Your Golden Retriever is a great companion to have and one of the best dog breeds to bring into the family. They are friendly, get along with almost everyone, and can be a lot of fun to enjoy. At times though, you may notice they struggle with getting enough attention and may need some help with feeling jealous when you give that attention to others in the home. This may make you wonder if Golden Retrievers can feel jealousy.
Yes, Golden Retrievers can get jealous. Their generally pleasant personality makes them less likely to get possessive or jealous of their humans compared to some other dog breeds, but there are still times when your Golden Retriever will get jealous and will exhibit behaviors that show this. When your Golden Retrievers starts to act like they are jealous, learning how to get them to stop and how to reward the good behavior can help.
Let’s take a closer look at whether Golden Retrievers can get jealous, some of the reasons why they may get jealous, how you can recognize this behavior early on, and some of the steps you can take to help handle the issue when the Golden Retriever starts to act like they are jealous.
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Do Golden Retrievers Get Jealous?
At times, your Golden Retriever can get jealous. As they come to your family and spend time with you and other members of the family, they will start to form close bonds with everyone. Because of this, they may feel jealous as well as some other emotional behavioral issues. This can include separation anxiety until your dog gets used to you leaving during the day.
Jealousy will sometimes become an issue if you have children or other dogs around the home. Sometimes your dog will feel like they are not getting attention at the times that they want. Recognizing the signs of your Golden Retriever feeling jealous can make a difference and will help you to solve some of the problems. Spending time with your Golden Retriever is a good way to solve some of the issues too.
Your Golden Retriever is generally an easy dog to work with. They like to spend time with everyone in the family, have a lot of energy, and will get along and try to please you. Out of all the dog breeds that you choose to go with, this one is the least likely to get jealous when you pay attention to some of the other people in the home.
However, even this breed is able to get jealous, especially if they have not been able to get attention. If you were gone on a long trip or you have not been able to spend the time you often do with your dog, such as not being able to take them on as many walks or play with them as often, then these feelings of jealousy are likely to happen and you will need to deal with them as early on as possible
The good news is that your Golden Retriever likes to get attention from anyone they can in the family. If you have a spouse or some kids in the home, they can each take a turn playing with and entertaining your Golden Retriever. Since the dog will like to work with anyone and can have a lot of fun with them, this is a good way to make sure they get the attention that they need while keeping the jealousy away.
Why Is My Golden Retriever Jealous?
Golden Retrievers, as well as other dogs, are social animals. This means that they have an innate need to form strong social relationships. These relationships are important between each other and with humans as well.
You will find that the Golden Retriever really values the dog to human relationship. Most of the dog breeds out there have evolved to a stage where they would struggle to survive without a human to help them get by. They may not be able to understand that humans are the sole providers of safety, shelter, and food for them, but they are hard wired to stay close to humans and they value this kind of relationship as well.
If you notice that your Golden Retriever starts to act jealous and shows some of the signs that we list out below, then this is done because they are protecting the important relationship they have between their owners and themselves. While this is a natural instinct to work with, you do need to stop the behavior before it gets worse and your dogs start to fight, or your Golden Retriever barks and growl at other people in the family.
What are Signs That My Golden Retriever is Jealous?
It is important to be able to look out for certain signs of whether your Golden Retriever is jealous or not. This will help you to recognize some of the signs and then fix the problem before it goes out of hand. Some of the signs that will show up when your Golden Retriever is jealous include:
Barking and Growling
Since your Golden Retriever obviously can’t use words to show that they are jealous and not feeling happy about a situation, they have to rely on other means to get this information across from you. This means that they may rely on growling and barking to make this happen. Both of these methods are going to be the first sign that your dog is not happy, but sometimes it is hard to tell that the barking and growling is due to jealousy.
A good way to tell is to see what else is going on when the Golden Retriever displays this behavior. For example, if you have the Golden Retriever on your lap and another dog or your children come over to you and you give them attention, you may notice the first dog is not happy. They may decide to growl to let the other person or animal know that they were there first and they want you to themselves.
