become very easy.

Here are some tips for you:

Dog Enjoyment

Don’t bore your dog. Instead of making the training sessions engaging and entertaining. Use a cheerful mode and tone with the pet as it will help gain better training results.

Appreciation During Training

Try to develop a mechanism where you appreciate and give rewards to your dog when he fulfills the desired task. Gradually, it develops a habit of gaining recognition in the form of appreciation tokens from the owner.

Secure Training Arena

Golden Retriever is known for its energy and athleticism. So, it may run out of the arena if it isn’t secured completely or partially. Make sure the training arena is secure and it also doesn’t possess any harmful objects for the pet.

Easy-to-Understand Training Sessions

Don’t confuse your dog with multiple orders at the same time. Instead, follow the pattern for at least one or two weeks until it adopts it as a habit. Easy and clear instructions help them learn and implement the dog happily.

Make a Routine

Training sessions are fruitful when they are conducted on a proper schedule. Try to conduct a training session daily or at least on alternate days. Skipping training sessions by the owner or the dog impacts badly on the outcome.

Commitment with the Dog

Golden retriever usually lives an average life of 10-12 years. So, instead of focusing on a few months of training, you should know that it will become your companion for a longer time. Invest your time and resources accordingly in the training of your lovely pet!

Consistency of Instructions

You can’t disallow your family members to socialize with your dog. The pet quickly abides by the orders from the owner but it may panic if some other family member gives a confusing order. So, make sure to expose your pet to your family members, especially kids for training after it has developed some habits.

Gradual Shift from Basic to Advanced Training

Try to teach your pet basic order fulfilments like sitting and standing initially. With time, you can ask him to refrain from specific portions of the house and not touch food items without the approval of the owner. It learns to deal with family members and strangers afterward.

Conclusion

Training a Golden Retriever is not as difficult as someone may think. Regular training sessions, grooming of the dog, and visiting a suitable trainer will help in building good habits for the pet. The first 24 months are very important for the training of the dog. So, don’t hesitate to train your pet as it will benefit for almost a decade.

Frequently Asked Questions

Usually, it takes about 2 years to properly train a dog but if you have a paucity of time, then you should train your dog for at least 6 months.

Positive reinforcement and appreciation of the dog when it abides by your order is considered the best training strategy.

The dog needs the company of its mother for at least the first 8 weeks so training should be started immediately after that period.

The pet is eager to learn new things but it shows aggression during 2-3 years of age. So, training is easy but you need to strictly train the pet for at least 6 months.

Usually, the dog makes its temperament cool when it crosses 2 years of age. Sometimes this age can extend up to 4 years.

Golden Retriever Training: A complete Information