Are Golden Retrievers easy to train?

Are you thinking about getting a Golden Retriever, one of the most popular dogs ever, into your home? But you don’t want to put so much work into training and want to know if Golden Retrievers are easy to train? Then this article will help you.

The Golden Retriever is easy to train. He is one of the most intelligent dogs and wants to please his owner. So it is possible even for a first time owner to train a Golden Retriever reasonably, because they also like to work for treats.

Why are golden retrievers easy to train?

The Golden Retriever is smart. It is ranked 4th out of 138 on the list of the most intelligent dogs, according to Prof. Stanley Coren.

The ranking was determined by how quickly a dog learns a command. So how often you have to repeat it until the dog understands what is meant.

It was also about how likely the dog was to perform the learned command the first time.

The Golden Retriever performed very well with less than 5 repetitions and a 95% success rate.

This does not mean that other dogs are necessarily dumber, but primarily that the Golden Retriever has a high will-to-please. He wants to please his owners.

The strong will to please his owner probably comes from his original use. The Golden Retriever is a hunting dog, which had to travel all day with the hunter and bring the prey to the hunter.

So the dogs had to obey and could not be aggressive and spent all day time with the human.

These facts are an indicator that a Golden Retriever is easy to train.

Another big plus that makes training a Golden Retriever easy is the fact that he would do anything for treats. Especially as a beginner, training with treats is worth its weight in gold and simplifies a lot.

The disadvantage of this is that you have to be careful that your Golden does not get too fat. Golden Retrievers, like Labradors, tend to eat a lot and get fat quickly, which has a negative impact on their health.

What makes Golden Retriever training difficult

Of course, there are always negative aspects of raising a Golden Retriever. The golden actually likes all people. So, your dog may want to run up to every person to greet them in the early days.

So the work on the leash can be a bit more exhausting in the first time than with other breeds.

Another point why it can be hard to train a Golden Retriever is if you think it is a no-brainer. Just because a Golden Retriever is easy to train doesn’t mean you’re doing it on the side.

If you realize at the age of 1 year that your Golden Retriever is not well behaved because you simply have not trained him well, it will be more difficult to get him back on track.

So, to get the best out of your Golden Retriever, it is important that you train and educate him from the first minute. Then you will have a top trained dog later.

Another problem with not exercising with your Golden Retriever is that he will then look for work and get into mischief.

The Golden Retriever is a hunting dog that likes to work and is easy to train. If you do, if you don’t, it will backfire. Working with a dog is basically nothing more than training him.

When you teach your Golden Retriever the basic commands it is education and exercise for the dog.

When does the education of a Golden Retriever begin?

You start the education on the first day. The easier it will be.

If your puppy is allowed on the couch now because he’s so cute, you’ll have a hard time getting him to stop doing that later because you don’t want him to.

From day 1 you have to train your Golden Retriever consistently but lovingly. With our dogs it started with the food. Even if we put the bowl down, they are not allowed to eat until we give the OK. That is already obedience training.

Also the basic commands like “sit”, “down” and “wait” you can train playfully from the beginning.

How long does it take to train a Golden Retriever?

This question is a bit difficult to answer. You can teach your Golden Retriever a “sit” or a “stay” within 10 minutes.

Housetraining can be achieved in 2 weeks.

But on the basics like “sit” in the living room or in the garden you build up and increase. Then follows the “sit” during a walk, on a dog run with distraction, etc.

The subject of leash leadership can take years. Better said, it can happen again and again that your actually well behaved Golden Retriever pulls on the leash in between times.

The training process lasts permanently, because you either want to improve or your dog forgets what he is allowed or not allowed to do, if you don’t remind him in weak situations and correct him.

Intermediate praise when he has done something well is also a part of education and takes place all the time.

Conclusion “Is the Golden Retriever easy to train?”:

Golden Retrievers are, all in all, easy to train and you can teach him a lot. He wants to please his owners and is easily rewarded by treats, petting or playing.

But you have to do it. He is not for couch potatoes who do not like to be active. The Golden Retriever needs both physical and mental activity, then nothing stands in the way of easy training.

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