This type of jealousy may be normal but it is something that you need to fix as soon as possible. If you let it alone and do not correct the situation as early as possible, you may end up with barking and fighting between the different dogs in your home.
Giving You Attention and Affection
Golden Retrievers are not a confrontational breed like some of the others out there. You may notice that they will not bark or growl as much. Instead, they will rely on other types of body language to show what they want. This could include climbing right on top of you while you are watching TV or even getting in between you and another person on the couch.
Pushing Other Dogs and People Away
Your Golden Retriever may show that they are jealous by using their own bodies to push themselves between you and another person or another dog. Your dog will need to use their bodies to let someone else know if they are in their space. It may happen without us really paying attention to what is going on. If the trigger for this behavior is that you are giving someone else attention, then this is a sign your dog is jealous. My golden has displayed this behavior when anyone is hugging he will push his body in between the two people it’s in a nonaggressive way but he is clearly jealous and wants to be a part of the hug.
Going to Their Quiet Place
Some dogs are not good at expressing their jealousy and they may become despondent instead. Many Golden Retrievers and older dogs are not going to do some of the other signals to show they are jealous. They may just head to their crate or another spot to be alone. This is sometimes a sign that they are not feeling well. If they do it often, then it may be a sign that something else is wrong, but if it seems to happen when you give someone else attention, then it is likely your Golden Retriever feels jealous.
Seeking Attention
Another reason why your Golden Retriever may show they are jealous is that they are seeking your attention. They may try to steal your shoe, bringing you their blanket, or doing something else that gets you to look at them. If you notice that this tends to happen when you are giving someone else in the home attention, then it is likely done to get you to pay attention to the dog.
How to Stop Jealousy In Your Golden Retriever
If your Golden Retriever is showing some signs of being jealous, then it is a good idea to take steps to stop any bad behavior that they may exhibit. Some advice out there tells you to give your dog more attention when they exhibit these behaviors. This is a bad idea because it rewards bad behavior in your dog and will encourage them to keep acting in that way.
Luckily, there are a few other methods that you can use to help stop the jealousy in your Golden Retriever and make sure that they behave the way that you want. Some of these include:
Give Them Exercise
If your dog has had some time to run around outside and get tired, they have less time to feel jealous about the people and other animals around them. Sometimes they may get jealous simply because they need to run off some of the energy that they have. The next time they start to show some of the signs we discussed above, take them on a long walk and see if that helps.
Feed Your Dogs Separately
If you have more than one dog in the home and your Golden Retriever seems to be acting jealous, then it is time to feed them separately. Food can make dogs jealous the most and it will lead to the dogs fighting and misbehaving. Feed the dogs at the same time, but have them eat in different rooms or have one inside and one outside.
Pay Attention to the Good Behavior
Rather than paying attention to the bad behavior and giving them more attention, it is better to pay attention when your Golden Retriever is behaving well. When they act jealous, the best way to deal with this is with a simple command like “off” or “no” and leave it at that. If they try to get onto you or are right on top of you, you can gently push them away or use your own body to block their advances.
If the Golden Retriever listens and gets the message to back off, then this is the behavior that you want to praise. You do not need to overdo this praise, but you can tell them how good they are being and even pet them a little bit. This helps your Golden Retriever to know what behaviors are acceptable by you.
Give Your Dog Their Own Toys
Sometimes it is tempting to just have a bunch of toys that all the dogs can share when you have more than one. Your dog is not going to be good at sharing. If you assume that they will, then this can cause jealousy and even some confrontations. Let each dog have several toys that are all their own to avoid this.
Avoid the Excitement
A little bit of excitement is fine, but if you let it get out of hand, this can cause issues. You will really need to work on this with your children too. When your dog gets overly excited, they will be unpredictable and this can lead to some bad habits along the way.
Helping Your Golden Retriever with Jealousy
Sometimes your Golden Retriever is going to get jealous. If there are children around the home or you have other animals, sometimes the dog will feel like you are giving attention to the others rather than to them. With some of the tips above, you will be able to provide your Golden Retriever with some of the attention they need, without rewarding their bad behavior, and you can get them to stop feeling so jealous.