Are Golden Retrievers Easy to Train? What Owners, Breeders Say

Looking for a new furever family member and wondering if goldens are easy to train? The answer is usually yes, but there are some factors at play.

Whether you are training your Golden Retriever or any other dog for that matter, the main ingredients with dog training are kindness, patience, firmness, and consistency.

Compared to other dog breeds, these evenly tempered, popular dogs are smart, and training your family pet guarantees to be easy peasy.

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Golden Retrievers Can Be Easy To Train

Are Golden Retrievers easy to train? Golden Retrievers have a reputation for being intelligent and eager to please. They’re quick learners and are one of the easier breeds to train. Nonetheless, owners of this dog breed say it will take time and patience. Read more about if Golden Retrievers are good dogs here (hint they are).

When you look at how long it takes for a Golden Retriever to reach maturity, then it will take as long as 18 months to fully train your young Golden.

• You can enroll your dog in a dog obedience training school.
• You can work with a qualified dog trainer.
• You can try training your Golden yourself.

What about toilet training? Are golden retrievers easy to potty train? There are videos available to show you potty training techniques for your canine friend that will ensure your training is peaceful and even humorous.

Male puppies have to transition from squatting to lifting their legs. If they grow up with several female dogs, they may take longer to learn this technique. Dog potty training videos can be a helpful solution for quick and easy training.

Be patient with your Golden as accidents are bound to happen. Generally speaking, a puppy can control his bladder for an hour or two, so you don’t want to go longer than this before taking him out into to garden to empty his bladder.

Puppies love routine so if you feed your puppy consistently at the same time, he can get used to you taking him outdoors soon after to do his business. Always reward your puppy when he uses the toilet outdoors so that he knows exactly what is expected of him.

Golden Retrievers Are Smart

Golden Retrievers are smart alright. In fact, they are looked upon as one of the most intelligent dogs in the world. When you check out ranking statistics on which dog breeds are the most intelligent, the Golden Retriever is way up at the top.

In fact, they come in at number 4 out of 138 breeds. Canine psychologists tell us that they are as smart as a 2 and a half-year-old human child.

Golden Retrievers Are Eager to Please

With your Golden Retriever’s exceptional intelligence, you can train them to do lots of tricks and obey lots of simple commands.

The reason Golden Retrievers can learn so much is that they are eager to please their owners. Because of their affable nature, they derive great pleasure in being petted and patted. They love to hear that they are a good boy or a good girl.

Golden Retrievers Like Treats

The Golden’s soft brown eyes light up when you pop them a treat. Treats for your Golden Retriever should be tasty and healthy. Dog food manufacturers have provided us with lots of dog treat varieties, some of which are –

• Dog biscuits in a variety of flavors and shapes. Always choose brands that are known for producing high-quality dog foods.
• Pieces of real meat. This will no doubt be your Golden’s favorite – a piece of leftover chicken or beef from last night’s supper.
• Beef or other meat jerky treats. These are available to your pet as shin strips of dehydrated meat. It can be chicken or fish too cut into strips and then dried. Check the ingredients carefully and make sure they contain no added salt or spices.

Golden Retrievers Can Be Difficult to Train

Most times Golden Retrievers are smart and easy to train. But general information doesn’t always equal reality. There will be some Golden Retrievers that are difficult to train.

Just like people, no two goldens are exactly the same, and they all have their own unique personality. Sometimes Golden’s can even be aggressive. Read more about if Golden’s can be aggressive here.

There are many dog training styles and programs and not all of them work for all dogs. Also, no two dogs are exactly the same either, even among the same breeds.

Whenever there are serious dog problems, especially when it’s with a dog known for its gentle, good behavior, it immediately raises the question as to whether the problem is a bad owner and bad training methods. Sometimes one feels as though the human owner lacked socialization as a child.

The bottom line is that Golden Retrievers usually aren’t difficult to train as their high intelligence and eagerness to please make them one of the easiest dog breeds to train.

Golden Retrievers Can Be Mischievous

When you look at the Golden Retriever’s face, you can see that they are born and bred to be mischievous. The reason that they come across as mischievous is that they are a particular breed of dog that takes a long time to mature.

People who have owned these magnificent dogs say that they only really start to settle down and to mature after 2 years of age. Some Golden Retriever owners say that these dogs never grow up – that they remain gorgeously mischievous puppies all their life.

