Obedience: The Basic Commands

Training your Golden Retriever doesn’t happen overnight as it is a process.

You can’t just tell your dog to sit and expect him to do it. Until he has been taught what the word ‘sit’ means, it is merely an unfamiliar sound. To confuse training even more, he has no idea why you would want him to sit, nor does he know why it is so important to you. Thus, training occurs gradually.

You need to show your dog what it is you want him to do. Help shape him into the sit if that is what you are teaching, or move him off the furniture if that is your focus. Then, as you are helping him, teach him the word, “Sit” or “Off the furniture.” Praise him when he does it right, even if you have helped him.

In fact, praise him every time he does something right. Your dog will work harder and do more for you when you use a lot of praise. That doesn’t mean that you should give undeserved praise; even your dog can figure that out. Instead, give enthusiastic praise when he makes an effort and does something right for you.

Interrupt incorrect behavior or actions as your dog is thinking about it or starts to move. If you have asked him to sit and he does, but then starts to sniff and act as if he is going to get up, interrupt him by saying something such as “Don’t do it!”

Do not correct your dog for not cooperating until you are sure he understands what it is you are asking him to do. Once he understands and is willing to do it, then when he chooses not to, you can correct him with a verbal correction or a quick snap and release of the leash. Only use as much correction as needed to get his attention and no more. With corrections, less is better except that it must be enough to get his attention. Your dog will quickly learn to ignore nagging little corrections and they will then become useless.

Interruptions and corrections alone will not teach your dog; they are used only to stop undesirable behavior at that moment. You will find that your dog will learn much more when you reward his good behavior. In other words, stop the behavior that you don’t want, but generously praise what you do want.

As you train your dog, timing is extremely important. Praise him as he is doing something right and either interrupt or correct him as he is making a mistake.

SIT AND RELEASE

The sit command sets the basic foundation for everything else you will teach your Golden. When your dog learns to sit and be still, he is also learning to control himself. Learning self-control is a very tough lesson for many young Goldens as being still is simply not built in their genetic code. However, your Golden Retriever can learn to control himself and the sit command is the place to start.

The sit command is the basic command for many other exercises, including the down and wait, as well as many advanced obedience commands. The sit command is also a very useful command around the house. Your Golden cannot jump up on people if he is sitting. He cannot grab food out of your hand at dinner time if he is sitting.

There are two methods for teaching your Golden how to sit. Some techniques work better for one dog than another, so try both and see which works better for your Golden.

Hold your Golden’s leash in your left hand and have some treats in your right hand. Tell your Golden to sit as you move your right hand from his nose over his head towards his tail. He will lift his head to follow your hand and will sit in response to that movement. As he sits, praise him by saying something like, “Good boy to sit!” Pet him while he’s in the sitting position, give him a treat and have him hold the sit until you pat him on the shoulder to release him. Then use a release command such as, “Release!” to tell your dog that he is finished with that particular exercise and can move. You and your dog will learn to use the release command for several different exercises.

Use the second technique if your dog is too excited by the treats or if he spins around in place to get the treat instead of sitting. Tell your Golden to sit as you put your right hand on the front of his chest as your left hand slides down his back to his rump and gently shape him into a sit position.

If he is really wiggly and squirmy, keep your hands on him as you praise him for sitting, then, with your hands on him, you can gently restrain him so that he cannot pop back up. When you are ready for him to move from the sit position, pat him on the shoulder and tell him, “Release!” Do not get into the habit of repeating your commands. If you tell your dog to sit three or four times, which one should he listen to? You are not teaching him sit by repeating it, but you are teaching him that he doesn’t have to listen to you. So, give each command only once and then help your dog to succeed. Tell him to sit, wait a moment to allow him to do it and if he doesn’t, help him do it.

DOWN

The down command continues one of the lessons the sit command started—self control. While it is hard for many young, bouncy Goldens to control their own actions, it is a lesson that they must learn. Teaching and practicing the lay down command teaches your dog to lie down and be still.

Begin the lesson by having your Golden sit. Rest one hand gently on his shoulders and have a treat in the other hand. Let him smell the treat and then tell him, “Dog, down,” as you take the treat straight down to the ground in front of his front paws. As he follows the treat to the ground, use your hand on his shoulders to encourage him to lie down. Praise him, give him the treat, have him hold the position for a few moments and then release in the same manner that you did from the sit exercise. Pat him on the shoulder and tell him, “Release!”

