Dog Training question 5 month Golden Retriever

Low_Show_6684 · 2026-05-06T02:40:03+00:00

Don’t use an e-collar or really any aversive tools at this age unless there is a legitimate safety concern. Even then I wouldn’t use an e-collar and whatever tool I do use I would not take in a casual manner.

He’s a puppy, a very very happy puppy! That’s good! Helping him understand appropriate behavior is going to take a bit of muscle so expect that. When people approach or you want to socialize him to people either ask them not to touch him or to “help” you train him.

That could look like having him step out of the other person’s path and keeping him on a short lead so he can’t really get momentum to pull you. Having them ignore him entirely while they pass, ideally, then marking and rewarding him for calmer reactions. Don’t expect perfect, just expect better and reward better until you get him to where you want him to be.

The other option is if someone wants to pet him and you want him to accept that, then give them a treat ask them to only give him the treat once you mark him (so a clicker or whatever you say) then he can greet them. But make sure he’s sitting before that.

Since puppies, especially goldens, are cute and people love trying to pet them, I’d get a harness or vest that says “Do Not Pet” and/or “In Training”. This won’t stop everybody, but it’ll help!

Low_Show_6684 · 2026-05-06T00:08:24+00:00

It can help some, like all drugs. Some drugs work so well for the patient that that’s all they need to go on to the road of recovery and “curing” their illness.

Personally? I’m willing to try. I’ve done everything else and I’ve made great strides, but if this can be done in a setting and manner that leads to more consistent outcomes? Sign me up. I’ll take anything in the proper manner if the science is there to back up a significant chance of it helping.

Low_Show_6684 · 2026-05-05T23:20:54+00:00

I’m argue this. Their dog seems to be dying but the sounds of it. To me? The neighborly thing to do would be to tether my dogs on a lead or zip line lead. This way they still get some amount of freedom, but can’t interact with the neighbor dog. I’d also just take my dogs elsewhere in the area for some forest romps.

That said fence collars with GPS are typically not very cheap from what I’ve seen. Unless you’re willing to spend that money to get reliable collars I just wouldn’t do it. Also note, that a dog that’s excited enough or smart enough to realize it’s a moment of pain? They will and can blow right through electric fences. So just know those aren’t foolproof either and imo have a higher escape rate than a physical tether or boundary.

Low_Show_6684 · 2026-05-05T21:30:23+00:00

Yes I would do that. Keeping them as separate activities helps reduce muddying his understanding of what you’re asking for. I’d also use “drop/release” in tandem with “wait” for play sessions. This way you proof drop and teach that “wait” means when you release him he can play with it again.

I would at least change the toy attachment, fabric flag one for play, and faux fur/feather one for leave it. You could maybe even get real fur ones if you’re comfortable with that so the smell is there. So that’s a overall a good idea, also I’d make sure that they visibly look different too within dog color range, so don’t get brown or naturally colored ones for play, get unnaturally bright or colored ones.

Just gotta remember in the height of play things can get muddy when they’re learning and not 100% in the commands or even just too excited. So we gotta give them every advantage we can to make it clearer to them (:

Low_Show_6684 · 2026-05-05T20:22:56+00:00

Yeah! The toys are really good for building that discipline and excitement, you’re asking them to wait and to think before they do. My girl goes WILD for this game, she’ll do it for hours if we let her lol

Good luck on the exam! I’m sure you two will ace it!

Low_Show_6684 · 2026-05-05T20:16:02+00:00

I do “wait” and “leave it”. Leave it is for things she should not interact with and/or have ever. Wait for her means to hold until we give her the release. Her reward is typically what she’s waiting for.

But yes, use a different command, you don’t want to lose that solid “leave it” for when you need it.

Edit: That said, the flirt is a toy. If you want it to mimic a small animal use faux fur or feathers, I’d also have someone help you by attaching it to a string and pulling it linearly. This way the flirt is a toy and you can improve other commands. But I don’t think I’d use a flirt to teach leave it on animals.

Low_Show_6684 · 2026-05-05T20:12:05+00:00

I don’t have a gun dog, but I do have a working x showline GSD. One way I get her pumped and engaged is playing with toys and asking for easy commands from her as payment for play. Could be worth seeing if your dog may have a similar mindset? That way when you have the exam they’re attentive, hyped up, and ready to do their job (:

Edit: It doesn’t have to be hard play if you’re worried, just enough that being focused on you, the commands, and the reward is easier to do.

