[KaMu]

go back to the first week of having your dog as a puppy....what do you think are the two things you'd train first and second and why. Like in hindsight, knowing what you know now having owned a Golden?

I'm thinking one of the first things I pay more attention to is leash walking
and than more socialization with hopes of not struggling with greetings.
And Id still immediately start rewarding "quiet" no bark...which has worked so well for us.

 

[Florabora]

Oh my god I would have tried to squash any inkling of excitement when Flora met a new person. Her behavior around new people is really ridiculous these days.

 

[Muddypaws]

I have to agree, I would really work hard on greeting new people politely, esp. at home. Second - walking on a lead, it is so easy to let them pull when they are only a few pounds and so adorably small.... but the get big fast!

 

[Claire's Friend]

I am writing ALL this down...thanks !!!

 

[vcm5]

I just rescued a golden mix who is almost one. I wish someone had taught him to walk better on a leash when he was just a few pounds!! Any suggestions??

 

[MittaBear]

Well first thing would always be housebreaking. Thankfully, we were able to do that in about 2 weeks.

And then second would be leash walking. He still likes to pull sometimes and we're finding that hard to correct.

 

[Oakley&SegersMom]

Definitely leash walking and socialization.
It's been almost 8 years and we still struggle on walks and neither dogs have any manners around other dogs. Unfortunately because Oakley and Seger always had each other we did not make a point of play dates with others. Yes....would certainly do things differently. Sigh......
Carol

 

[GoldenJoy]

DITTO on the socialization. Our trainer said that we may have OVER-socialized Joy!! When she was a pup, we followed the Donaldson/Dunbar advice to the letter, so she probably met about 200 new people in the first 6 weeks!!!!!!

Maybe she would have been a people junkie anyway, but still... At least she sits now... a wriggly, crazed sit, but a sit.

 

[Sammy's Dad]

Yup, I would have definitely taught Sammy how to greet other humans polity. He gets VERY excited around other people that it just unbelievable (and embarrassing sometimes). Often, He would urinate just because he gets very excited when a person wants to greet him. I have to hold Sammy when my dad comes home from work otherwise he would urinate the floor................outrages!

Sometimes I just tell people to excuse his behavior because he has ADHDFD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder For Dogs)

 

[Radarsdad]

Mostly to stay grounded as in when I say sit that means your butt stays on the ground (and that doesn't mean creep it along either). No matter how excited you get. All four feet on the ground when greeting people.

 

[morgan3]

I loved reading what all of you wrote....
Any suggestions on what to do when he gets excited about new people coming in the house. Our puppy is 4 months old.

 

[West]

I'd have really corrected him when he jumped on people in greetings and when he bit the leash. I used to think he was so cute when he did it as a puppy, but now that he's ten times his puppy size, I regret not having been firm.

On the other hand, I would have let him sleep in bed since day 1. We didn't let him for the first couple of weeks, then we gave in and now I love it when he curls next to me. I would have loved to let him when he was tiny too.

 

[KaMu]

Wow... thanks for all the replies! They are basically all the same lol

So we as the GR's people struggle with mainly:

1. Polite greeting
2. Loose leash walking


Ill have to go look into how to train a puppy these two very important lessons. This has got to be obtainable!

 

[Sweet Girl]

It certainly does seem like we have all had the same puppy!

After housetraining - I, too, wish I had worked harder on keeping all paws on the ground for greetings. It was the one thing I never was able to break with her. She would just be SO excited that she couldn't contain all that excitement. She WOULD try... but it would get the better of her, and the paws would be off the ground. :no:

I only managed to get the "squirmy-oh-my-GOD-I'm-going-to-explode-sit" for myself. Others? Forget about it.

 

[HudsensMama9]

I agree- meeting new people is huge... or just greeting any person (even those he knows well). This weekend while camping, Hudsen jumped on the same lady two different times to say hi. Needless to say, she shook her head and was NOT happy. I'd also train him to come better. He just stares at me when I call him sometimes. This happens especially when he is really excited at the dog park or hiking... I can tell when he is going to jump on someone so I call him back and of course he keeps on darting at the person. We decided to go back to training last week, so hopefully these will get nipped in the bud soon! Wish we would have done a better job with this when he first started training classes!

 

[Braccarius]

The biggest thing is that I would have taken even more pictures of them. They are puppies for such a short, short period of time. I think with Mirabelle I would have fed her in an enclosed crate rather than just a wire mesh crate so she wouldn't have started scarfing food like a maniac. I'd also like her to drop the ball at my feet instead of sitting in front of me barking with a ball in her yap.... dodging her head around like muhammad ali. I wish I didn't introduce Harley to so many new dogs when he was younger. He's become a little more defensive because he's been snapped at a few times by not so friendly animals.

 

[CAROLINA MOM]

I just rescued a golden mix who is almost one. I wish someone had taught him to walk better on a leash when he was just a few pounds!! Any suggestions??

Both of my goldies are Rescues, one adopted through a GR Rescue and the other from my County Shelter. I bought Gentle Leader Harness for both of them, they are doing beautifully. My boy that came from the shelter is HORRIBLE on a leash, but he is improving since I got the harness.

 

[Megora]

The biggest thing is that I would have taken even more pictures of them. They are puppies for such a short, short period of time.

I had the same thought!

I have no regrets as far as training, but gaaaah. I hate the fact that I didn't take more pictures of him in that first week. Add to that the fact the pictures I DID take were all from my cell phone. :doh:

 

[Cody'sMom]

We have tried to practice polite human greetings from day one. Done A LOT of socialization, obedience classes, out and about in town, dog park and pet stores - it did not help! Cody, age 7-1/2, STILL has EGD (Excessive Greeting Disorder).

At his last examination, I talked to the vet about Cody's lack of self control still at this age. Cody is totally nuts at the vet so he knew what I meant. He gave me Composure 'calming treats' which I've tried 3 times for company and it didn't help.

The vet said this is his 'temperament' and 'personality' - he is hard wired in his brain to get excited. You can exercise to drain energy and train to learn commands but you can not change temperament - just manage it.

I am grateful though that this is our only problem.
Good luck.
Connie and Cody