So – your Golden Retriever is an alpha dog. Now what? Here are some Golden Retriever Training Tips for working with an alpha dog.
The first thing you need to know is that training a highly dominant dog means you’ll need more patience and more training sessions than you’d need with a more relaxed dog.
In fact, it is highly recommended that you take your Golden to obedience classes for professional help, rather than trying to do all of the training yourself. These classes will expose your dog to more situations than he would otherwise encounter at home, and this can only help as it further ingrains in his mind what the appropriate response is to any given situation.
As for what you can do, we need to look at two scenarios. The first scenario is what happens when your alpha dog is the only dog in the household. The second scenario is what happens when there are other dogs present in the household.
Scenario #1: The ‘only’ dog
Having no other dogs around to dominate, your alpha dog is going to do his best to dominate you and any other human members of the family. If you are your alpha Golden’s primary caretaker, you must assert your role as “pack leader” as firmly as possible. Your Golden Retriever must learn that you are the ‘alpha’.
Doing this is a matter of being firm and consistent in your commands with an eye on correcting his ‘mistakes’ as they occur in the moment. You must also teach other family members about these boundaries and how to set them, as your Golden will likely try to dominate the non-alpha humans.
Your children, for example, will not be the ultimate “top dogs” in your Golden Retriever’s mind, but he can be trained to accept their place in the pack hierarchy as above his own.
Scenario #2: An alpha dog living with other dogs
If your dominant-natured dog is not the only family pet, some modifications need to be made. You must still assert your status as leader, and your Golden Retriever must learn to accept the rest of the family as holding a higher position.
However, he must be accorded at least some alpha status next to the other dogs. In order to prevent aggressive or jealous behavior, it’s a good idea to acknowledge the alpha dog first when it comes time for petting and treats. Aggressive behavior towards the other pets should not be tolerated, though, and you must step-in to reassert your dominance should this type of behavior occur. Golden Retrievers are not known for their aggressiveness, but if you should happen to notice any, it you would need to intervene.
In conclusion, the key to working with alpha Golden Retrievers is to establish boundaries and respect without breaking your dog’s well-deserved sense of confidence and self-esteem. These tips should help you to have a happy and healthy relationship with your Golden Retriever.
Susanne Trainor
Golden Retriever Lover
