If your Golden Retriever has been annoying you, this post will show you a number of reasons why it might be doing it and what you can do about it.
So, why is my Golden Retriever so annoying? Possible reasons are that it is getting a lack of exercise, training or attention. It could also be that you have inadvertently been reinforcing the behavior or you get reactive with it.
There are a number of different reasons why your Golden Retriever might be being annoying and it could be due to a combination of reasons. However, there are a number of things you can consider when trying to figure out the cause and there are a number of things you can do about it.
Why your Golden Retriever is annoying
Below, I will show you a number of reasons why your Golden Retriever might be being annoying and what would make them more likely.
A lack of exercise
Golden Retrievers are meant to get a lot of daily exercise. When they do not get enough exercise it can cause them to be hyperactive and it could be why yours has been annoying you. This would be more likely if it annoys you more on days when it has not gotten much exercise.
Generally, it is recommended for healthy adult Golden Retrievers to get at least an hour of exercise per day. If your Golden Retriever has not been getting that much exercise, it would help to make sure that it does.
A lack of training
If you have not given your Golden Retriever much training, it will not know how to behave and it will behave the way it feels like behaving. The way that it wants to behave is unlikely to be the way that you want it to behave. This is why it is important to give it lots of training. I will mention some options that you have in the section below.
A lack of attention
If your Golden Retriever becomes annoying when you have not been giving it much attention, it might be doing it in order to get extra attention from you. This would be more likely if you tend to give it more attention when it does it.
Instead, it would help to give it attention throughout the day in the form of training, exercise and by playing with it but to avoid rewarding it with extra attention when it behaves in a way that annoys you.
You have been reinforcing the behavior
It might be the case that you have been inadvertently rewarding the behavior. If you tend to give it things that it wants when it becomes annoying then it will have learned that acting that way causes it to get what it wants.
Instead of rewarding it, when it annoys you, try to recognize when it is about to be annoying and to redirect its attention and to use positive reinforcement training.
You get reactive around it
Golden Retrievers tend to be highly responsive to their owner’s emotions. If you get emotional or reactive around your Golden Retriever it will cause it to act in a similar way. Instead, it would help to be calm around your Golden Retriever and to get it to behave the way that you want with training.
Nature
Golden Retrievers were bred to work alongside their owners for hours on a daily basis. With that being the case, they will naturally look to their owners for direction. This is why it is important to train it to behave the way that you want it to.
How you can stop your Golden Retriever from being annoying
Below are some options you have when getting your Golden Retriever to be less annoying.
Positive reinforcement training
Positive reinforcement training involves encouraging the behaviors that you want to see by rewarding them and not encouraging bad behaviors by not rewarding them.
To use positive reinforcement training to get your Golden Retriever to stop bothering you it would be necessary to reward it before it starts annoying you, to stop when it starts acting the way that you do not want it to and then to reward it when it begins acting how you want it to again.
Redirect its attention
It would also help to redirect its focus onto something else when it seems like it is about to annoy you. One way to do this would be to train it to do something such as to lay down with the use of positive reinforcement training and to get it to do it when it is about to annoy you.
Avoid negative reinforcement
Negative reinforcement training is where you reward your Golden Retriever for behaving the wrong way causing it to do it more.
Instead of rewarding it when it misbehaves, try to redirect its attention and to use positive reinforcement training. When it does annoy you, try to avoid giving it attention until it starts to behave.
Be calm around it
As mentioned above, it could be the case that being highly emotional around it is causing it to be annoying and reactive. Instead, it would help to interact with it in a calm way and to give it lots of training.
Give it lots of exercise
It would also help to give it daily exercise if it is healthy. If it’s already getting exercise, you could try wearing it out more by getting it to do things such as fetch.
Give it things to be distracted with
In addition to the above, you could give it things to be distracted with such as toys, puzzle games or bones.
Things to consider
Below are some things to consider about your Golden Retriever annoying you.
If it changed its behavior suddenly
If your Golden Retriever did not always behave in an annoying way, it would help to consider what else happened when it first started doing it since it could be the case that there was an event that caused it to start.
If it did become annoying suddenly then it would help to consider what happened at around the same time that it started being annoying. Possible things that might have happened could include:
- You stopped giving it as much attention or exercise
- You rewarded it one time when it was annoying
- Its daily routine changed
- You changed its diet
If it has always been annoying you then it would be more likely to be due to things such as reacting to your emotions and a lack of training.
When it becomes annoying
It would also help to consider the timing of when it becomes annoying since it could be the case that the timing has something to do with it.
For example, if it starts being annoying at around the same time that you would normally leave, it could be because it has separation anxiety.
Consistency is key
When training your Golden Retriever, it is important to be consistent. It is unlikely that you will be able to change its behavior significantly with just one training session. But, if you train it consistently over the course of weeks and months, you can get much better results.