Puppy Training

Out of all the available breeds to choose from, why did you decide to add a Golden Retriever to your family?

Chances are you probably wanted a companion and a friend. You may have wanted a dog that could do things with you like run along the beach, catch tennis balls, and hike in the mountains. To do these things, however, your Golden Retriever needs training.

Many dog owners won’t admit their dog needs training. “He does everything I ask,” they say. Yet when asked specific questions about their dog’s behavior, the story changes. A trained dog is not going to jump on people, dash out the door each time it is opened, or raid the trash can.

Dog owners can benefit from training, too. Owners learn how to teach their dog, how to praise him, and how to motivate him to want to be good. They also learn how to prevent problem behavior from happening and how to correct the mistakes that do occur.

Dog training is much more than the traditional sit, down, stay, and come. Dog training means teaching your Golden that he is living in your house, and not his.  It means that you can establish some household rules and that he is expected to follow those rules. It doesn’t mean that you will be turning him into a little robot, but it will cause your dog to look at you differently. Training isn’t something you do to your Golden, but rather something that the two of you do together.

Training helps build a relationship between you and your dog. This relationship is built on trust, affection, and mutual respect. Training can help your dog become your best friend and a well-mannered companion who is a joy to spend time with.

OBEDIENCE LESSONS

Both group classes and private classes have their own set of advantages and disadvantages. In group classes, the dog learns to behave around other distractions, specifically, the other dogs and people in the class. In addition, group classes work much like group therapy for the dog owners. The owners can share triumphs and mishaps and can encourage and support one another. The disadvantage to group classes is that for some dogs, the distractions of the group class are too much. Some dogs simply cannot concentrate, especially in the beginning. For these dogs, a few private lessons may help enough so that the dog can join a group class later. Dogs with severe behavior problems-especially aggression toward other dogs or people –should also bypass group classes for obvious reasons.

Private lessons are effective for dogs with specific problems, such as aggressive behavior. Private training is also good for dogs who are too distracted in a group setting or for dog owners who are reluctant to speak up in a group class. The disadvantage of private lessons is the lack of distraction. For many instructors, the goals of private training is to get the dog and owner to the point that they can eventually join a group class.

Puppy Class
Puppy or kindergarten classes are usually for puppies over 10 weeks of age but not over 16 weeks. These classes are half training and half socialization. The puppy’s owner learns how to housetrain his puppy, how to set up some household rules, and how to prevent problems from happening. The puppy learns some basic commands like sit and come. In addition, the puppy gets a chance to socialize and play with the people and puppies attending the class.

Basic Obedience Class
This class is usually for dogs over four months of age. In this class, the dogs and their owners work on the basic obedience commands, including sit, down, stay, heel, and come. Most instructors also spend time discussing problem prevention and problem solving, especially the common problems like jumping on people, barking, digging, and chewing.

Dog Sports Training
Some instructors will offer classes preparing your dog to participate or compete in dog sports. These are the classes to take if you and your Golden will be competing in obedience, agility, flyball, or other dog sports.

CRATE TRAINING

By about five weeks of age, most puppies are beginning to wander away from their mom and siblings to relieve themselves. You can use this instinct to keep their bed clean and housetrain your puppy with the help of a crate. A crate is a plastic or wire travel cage that you can use as your Golden puppy’s bed. Many new Golden owners hate the thought of putting their puppy in a cage. They often equate the idea to putting their children in jail. A puppy is not a child, however, and has different needs and instincts. Puppies like to curl up in small, close places. That’s why you will often find them sleeping under a coffee table or under a chair.

Because your Golden puppy has an instinct to keep his bed clean, being confined in a crate will help him develop bowel and bladder control. When he is gradually confined for extended periods of time, he will hold his wastes to prevent messing in his bed. It is your responsibility, though, to make sure he is never left for too long.