If your dog looks at the treat as you make the signal, but doesn’t follow the treat to the ground, simply scoop his front legs up and forward and lay him down. The rest of the exercise is the same.

As your Golden Retriever learns what down means, you can have him hold it for a few seconds longer before you release him, but do not step away from him. Stay next to him and if you need to, keep a hand on his shoulder to encourage him to remain lying down.

SIT AND STAY

By teaching your Golden to sit and to lie down, you taught him to move into those positions and to hold still until you released him. The stay command builds on those exercises by teaching your dog to continue to hold still for gradually increasing times as you move away from him. Eventually your Golden will be able to hold the sit or down stay for several minutes.

Begin by having your Golden sit. With the leash in your left hand, use the leash to put a slight bit of pressure backwards as you tell him, “Spot, stay.” At the same time, use your right hand to give your dog a signal that will mean stay. This signal can be an open hand gesture with the palm towards your dog’s face. Take one step away and at the same time, release the pressure on the leash. If your Golden moves toward you, gets up or lies down, tell him “No” (so that he understands he has made a mistake) and put him back into position. Repeat the exercise. After a few seconds - and a few seconds only - step back to your dog and praise him. Don’t let him move from the position until you give him the release command.

DOWN AND STAY

You can use the same process as just mentioned to teach your dog to stay in the down position. Have him sit, then lie down. Give him the verbal command to stay and the hand signal while putting slight pressure backwards on the leash. Step one step away as you release pressure on the leash. If he moves, tell him “No” and put him back into position. After a few seconds, go back to him, praise him, and then release him.

With the stay command, you always want to go back to your dog to release him. Don’t release him from a distance or call him to come from the stay. If you do either of these, your dog will be much less reliable in the stay. He will continue to get up from the stay or will start to anticipate the release from a distance. When teaching the stay, you want your dog to understand that stay means, “Hold this position until I come back to you and release you.” This way there is no confusion.

As your dog learns the stay command, you can increase the time he holds the stay. However, make sure you increase the time very gradually. If your dog is making a lot of mistakes, moving often, you are either asking your dog to hold the stay too long or your dog doesn’t understand the command yet. In either case, go back and reteach the command from the beginning increasing the stay time very, very gradually.

Increase the distance you move away from your dog just as gradually. Again, if your dog is making a lot of mistakes, make sure he understands what you are asking him to do. Then, increase the distance one step away at a time.

When your Golden has learned the basics of the stay, start using the down stay around the house. Have your dog down stay while you are eating so that he isn’t begging at the table or trying to steal food. Have him do a down stay when guests come over so he isn’t jumping all over them.

WATCH ME

The watch me exercise is a very useful command that teaches your Golden to ignore distractions and focus on you. This will be particularly useful when you and your dog are out in public and he gets excited by children playing, dogs barking, or birds flying overhead.

Begin by having your dog sit in front of you. With the leash in your left hand, have a treat in your right hand. Let your dog smell the treat and then take it up to your chin as you tell him, “Spot, watch me!” When his eyes follow your hand to your face and he looks at you, praise him by saying, “Good boy to watch me!” Give him the treat and release him from the sit. This is a particularly hard exercise for many young Goldens, so teach it first in the house with few distractions. Make sure your dog can do this well and understands it well before moving on to the next step.

When your dog is to the point that he watches you while you are in the house, then move outside where there are more distractions. If he knows the command but ignores you, take his chin in your left hand as you give the signal with your right hand. Help him to look at you. If he still struggles against you, use a verbal correction. When he looks back at you, praise him.

When your dog will watch you outside with a few distractions, you can move on to the next training step. Start with your dog sitting in front of you, give him the command “Watch me,” and then start walking backwards. Encourage him to follow you and watch you at the same time. After six steps or so, stop and have him sit, then praise him enthusiastically. After a few tries, back up a little farther, then add turns and zigzags. Make it challenging and when he does watch you, make the praise worthwhile—tell him what a wonderful dog he is.

HEEL

When your Golden can watch you while you walk backwards, then you are ready to teach the heel. Heel means, “Walk with me, by my left side, with your neck and shoulders by my left leg. You will pay attention to me and walk as I do; slow, fast, normal, left turns, right turns and anything else.” Obviously, this is a complicated exercise. However, if your dog is watching well, this won’t be too hard for him.

