How To Train A Goldendoodle – 4 New Puppy Mistakes

Goldendoodle are known for their friendly personality and their love for people. However, as any dog owner, you’d might wonder how to train a Goldendoodle. There are steps that you can follow from when your Doodle is still a puppy to teach it to be an obedient, socialised and well-mannered dog.

What Is A Goldendoodle

Goldendoodles are a mix between a Golden Retriever and a Poodle. Overall they have a friendly and playful personality. This is mainly thanks to their Golden Retriever parent.

Furthermore, they make for great family dogs not only because of that playful personality, but also because of their hypoallergenic coat. This makes them perfect for any family members with allergies.

Why Do I Need To Train My Goldendoodle

The reasons to train a Goldendoodle can vary from a person to person. Most people would want their Goldendoodle to be trained in the basics such as toilet training, following basic commands and more.

To have a well behaved dog, it’s not necessary for them to be taught a bag tricks that they can perform on command.

However, your Goldendoodle should have the basic training in order to be a positive part of your family instead of feeling like a burden.

Moreover, an untrained dog can result in chaotic life and problems such as damage to your house or even altercations with other dogs and people.

Before embarking on a training journey with your Goldendoodle, you must decide what types of behaviours you want to teach it. With that said, your pooch can grow up to be a cuddly dog, carer dog, independent dog, children’s companion and more.

All of that depends on the training you’re going to provide your Goldendoodle.

When getting a Goldendoodle, especially as a puppy, one of your main concerns should be – how to train a Goldendoodle. In this article, we have outlined the steps you should follow to  train your Goldendoodle.

In addition, in this article you’ll find the most effective ways to train your puppy.

To train your Goldendoodle puppy, you should do the following:

  • Evaluate the situation if you need any professional help as that first year is vital to their training and learning
  • If you are training your puppy, make time. Furthermore, you might need to take time of work in order to do this properly
  • Know the basic training any dog requires such as toilet training, socialising with dogs and people, boundaries and obedience training, following simple commands, etc

4 New Puppy Mistakes

Having a new dog in the house is always exciting! However, avoid making the following mistakes:

  • Don’t let it roam around the house unsupervised
  • Avoid leaving it on its own for long periods of time
  • Don’t reward behaviours that might look cute whilst they are small but won’t be as cute when they grow up as adults. Some of those behaviours include jumping up or chewing on your hands
  • Don’t feed your puppy processed foods that are high in carbs

Read more about Goldendoodle diet here Goldendoodle Diet – How To Pick The Best Food

Be Realistic And Make Time

It’s essential you understand that training a puppy is not an easy task. When getting a puppy, it’s recommended you take some time off work in order to train them.

The reason for that is – if your puppy is on their own for hours and hours each day, they are missing out on training and creating a bond with you.

Not only that but puppies can get anxious if left on their own for long periods of time in the beginning. That first year of their life is vital to their development.

If you don’t have that time or you’re not confident that you can go through with the training, you can also take your puppy to a professional trainer.

However, training your puppy on your own is more than possible! Not only that, it can be great fun and very rewarding for both of you.

With your help your Goldendoodle puppy can thrive and become the best version of themselves.

Build Trust

The first step of how to train a Goldendoodle is to build trust with your new pup. This can be done in various and simple ways such as:

  • Feeding them
  • Giving them treats
  • Playing with them
  • Showing them affection

Doing the following is essential in order to build a bond with your Goldendoodle. However, if you try to skip this step, your pooch would be feeling on the fence and nervous. As a result, the training process will be much harder as your dog would simply not listen to you.

In addition to building that trust, it’s important you keep a calm domineer. For instance, you must be calm when your puppy has done something bad. The reason for that is – your dog should react to your commands and not your emotional response to situations.

If you get angry and start shouting, your puppy would be too scared or nervous in order to listen and understand.

Recommended Training Method

There are many methods of training. However, in this article, we recommend 90% positive reinforcement.

