How to keep a Golden Retriever entertained?

If you are thinking of getting a Golden Retriever or you have recently gotten one then you’re probably wondering how to keep it entertained.

So, how to keep your Golden Retriever entertained? To keep your Golden Retriever entertained it would help to give it lots of exercise to prevent it from becoming hyperactive. Then you can keep it entertained by doing things such as training it, playing fetch or tug of war with it, giving it toys to play with, giving it chew toys, giving it puzzles to complete or you can take it to doggy daycare.

There are a lot of things you can do to keep your Golden Retriever entertained that I will show you below.

How to keep your Golden Retriever entertained

Walk it

Golden Retrievers are a breed that are meant to get quite a lot of exercise to be fully stimulated. Generally, it is recommended to exercise them for an hour per day. By doing so you should be able to get it to require less work from you for the rest of the day because it will have been stimulated by the walk you gave it.

Play fetch

Another way to give your Golden Retriever exercise and attention is to teach it to play fetch.

Fetch is good because it gets your Golden Retriever to do a lot of sprinting without much rest which will help to wear it out quickly. It will also get it used to interacting with you in a positive way and it will help to make it more responsive to your command.

It can be quite difficult at first to teach your Golden Retriever to play fetch but I go through it step by step in the link above.

Teach it to swim

Another option would be to get it to swim. Swimming is good because it is a low impact way of getting your Golden Retriever to do lots of exercise quickly.

Most Golden Retrievers take to water naturally but there are some that do not. However, there are ways to get it to like swimming that I talk about here.

Give it toys

One way to keep your Golden Retriever entertained while you are around and when you are not around is to give it lots of toys to play with.

By doing so you will be able to keep it occupied with something that you want it to be occupied with. This means that you’ll be able to divert its attention away from destroying things when you are not around.

Give it lots of training

Another way to keep your Golden Retriever entertained and to improve its behavior is to give it lots of training. Golden Retrievers were bred to work with their owners on a daily basis so giving them training is an effective way to keep them stimulated.

If you have not given your Golden Retriever much training yet, it would help to start by training it the basics such as to sit and stay in an environment without many distractions and then to build up from there.

Give it puzzles

Another option would be to give your Golden Retriever puzzle games to play with that will help to keep it occupied. There are a number of puzzle games that you can buy that are designed to make your Golden Retriever think and put its attention into it in order to get the reward. I would recommend getting one that is slightly more challenging so that your Golden Retriever can’t figure it out quickly.

Play tug of war with it

You could also play tug of war with it. You’ll likely find your Golden Retriever will love to play tug of war so it’s a good way to keep its focus onto something that you want it to.

Use a dog walker

If you are unable to exercise your Golden Retriever yourself, one option would be to get a dog walker to do it for you. There are now apps that you can download on your phone that let you find a dog walker in your area.

Walk it with other dogs

Another way to get your Golden Retriever to wear itself out even more would be to walk it with other dogs. When you walk it with other dogs, it will run around with them which will cause it to get more exercise.

Give it chew toys

Another option you have would be to give it chew toys or bones that it can chew on when you are trying to keep its focus on something that you’re ok with.

Doggy daycare

If you will not be at home for a long time one option would be to take it to a doggy daycare so that you can have them look after it while you are away.

Things to consider

Age

It’s important to consider the age of your Golden Retriever. If it is young then it will require a lot of attention but you will be limited in how much exercise you can give it. Generally, it is recommended that you don’t give it any more than 5 minutes of exercise per month of age twice daily (source). This is because, when it’s young, its joints and bones are still developing and lots of exercise could damage them. It is also important to remember that it will not be able to control its bladder as well yet so it will be necessary to avoid leaving it for long periods.

Give it attention daily

Golden Retrievers are a breed that require a lot of exercise and attention. If you’re thinking of getting a Golden Retriever then be prepared to give it attention on a daily basis.