# Training Expectations



## OakleyTheGolden (Feb 2, 2020)




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## puddles everywhere (May 13, 2016)

First he needs to learn what that word means ?. I never tell my pups no. Be sure and have lots of in the yard play time WITH you to burn off energy. You bought a hunting dog.
Start teaching skills using his kibble before meals, 5 minutes at a time. He is doing all the puppy behaviors he knows. You must teach him other behaviors.


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## LJack (Aug 10, 2012)

You are looking a months of repetition. If you have never had a dog before or if it has been a while since raising a a baby puppy, I would recommend getting help from a trainer. It is very easy to accidentally be reinforcing a bad habit.

Young Goldens are known as land sharks and itty bitty bladders make potty training a real challenge, especially in cold climates.


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## CCG_FDL (Sep 23, 2019)

He is just a baby and doing normal puppy things. For me at that age it is less about the words and more about the tone. The stern “eh-eh” that you would give a toddler works! Then redirect to what you want. I miss the age when I could actually pick my pup up to redirect him! This is also an age where they can have lots of stuffed toys (mine just destroys them now!) They get tired quickly and playtime with toys keeps them busy, engaged with you, and off things like the rug and coffee table. Keep it up with the leash I’ve never had a dog “love” it at first but he’ll soon realise leash=walk=awesome. Keep a sense of humor but also be consistent in the bahavior you want vs don’t want. One of the best things I read was if your very young puppy is awake for 1-1.5 hours he’s ready for a nap. They need lots of sleep or they get a bit naughty


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## DevWind (Nov 7, 2016)

Such a cute puppy! If you can't watch him close, put him in his crate. Trade him toys for the inappropriate things he's chewing on. I also suggest Puppy Kindergarten when he's old enough...usually 3 months old, at a dog club.


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## ceegee (Mar 26, 2015)

OakleyTheGolden said:


> My fiancé and I have a 9 week old boy named Oakley I think we set our expectations way too high for him right out of the chute. We’ve had him for a week now and initially he was ok. Not great but not terrible either. He has progressively gotten worse (chewing in the carpet and coffee tables, terrible on the leash, chewing on leaves, grass and acorns) no matter how many times we tell him no he does it anyway. We completely understand that he’s young and completely underdtsnd training just yet but is there something we can do to help him along in the process? I know our expectations of telling him no once or twice and him understanding are far fetched but it seems like no matter how many times we tell him know or push him away he will not listen. Is there anything we can do to help him in the training process or is it just repetition with a puppy until they start to get it? He is our first puppy my fiancé has had dogs in the past Oakley is my first dog so I don’t really know what to expect in terms of training time.


A few things that might help you.

Before I start: this is a _puppy_. You have the canine equivalent of a tiny baby. He knows nothing about living in the human world, so it's your responsibility to teach him. It isn't that he "will not listen". He simply doesn't understand what you want and he doesn't know how to behave. The word "no" means nothing to him - he doesn't understand human language. Simply pushing him away won't achieve anything. He's just been taken away from his mom and his siblings and he needs your company. He's insecure. Instead of pushing him away, you have to teach him what you _want _him to do. Many people have a very romanticized view of puppies: they are cute, they are fun, etc. They are all these things, but in reality, they are a lot of work too. They are exhausting. They will keep you up at night. You will have to devote many hours a week to training, for at least the first year. Regardless of what you do, they will urinate and defecate in your house until they are between five and six months old. When they start teething they will bite you, and you will have to teach them not to do this. They will destroy your furniture and belongings unless you teach them to chew their own toys instead. And they grow quickly. By the time your Golden is 8 months hold, he will weigh upwards of 50 lbs. and will be a bundle of muscle and energy. He will need daily aerobic exercise - a walk around the block on leash won't be enough.

