The Retriever Expert Expert Care Tips For Your Retriever
Owning a dog may let you encounter different doggy behaviors in which some are highly disagreeable. You may see them jumping up on humans, chewing up your shoes, or running off-leash. The best solution for this is to train them especially for intelligent dog breeds like the Golden Retrievers. Having that said, training your dog will end you up having an obedience trained Golden Retriever that will be with you for the rest of the dog’s life.
In this blog post, we will enlighten you on what obedience training is all about. Its importance and its benefits for both you and your Goldens are also highlighted here. Moreover, we also have here some helpful tips in order to make the obedience training for your Goldens a successful one.
The Goldens Obedience Training
Obedience training is among the other training the Golden Retrievers must learn. In describing this training, they usually used the term “catch-all”. It is because obedience training works by teaching the dogs a set of commands to follow you. This way, the Goldens may learn to develop a degree of control over them.
Generally, obedience training involves a complete range of training starting from the very basic commands up to the most comprehensive obedience events. Obviously, every dog must have to know how to follow the simple ‘sit’ and ‘stay’ instructions. And, they also have to learn those competitive skills taught by professional trainers.
Yet, the most important thing that revolves around all obedience training is your ability to throw out instructions to your dog. In return, they reliably respond to it and they execute that action every time. At that point, you can already say that you have obedience trained Golden Retriever.
When to Start the Obedience Training?
Basically, having an obedience trained Golden Retriever always begins from being a responsible pet owner. Obedience training your dog can generally control them for bringing trouble to others and to them as well. However, doing the obedience training should start during the puppyhood stage of your Golden Retriever and it should be done every moment. Bear in mind that the puppy keeps on learning every time you interact with them.
For instance, feeding your dog appropriately conveys a message to them that you are expecting their good health. Your gestures towards them at bedtime express their behaviors that you approved and disliked. The consistency of doing even those small things makes up a part of educating the Golden Retriever puppy about the first lessons of obedience training.
Being said that, start obedience training your dog the moment you bring them home during the puppyhood stage. Some people always regard obedience training as the formal training that the dog must have to attend under a professional trainer. But, you can always begin teaching your Golden Retriever with simple things like ‘sit’, ‘come’, or ‘stay’ as early as possible.
However, during this early stage of training, always keep your voice in a calm tone. Remember that everything that you teach to your Goldens in the early stage of their lives must be happy and enjoyable. And, included there is the manner or tone of your voice when you talk to them as a puppy.
Duration of Obedience Training
It is clear that obedience training for Golden Retriever can start as soon as they are a puppy, the next question is how long will it takes for you to have obedience trained Golden Retriever. Well, it actually depends on your expectations and on the result that you want to get after the entire training.
For instance, a Golden Retriever may learn how to follow specific commands in less than an hour. Meanwhile, if your goal for this training is for your Goldens to learn the lifelong benefits of obedience training, then pack your things up because you are on a journey.
If the process of training is correct and well-done, good for you as you may have obedience trained Golden Retriever for the rest of your dog’s life. All of the obedience commands taught in this dog’s training are part of the foundation of those things that you do with your Goldens.
Obedience Trained Golden Retriever – The Good about Them
Training your dog being obedient is not necessary for your own sake but it is most likely for their own. Here are some of the benefits and the good things that the Golden Retriever may get out of obedience training:
*Offers a fulfilling dog’s life
The number one reason for giving your dog obedience training is for them to have a fulfilling life. Dogs that are obedience trained actually have a much better life that they really enjoy.
*The dog may feel confident and comfortable
Basically, one of the objectives of obedience training is to make your dog feel confident and comfortable especially when exploring the world outside. They will not generally need to be protected because their aggressive or shy behaviors get reduced. Moreover, your Golden Retriever will also gain confidence in facing any new situations.
*Deepen the relationship with your dog
As you provide obedience training to your dog, you will basically incorporate an extra level of understanding between you and your Goldens.
*Safety
The safety of the dog generally follows when they learn how to be obedient. In fact, an obedient Golden Retriever will keep away from dangerous situations such as making trouble with another animal.
*The foundation of all other specific dog training
Teaching your dog about obedience training will let them form a keystone for other specific training needed by the Goldens. And, this will be carried on along in the latter years of their life. One particular example is aspiring for the AKC Hunt Test titles. The Golden Retriever will definitely achieve that if they already have the comprehension of the concept behind ‘sit’, ‘stay’, and ‘come’.
Obedience Trained Golden Retriever – What do they Learn?
Generally, obedience training involves various levels of a dog’s skills. Opting for training your Golden Retriever to be obedient, few basic and advanced commands should be taught. Once they learn of it, they may necessarily make a big difference.
The Basic Commands
Every dog including the Golden Retriever should know these 5 basic commands:
1-SIT
This basic command lets your Goldens be in a sitting position.
2-DOWN
If you want your dog to be in a laying position, use this ‘down’ command. They will automatically elicit a position in which all their four legs and belly are touching the floor.
