Golden Retriever Training  

Golden retrievers are very intelligent dogs and rank fourth in one study behind Border Collies, Poodles, and German Shepherds. They were originally bred for retrieving ducks and other game which shows in their patience and discipline. Their intelligence makes training the Golden Retriever a breeze and they are a popular choice for guide dogs, hunting dogs, drug dogs and for search and rescue. They are also extremely loyal and gentle making them perfect for family pets. 

The temperament of Golden Retrievers is their hallmark and they are described as being kindly, friendly and confident and they are equally friendly to familiar people and strangers. And although this means they don’t make very good guard dogs it does make them a great pet and also one that is easy to train. If your Golden Retriever does display aggression towards people or other dogs there could be an underlying problem as it is very out of character for the breed. There are a host of reasons that could cause this and if you are interested have a read of our article on how to stop dog aggression or check out:

Due to their eagerness to please Golden Retrievers are a pleasure to train. They don’t respond well to harsh training or strict discipline however and an upbeat positive approach works much better. Use plenty of affection and positive reinforcement to reward your retriever for obeying commands and you’ll see results quickly. 

When training your dog there are a few basic rules to follow. Start simple with the four basic obedience commands. Sit, stay, lie and heel. Teach these commands in this order starting with sit. Use a simple hand gesture (usually pushing the palm down works well) and keep your commands consistent as not to confuse your dog. When your dog obeys wait a few seconds and then give her a good pat and a few ‘good girls’ (or good boys.) Encourage her to get up and walk around then repeat the process. 

Once she has mastered this step you can move on to ‘stay’ and repeat the steps. Make sure you change your gesture enough for her to distinguish and remember to keep these gestures consistent. I use a palm up ‘stop’ type gesture for stay and a sort of rolling hand gesture for lie. After you’ve mastered these 2 you can move on to ‘heel’. While walking along slap your thigh and say ‘heel.’ The idea is to get her walking along side you ‘at your heel.’ Keep walking and when she obeys give her a good pat. 

When it comes to giving out treats I like to keep it to a minimum just so the novelty doesn’t wear off and that they keep their effectiveness. I usually just use affection and praise throughout the training session and then give her a treat and lots more praise right at the end. 

Once you have got these basic commands down you can move onto some of the other more complicated tricks. Golden Retrievers are very clever dogs and win a lot of awards in shows and competitions so really the sky is the limit.    

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