Golden Retrievers Are Social Dogs

The Golden Retriever is a social dog, getting along well with other pets and also strangers. Dogs are social animals, and the socialized Golden Retriever is an amicable dog. They are always at ease around people and pets.

Your Golden interacts with other dogs through different body postures, facial expressions, vocalizations, and tail and ear positions.

Golden Retrievers Are Totally Worth It

Golden Retrievers are absolutely totally worth it. When you bring a Golden into your home, you’re signing up for an exceptional friend like no other. Who else is going to welcome you so warmly at the door, lavish you with kisses, and provide you with so much love, loyalty, and laughter?

Tips To Get A Golden That’s Trainable

Buying a new furry family member is a major decision not to be taken lightly. A dog is a long-term investment of 10 to 20 years. It is important to do some serious research before you settle on a good, reputable Golden Retriever breeder. Also, make sure you get the right type of golden retriever for you.

If you buy your dog from an irresponsible backyard breeder you could land up with a much cheaper dog, yes, but a dog that possibly has genetic health issues and a dog that can’t be trained. When you buy a Golden Retriever puppy, you want to see the breed registration papers.

Get a Golden From A Trusted Breeder

When you want to bring a Golden into your home, it is imperative to find a quality puppy from a reputable breeder. Their breeding dogs are known for their excellent temperaments and their good health.

The puppies from these top-notch Golden’s are guaranteed to be beautiful, healthy, and even-tempered. When you check the track record of exceptional Golden Retriever breeders like ours, you find a consistent record of excellent pups. You’ll also want to feed them the best dog food for golden retrievers, which is what we recommend.

Puppies bred from great parents will inherit the trainability needed to be the best, more so if you want to enter your dog into competitions.

Start Training Early

Normally you get your puppy when he is 8 weeks old. Did you know that your Golden Retriever puppy can be attending puppy pre-school at 8 weeks of age already? These preschool classes will usually continue for about 6 to 8 weeks.

The Golden Retriever is such a good dog generally, but without training, he will jump up at people, want to fight with other dogs, urinate wherever he pleases, and possibly nip kids and adults along the way.

The Canine Training Association or CTA offers a variety of classes from superb instructors. The established club offers classes for Golden Retrievers from basic obedience to more advanced obedience skills with positive reinforcement methods. Through training your dog he can become a much loved, valuable, calm, well-behaved family member.

Socialize Them Early

Socializing a puppy is all about getting him used to life out there. The key life skills that your puppy learns will ensure he is a calm, confident dog – a pleasure to be around.

The beauty about socializing your Golden Retriever early is that you can be sure that he will know how to respond to new, unknown situations without becoming aggressive or fearful.

Dog experts tell us that you only have a short window of opportunity to have your puppy socialized. Start as early as 8 weeks of age. If that’s not possible for you, socialization works up to 3 months of age. The older a puppy gets, the harder the training becomes.

Training a Golden both easy and hard

Once your new Golden Retriever puppy has settled in, it’s time to start training him. Are Golden Retrievers easy to train? You get a yes and no for this question. Your Golden is such a smart dog that training should be easy.

However, it’s up to you to do your part to make training fun, beneficial and consistent. Make the training rewarding for him and praise him with tasty dog treats.

Always ensure that the training is in keeping with his age. If you have a few members in your family, ensure that they use the same training strategies and words.

Your Golden Retriever needs all the advantages you can give him which is why training for him is such a smart move. Invest in your Golden’s behavior and you’ll both reap the benefits for his entire lifetime.

Frequently Asked Questions: Are Golden Retrievers Easy To Train

How Long Does It Take To Train a Golden Retriever?

Your Golden Retriever can be potty trained in 2 months, but many dog experts say that dog training is an ongoing process right up to age 2. A lot depends on the individual dog, your training methods, and your consistency.

Are Male or Females Easier To Train?

Golden Retriever owners say that their female Goldens mature quicker than the males, and because the females are also calmer, they are easier to train.

What Commands Should I Teach?

You don’t want to overwhelm your beloved pet with a whole lot of commands he finds difficult to grasp. When you start with obedience training, stick to a few basic but important commands such as come, sit, stay, and down.

What are Some Common Obstacles In Training?

One of the biggest obstacles in dog training is not being consistent. It can be most confusing, even for an intelligent dog like the Golden Retriever, to receive mixed messages.

Also, don’t make the mistake of making your training sessions too long. Any dog will lose interest. Rather have several short impactful training sessions than one long boring one that turns out to be an obstacle in training.