Among the dog breeds, golden retrievers are the least expected to be aggressive or protective. Should a special situation call for it a goldie will surely know how to be protective or defensive, but a Goldie that growls at passers by or other dogs on walks may have the signs of an incorrect temperament, and ought not therefore to be part of a breeding project.

These days, more and more owners are having golden retriever rescue dogs for their pets. Of course these dogs come from a variety of backgrounds and circumstances. The result is predictably that some goldies act out some behavior that leave owners wondering whether the dog is indeed protective, or worse, aggressive.

Veteran golden owners advise that the typical dog does bark occasionally at guests, but most of the time out of excitement. If the dog can get close enough, it also sniffs closely, but then leaves after a few minutes of satisfying its curiosity. However, the dog that shows protective behavior or threatens body language is a different story.

If you think your own golden is starting to display an abnormal level of protectiveness for you, try the following golden retriever training tips that will help your dog to calm down.

1. Whenever you meet up with friends and the dog is with you, step forward first while also leaning forward, then offer your hand first.

2. When a dog’s protective instinct surfaces, it behaves negatively because it feels vulnerable too. Some dogs acting seemingly in defense are also known to be at their noisiest when people are at home.

Some owners seeking a protection dog in a goldie may choose not to discourage the dog’s barking. This can be reinforced by simply going to the door or the front window whenever the dog is inside and gives voice. Owners can then pet the dog, look out the window while talking to the dog in a calm voice.

3. In golden retriever training, by coddling the dog (e.g. allowing it to bury under your arm, or hugging it all the while speaking in a comforting whisper), you’re encouraging your pet to give in to its fears. Sometimes it IS reasonable to be scared, but a meeting with your own acquaintances or a casual walk outdoors are not good settings for a “spooked” dog.

The dog may also run to you, looking for cover, so to speak. Do not coddle the dog. Do not do anything except to say “It’s alright”, and continue as if there is nothing untoward going on. When the dog sees and senses that you are indeed alright, the dog will also learn to make light of it. Otherwise, the dog will at least be smart enough to observe you first before giving in to its primal reaction.

It is likely also that other dogs do not seek a kill, but only seek amusement in harrassing the smaller animal to the point of exhaustion (or death).

So how does a dog owner prevent a goldie (or generally any dog for that matter) at home from tangling with the mostly friendly furries in the neighborhood? Be prepared to invest oceans of patience, time and effort to managing your dog’s high-prey drive, especially if it meets small animals often.

On the bright side with these kind of dogs, dogs with high prey drive are often very receptive of training. For them, awareness of the reward is the best trigger. But the downside is that what gets them all agog and agitated are found right in their environments: birds, cats, small children running, smaller furry animals, etc

Here are some golden retriever training tips for dealing with canine friends with high prey drives:

1) Stick to a daily routine that has less disruptions.

2) Use more body signals than voice, and if you do need to use your voice, use a lower voice pitch. Talk less and move more.

3) Some time also needs to be spent teaching the dog to pay attention.

4) Interactive play also needs to be increased so that the dog’s will have lesser time for thinking of amusing themselves.

5) Boost the amount of touch time spent in grooming.

Another response to this concern is developing a solid recall in your dog. Put the dog on a leash with a helper hanging on to the leash. Then approach the dog with the cat in your hands and the cat level to the dog. If the dog tries to reach for the dog, tell the helper to give a leash correction. Ensure that the dog understands that it is not suppose to pay attention to the cat. But if you think all this is out of your league, then get the assistance of a golden retriever training expert, or either an animal behaviorist or an obedience trainer.

Mouthing is one of the basic golden retriever issues that need to be dealt with while the dog is still a puppy. This behavior can result to some crazy antics, the most important being chewing and swallowing a variety of household objects, from pieces of clothing to tissue paper, to rocks, and even dry wall. If you have this concern with the goldie in your home, check out the following golden retriever training tips:

1. If this is a food issue, try checking if the dog is able to eat at the sufficient ratio of dog food per dog weight.

2. Chemical treatment of the dog’s pet chewing areas are among your next line of solutions. If you have tried bitter apple to not much effect, try alum powder. Mix this food chemical with water and apply the resulting paste on stuff you do not want your dog to touch.

3. Why not also give the dog some toys to focus on? Keep clear of stuffed toys though. Good examples of toys are chew bones, kongs, and buster cubes.

4. There is also a chance that the dog is very bored. A big chew bone is really something that will keep a big dog really occupied. Put peanut butter on one knot to keep the dog busy. But remember to give the bone to the dog in a spot well away from the wrecked dry wall.

5. Is the dog getting enough off leash running each day and is still into chewing? Some point out that to some dogs, the affinity for wood, leather, and cotton is just too strong to resist. You may want to introduce a crating system then.

To sum up everything, it is solid fact that goldies are among the most mouthy dogs; how much more if we are talking about an adolescent with high play drive! The best and failsafe golden retriever training tips have got to be teaching the dog “leave it,” and taking control of situations that may result to an overexcited goldie. Its also useful to teach the dog and play several times in a day some retriever games so its mouthiness and prey drive have big outlets.

A dog that jumps on people to greet them is displaying behavior that is ideal for golden retriever training. It is indeed a nuisance from time to time, but owners will also have to move early to remedy this because this might grow into a dominance issue problem. Below are some tips to help you with your “galloping dog” concern.

1. If you have heard about the golden retriever training strategy “Nothing in Life is Free”, you will remember that the dog cannot get what it wants if it does not pay first through good manners. In the same way, the dog needs to be ignored and brushed aside by anybody it jumps at. The dog needs to be taught to sit when greeting people walking through the door.

The second main tip is that the dog must not be noticed or paid attention to unless the dog is calm and its four feet are on the floor, or it is sitting. People ought to also watch out acting excited or agitated, greeting the dog in that characteristic high pitched voice, then the dog may not be able to keep still.

Get the people to ignore the dog until it is completely calm. If it rushes and jumps at people, tell the dog “No”, and ask them to cross their arms and turn their backs on the dog. Keep this up until the dog realizes that people, not the dog, decide when to greet the dog. If the dog does indeed stop jumping or sit or lie down, have the visitor calmly face the dog and offer it a quick pat. If the dog start jumping, repeat the process of ignoring.

3) If anybody has told you that the dog is bound to outgrow this bad manner by age three, be careful since all those months are just enough to nurture dominant dog tendencies in the dog.

A lot of dogs are easily agitated than the others. Still more need more time to finally absorb what is being taught to them. So be ready to be patient with this otherwise loving and brainy dog breed.

What else could a dog owner face in all this? Consistency is at stake, as always in golden retriever training, so get everybody to help out in your “anti-galloping dog” project. It is really possible to have at home a dog that is helped to be disciplined and behaved, but which is at the same time cheerful and optimistic.