3-STAY
The dog will remain in the position that they are currently holding if you throw off the ‘stay’ command. Regardless if they are in a standing, lying, or sitting position, they will remain that way if you voice out this command.
4-COME
Recall is another term for this basic command. This means that the Goldens may return to you no matter what they’re doing.
5-HEEL
A basic command that generally instructs a Golden Retriever to walk on a leash in a nice manner. The head or shoulder of the dog must be positioned right beside your leg. At the same time, the leash should be nice and slack.
These 5 basic commands will generally provide you good control over your doggo. They will be safely guided for life and through situations in which they may become a danger. With this, the obedience trained Golden Retriever will be more welcomed and appreciated in lots of places and situations because they are under control.
The Advanced Commands
Basically, being obedient means being able to follow instructions and that is actually the concept behind the obedience training of the Golden Retriever. For the advanced obedience training commands, this generally involves those that are used in cutting-edge competitions and behaviors regarded as tricks. Examples of advanced obedience commands are the following:
- Drop on recall
- Figure of 8
- Give
- Leave it
- Place
- Roll over
- Sit for exam
- Take it
- Directed retrieve and jumps
- Scent discrimination
Results of Obedience Training Failure of the Golden Retriever
Training your dog for being obedient might not always end up giving a successful result. In order to find out if the training is properly done, the Golden Retriever may elicit some behavioral indicators.
Aggression
An aggressive dog is a result of the failure of obedience training. Luckily, you may rarely encounter an aggressive Golden Retriever that is often related to inappropriate obedience training. Generally, the main cause of aggression in dogs is anxiety, so to overcome this proper socialization is needed. Moreover, growling and barking are other signs of a dog’s aggression.
Shyness
Well, not all Goldens that fail from obedience training turn to be aggressive, some of them develop shyness. A shy dog usually tucks the tail the moment there are new things around. Other signs of shyness in dogs are trembling, moving away, and hiding. In some instances, shy dogs are also nervous or cautious dogs.
Reasons Why Some Goldens are Disobedient
Sometimes, during the course of training, the Golden Retriever tends to be disobedient. And these are the possible reasons behind that Goldens behavior:
Owners tend to be inconsistent with the end result
Generally, the most common reason why dogs become disobedient is because of the inconsistency of the owner’s expectations. The dog may actually feel that the owner wants to see a result of sitting and waiting for behavior for this day. And after two days, that expectation would generally be altered.
Owners did not follow through on teaching the skills
There will also be instances that dogs may become disobedient because the skills of teaching have not been employed in different situations. This simply means that the training has been incomplete.
Owners become more complex on the approach of training
Some dog owners usually jump on teaching multiple commands altogether rather than concentrating on the basic commands. Sometimes, they are trying to educate the Golden Retriever with too many various commands without letting the dog totally master one specific basic command.
Obedience Training Tips
In order to make successful, easy, and fast obedience training, consider keeping these tips in mind and employ it during any training:
Be consistent
Ensure that the same set of commands has been employed every single moment. Also, it is very important to know that every member of the family is using the same commands in a consistent manner.
Have patience and learn to understand
Dog’s wasn’t able to voice out what they want. Their learning process is different in the way we comprehend things up. Generally, training the dog is a way for them to understand us and what we want them to do. So, this basically means that training the dog will definitely take time. That’s why it is essential for you as a pet owner to be patient and, at the same time, learn to understand your Golden Retriever as well.
Create a short and fun training session
The Golden Retriever is an active and intelligent dog breed and they really love doing this kind of stuff with you. However, they can easily get bored when things take too long and seem repetitive. The key here is to make variations in the style of the training session. Additionally, take some break before the Goldens start to burn out and lose interest.
Make it slow
Consider breaking a task into smaller pieces and try to make it easy. It is advisable to do this, initially, at home without any distractions. Changing the training location and adding distractions can be done when the dog is already proofed. But, remember to do that slowly. Setting your dog for success is really a good idea.
One command at a time
One sign that your dog is not learning is its inability to elicit the desired behavior the moment you throw off command many times. This is actually true for the off-leash distance commands. The best thing to do with it is to say a command just only once. In case the dog doesn’t respond, wait until you caught their undivided attention.
Always have an available food treats
Just like in any training, rewarding your dog with treats is such an effective training approach. This is very much applicable for most dog breeds but most likely for the Golden Retrievers because of their unbeatable appetite.
Practice regularly
Just like in humans, practice always makes perfect. This is also true for dogs. Letting them remember a command will need regular practicing of it. Keep in mind that dogs may forget their training and skills so you have to refresh them every now and then.
Final Words
Having obedience trained Golden Retriever usually requires a responsible pet owner. Time and effort investment is very crucial here even just for the basics. The good thing is that basic obedience commands will definitely educate the dog with fundamental skills that they need to have. This will generally lead them to a harmonious relationship with their human family.
Moreover, this kind of dog training offers a great purpose for the Goldens. At the same time, this will help them to perform meaningful work as they are being under control. The obedience training of the dog is such a beneficial process not only for them but also for you as a pet owner. It will definitely strengthen your relationship and can be a source of fun and enjoyment if done correctly.
