If your Golden Retriever stands in front of you a lot you might be wondering why and what you can do about it. This post will show you a number of possible reasons and what you can do to get it to do it less.
So, why does my Golden Retriever stand in front of me? Possible reasons are that it wants attention, it doesn’t realize that it is doing it, rewarding the behavior, waiting for you to pass or wanting something from you.
There are many different reasons why your Golden Retriever might stand in front of you. But, there are some things you can consider when trying to figure out the exact reason. Once you have a good idea of the cause, it should become a lot easier for you to get it to stop.
Why your Golden Retriever stands in front of you
Each of the different reasons why your Golden Retriever does it will likely come with some clues.
Below are a number of possible causes and what would make them more likely.
It wants attention
It could be the case that your Golden Retriever does it because it wants attention from you. This would be more likely if it tends to do it when you have not given it much attention and if you tend to give it more attention when it does it.
In this case, it would help to give it attention throughout the day by playing with it, training it and exercising it. But, it would help to avoid rewarding it with extra attention when it stands in front of you and to wait for it to stop doing it before giving it attention.
It has separation anxiety
The cause might be that it has some separation anxiety which is where it becomes anxious when you are away. This would be more likely if it tends to stand in front of you when you are about to leave home and if it becomes anxious when you are leaving home.
In this case, you could try taking steps to reduce how anxious it becomes when you are leaving.
To do this you could do as follows:
- Make it seem like you are about to leave by doing something such as picking up your keys
- Reward your Golden Retriever for not being anxious and repeat these two steps a few times
- Make more moves towards actually leaving such as by picking up the keys and putting your hand on the door handle
- Reward your Golden Retriever for not being anxious and repeat the process a few times
- Actually open the door and go outside for a few moments then come back and reward your Golden Retriever
- Repeat the above, each time staying outside for slightly longer
You can watch the video below for more tips on how to do this:
It’s being protective
The reason could be that it is being protective which would be more likely if it does it when other people are around or there is someone at the door.
You have inadvertently rewarded it
The cause could be that you have actually encouraged it to do it by giving it things it wants when it does it. This would be more likely if you tend to give it things such as extra attention, toys or treats when it stands in front of you if you do then it will likely do it more in order to get more rewards.
Instead, it would help to reward it when it is being well behaved and to wait for it to stop standing in front of you before rewarding it.
Nervousness
The cause could be that something has been causing it to be nervous. This would be more likely if it stands in front of you more in situations such as when there are noises outside.
Things to consider
When it first started doing it
It would help to consider when your Golden Retriever first started standing in front of you since it could be the case that there was an event that caused it to start doing it.
If it started doing it suddenly it would be more likely to be due to things such as learning that it gets rewards when it does it, something happening that might make it nervous or some other change in its daily schedule leaving it wanting something from you at certain times.
Whereas, if it has always done it then it would be more likely to be due to one of the reasons mentioned above.
When it does it
It would also help to consider when and where it stands in front of you since the timing could also have something to do with it.
For example, if it stands in front of you more when you would normally feed it then it might be waiting for you to feed it.
How to get your Golden Retriever to stop standing in front of you
Below are a number of options you have when getting your Golden Retriever to stop standing in front of you.
Positive reinforcement training
Positive reinforcement training involves rewarding your Golden Retriever for showing signs of behaving the way you want it to and not rewarding it when it does not.
To use positive reinforcement training to get it to stop standing in front of you, you could do as follows:
- Reward it before it stands in front of you
- Stop rewarding it when it stands in front of you
- Get it to stop standing in front of you and avoid giving it attention until it doesn’t try to get stand in front of you
- Reward it each time it does not try to stand in front of you
Avoid negative reinforcement training
As mentioned above, it could be the case that you have encouraged it to stand in front of you by giving it things it wants when it does it. Instead, it would help to reward it when it does not do it and to wait for it to stop standing in front of you before rewarding it.
Avoid punishing it
It might be tempting to punish it for standing in front of you but it would help to avoid doing so. If you punish it then it will likely not know why it is being punished and it could cause it to develop feelings of resentment.