To start, practice the watch me exercise as you have been doing it; backing away from your dog. When he is following you well and paying attention, simply turn your body as you are walking so that you and your dog end up walking forward together with him on your left side. Picture this in your mind: you are backing away from your dog; your dog is facing you and following you. Back up to your dog’s right as you continue walking. You and your dog should be facing the same direction with your dog on your left. This is the heel. When you stop, have your dog sit.

If while you are walking, your dog starts to pull forward, simply back away from him and encourage him to follow you again. If you need to, use the leash to make sure he follows you quickly. Praise him when he does. When his attention is back on you, turn into the heel position again. Don’t be upset if you have to back away a few times. In fact, the more you do it, the better. Your dog will pay more attention to you if he’s not quite sure where you will be going.

When your dog is walking with you nicely, you can then start eliminating the backing away. Start the heel with your dog sitting on your left side, and tell him, “Watch me! Spot, heel!” and start walking. Praise him when he’s walking nicely with you. If he starts to pull, you can correct him by saying, “Spot, no pull!” However, if he is intent upon pulling or is distracted, simply back away from him and turn him away from whatever is distracting him.

COME (WITH A TREAT)

The come command is one of the most important commands your dog needs to know. Not only is the come important around the house and yard, but should he be out in front of your house, the come could save him from dashing into the street and getting hit by a car. If you take him out to run, or decide to do field or gun dog work with him, he must have a good, reliable come.

Because the come is so important, you will use two different techniques for teaching this command. The first method will use food treats to teach your Golden that the come is fun and will result in a treat. Take a small plastic container and put some dog food bits in it so that it makes a nice rattling sound. Then, have some treats in hand that you know your dog really likes—something special. Shake the container and ask your dog if he wants a treat, using the word he already knows for treat, such as cookie, biscuit, or bone. Say, “Spot, do you want a cookie?” Then pop a treat into his mouth. This, combined with shaking the container, teaches your dog that the sound of the container equals a treat. Do this for several days until your dog comes running whenever he hears the container rattling.

At that point, you can shake the container and say, “Spot, Cookie! Come!” This builds a relationship between the words cookie and come. After a few days, drop the word cookie altogether, simply shake the container, and say, “Spot, come!” and pop a treat in his mouth.

Practice this command two or three times per training session, several times a day. Don’t do it too many times at once or it will lose its appeal. Some people have reservations about this technique as they are worried that their dog will not come to them when they don’t have a treat. First of all, you will be using two different techniques to teach your Golden to come for that reason. Later, when your dog is coming reliably every time you call him, you will be able to get rid of the treats, although it is important to use them as long as you need them. In the meantime, using the treats often will help build a good habit; the habit of returning to you each and every time you call. In addition, this technique, when taught properly, can produce a strong and reliable come.

COME (WITH A LONG LINE)

The second method will teach your dog to come when he’s a little farther away from you. It will also help teach your dog to come to you for those times when you don’t have the treat container.

With this technique, you will need a 20 to 30-foot length of cotton clothesline rope. Don’t use nylon that is too rough on your hands. Fasten the rope to your dog’s collar and let him go play. When he is distracted by a bird or his toys, call him by saying, “Spot, come!” If he comes to you right away, praise him enthusiastically. If he does not come directly to you, do NOT call him again. Simply pick up the rope, back away from him, and using the rope, make him come to you. Now the key to this is to verbally praise him even if you have to drag him in to you. The come has got to be positive; if he thinks he’s going to get into trouble by coming to you, he won’t come at all. So you have to praise him. Let the long line be the bad guy.

After you have praised him, release him and let him go play again. In a few minutes repeat the exercise all over again. Practice this in the back and front yard, even in the house if he continuously plays keep away. Teach your dog that he must come to you the first time you call him, every time you call him.

Don’t allow your Golden any freedom off the leash in an unfenced area until he is well trained, grown up and mentally mature enough to handle the responsibility. Many dog owners let their dogs off leash much too soon and the dog learns that he can run away from them or play keep away. Each time he does this, he learns that he can and there is nothing you can do to change his mind. Therefore, leave him on a leash or on a long lead until he is well-trained and grown up. For some Goldens, that might be 2 ½ or 3 years of age.