Golden Retriever Dog Forums banner

at what age do I stop excusing his behavior because he's a puppy

609 views 9 replies 9 participants last post by  Pointgold 
#1 ·
Hi, I have a sixteen week old golden retriever puppy, I've been working with him to sit, shake,lay, and walk on a leash. He is doing pretty well, but at times he doesn't listen, he barks for no apparent reason sometimes, he is good by his self, but when people visit he gets so excited and jumps all over them and his good behavior goes right out the window. I understand puppies will be puppies, but at what age do I stop using the excuse, he's just a puppy, and expect to see more good behavior results

Thanks,

Bailey & Me
 
#2 ·
One of the most delightful traits of Golden Retrievers is that they keep their puppy ways into adulthood. At 16 weeks he should be in obedience class. Classes will teach you how to teach him so when people say "My isn't he well-behaved" you can say "Yes, and he's just a puppy".

Your local Golden Retriever club can help you find a good trainer/classes in your area.

In the meantime, enjoy. And we'd love pictures!
 
#4 ·
Believe me, he is going to get worse ;)

Seriously, keep training but right now you need to internalize that it is not an excuse, it is reality. He is a puppy and he won't be perfect, he can't, he is too young. He needs time to mature into a perfect dog.
 
#7 ·
I was once told 'puppies are always learning, good or bad' - meaning you either start teaching them good habits or they'll learn bad ones.

If you search on this forum there are lots of threads on the subject of behavior when guests arrive.

Pictures, we need pictures!

Lana
 
#9 ·
I join in with the puppiness is never an excuse for bad behavior group.
They can learn at 8 weeks old not to jump on people. If you expect and enforce good behavior, you get it. If you allow bad behavior by making excuses for the dog/puppy, you will get bad behavior.
It's much easier teach good behavior from the beginning than to try to correct bad behavior later on.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top