What can be done when you have a very active Golden Retriever on your hands? It is so embarrassing and a hassle for our dogs to jump upon our guests or chew at their clothes. It is a problem for it to happen to us each day. It has been said that a Golden Retriever that does not receive enough of regular playtime with their owners are more susceptible to jumping and nipping.

When contemplating the best approach to Golden Retriever training or any other breed, the best course of action should be to prevent these habits from forming in the first place. First and foremost, you must remember that our dogs or puppies can be attracted by long sleeved clothing or other types of hanging garments. It is recommended to ask your visitors to wear tightly fitting clothing or to tuck in loose garments prior to coming in the house until your dog is trained from doing this. This is recommended to do yourself also. Tying back loose hair is suggested for women.

A very good method to use when trying to break these types of habits is that when your Golden Retriever acts inappropriately is to become frozen in place and not make eye contact with your dog. Only if the dog bites at your clothing or fingers should you show any type of concern to the dog. Tell your dog in a serious tone, NO. After your dog returns to being good and doing as you say, make sure to show your dog some attention. That way he/she knows they have done good and pleased you. Taking attention away from your Golden Retriever should only be done when they are misbehaving.

In many circumstances this method can help you out. If your dog has problems with nipping at other body parts such as, ankles, fingers, legs, or so on then this method could help break them of that habit. Discouraging them from wanting to nip or bit is essential. It could be helpful if when you are nipped, you let out a yip such as a puppy would make to let you know they are hurt. Directly after the yip, turn away and ignore your dog completely. Show them that no attention is to be got from bad behavior. Please note that it is suggested to never yell at them when they are nipping as it could cause further agitation on their part which in turn could bring on a harder nip than is meant.

Make sure that you have some old clothing in which you can wear when trying to train your Golden Retriever from nipping at clothing. This will help you in achieving your goal and save your wardrobe. There is also another method some have tried and say works well. That is to get their attention on something else. When this works, you will need to praise them for listening and doing as you said.

If you have tried the above and had no success. Do not give up! There is another method that has been tried and can help. Each dog and individual requires a personal touch and all will not work. You can give the “timeout” method a shot. This requires you to send them to a separate room where they will be alone after doing something bad. You should leave them in timeout for only about a minute. Any longer will not do any good. They will forget why they are there.

Never use your crate as a timeout spot. This will only create in making your dog leery of it due to having negative thoughts associated with the crate. This will make all your hard work with crate training a thing of the past. You would have a harder time trying to re-train after they have this idea of the crate.

Another helpful practice can be occupying your pet with other things. Go over different commands with them and treat them after sitting or standing or laying. Providing a treat to them after they complete this type of task also assists in keeping them from jumping upon you in excitement. They will learn that by being excited they don’t have to jump. You will treat them when you are pleased with their doings.