Why is my Golden Retriever so stubborn?

If your Golden Retriever is stubborn you might want to know why and what you can do about it.

This post will show you a number of reasons why your Golden Retriever might be being stubborn and what you can do about it.

So, why is my Golden Retriever so stubborn? Possible reasons are that you have not trained it to follow your command, you trained it the wrong way, you stopped training it, your Golden Retriever learned that listening to you results in it getting things it does not want, illness or a lack of exercise.

Your Golden Retriever could be behaving that way for a number of reasons and it could be due to a combination of them. However, there are a number of things you can do about it, depending on the most likely cause.

Why your Golden Retriever is so stubborn

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

It hasn’t been trained to listen to you

If you have not given your Golden Retriever much training then it will not know how it is meant to behave, what it means when you tell it to do things and it will behave the way that it feels like behaving. The way it feels like behaving is unlikely to be the way that you would like it to behave. This is why it is important to give it lots of training.

You have been training it when it’s distracted

If you have been giving it training, it might be the case that there is an issue with the training method you are using. If you tend to train it in a distracting environment it might be the case that there are too many distractions around and that it isn’t paying much attention to you.

Instead, it would help to start out by training it in a less distracting environment such as the backyard and then to build up to training it in one with distractions.

You stopped training it

If you did train it in the past and it was listening to you but it suddenly stopped it could be because you did not continue to train it. It’s important to make sure to continue giving your Golden Retriever training so that it continues to be responsive to your command.

It learned that listening to you gets it things that it doesn’t want

It could also be the case that you have inadvertently trained it not to listen to you either by rewarding it when it does not listen to you or punishing it when it does. In this case, it might have learned that listening to you causes it to get things that it does not like so it chooses not to listen to you.

Instead, it would help to give it positive reinforcement training so that it learns that listening to you results in it getting things that it wants.

You didn’t train it in stages

If you did give it training, it could be the case that your training method was at fault. When training your Golden Retriever, it would help to start out by training it to do simple things and then to build up to getting it to do things that are more challenging.

It’s bored

Golden Retrievers are a breed that is meant to get lots of exercise on a daily basis. If your Golden Retriever is not getting much exercise it might be contributing to it not listening to you.

Generally, it is recommended that they get at least an hour of exercise every day as healthy adults. If your Golden Retriever is not getting that much, it would help to make sure that it does.

It’s ill

The cause could also be that it has gotten an illness or injury and it has caused it to not want to do what you say. This would be more likely if it has started doing it suddenly and if it has been showing other signs of being ill or injured such as vomiting, being fatigued when awake or limping. In this case, the best option would be to take it to a vet.

How to get your Golden Retriever to be less stubborn

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

Train it to do the things that you want

The first thing to do is to take the time to train your Golden Retriever to behave the way that you want it to. You can do this by using positive reinforcement training by teaching it easy commands in an easy environment and then by building up to more challenging ones.

Avoid negative reinforcement

It would also help to avoid negatively reinforcing behaviors that you do not want to see by making sure not to reward them. Instead, it would help to give it positive reinforcement training.

Give it exercise

If it is healthy, it would also help to make sure that it is able to get daily exercise. Generally, it is recommended for them to get at least an hour of exercise per day.

Ensure that its diet is right

It could be the case that your Golden Retriever has been being stubborn due to something that you have been feeding it. This would be more likely if it started being stubborn when you started feeding it something different.

It would help to make sure no one else has been feeding it and you can look here to see what you should or should not be feeding it.

Be patient

When training your Golden Retriever it is important to be patient. It is not likely that you will be able to get it to behave exactly the way you want with just one training session. But, by training it consistently over the course of weeks and months you can get much better results.

Things to consider

When it started being stubborn

If it was not always stubborn, 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 started being stubborn suddenly it would be more likely to be due to things such as becoming ill or injured, negatively reinforcing the behavior, a problem with its diet or a lack of exercise. It would help to consider what else changed when it started being stubborn.

When it is stubborn

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

For example, if it only comes when it is getting fed then it would be necessary to train it to come at different times as well.