Golden Retriever / Now What?

[fngTony]

They’re people pleasers and relatively easy to train on the basic stuff. Ours really didn’t calm down until we got her a beagle to play with. She really never showed an interest in retrieving but eats cardboard and house plants.

 

[tony]

We have a doberman and its been a great work out since getting him.
Very high energy and drive.
Toys- these dogs will destroy just about any dog toy on the market. Jolly balls and chuck it balls are pretty much the only ones that last any time.
Get a chuck it ball launcher and appropriate sized ball. We use the mediums with out dobe even thought they have mouths the size of hippos. Cant get a good enough bite on them to break the mediums. I would figure a retriever type dog would love chasing the ball and bringing it back to you. Chuck it even has what they call "flying squirrels" and water type toys to train with.

Shock collars are great when used correctly. I'm no trainer so I don't know if trying one on an older dog will work. With ours all I have to do is break out the button and stops whatever nonsense he is into.

 

[Yooper]

See if you can get your hands on a copy of Bill Hillman's Training a Retriever Puppy video set. Great resource for what you're trying to accomplish.

 

[H2PVon]

How long have you had it? Most "rescue" dogs will take 3-4 months before they aren't stressed about new surroundings. I wouldn't push too hard until then. Goldens are generally smart but soft to correction. Too harsh and can shut down. Can be tricky to train. Patience is the #1 thing you need. You go at the dog's pace.

 

[Firehole Hunter]

OP, I believe your Golden Retriever has a bit of Pyrenees in it.

Why do you think that?

 

[EastHumboldt]

Obedience first then advanced training. Playing fetch is always a good thing. Careful with the shock collar. Super careful. They have to be trained to understand what the shock means,.The typical human approach is “you’re doing something bad… so shock, and then we expect them to understand why they got shocked. It doesn’t work that way because they don’t think that way. Some dogs are smart enough to sort it out even if their trainers are not. But use poorly they can do more damage than good.

with proper training of the human, and Dog, the shock collar can be a wonderful addition to the Dog training repertoire. My wife is a Dog Trainer. She only uses them for deaf dogs or problem dogs. My born deaf border collie has one.

 

[dr.mooseknuckles]

Why do you think that?

The length and dimensions of the forelimbs in your original picture. The feathering of the tail that is visible.

Also, I see about 20 dogs per day.