Why is my Golden Retriever so jealous?

If your Golden Retriever has been acting jealous you might want to know why and what you can do about it.

This post will show you a number of reasons why it might be acting jealous and what you can do to stop it.

So, why is my Golden Retriever acting jealous? Possible reasons are that it wants attention, it’s being dominant, it’s being overly protective or you might have been inadvertently rewarding it.

Your Golden Retriever might be doing it for a number of reasons and it could be due to a combination of them. However, there are also a number of things you can do about it.

Why your Golden Retriever is jealous

Below, I will show you a number of reasons why your Golden Retriever might be being jealous and what would make them more likely to be the main reason.

It wants attention

The cause could be that it is looking for extra attention. This would be more likely if it does it more when you have not been giving it much attention or if you tend to give it extra attention when it does it.

Instead, it would help to give it attention throughout the day by training it, exercising it and playing with it. But, it would help to avoid rewarding it with extra attention when it becomes jealous unless necessary.

It is being dominant

It could be the case that it is actually being dominating. This would be more likely if it is also reluctant to listen to your command and if it is aggressive towards your other pets as well.

It is being protective

It might be the case that it does it because it is actually being protective. This would be more likely if it does it more when you are around other people or animals. In this case, it would help to use the tips mentioned in this blog post.

You have been reinforcing it

It might also be the case that you have inadvertently encouraged it by giving it things it wants when it does it. If you tend to give it things such as treats, toys or extra attention when it is jealous 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 avoid rewarding it when it is being jealous unless necessary.

You got new pets

If your Golden Retriever started acting jealous when you got new pets it is likely that it feels left out. In this case, it would help to give it attention and rewards when it is being well behaved.

How to get your Golden Retriever to be less jealous

Below are some options you have when getting your Golden Retriever to be less jealous.

Exercise

Golden Retrievers are a breed that needs a lot of exercise in order to be fully stimulated. Generally, it is recommended for them to get at least an hour of exercise daily. If your Golden Retriever is not getting that much it would help to give it exercise by walking it yourself or by getting a dog walker to do it for you.

Give it attention

It would also help to give it attention throughout the day so that it is less likely to seek attention from you. Ways to give it attention would be to play with it, train it and to walk it.

Give it training

If you have not given your Golden Retriever much training then it would help to make sure to do so. By giving your Golden Retriever training you will be able to get it to listen to your command and to be better behaved.

When training your Golden Retriever it would help to start out by training it easy things such as the down command in an environment without many distractions. Then, once it can do it, you would start to include the object of jealousy and train it to do the command then as well.

Avoid rewarding it

As mentioned above, it could be the case that it has learned that being jealous results in it getting things it wants. Instead of giving it rewards when it is being jealous, try to give it training as mentioned above and to redirect its focus when it seems like it is about to be jealous.

Things to consider

When it started being jealous

If your Golden Retriever was not always jealous, it would help to consider what else happened when it first started being jealous since it could be the case that there was an event that caused it to start doing it.

If it started being jealous suddenly it would make it more likely to be due to things such as getting a new pet, rewarding the behavior or you stopped giving it as much attention. It would help to consider what else changed when it started being jealous.

When it becomes jealous

It would also help to consider if there is a certain time that it tends to be more jealous since it could be the case that the timing has something to do with it.

For example, if it only seems to get jealous when you have not been giving it much attention then it could be that it wants attention from you. Whereas, if it seems to be jealous when you are feeding it then it could be dominating behavior.