Training Your Golden Retriever
When asked what their favorite dog is, most people say a golden retriever. And there is no wondering why. Golden retrievers are attractive, smart and they make great family dogs. If you are considering getting a golden retriever, it's important that you don't skimp out on training your dog. Making sure your dog is house broken isn't enough and if you want to be a responsible dog owner, you absolutely must ensure that your dog has obedience training as well. Keep reading for a few tips on training your dog.
The first thing you need to know is that golden retrievers were originally bred to be hunting dogs. Click here for added details on this. So, golden retrievers are often a bundle of energy that are always prepared for the next big hunt. Before you start training your dog, it is a good idea to take it for a walk, play Frisbee with it or participate is some type of exercise with your dog so they can release some energy. Doing this will ensure that your dog is relaxed and in the right state of mind for learning.
Most pet experts agree that positive reinforcement training works best as opposed to training that uses punishment to correct behavior. Most people use dog treats as their dog's reward. Additional data on this are available when you visit the site at http://www.ehow.com/how_2314687_train-dog.html. It has also been suggested that the clicker is the best training tool to use with golden retrievers. It is believe that the sound of the clicker taps into the hunter in them but that is just speculation.
No matter the method you settle on, to train your dog, keep training sessions short. In general dogs have short attention spans and golden retrievers have shorter attention spans than most dogs. Aim for training sessions that are about 15 minutes long. You should also try to squeeze in no more than five training sessions in a 24 hour period. Overtraining your dog will not make them learn faster and they will not be more disciplined. What you will do is end up completely exhausting your pet. And because they can't communicate and tell you that they are tired, the situation becomes very frustrating and stressful for your dog.
In most homes, the dog is considered a family pet. However, when you are training your dog it is important that one person and one person only take on the role of trainer/owner. Find out more of this in the site at http://www.totallygoldens.com/training/. Consistency is key and you won't be able to get the consistency you need with several people participating in the training. You also need to keep an eye on family members to make sure they are not doing anything that would undermine what you are trying to teach your dog. For example if you are working on training your golden retriever not to jump on people, having a child in the house who encourages aggressive play could be confusing to the dog.