If you scream, be emotional or even physically punish your dog, it would only result in them being scared and not actually understanding or learning anything.

The reason for that is – their focus would be on how scared they are in that moment and not on what they have done wrong.

Positive reinforcement training includes praising your dog and giving them treats/rewards when they do something good.

However, the reason for 90% positive reinforcement is – when your Goldendoodle does something bad, we recommend that you don’t ignore the mischief.

Moreover, you shouldn’t go back to playing with them or cuddling them for awhile. If show affection and play with them right after, you would be indicating that the bad behaviour is acceptable and they still get cuddles and play time.

Goldendoodle Training

how to train a goldendoodle

In this article of how to train your Goldendoodle, we will cover the following training:

  • Obedience and command training
  • Toilet training
  • Crate training
  • Socializing
  • Sharing
  • Biting
  • Walking on a lead safely
  • Living with kids

Obedience And Command Training

how to train a goldendoodle

After bringing your puppy to its new home, you shouldn’t waste time and start their training immediately.

The first step of the training is following basic commands.

At first, your puppy might do things such as:

  • Pee/poop in the house
  • Chew/Scratch furniture
  • Bark/howl uncontrollably

It’s important you pick a word accompanied by a gesture for each occasion in order to communicate with your Goldendoodle. The reason for the gesture is – dogs are visual.

In some cases when overwhelmed, the gesture would make more of an impression to them than a word.

For instance, if your Goldendoodle pees/poops in the house, chews on furniture or does something that they shouldn’t, follow these steps:

  • Take your puppy to the “accident”, point at it and use the word “bad”. However, refrain from shouting or raising your voice. They should associate the word “bad” (or any other word you choose) with inappropriate behaviour

  • Then, instead  of putting your puppy in time-out or locking it away, you should ignore it and not be playful or affectionate with them. The reason for that is – if you are happy and playful with them right away, they wouldn’t understand that what they did is wrong

  • It’s extremely important all of the above is done in combination with positive reinforcement. For instance, when your Doodle poops in the house – they receive the mentioned silent treatment.

    However, when your Goldendoodle poops outside where it’s supposed to or on a pad you’ve laid out – this should be met with over the top praising and a treat as a reward. This must be done immediately after your Goldendoodle’s accomplishment, so they know what they are getting the praise for.

Toilet Training

how to train a goldendoodle

As any other training, toilet training would take time. However, you just need to be consistent, not give up or get frustrated with your pup or yourself.

Follow these steps to toilet train your Goldendoodle:

  • Let your Goldendoodle outside every day at the same time. Usually this should be done after they eat/drink, in the morning and evening before bedtime
  • Select a word that your Goldendoodle would associate with this activity such as “toilet” or “potty”. Furthermore, ensure you say the word each time you take them out
  • Every time they pee or poop outside, you should praise them excessively and give them a treat as a reward immediately
  • In the first few months, you might have to wake up during the night to take them out as it takes time for them to learn to hold it in. However, if you have an early start the next day or you fail to wake up, you can use training pads during the night

In the case, your puppy pees or poops inside the house, you must do the following:

  • Say the word you’ve selected for inappropriate behaviour
  • Take your Doodle outside and say the “toilet” or “potty” trigger word

With that said, you must prepare yourself that this process would take time and your puppy would make mistakes at first. However, your Goldendoodle will get there in the end with the help of their human!

Crate Training

how to train a goldendoodle

Crate training is important learning step for your Goldendoodle puppy in the beginning of their life. It’s essential you follow these steps for crate training:

  • Make the crate their safe place
  • Don’t use it as a place where you send them for a time-out when they have done something bad
  • You shouldn’t leave them locked in the crate for hours at a time
  • Place soft bedding and toys in their crate
  • A toilet training pad may be placed on one side. However, this might confuse the purpose of the crate with that of a toilet, so it’s not highly recommended

Although, many dog owners like their dog sleeping in their bed (me included), it’s essential that your Goldendoodle gets used to sleeping in a crate to start with.

