Socializing Your Golden Retriever
| Golden Retrievers and strangers |
- Most Golden Retrievers like everybody. They have "never met a stranger", i.e. they treat everyone like a long-lost friend.
- A few Golden Retrievers are fine with their own family (and perhaps a few family friends), but aren't so keen on strangers.
- A few Golden Retrievers are fine with people of one sex -- but not the other sex.
- A few Golden Retrievers are fine with adults -- but not with children. (A few Golden Retrievers are the opposite -- they're fond of kids, but wary of grown-ups.)
 A few Golden Retrievers are suspicious of certain physical features in a person. For example, a hat, or dark sunglasses, or a beard, or a uniform, or even occasionally skin color.
- A few (very few!) Golden Retrievers dislike ALL strangers.
- And some Golden Retrievers basically ignore people. They will glance at a person, then go back to sleep. Their motto is: "Live and let live."
| Golden Retrievers and other dogs |
- Many Golden Retrievers like virtually every other dog.
- Some Golden Retrievers are good with other dogs they know well -- but not with strange dogs.
- Some Golden Retrievers are good ONLY with other dogs of the opposite sex.
- Some Golden Retrievers are tolerant with puppies -- but not with other adult dogs.
- Some Golden Retrievers are fussy about the SIZE of the other dog. They may dislike larger dogs. Or they may dislike smaller dogs.
 A few Golden Retrievers are fussy about the BREED of the other dog. They may be fine with other Goldens, but dislike other breeds. Or they may be fine with other breeds, but not with other Goldens!
- A few (very few!) Golden Retrievers are aggressive or timid with virtually every other dog.
- And some Golden Retrievers just ignore other dogs. Their motto is: "Live and let live."
| Your dog's attitude toward people and other dogs comes from... |
His breed
In some breeds, the GENES for temperament traits such as friendliness, suspiciousness, aggression, etc. are so strong and so prevalent throughout the breed that it is highly likely that your dog will inherit them.
Most Golden Retrievers, as long as their parents are normal for the breed, inherit genes for a friendly, sociable temperament.
His parents
 If your dog's parents had a particular attitude toward people and other dogs, your dog will inherit THEIR genes and will probably also mimic THEIR behavior. So even though the breed is usually friendly, if your dog's particular parents were standoffish or timid or even aggressive, he may well end up standoffish or timid or aggressive, too.
How long he was left with his mother and siblings
If removed from his parents and siblings before seven weeks old, your Golden Retriever puppy will NOT have learned essential canine social signals such as bite inhibition, which are taught by his mother and siblings during the first seven weeks of life.
| Puppies brought home before seven weeks old very often end up mouthy and nippy, resistant to being handled, or aggressive or fearful toward other dogs. |
On the other hand, if your Golden Retriever puppy lived with his mother or siblings for TOO LONG (more than 12 weeks), his position in the "pecking order" may be so established that he will always be inclined to act dominantly (if he was at the top of the pecking order) or submissively (if he was at the bottom of the pecking order) toward people or other dogs.
His early experiences
If your Golden Retriever was frightened by someone (or by another dog) early in his life, or if he acted inappropriately toward other people or dogs during his early life and wasn't corrected properly, you can expect him to grow up aggressive or fearful.
How well you socialize him
Socializing means getting your dog used to people, other dogs, and the big wide world in general.
Puppy socialization has the most dramatic effect on how your dog turns out. You must get your puppy out into the world between 7 weeks old and 6 months old.
 Adolescent socialization is also critical. In Golden Retrievers, adolescence generally begins between 6 and 9 months old, and ends between 2 and 3 years old. Just as in people, canine adolescence can be an awkward time of change and upheaval. A teenage dog's attitude toward strangers and other dogs may change from week to week, even from day to day.
Adult socialization may not be able to change your dog's real attitude toward people and other dogs, but it can control his behavior so that he doesn't ACT inappropriately.
| The moral is this: You can't change the genes your dog inherited from his parents. You can't put him back with his mother and siblings for that critical seven week period. You can't undo any negative experiences that occurred before you got him.
What you CAN do is socialize him properly, now that you have him. |
| How to socialize your Golden Retriever |
I'll tell you where to take your Golden Retriever to socialize him.
How to help your Golden interact properly with strangers and other dogs.
How to respond if your dog acts inappropriately.
And much more!
Learn more!
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