Introducing the Crate
Introduce your puppy to the crate by propping the door open and tossing a treat inside. As you do this, tell your puppy, “Go to bed!” and let him go in to get the treat. Let him investigate the crate and go in and out freely. When your puppy will go in after the treat and has sniffed the crate thoroughly, offer a meal in the crate with the door propped open. The next meal can be offered in the crate, but this time, close the door behind him and let him out as soon as he has finished eating. Offer several meals in the same way. This is to show your puppy that the crate is a good place.

After your puppy is calmly eating in the crate, start feeding his meals back in the normal location and go back to offering him a treat or toy for going into the crate. Continue teaching him the phrase, “Go to bed.”

Don’t let your puppy out of the crate if he starts crying, screaming, barking, or scratching at the door. Correct him verbally by saying, “No! Quiet!” or simply close the door and walk away. If you let him out when he is throwing a doggy tantrum, you will just teach him that this behavior works. Instead let him out when you are ready to let him out and when he is quiet.

Crate location
The ideal place for the crate is in your bedroom within an arm’s reach of the bed. This will give him eight uninterrupted hours with you while you do nothing but sleep. Having your puppy nearby will also give your puppy a feeling of security. If you send him to the backyard or garage, he will be more likely to cry, whine, howl, pace, or get into trouble because of loneliness and fear.

Having your puppy close at night will also save you some energy. If he needs to go outside, you will hear him and can let him out before he has an accident. If he is restless or bored, you can tap the top of his crate and tell him to be quiet.

HOUSETRAINING

One of the most common methods of training a puppy is paper training. The puppy is taught to go to the bathroom on a piece of newspaper inside of the house and then is later retrained to go outside. While this is a common method, it usually is not the best as it teaches the puppy to relieve himself inside the house.

Instead of paper training, teach your puppy what you really want him to know. Take him outside to the area where you want him to relieve himself and tell him, “Go potty!” or any other command that you are comfortable using. When he has finished with his business, praise him by saying something like “Good boy to go potty!” Be sure that you don’t just send him to the backyard and hope he goes to the bathroom. You need to escort him to see that he has relieved himself and so that you can praise him for doing so.

If you try to housetrain your puppy by punishing him for accidents that happen in the house whether it is by rubbing his nose in his mess or by sharply scolding him, you run the risk of confusing and scaring him more than actually teaching him. If you correct your puppy for housetraining accidents, he may feel that going potty is what is wrong and he may start being sneaky about where he goes so that you don’t catch him.

Successful housetraining is based upon setting your puppy up for success rather than failure. Keep accidents to a minimum and praise him when he does relieve himself where he should go.

Because your Golden puppy is a creature of habit; routines are very important. Housetraining is easier if there is a set routine for eating, eliminating, playing, walking, and sleeping.

The schedule you establish will have to work with your normal routine and lifestyle. Just keep in mind that the puppy should not remain in his crate longer than three to four hours, except at night. The puppy will need to relieve himself after eating and drinking, after exercise and playtime, and when waking up from a nap.

Limit Freedom
Many puppies do not want to take the time to go outside to go potty, especially if there are interesting happening things in the house. These puppies will then sneak off somewhere to relieve themselves. By limiting the puppy’s freedom you can prevent these “accidents” from happening. Close the bedroom doors and use baby gates across hallways to keep your puppy close. If you can’t keep an eye on him, put him outside or in his crate.

Establish a routine that works well for you and stick with it. If you stick with the schedule, your puppy will progress. However, don’t let your apparent success go to your head; don’t assume he is housetrained. Too much freedom too soon will result in problems.

HOUSEHOLD RULES

It’s important to start establishing some household rules as soon as your new puppy joins your household. Even at eight to ten weeks of age, it is not too young for him to learn. By starting early, you can prevent problems. When deciding what rules you want to establish, look at your puppy not as the baby he is now, but rather the adult he will grow up to be. While you might not mind if your Golden puppy is on the couch now, you may not want a full grown Golden on your couch.

Some common household rules might include teaching your puppy not to jump on people, to behave when guests come over, to stay out of the kitchen, and not to chew on inappropriate things. In addition, you might want to teach the puppy to leave the kids’ toys alone, to ignore dirty clothes, and to stay off the furniture.