First: Relax and enjoy him, arm yourself with patience, and start getting a handle on things. Now is the time when you need to begin training. Young pups are sponges. Get a treat bag, put one meal's worth of kibble in it each day, and make sure you dispense it to him, one piece at a time, as a training reward. Do a several short (2-3 minute) training sessions throughout the day, teach him basic commands: sit, down, stand, stay, spin, wait, come, etc. Use the kibble pieces as lures to get the behaviour you want, then introduce a verbal command, and then use the kibble as rewards. Once you have a few basic behaviours, it will be easier to teach him not to do the stuff you don't want him to do. Have him sit before you give him his bowl of food. It will take many hundreds of repetitions and rewards to teach each behaviour. It is not a quick thing. Once your pup starts responding regularly, you can start to phase out the treats. Once he responds well in your home, take him outside and repeat the whole thing. Dogs don't generalize well - if you teach a command in your kitchen, he will obey in the kitchen but not in the back yard. You have to teach and practise in different places.

Second: "No" is completely useless as a training command. It's too general - in other words, you use it for too many different things - and more importantly, it doesn't tell the dog what you _do _want him to do. The system I've used with many pups over the last few decades is this: To signal a behaviour I don't want (e.g. jumping up), I say "ah-ah". I only use this sound in response to unwanted behaviour. And then I follow it up with a command that tells the dog what I want him to do instead. For example: the dog jumps up at someone, I say "ah-ah, sit". The dog grabs something he shouldn't have: "ah-ah, drop it". The dog begs food at the table: "Ah-ah, go to your bed" ... and so on. This system only works when you've taught the basic behaviours. There is no point saying "ah-ah, drop it" if you haven't taught your dog to "drop it". If you give commands your dog doesn't understand well enough to obey, you're simply teaching him not to obey.

Third: Look round for a good training school that gives group puppy classes and obedience classes. You need a school that teaches humans how to train dogs using mostly positive methods. Group classes are great - you learn from the other people in the class, and the dog learns to obey in situations where there are lots of distractions. 

Fourth: Get a crate. If you can't watch your pup closely enough to stop him from chewing on tables or carpets, put him in the crate. You can also use the crate for time-outs in response to biting or other unwanted behaviour. Chewing human belongings is actually dangerous for the pup. He could well swallow something that will either make him sick or cause an intestinal blockage that has to be removed surgically ($$$$). Get a selection of things he can chew safely: hard nylabones, Kong toys, etc., put them in a box and teach him to go and get his toys when he wants to chew something.

Fifth: Leash walking has to be taught. Pups aren't spontaneously good at it. Put the leash on and play a "follow me" game. Reward when he follows. Don't drag him around with the leash - find ways to get him to follow you without pulling him. Once he's understood how to walk on leash, immediately start teaching him not to pull you. Now is the time to do that, when he's small. In six months' time he's going to weigh upwards of 50 lbs., and believe me when I say that it's very unpleasant to go for walks with a 50 lb. dog that pulls like a train on leash.

Best of luck with him. It can be tough to adjust expectations, but the great thing about Goldens is that they are intelligent and anxious to please, which makes them very rewarding to work with. If you're consistent, it won't be long before your training starts to produce results.


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## cwag (Apr 25, 2017)

Everything ceegee said ......
This is a great book on teaching basic comnands. A Golden can learn sit, stay, down in just a few days or a week




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Amazon.com






www.amazon.com


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## Rastadog (Oct 24, 2006)

The post by ceegee should help you a lot. I felt like you 25 years ago with my first golden puppy. My third puppy turned 9 weeks old today. She loves the top of acorns, sticks, rocks and leaves. Did I mention nice wooden furniture, the leather sofa and power cords? She’s put her mouth on all that stuff. It’s normal. It’s our jobs to help them be right. Of course Her litter was indoors here in the northeast due to weather. This is outside stuff is all new to her young sponge like brain. She is beginning to listen and watch. Watching her first experience with snow was a hoot. He won’t listen till you teach him what the words mean, sit, down , drop, wait and Oakley. He doesn’t know yet. Try and make it fun. It’s hard for guys with their first dog to give effective praise. Don’t think about how you sound to people just Qakley. Try making fun sounds and see what tone interests him. It’s not what you say but how you say it. Good luck, have fun, they’re puppies!


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## OscarsDad (Dec 20, 2017)

How could you ever be upset with that cute little face?!? Great advice above which I am sure you will find helpful!


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