Dog Training: How Long Does it Take to Train a Golden Retriever Puppy?
The golden retriever is a beautiful and loving breed of dog. They’re also brilliant and easy to train, making them the perfect companion for your family! Unfortunately, golden retrievers can be stubborn sometimes, which means that training them may take longer than other breeds. We’ll discuss how long it takes to train a golden retriever puppy for this blog post.
Golden Retrievers are undoubtedly among the most famous dog breeds in the world. This breed is friendly, intelligent, eager, and fiercely loyal. Goldens are also quick learners and easy to train. Training will take time, but it will still be more straightforward than with other types of dogs.
It takes eighteen to twenty-four months to train a Golden Retriever puppy. The first thing you can start teaching the puppy is not to bite and go outside. By six months, it should be learning small commands like sit and stay.
What Is the Average Time Required To Train a Golden Retriever Puppy?
It takes a lot of time to train a Golden Retriever puppy. You should start training them when they are young. Early training will help you build trust with your puppy and will also make the process more efficient.
If you have not yet adopted your new puppy, it is best to take him/her home after 7-8 weeks old. It has been found that if you separate Golden Retriever puppies from their mother earlier, they might have bad behavior when they are adults.
When you first bring your new Golden Retriever home, it will be easy to teach them things because they are still young. They can learn quickly. It takes about two years for a Golden Retriever to be fully trained, but that doesn’t mean they can’t do anything before then.
To train your Golden Retriever, you need to follow several stages of training. You need to do this until your dog is two years old. Here are the stages of training:
Early Stages Training (0 to 6 Months)
Until they are six months old, puppies need to be trained in basic behavior. You can start training your puppy in three areas:
Socializing With Your Golden Retriever Puppy and Leash Training
As a dog owner, it is important to socialize your puppy. This will help shape how they are as adults and how they will interact with the environment. Socializing should happen during the first three months of a puppy’s life because this is when it can be shaped permanently.
A puppy needs to be introduced to everything they might encounter as an adult dog. Let your pup play with people of all sizes, ages, colors, costumes, other dogs, infrastructure, grooming styles, and situations. The more variety, the better!
Before you buy a Golden Retriever, it is good for the dog to learn about other people and things. This way, the dog will be happy with other people and things. It is also essential to take your Golden Retriever to puppy classes where they use the “positive reinforcement training methods.”
When you train your dog, you should also take them on walks. You should teach them how to walk with a leash and play “fetch.” When they are still new to learning these things, just let them wear a collar or harness and have the leash attached.
As your puppy grows old, you need to work on leash etiquette. This means not pulling on the lead and walking without jumping.
Potty Training Your Golden Retriever Puppy
Taking care of your new puppy is fun and enjoyable until they make a steaming mess on your couch. We’ve all been there as pet owners. Poor house training is one of the most common reasons why dog owners surrender their pets at shelters.
To “potty train” your Golden Retriever puppy, you will need knowledge and patience. You can save yourself from scrubbing stains on your seats and carpet.
If you own a new Golden Retriever puppy, it will take about two months on average to “potty train” him or her. The puppy will learn where she needs to go to relieve herself, and accidents in the house will become fewer. In about two months, the puppy should be completely potty trained.
Training Your Golden Retriever Not To Bite
Your new Golden Retriever puppy might bite and chew on things. It is usual for them to do this when they are young and not trained well. You might be frustrated because the biting hurts your hands or ruins your clothes.
But puppy biting is good for learning. Do not get your Golden Retriever puppy to stop, but teach them how to bite the right things, like chew toys.
It is possible to train your puppy not to bite. You can teach them that they need to kiss with their mouth if they want to show love. This is the dream of every pet owner, right?
Teenage Years (6 to 18 Months)
Just like humans, this can be a difficult time for dogs. You have worked hard to build a strong foundation in the months before, but your Golden Retriever might start ignoring commands to test you. They will become cranky and aggressive, and withdrawn sometimes. This is just like when human teenagers are cranky and moody!
But don’t give up; this is the best time to build on the foundation of the first six months. It is best to find your Golden Retriever a friend at this stage. But just like human teenagers, you can’t force them to like other dogs. They’ll choose depending on their preferences.
Introduce your dog to simple commands like sit, stay, fetch, drop and retrieve. This will help them with teething.
At this stage, their exercise requirement is also high. So, in addition to obedience training, it is helpful to do other fun activities like dock diving, barn hunt, and agility training.
