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Socializing Your Golden Retriever
Socializing your Golden Retriever is very important. As
you may already know, all dog breeds behave different in
front of strangers, with some dogs choosing to ignore
people altogether. They may choose to glance at someone,
then go on to pay no attention to him. On the other
hand, some dogs are the total opposite and love to meet
everyone they can. These types of dogs love attention,
and will take any attention they can get.
Some Golden Retrievers are happy with those they have
come to know in their own family, or those they have
selected to be friends. Others on the other hand, may
feel comfortable just around those of the same sex. Most
Golden’s like children, although there are a few rare
cases in which certain types of Golden Retrievers like
adults but not children. This is extremely rare, and is
normally due to the way they were bred or raised.
When your puppy is between the ages of 8 weeks and 8
months, socializing him is extremely important. During
this time, you should always do everything you can to
ensure that your Golden Retriever meets other people.
Although he may be shy at first and not have much
interaction, he will eventually come around. You will
need to be patient with him during these times, as he
will need quite a bit of reassurance from you.
Your dog’s parents also contribute to socialization. If
the parents of your Golden Retriever were good with
people and other dogs, the gene could very well be
passed on to your dog. On the other hand, if the parents
were shy or aggressive dogs, those genes could be passed
on as well. Pups inherit the traits of their parents
,which is why it is very important to make sure that the
dogs being bred are compatible with each other - and
share a passive temperament.
If your puppy was separated from his mother before he
reached the age of seven weeks, he won’t learn many of
the social signals taught to him by his mom and his
siblings. Golden Retriever pups that are brought to a
new home earlier than seven weeks will normally tend to
end up nippy or aggressive around people. Although they
may be aggressive towards people, they may be shy or
fearful around other dogs, as they lack the social
skills needed to be themselves.
Sometimes, if a puppy was injured or frightened during
his early years, he can end up with a state of trauma.
This type of thing leaves a huge scar in the mind of a
puppy, making it very hard for him to get past it. Most
Golden Retriever pups that have been injured or
frightened by an individual never get past it. They may
end up fearing humans in general, or being very
aggressive towards them when they feel frightened. When
you take your puppy home for the first time, you should
always make him feel welcomed, and never let anyone or
anything harm him.
To better socialize your Golden Retriever, you should
always make sure that he gets plenty of interaction with
other people and other dogs in his breed. This way, your
Golden will learn how to socialize at any early age.
When he gets older in life, he will carry these skills
with him. Golden Retrievers that are sheltered or not
given the proper amount of interaction will turn out shy
towards people and other dogs. With your Golden being
your companion for life - you should always ensure that
he gets the socialization he needs.
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