Do you have a golden retriever dog, or do you have intentions of owning one? If yes, it’s one of the popular breeds that blend well with the family. Many families love these pets for their energy and dedication to work. Besides, its intelligence gives it an attribute as a working dog. That said, you may ask when the golden retriever will calm down.
Golden retriever calms down at the age of 2 to 3 years of age. Noteworthy, many factors necessitate these dogs to calm down at this particular age. Reportedly, retriever chills out as they mature, gain confidence or chemical balance. Nevertheless, sometimes this may not calm down at the age they are expected to.
Does the golden retriever calm down? – Ways to help it calm down
Sometimes, this breed fail to calm down, the following is some of the ways to manage this dog till it calms down;
Table of Contents
Training
Training is key to any pet, and so it would help manage this breed of dog. Through training, you stimulate the golden retriever behavior. Subjecting this pet to training make it responds to commands intending to make it chill.
If you are about to start training the dog, start by making your pet understand to stay when you command it to. By doing this, you will have let the retriever behave well while with the vet or in the presence of visitors.
Equally, after teaching this favorite puppy to stay when you tell them, train him to stay even when the door is open. Besides, you will also need it to respond to your call at any instance. The essence of this is to manage the behavior of your golden retriever whenever it misbehaves or when you want it to come to you.
Offer it sufficient exercise
If you are there and want to have a golden retriever breed, be aware that one way of managing it is by subjecting it to daily exercise. In fact, due to its hyperactive nature, failing to put them in an exercise routine may lead to mischief. Therefore, it’s imperative to engage it in regular exercise.
Advisably, it’s recommended that an adult golden retriever has at minimum one hour of exercise each day. However, if it’s used enough exercise, you can incorporate play fetch to improve its exhaustion levels to calming its activeness.
Pay no attention when it gets hyper
Psychologically reinforce has a great contribution to the behavior shaping of this cute creature. Avoid reinforcing hyperactive behaviors. This way, you will want not to offer it the favorite thing that the dog loves until he is calm. On the flip side, if you are entertaining it when it’s misbehaving by rewarding, you will encourage its mischief. Instead, always reward it handsomely when it’s calm and chilling. This way, you will have made strides in calming it.
Make use of toys or calming chew
Calming treats for dogs are chewing bites that help to relieve your dog’s anxiety as they deliver relaxing effects. Therefore, this can be a suitable treatment for your hyperactive golden retriever. Alternatively, you can use a toy, divert its attention from the misbehaving act and attend to the toy.
Avoid punishing this dog when frustrated
Just like kids, dogs learn gradually. Therefore, you should avoid punishing the dog because it’s frustrating you if it’s a slow learner. In any case, patience is important virtual you ought to have. Bear in mind that alpha training ways are not suitable to apply. They would harm your dog instead of giving the best lessons.
Apply dominance to the extent your dog fears you are a bad vice. Usually, this mode of training makes your training process difficult. In fact, it will be even harder to teach your dog good behaviors.
Factors that might hinder the Golden retriever to calm down
Even after making efforts and using the above-discussed way to calm your hyperactive dog, sometimes you may not achieve the results. Therefore, the following may be the contributing factors;
Separation anxiety
One of the reasons that may be discouraging the calming process is anxiety separation. Notably, a golden retriever is friendly in all aspects. It’s friendly to kids, strangers, and, more importantly, its affection to family.
These traits make it feel comfortable when in the company of either of these people. Therefore this implies that if it is left alone, it has a high tendency to develop anxiety when separated from the company of these entities. Thus the implication of these is that upon leaving it alone, it becomes anxious. Instead, it gets more hyperactive around your family or strangers, and the situation worsens in the process.
Seeking attention
In general, pets need attention to feel that they are likable. So, in the process of attracting extra attention, they can be very hyper. Evidently, this happens when the pet realizes that you are not giving it the attention it deserves when it needs it.
Even so, it’s advisable to give your dog attention during the training or even when you’re in an exercise routine with it. But most importantly, remember not to offer much attention when it’s yet to come unless it’s needful.
Keep the dog busy to avoid Boredom
Remember, a golden retriever is a popular breed known for its energetic body, intelligence, and productivity when it comes to working. Thus if you fail to train it or engage it in exercise, it gets peeled off. If you don’t utilize its full potential in vigorous training and exercise, it may get hyperactive. This way, this dog will never calm down. Thus, to prevent apathy, ensure the dog exercises daily.
On top of that, you can purchase durable toys that the dog can chew if you are unavailable for exercise. Besides, there also interactive toys that engage your dog mentally while aiding them to expend energy if it’s not in a position to run.
Additionally, you can hire a dog walker if you have no problem with strangers handling your dog. Finally, you can opt for play dates with your dog. This way, you give it’s an opportunity to play as you watch it close and discourage any misconduct. These interventions will go a long way to combat Boredom.
What to consider when managing golden retriever hyperactive tendencies Consider the following when calming down your dog;
Its age
To start with, knowing the age of your dog is essential. This is because the age of any dog influence how it behaves. In this regard, if your dog is still young, then it’s normal for a puppy not to calm down. However, the behavior should fade away as it gets older and older. As earlier indicated, the appropriate age that this puppy ought to calm down is about 3 years.
Even so, ensure you give the puppy enough exercise while training to enhance the rate of calming down. Also, ensure it gains the best behavior as it grows older.
When is it never calm?
Importantly, the retrieve breed may tend not to become in some instances and calm in others. Taking time to study when this happens is prudent. For instance, if your cute dog gets hyper when you are about to leave, it indicates its affected separation anxiety. And it would be best if you looked for a solution right away to avert the hyperactivity.
Also, it can seem no calm when you give it’s a particular type of food. You can witness it misbehaving whenever you are about to feed it. This illustration is not comfortable with that type of food and makes it calm feed its favorite dish.
Behavior conditioning
Maybe your dog was able to calm after 3 years, but it starts not to calm in the future. Probably, you are unable to establish the cause of not calming worry not. You can sort a dog behaviorist to assist you. This professional will enable you to identify the reasons behind not calming down and advise on interventions geared to help you retain calm.
Mode of reinforcement
Ideally, when you adopt punishment as a way of calming down, a golden retriever may not always work. This act may make the dog think that you are punishing it for responding to your call. By doing this, you risk causing destruction and may result in the dog being unresponsive or less responsive to your aggression or command.
Crate training as an alternative training method
Compared to other training methods, crate training utilizes the natural instincts of any dog that makes it quite comfortable and safe if the environment around it is unbearable. Worth noting, if this training is done correctly, it offers your dog a safe place for calming down.
Conclusion
Golden retriever dogs are friendly, energetic and their natural characteristic work-oriented. Therefore, it’s possible to find it hyper and hard to calm down even after 3 years. However, with sufficient exercise to expend its energy and appropriate training, it can finally calm down. If you love dogs that work super well and easy to rear, then try the golden retriever breed.