Golden retriever training tips
Retriever pet care guide
The golden retriever is usually one of the breeds in the retriever family which are very quick to learn, due to the golden’s excellent temperament they are very willing and eager to please. Once your new puppy has settled into its new home you should either begin training at home or enrol your puppy in a puppy obedience class. The advantage of taking your puppy to a class is that you will mix with owners who are all in the same boat as yourself, learning, and you will get excellent advice, another big advantage is that your puppy will learn to mix with other dogs from a young age.
When choosing a place for training you should enquire as to what methods they use for training as the golden loves and responds best to positive rewards. Shouting, yelling or berating the golden very often will only result in them retaliating with stubbornness, however should you prefer to train your dog on your own in your own time then this is acceptable too and several DVD`S or books are available to help get you started.
How and when to start training
From around the age of 8 to 12 weeks is the best time to start teaching your dog obedience and housetraining, of course housetraining should be the number one priority to stop those little accidents from occurring. Obedience training from an early age is essential as by doing this you are setting out rules for behaviour and what you expect of your dog just as you would with a young child. You will also want to teach your puppy from a young age how to stand still while you groom him and brush his teeth.
If you are intending to put your dog in a show then you will also have to teach show skills such as the correct stance and no fidgeting around. You will also want to teach your puppy good socialisation skills such as how to act around other dogs and people, the first few months of your puppies life are essential to how the dog will turn out later in life and these skills aren’t inbuilt only you can determine the outcome.
Housetraining
You should follow a very strict routine from the beginning when housetraining your new puppy and you will need a lot of patience to start off, while your puppy is very little it is wise to assign a place near your dog’s bed where he can go to the bathroom. You should always place him onto the newspaper or litter tray after he has been fed and at various times throughout the day and when he goes praise him profusely and offer treats.
You can gradually move the paper towards the door and out into the garden as he gets older, if your puppy does make a mistake take him to his toilet place immediately and place him there holding him there for a few seconds. Always make sure you disinfect the area well after a mistake, this is not only for cleanliness but also to get rid of the smell that your dog will be susceptible to. Dogs often use smell as a trigger action and this smell could trigger your dog into thinking this is where he should go.