How To Train a Golden Retriever To Hunt

Golden retrievers are obedient, eager to please, athletic, agile, and have outstanding swimming and sniffing abilities. But their inherited traits don’t mean that they are born skillful hunters.

For hunting training to be effective, you should be strict and consistent but keep the sessions entertaining for your dog.

Learn about the different hunting dog training methods to choose the best option for your golden and avoid mistakes to prevent hindering your success.

When To Start The Training

Training a golden retriever to hunt is not an easy task. Hunting is significantly more challenging for the dog than basic commands such as “sit” or “drop it.”

However, a higher complexity level doesn’t mean you should postpone the training. Conversely, the best time to train a dog to hunt is as early as possible.

You can start making the first steps when your puppy is about ten weeks old – by that moment, your dog’s attention span is sufficient to memorize commands.

Of course, you won’t take a three-month-old puppy on a hunting trip, but early training helps a dog develop its inherited hunting skills.

Think of it as professional sports – one can only become a great athlete if they begin early enough, but this doesn’t mean that they will go to the Olympics at five years old.

However, you can teach even an old dog can to hunt. Hunting is deeply rooted in golden retriever genes, so you can awake your dog’s hunting instincts at any age. Naturally, training an adult dog to hunt will require more time and dedication.

Before You Begin

For effective hunting training, you will need to get some supplies. Ensure that you have a plentiful supply of tasty treats or anything else that will motivate your dog, a decoy toy, and scent spray.

You will also need a suitable environment. You can begin the training in your backyard and move on to local fields or wild meadows.

Introduce your dog to new environments gradually. Your ultimate goal is to train in the same environment you’ll hunt in, but it may be too large for the early training stages.

The primary component of any training is time. Set aside about 15 minutes daily for your hunting training. Fifteen minutes is the optimal training session duration won’t exhaust and overwhelm your dog.

If you’re busy with work and can’t dedicate 15 minutes daily to training your dog, do it every second day or a few times per week. However, note that the more you train, the quicker your dog will show results.

Early Start Method

There are several methods of teaching a dog to hunt, the most suitable for young puppies being the early start method. The first step is taking your golden retriever to obedience classes, where it will learn essential hunting dog commands.

Obedience classes are usually taken in groups, so it’s also an excellent way to socialize your dog and prevent it from being anxious or aggressive when surrounded by other animals and strangers.

Play tug and fetch with your puppy at home to enhance its natural hunting instinct. Fetch, in particular, teaches a dog to bring the prey to the owner. Use the decoy toy you will use in the later training stages.

Tug and fetch are also fun golden retriever exercises that will keep your dog fit and stimulate its brain.

Next, introduce your dog to its future hunting environment. Put a leash on your puppy and walk with it around the field or forest to let it get accustomed to the smells and sounds.

Your puppy shouldn’t be afraid of gunshots in the future. Don’t let your dog run wild in the hunting environment or get overly excited because it must learn to obey you while on the field.

Whenever your puppy obeys your commands during obedience training, play, or walks, reward it with treats and praise to motivate it to behave well.

Scent Method

Another way to teach a golden retriever to hunt is the scent method. Start by spritzing a decoy toy with a scent spray. Play with your dog for at least five minutes every day.

Regular playing will make your dog all worked up at the sheer sight of the toy. Make the game as interactive as possible – play tug of war, fetch, or drag the toy on the floor.

When your dog gets attached to the toy, head to your backyard or another familiar outdoor environment. Spritz the toy with scent spray and wipe it on the grass over and across, then hide it.

Attach a leash to your golden retriever’s collar and take it out to the yard. Teach your puppy to follow the trail by pointing in the right direction.

Whenever your dog gets distracted, gently pull the leash and encourage your dog to continue following the trail. When your furry friend gets to the end of the trail and finds the toy, reward it with a treat, play, or praise.

Practice the scent game regularly, gradually increasing the difficulty. Introduce new distractions on your dog’s way or make the trail tangled.

Watch & Learn Method

Numerous studies have proven that dogs learn by observing human and other dogs’ behavior, just like children. For this reason, the watch and learn hunting training method is highly effective.

First, draw your golden retriever’s attention to the prey. Walk with your dog out in the field, and whenever you see a bird, point at it and whisper to your dog to hype it up.

Your dog learns by mimicking your behavior and reactions to particular objects and situations, so if you are excited when seeing the prey, so will your dog.

When your dog seems genuinely interested in the prey, take it to the next stage. Run towards the target with your arms stretched, perhaps shouting or otherwise showing your excitement.

You may look bizarre from the side, but unless you are in a public park, you should be fine. If you are animated by the prey, so will your dog.

At some point, your dog will join you in chasing the prey. When it does it, reward and praise it. Continue rewarding your dog every time it runs after the prey to boost its enthusiasm.

Continue showing your excitement whenever you see the prey because if you lose interest, so will your dog. You can relax when your dog starts chasing the prey before you do.

Mistakes in Hunting Training

Learn about the mistakes in hunting dog training to avoid unintentionally setting your golden up for failure. Don’t give your dog too much freedom on the field. Otherwise, your dog may learn to hunt without you.

For example, if you let your dog run loose on the field, it will learn that it can entertain itself as it pleases whenever you detach the leash.

Instead, you should teach your dog to stay close until you command it to chase the prey. That’s why the early start method involves obedience training.

Another common gundog training mistake is inconsistency. Suppose that you let your dog run loose on the field once a week and are strict the rest of the time. Your dog will struggle to understand which is right or wrong.

Establish the rules from day one and stick with them. Training a hunting dog requires discipline not solely from the dog but also from the owner.

Consistency also refers to verbal cues. Always use the same commands or noises at the same moment. Your dog will not understand what you’re asking it to do if it doesn’t know the word.

There’s no need to shout when commanding your dog. Dogs have excellent hearing and get used to a particular tone of voice and volume.

If your dog gets used to being shouted at on the field, it will expect you to shout commands also in public places and disobey otherwise. Stay calm and talk to your dog in a moderately quiet voice.

Don’t rush your dog. Give your golden retriever enough time to understand one exercise until moving on to the next stage. Your hunting training should be gradual, similar to how children learn at school.

Help your dog to succeed in training to boost its confidence. If your dog fails too often, it will lose interest in hunting. Don’t give your dog overly challenging tasks and guide it while it’s still learning.

However, avoid excessive repetition. A task performed too frequently without additional challenges will dampen your dog’s enthusiasm, so keep the training varied and amusing.

Complacency is your enemy. Professional athletes never stop training, and academics never stop their education.

The same refers to hunting dogs. Constantly introduce new challenges to your dog to maintain its enthusiasm and teach it to be a better hunter.

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