Training Your Golden

Although there are many training tips for Golden Retrievers, teeth is the most common.  Golden puppies love to chew, and will chew anything they can get.  Although chew toys are preferred, there is a way that you can help your Golden fulfill his natural instinct to chew, and help him to ease the pain of teething as well.

To start, simply fill an old sock you have with several ice cubes.  Next, put a knot in the sock and place the sock with the cubes in the freezer.  When your puppy starts to chew on things, simply give him the sock.  You can keep several socks with ice in it in your freezer if you want, so your puppy will always have a chew toy.  Although this is great to use, you should never leave your dog alone with the sock.  He could end up chewing the sock and swallowing pieces of it, which could lead to very serious health problems.

Leashes
During leash training, a lot of people prefer to attach the leash to the Golden then drag him in the direction they want him to go.  This isn’t the best way to train, as it often sends the wrong signal to the puppy.  Instead, you should first get your Golden puppy used to the collar and the leash.  You can do this by putting his collar and leash on inside the house or outside in a fenced in area, so that he can walk around and move about freely with the leash on, dragging it alongside him.

Once you have given him some time, pick the leash up, then start calling him to you.  Once he comes over to you, start praising him for it, so he knows that he is on the right track.  Always be patient when leash training, as it will take some time for him to get used to it.  If you continue to praise him when he is doing it right and continue giving him time to get used to the leash, you shouldn’t have any problems.

Digging around
Digging is something that Golden Retrievers love, as it is essential to their nature.  Digging can be somewhat frustrating if you don’t give your Golden an area to himself, as he will dig holes in your yard.  If you keep your Golden indoors, he may try to dig in the floor, on the couch, or on the bed. Digging is part of their nature, and you should never punish a Golden for digging.

To help him fill this need, you should give him an area to dig in.  You can get him a kiddie pool or sandbox, filling it with either soil or sand.  Then, try burying a treat or toy in inside, so your Golden will dig to get it out.  Once he learns this is where he should dig, he will more than likely head to that area when he has the need to dig.  Later on, when he becomes a bit older, you should invest in obedience training classes that will help him to get his digging habits under control.

The above tips can help a great deal when training your Golden Retriever puppy.  Golden’s are great dogs, although you’ll need to have a bit of patience with them.  Even though they are very smart dogs, it may take them time to learn.  Once they start learning however - they will become an integral part of your family that you couldn’t begin to live without.