To teach your puppy what is allowed and what is not, you must be very clear with your commands and corrections. Either something is right or it is wrong. When the puppy picks up his toy instead of your slippers, praise him by saying something like, “Good boy to play with your toy!” When he picks up your slipper, correct him by saying something like, “No, that’s not yours!” Let him know what is wrong, then follow it by showing him what he can do instead and praise him when he does it.

ACCEPTING THE LEASH

All dogs need to accept the restraints of a leash and this can be hard for some puppies. If your Golden is frightened by the leash as a puppy, he may resent the leash for the rest of his life. Therefore you may want to introduce the leash in a non-threatening manner.

Soon after you bring your puppy home, put a soft nylon or cotton buckle collar on him. Make sure it’s loose enough to slip over his head should he get tangled up with something. After a day or two, when he is no longer scratching at the collar, attach a leash to the collar and let him drag it around the house for ten or fifteen minutes while you watch him to make sure it doesn’t tangle on something. While the puppy is dragging the leash, he will step on the leash, feel the tug on his neck and just generally get used to the feel of it.

After two or three times of dragging the leash, you can teach your puppy to follow you when you have the leash in hand. Have a few pieces of a soft treat you know he likes such as hot dog or cheese. Let him sniff the treat and then back away while you verbally encourage him by saying something such as, “Let’s go! Good boy!” When he follows you for a few feet, stop, praise him and let him have a bite of the treat. Since Goldens are food hounds, training them with treats makes the process much easier.

Repeat this activity two or three times and then quit for this session. Reward your puppy by playing. After two or three training sessions like this, start making it more challenging by backing away from your puppy faster or by adding turns or zigzags. If he acts confused, stop and go back to the simple exercise he was the most comfortable with.

It is important to never stop the training session when your Golden puppy is confused. Instead, always stop the training session on a happy note. Do something you know he can do and do well, then stop, praise him enthusiastically and play with him for a few minutes.

INTRODUCING THE CAR

Many puppies are afraid of the car because they associate riding in the car with scary things. After all, it was the car that took him away from his mom and littermates and it is the car that takes him to the veterinarian’s office where bad things happen. Of course you don’t want your puppy to dwell on these situations; you want your puppy to understand that riding in the car can be a good thing.

Begin by lifting your puppy into the car and handing him a yummy treat. As soon as he has eaten the treat, lift him down and walk away. Repeat this exercise periodically over several days. Then lift him into the car, give him a treat, let him eat it, and let him explore the car a little. After he has sniffed a little, give him another treat, let him eat it, and then lift him out of the car. Continue this type of training for a week or more, depending upon how nervous your puppy is about the car.

When you sense that your puppy is feeling better about the car, put your puppy’s crate in the car and strap it down so that it won’t bounce around. Put your puppy in his crate, give him a treat, and close the crate door and the car door. Start the engine, back the car out of the driveway and then drive back up to the house. Give your puppy a treat and let him out of the crate. The next time, drive down the street and back, then around the block. Increase the time and distance of the drives very gradually.

SOCIAL HANDLING

Because your puppy cannot care for himself, you must be able to brush him, pull burrs and sticks out of his coat, clean his ears, and trim his nails. Unfortunately your Golden puppy doesn’t understand that brushing and cleaning him is necessary and he may struggle and fight when you try to do these things.

To help teach your puppy to accept your care, sit on the floor and have your puppy lay down between your legs. He can lie on his back or his side and he can get comfortable. To relax him, start by giving him a slow, easy tummy rub. If he starts to wiggle or struggle, gently restrain him with one hand as you massage him with the other.

When the puppy is no longer struggling, start giving him a massage. Start at his neck and ears and gently massage the muscles. Work down his neck to his shoulders, and down each front leg to the paw. Touch the paw gently, but firmly, and touch each toenail. Go back to his body and massage the back, the ribcage, and the hips. Work down the back legs just like you did his front legs. And then give his tail a little massage as well.

Once your puppy has learned to enjoy this handling, you can check and clean his ears, brush him, check for fleas or ticks, trim his toenails, or comb out burrs.