Golden Retriever Training Qs.?

6 Responses to “Golden Retriever Training Qs.?”

1. mathgenius_95 says:

   11/9/2011 at 9:20 pm

   My dog trainer said that after they are good at doing tricks, start trying to make them do more and more and more tricks for less food, and then eventually you don’t have to give any at all. She was a professional and all of her advice worked.
2. David says:

   11/9/2011 at 9:49 pm

   Pea…..GREAT CHOICE IN DOGS! Goldens are one of the smartest and friendliest dogs you could get.

   Try adding petting and rubbing to the rewards and slowly increase them to replace the treats. Soon they will do it for the love you give.

   A/O 10-05-07: Either we all are terrible dog trainers or someone is just having alot of fun with the thumbs down rating. So far all the advice seems logical so I assume it is the latter of the two.
3. Soccer chicka! says:

   11/9/2011 at 10:22 pm

   try pretending to hold a treat in a closed hand. he might think that you have food and do the trick and when he does go and congraulate him by saying good boy! and petting him.if he wont do it at first go over to where you keep the treats and pretend to put one in your hand then close it. make sure your dog thinks that you are putting a treat in your hand
4. geraldine says:

   11/9/2011 at 11:07 pm

   hey pea, he got too used to food rewards, i have a lab retriever 6 months now nearly and bought books on them. part of the training is not to always reward with food, sometimes u have to say “good boy” and your not suppossed to rub them everytime either, even the praise in your voice is supposed to make them happy, they learn by your tone, dog toys also work as a treat. stop using food always as a reward and try reward with your praise in tone, i bet when u say good boy and rub him he gets real happy and his tail wags, he recognises this as a good responce to his behaviour, use it also as a reward for it
5. Kim J says:

   11/9/2011 at 11:54 pm

   How does he know whether or not you will give him a treat before he does the trick? What happens if you put a treat in your hand, you ask him to do his trick and you praise him but do not give him the treat?

   He will probably whine and paw at you because he is annoyed or disappointed at this unexpected turn of events. Ask him to do the trick again and this time give him the treat.

   Try giving it to him every other time and then every third time and then randomly and see how he does. If that works then eliminate the treat entirely and see how long he will do the trick without getting a treat.

   Different dogs have different levels of motivation. Even different type of treats (kibble versus steak) result in different levels of motivation. If a trick is especially difficult then it helps to have a better motivator.

   You might try using a tennis ball or favorite toy. You can try varying the treat with the toy and see how that works.

   Here is an interesting article about food motivation. Good luck!
6. kazzalee68 says:

   11/10/2011 at 12:42 am

   Hi pea. I have a 2 year old golden also. your problem is that your dog doesnt think of you as a leader, plain and simple.Whenever you train a dog by all means use food as a lure cuppled with hand signals, after 5-6 weeks there should be no need for food. Dogs out of respect for their handler will autoomatically do commands with voice or hand signals from their owner. If you have used food rewards for 2 years your dog doesnt know any different. Is sounds like you spoil him a little. Be firmer,dont always give food or cuddles, just a quick ” good girl” will do. Make your dog listen to you, and concentrate on teaching your dog that you are the leader and only good things come from her behaviour. reduce frequency of food thats my suggestion.Dont give in just because she sucks up to you. Good luck