Even later on, it’s good practice to change it up and on some nights your dog sleeps on the floor in their own bed. The reason for that is – if your dog is with you so much, it can result in having a nervous dog that has separation anxiety.

Socialization

Overall, dogs are social animals. However, if you don’t put in the work to socialize your dog at a young age, it might lead to many problems later on. Some of those problem can include:

  • Nervousness and anxiety around others
  • Fear of being touched by strangers
  • Being jumpy
  • Snapping
  • In the worst cases – attacking out of fear

The list above is in regards to behaviour towards people and dogs. It’s essential for your Goldendoodle to learn how to be around other people, who are initially strangers, aswell as being around other dogs.

Exposing your Goldendoodle to other people can be done by inviting friends and family around. Whereas, exposing them to other dogs can be done in many ways such as:

  • Going to the local park or special doggy parks
  • Inviting friends with dogs to the house or for walks. However, make sure their dog is calm and well-behaved as you don’t want to traumatize your puppy
  • If you don’t have the time or you are unsure, you can take your Goldendoodle to a professional trainer that holds socializing classes for dogs

Socializing is an important part of how to train a Goldendoodle. The reason for that is – unsocialized dogs can be very nervous and anxious.

In addition to the feeling anxious, they won’t be able to experience many doggy moments such as playing with other dogs and people.

Sharing

how to train a goldendoodle

Another basic training that many dogs lack is learning to share. As this is a behaviour that is very hard to learn later on in life, it must be taught to your Goldendoodle at a young age.

If your Goldendoodle is the only pet in the house, you should teach them to feel comfortable with you touching its food bowl and toys. Many dogs get overprotective over bowls and toys which can result in them snapping.

This is particularly important if you have kids in the house or planning to in the future.

By teaching your dog this, you’d avoiding having to rehome your Goldendoodle for snapping at your kids or acting aggressively.

This can be done by following these steps:

  • Select a word such as “leave it” to act as a command for your dog to release whatever they are playing with. After they release it, you must praise them for it and reward
  • If they do get overprotective over the item they are playing with you can try the “swap” method. This is done by offering your dog something else to your dog such as another toy or something covered in peanut butter
  • From when they are a pup, you can teach them to feel comfortable being touched whilst eating. This behaviour would carry on in their adult life. So, if you have kids later on and they touch your dog whilst eating, the dog won’t snap at the kid

Biting

Another important training step is teaching your Goldendoodle puppy not to bite. Moreover, when your puppy is teething, it might start to bite furniture or even your fingers. It’s essential that you don’t encourage this behaviour even if it doesn’t hurt.

When your puppy bites you, you must use the word indicating inappropriate behaviour and give your little Doodle the silent treatment for awhile. This way they know they have misbehaved. 

Walking On The Lead Safely

Another overlooked training step is walking on the lead. Dogs wouldn’t naturally know how to walk on a lead, that’s why we must teach them. Furthermore, you want to avoid your dog pulling you as you might not feel it when they are a puppy.

However, when they grow up especially with bigger dogs, it can be a struggle to the point where it would look that your dog is taking you for a walk.

For how to train a Goldendoodle to walk on a lead, follow these steps:

  • When your Goldendoodle has all the necessary jabs, start taking it for short walks on the lead
  • Pick either your left or right side for your dog to walk on. Don’t allow it to cross over as that created confusion and chaos
  • Always, bring small treats or pieces of chicken on your walk to reward good behaviour
  • Select a word that you’d be using on walks that indicates inappropriate behaviour such as “no” or “enough”
  • If your puppy pulls you – stop walking, take a pause and use the word you have selected. Then continue the walk and repeat whenever necessary
  • Another good thing to teach your pup on a walk is to sit down before crossing the road. This way when they are off the lead in the future, you’re minimizing the chance of the running out on the road and getting run over by a car.
    Every time they sit before crossing the road, give them a tiny bit of chicken/treat and then cross

As mentioned before, all these training techniques take time and repletion, so equip yourself with patience!

