Golden retrievers have a fantastic personality. They are close to perfect and bring so much joy and happiness to everyone. They’re loyal, intelligent, caring, fun-loving, and happy. There’s almost nothing not to love about golden retrievers. They can, however, also become super needy for different reasons.
Why is my golden retriever so needy? A golden retriever could be needy for a couple of reasons, starting with their people loving personality that drives them to seek attention, they need more exercise, separation anxiety, they are in pain, or you have unintentionally rewarded the behavior.
Keep a close eye on your dog to establish its reason for being too needy. It is also important to note that Golden retrievers are quite attached to their owner, hence the clingy behavior.
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Seeking Attention
Just like human beings, dogs are unique creatures, and their personality involves attention-seeking. You can pay more attention to it by making time to walk, train, exercise, and play with the dog during the day. Golden retrievers are loving dogs in nature, so what you see as needy is your golden just loving to you.
Past Experiences
If you got your puppy from a bad breeder or a shelter, then this could be the reason for its needy and clingy behavior. If the puppy was abused in the past, clinginess might be a resultant behavior. A young adult golden retriever that has lived with a different owner that probably abused them is highly likely to be clingy to the new caring owner. Be more compassionate to the dog if that’s the case and if the behavior is too much for you to handle, consider seeking the help of a dog behaviorist.
The Dog Is In Pain
It is also possible that your golden retriever is a bit more clingy and needy because they want to draw your attention to address some pain they are experiencing. This may not always be the case, but it is important not to rule it out. Keep a close eye on your dog during their needy episodes and look for any unusual signs. Visit the vet if you notice any signs of hurt or illness in your dog.
Separation Anxiety
Separation anxiety may occur due to two different occurrences.
If your golden retriever is still young and recently separated from their mother, then that could be one of the main reasons why they are super clingy to you. Enjoy it while it lasts as the anxiety subsides as the dog continues to grow. Your dog could also be experiencing separation anxiety each time you are about to leave. It may help if you train your dog to remain calm and less anxious, even as you step out.
Try behaving as you are about to leave, for example, by picking up your keys and reward your dog with a treat for not being uneasy. Progress gradually to holding your door handle and eventually stepping out and staying out for a few minutes. Reward your dog at each step for staying calm, and repeat these steps several times until your dog learns to remain calm at all times.
Exercise
It is recommended for golden retrievers to get at least an hour of exercise every day to remain healthy. Lack of enough exercise and boredom could be why your dog is behaving abnormally and being super needy if it doesn’t act like that on days it had enough exercise. Also, take into consideration what type of exercise your dog is receiving. A younger dog will need more than a walk. Giving your dog some hard exercise as running, jumping, or swimming can help.
You Have Encouraged The Behavior
Your dog could be behaving the way it is because you reinforced the behavior. If you reward your dog with more attention, toys, and treats when it acts in that manner, it is more likely to behave like so to get more treats and rewards. Try and stick to rewarding it only when it is well behaved and not when it misbehaves unless when it is necessary to do so.
The Dog’s Nature
Your golden retriever could be behaving in a needy manner because they are naturally bred to work closely with their owners for long periods. The dog could therefore be looking up to you for direction on the next task. It is essential to have the dog trained to learn how to behave under your care.
Determine The Reason For Your Dog’s Needy Behavior
Timing of when the needy behavior begins is vital in determining the reasons or triggers. For example, if your dog becomes more clingy as you are about to leave home, it means the behavior is most likely due to separation anxiety. If you skip a day’s exercise session and you notice the behavioral changes in your golden retriever, then it most definitely means that the cause for the needy behavior.
Establish when the needy behavior began
If your dog has not always been needy, it would be essential for you to find out when it began being destitute since it is highly likely that there was an event that occurs, causing it to start behaving like that. Change in the dog’s schedule, anxiety caused by something, or your reward for the behavior could be some of the reasons to cause a sudden shift in needy behavior. The owner needs to establish what changes happened around the same time that the needy behavior began.
How To Stop The Needy Behavior In Your Dog
Exercise
An adult golden retriever breed of dog needs to have at least an hour of exercise every day. It is recommended for their health benefit to having an active session to avoid boredom and health benefits. Besides exercise, you can introduce playing fetch to your dog to wear it out more, leaving little or no energy to seek more attention.
Negative Reinforcement Training
As a golden retriever owner, ensure to avoid negative reinforcement training. It could be a case where you have continuously rewarded your dog with treats and toys when it behaves in a needy or clingy way hence encouraging that behavior. To curb this behavior, ensure you only reward your dog only when it behaves the way you want it to and distract it with other activities when you notice it is starting to be needy.
Practice the Following Every Now and Then
Positive Reinforcement Training
By practicing positive reinforcement training, you ensure only to reward your golden retriever when it portrays good behavior and discourage bad behavior by not rewarding it when it acts the same. For example, you may choose to reward it with a treat or toys when it is less clingy to you and ignore it when it gets too clingy. This gets your golden retriever to be less needy of your attention. You may also train it to go in, out, or sit, such that when it begins the needy behavior, you can tell it to sit or go somewhere else. This way, the dog learns that needy behavior is unwanted and leads to inevitable repercussions.
Visit the vet
If you cannot establish the reasons for behaving the way it is, it is essential to book an appointment with your vet. A visit to the vet will give you an expert’s opinion and advice on how to handle your particular golden retriever. You can also establish the root causes of needy behavior and address it if it is a medical cause. It is important not to rule this option, especially if you have tried all other solutions discussed above with no change in behavior.
Give The Dog Enough Attention
Giving your golden retriever attention throughout the day helps a lot. Keep it engaged through exercise and playing with it as it is their nature to be active. It helps not leave the dog unattended all day, as this will only increase its need for your attention.
Easy to train
They are among the smartest dog breed and are super eager to learn. Their intelligence level allows them to be great for tricks like fetching items, putting their toy away, and learning the names of different things.
Gentle Giants
The golden retrievers are quite big with a lot of energy yet so gentle. They make the best family pets, service, and therapy dogs, thanks to their sweet temperament.
Motivation To Get Out And About
Even on days when you’re feeling lazy to get off your couch and get things done, the golden retriever isn’t. the dog still needs an hour or more of a walk and exercise every day. This, in return, forces you to get up and get going ensuring you’re also on a healthy track.
Friendly To Other Animals
The golden retrievers are excellent at achieving a harmonious household with all other pets. Whether cats, other dog breeds, or rabbits, the golden is all about sharing the love as long as they get their fair share of socialization time with the pets.
Great Swimmers
These dogs are surprisingly great swimmers, thanks to their webbed feet. You might as well enjoy a dip in the pool with your golden retriever.
Can Help With Mental Health
According to science, sleeping with your golden retriever can help with depression and anxiety. This I due to their affectionate and cuddly nature.