Maturity Stage (18 to 24 Months)
Around this time, the teenage rebellion should be calming down. Your dog should have a regular routine by this point. But it is still essential to keep practicing and perfecting all skills to become better at obedience and performance.
But in general, your dog should already be well-behaved. The Golden Retriever has learned everything it needs to know to be a good member of the family.
If you’re interested, you can take more advanced training like off-leash training, responding to hand signals and challenging dog tricks.
How To Train a Golden Retriever
A Golden Retriever puppy is a lot of energy. If you want to train him or her, then you need to have patience and have a good plan.
A dog that is friendly and social is a wish of all pet owners. But a well-behaved, sociable dog is not born that way. It takes the dog trainer’s effort to train it.
Schedule the Skills You Want To Train Your Golden Retriever
For example, you can decide to potty train and socialize your puppy in the first two months after he/she comes home. Make a plan with a schedule and stick to it. Without a plan, it will be hard for you to be consistent and do the training.
Train Your Golden Retriever Puppy One at a Time
Training your dog should be fun and make both of you happy. To teach your dog, you need to be short and not complicated. Make sure that the good thing happens quickly and has a reward for the dog. You can do one skill at a time and limit sessions to 15 minutes. When training, use the same word every time, so the dog knows what to do next time it hears that command.
Reward Your Golden Retriever For Good Behavior
It is simple. Give your dog a reward if they do something you want them to learn. If they poop outside, for example, thank them and give them a treat. But if they pee on the carpet, don’t give them anything. The key is to always be consistent when rewarding or not rewarding your dog.
Be Precise on What You Want Your Golden Retriever To Learn
Setting clear expectations for your Golden Retriever is essential at every stage. It’ll help your dog be happy and confident in the home when you have clear expectations from them.
Dogs need to be instructed on what they can and can’t do. Be clear about this from when the dog is a puppy, all the way through adolescence and adulthood.
Final Thoughts
Training your Golden Retriever puppy will take time. You will need to be patient, but it will pay off in the end. The Golden Retrievers are intelligent and like to please their owners, so they are quick learners. Start with an open mind and learn together with your puppy. Learn what your individual pup likes and which things work best for them.
If you train your Golden Retriever puppy with lots of activities, it can be a lot of fun for you and your dog. You will have a lively and well-trained dog that will bring joy to your life.
Click here for more details on how to train a golden retriever.
Frequently Asked Questions
Golden retrievers are easy to train because they love to please people. They were bred to be hunters and work with humans, so they were already obedient. In the AKC National Obedience Championship of 2018, a golden retriever named Streak was the winner!
Golden Retrievers are trainable, and they will work for high-value dog treats. If you have a new Golden Retriever as a pet, the first thing to do after it has settled in is to start training your dog.
Puppies are best trained from 8 weeks of age. Their mothers should not be separated from them before then.
Golden Retrievers are a type of dog. The American Kennel Club says they are the 4th most trainable dog breed. This means that it is easy to teach them new things. It is easy to be their friend, and they want you to tell them what to do.
Golden Retrievers do bark, but not as much as most breeds of dogs. They are usually quiet. And when they bark, it is more friendly than mean.
Golden Retrievers are famous for being good-natured animals. But they are still animals. Sometimes, people get bitten by them when they are in a bad situation. This is how it works: If the animal is scared or has other problems, he might bite someone to defend himself or his territory.
Golden Retrievers can be left home alone for up to 4 hours. Puppies should never be left home alone for more than 1 hour for each month of their age, which means they can’t be home alone for more than 4 hours.
Dogs that are easy to train are Border Collie, Poodle, Miniature Schnauzer, Labrador Retriever, German Shepherd, and Bearded Collie.
Golden Retrievers can be good guard dogs. They are large and protective. They are smart enough for minimal training. That is because they are obedient and loyal dogs.
Crate training is a way to help your dog go pee or poop outside. When they are in the crate, they will usually wait because that’s where they sleep. Crate training also helps you keep your house safe from them chewing up things like shoes and furniture.
A dog’s attention span can be better without hormones. A dog becomes an adolescent when it is about five months old. Adolescence lasts until the dog is 2-3 years old. The most challenging time for an adolescent dog is between 8 and 18 months.
Golden Retrievers need baths. Bathe them at least once a week, but not more than every six weeks. They have coats that are both short and long hair. When they get wet, they need to be dried so their skin doesn’t get too dry, and their coat stays healthy.
Golden Retrievers want attention. When they place their paw on you, it means that they want you to look at them instead of doing something else.
