People are quick to point out that there are no bad dogs- only bad owners, but there are breeds that are more accommodating to the owner’s wishes, quicker to learn the owner’s demands, and naturally more agreeable. Owners who are determined to work with their dog 24/7/365 will undoubtedly end up with a “good dog” of any breed, but starting with a dog breed like the golden retriever (“easier”) allows the owner to be a little less perfect while still getting a great dog. Still, raising an easy dog is a lot of work.
A little bit about the breed according to the American Kennel Society:
Goldens are outgoing, trustworthy, and eager-to-please family dogs, and relatively easy to train. They take a joyous and playful approach to life and maintain this puppyish behavior into adulthood. These energetic, powerful gundogs enjoy outdoor play. For a breed built to retrieve waterfowl for hours on end, swimming and fetching are natural pastimes.
When you see a mature golden walking alongside a seasoned owner, it’s easy to compare your ambitious, excited, and distractable puppy to the “ideal” and feel frustrated. Remember that you’re seeing the results of five years of daily training and nurturing. It takes five years for a golden to act like a five-year-old!
The key to bringing out the best in your golden is engaging with them for most of the day. Training is not the sole factor in shaping a well-behaved dog (although training your dog for basic commands for everyone’s safety and sanity) is crucial. The dog’s comprehension of its role in the family is what fosters good manners and confidence. Regardless of breed, no dog instinctively knows how to live in your home. This understanding develops gradually over time and with your patience and consistency. The more consistent you are and the more you use positive reinforcement, the quicker this process can unfold.
Consider these “bad dog” scenarios:
You’ve left your 1-year-old golden retriever home unsupervised for 8 hours while you went to work. You come home, and she has shredded your sofa pillows and had a few accidents on the floor.
What happened?
- Intelligent dogs are easily bored and will create opportunities to learn. (I wonder what’s inside this sofa pillow?)
- Puppies can’t hold their bladder or bowels for more than about 2 hours, and that’s not even factoring in feeding times. This pup had not been taken to its potty spot, so not only did it have “an accident,” but the owner missed their opportunity to praise the pup for going potty in that spot!
Pro tip: 100% potty training requires 100% taking the pup to the potty spot 100% of the time. When you do this, potty training happens quickly, easily, and with an exceptionally high success rate. If you do this well, you’ll never have a problem. We have friends who bring dogs inside our home that still have “accidents” at 2-3 years old.
Frustrated by your “bad dog,” you are clearly upset with your golden (who is absolutely aware of your disappointment and doesn’t know what she did wrong), so you now crate your pup daily while you’re at work.
What happened?
- A well-adjusted dog can easily be left alone at age 2-3 but is much too young to be left alone at age 1, so the discipline the owner tries to enact is not age-appropriate. The owner’s expectations are entirely inappropriate.
- A well-adjusted dog knows the crate is its sanctuary (den), but when used as a punishment, the crate becomes a prison. The owner is now going to create stress and resistance in the dog, which will be hard to overcome.
- A pup that is taken to potty consistently (every 2 hours and in concert with their food and water consumption) will never soil inside their crate and will rarely have an “accident.” The only “accident” here was that the owner underestimated the care required to bring a new puppy home.
A New Language
A bit of advice for anyone training a new puppy. Training isn’t just a collection of “tricks” or “commands.” While you certainly will work those into your routines, think of training as a 2-way street where you learn each other’s language.
Your body language, nonverbal cues, tone of voice, expressions, and responses are FAR more important than the words you use. Dixie Rose is trained to sit whenever I say the word “car.” It’s part of our routine when we walk and a car passes. Every walk, every day, probably 4-5 times on a walk. The word, however, is only a word. She’s watching me for confirmation. We are participating in our language together. I say the word at the right time, and she gets the action right. If I stopped or changed the rules of our “language” by not giving her the command, if I disregarded the oncoming car, if I kept walking instead of also stopping, all of those actions are inconsistent with our language together. Because she’s intelligent, she will immediately learn that I’ve changed the rules, and she’ll stop being a “good dog” who sits safely when a car drives past. The dog is highly predictable and easily trained. It’s the handler who is being unpredictable and confusing.
Having an easy dog is an absolute joy. Devoting time to learning each other’s language puts you on the fast track to bringing out your golden retriever’s natural breed characteristics and will almost certainly result in a well-mannered dog you’ll enjoy for 10-15 years.
Golden Retriever Puppies 