Living With Kids

It’s imperative that kids know how to behave around dogs for their own safety and also for the dog’s well-being.
If you have young kids or kids that have never been around dogs, you must ensure that you have set rules for them to follow when it comes to interactions with the dog.

Training Rules For Raising A Children Companion Dog

Some of those rules would differ depending if you are getting a dog from a puppy or adopting it as an adult.

Dogs that are adopted as adults would already have behaviours and habits that they have learned. Although, it’s possible to teach them new rules and habits, you should be extra careful around rescued dogs.

Training Rules For All Dogs – Puppies And Adults
  • You should avoid yelling at the dog and teach your kids the same. If you are constantly yelling at your dog, they would become nervous, anxious and in some cases aggressive out of fear
  • The same goes for physical punishment. By physically punishing your dog, or putting them manually in submission, you’re raising a nervous dog that keeps being backed up in a corner and might react aggressively at some point
  • You must teach your kids to play safely with the dog. Many kids would pull the ears and tail of the dog which might not result in a negative reaction straight away but it would at some point. As a result, your kid can be seriously hurt and dog would have to be either given away or put down
  • Another important thing to teach your kids is pet care. It would be very beneficial for your kids to be involved in feeding the dog. This way they would not only build a stronger bond, but your kids would also learn responsibility and that the dog has needs as us humans
  • The same goes for walking and exercise for your dogs. Involving your kids during dog walks, teaches them further about the dog’s needs and later on when they are more confident, they can walk the dog themselves and build memories together
Training Rules Depending On Your Dog’s Situation
  • If the dog is rescued as an adult, you should teach your kids not to touch the dog’s food, water bowls or toys. Many dogs are possessive over their belongings and food, and can react aggressively
  • On the other hand, if the dog is brought to the home as a puppy, you should teach your puppy to be ok with sharing toys, food and getting used to being touched whilst doing these activities.

    This way you’re building a habit, so when the dog is an adult, they won’t have aggressive reaction when sharing or being touched

Read more about Goldendoodles as family dogs here Are Goldendoodles Good With Kids – Pros and Cons

Goldendoodle Training Necessities

  • Puppy Treats
  • Chew Toys
  • Dog bowls
  • Crate
  • Toilet training pads
  • Dog bed
  • Dog grooming products
  • Collar and lead
  • Poop bags

Final Thoughts

When getting a Goldendoodle puppy, there are many things we want to do such as play with them, cuddle them and more. However, your first step should be finding the answer on how to train a Goldendoodle.

The training your puppy gets in the first months of their life is essential to their development and to your life.

If you follow the correct steps with training your puppy, you’d be avoiding your Goldendoodle picking up bad habits that can be not only annoying but also dangerous.

Getting a puppy is a big responsibility. Therefore, when it comes to their training, you must be prepared to do the following:

  • Make time. Initial training takes between 2 to 4 weeks on average
  • Patience. Equip yourself with bags of patience. All of this is new to your Goldendoodle, so expect mistakes to be made until your puppy learns
  • Repetition. Prepare to repeat the same words, same movements until it becomes the norm for your little Doodle

Moreover, you must accept the fact that there will be setbacks in your training and it’s important to not get frustrated.

Build a bond and trust with your Goldendoodle by playing and showing affection. That the process would be enjoyable and rewarding for both sides.

Getting a new dog can be very exciting time. However, don’t forget the importance of training as that would determine what dog your Goldendoodle grows up to be.

unusualpetsguide

My name is Iliyana and I'm a passionate animal lover and pet owner. As there is significantly less information online about unusual and exotic pets, I decided to found this website and recruit expert writers to help pet owners.

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