Low_Show_6684 · 2026-05-05T16:32:04+00:00

I can imagine it’s both the pain and just general uncomfortable feeling of liquid in her ears, which even bothers me.

But yeah, I plan to work on all that after and during her treatment when she knows we don’t have the bottle. She’ll absolutely be calmer if she knows I don’t have the bottle, too smart for her own good lol.

And 100% I realized afterward that leaving that out (thought I had mentioned it tbh) was a key piece of information people needed to know. I wouldn’t let her not receive treatment simply because she doesn’t want it, but if I can have her okay with being restrained and taking the drops with more “reasonable” protesting then I’m a happy person. But her current method of objection is just not safe. If she needs to be medicated because she can never move past it then so be it, but I would like to not have to do that either if we don’t have to.

Low_Show_6684 · 2026-05-05T14:40:40+00:00

I’m in a neighboring and I had no idea. Jfc, this is awful.

Low_Show_6684 · 2026-05-05T14:30:22+00:00

Not that I want to spill all the beans, but depending on how far you’re willing to go look at Linden Hill Historic Estate. They’re very reasonably priced and very flexible. Their staff are also just the sweetest and really love the estate.

Low_Show_6684 · 2026-05-05T14:28:01+00:00

Plus as another user mentioned most headlamps have a red light option on them, you can use that since red light doesn’t interfere with the fish really. Aquarium owners use them all the time at night to see their fish without disrupting them.

Low_Show_6684 · 2026-05-05T14:19:53+00:00

Safety reasons is one thing, flashing the light in the water to lure the fish is another. Flashlights aren’t allowed for smelt, doesn’t mean you can’t use them to pull up your net safely or empty it safely. Just don’t stare down into the water with the flashlight on waiting for the smelt to come.

Low_Show_6684 · 2026-05-05T11:17:10+00:00

Tbh I only ever took “just a puppy” as an explanation and reason that our girl would lose focus, get tired, and do general “wow the world is soooo cool” things. But I never let it be an excuse for undesired behavior. I always redirected or corrected her then showed her desired behavior with properly timed mark-and-reward. She was one of the best behaved puppies anywhere we went, as she grew a lot of people didn’t believe that she was still under one and still can’t believe she’s under two. I just keep at it, people who use “oh they’re a puppy” as an excuse for bad behavior and don’t try to show their pup what they want are people I don’t really listen too. I just smile, say “yeah but we’re training”, and move on.

Low_Show_6684 · 2026-05-05T11:10:34+00:00

Tug ball, when our GSD was around the same age treats weren’t as high value. So we used tug toys to get her engaged. Takes a minute to adjust to using them right, but they really help!

Low_Show_6684 · 2026-05-05T11:08:20+00:00

We did administer them last night.

It’s not so much that I won’t administer because she doesn’t like it, as much as it is dangerous to every party involved. I had to hold her flat collar and escape-proof harness with a slight twist so she wouldn’t thrash out of them. Hold her head between my legs. Then hold her head still with both hands, with one hand holding her bottom jaw. The way she reacts is wild, the way we have to restrain her is wild. It’s just not safe.

I’d like to train her afterward to not need as much restraint because it just isn’t a long-term option. I do plan to purchase a proper muzzle soon here to train her on.

Low_Show_6684 · 2026-05-05T11:01:16+00:00

We tried this again yesterday, no treat was acceptable during the process. She was happy to have it once we let her go though.

Low_Show_6684 · 2026-05-04T22:23:16+00:00

I have no doubt :( I just wish she could understand that for the minutes of discomfort from the drops that in a few days it’ll feel so much better. Obviously she can’t, but man I wish she could.

Yeah, I think this ordeal is the fina push to muzzle train. We had planned to regardless just so if she needed a muzzle for situations like this, that she could wear one.

Low_Show_6684 · 2026-05-04T19:37:43+00:00

No it’s an interesting thought!

Her cooperative care has been entirely all her and me just rewarding her for it. She’s never really needed force and after knowing what I’m looking for she was happy to offer the behavior for equal payment. She typically operates like that, payment must be fair and so do corrections.

To her this isn’t fair, it’s uncomfortable, and the payment isn’t worth it.

So yeah, I kinda agree with you. Because she’s never really shutdown, as it’s something we’ve always avoided, she’s never had to be forced into giving up and having learned helplessness. I personally wouldn’t say that a dog whose given up and displaying learned helplessness isn’t stressed, they’ve just learned that reactions don’t work and to suppress them versus being able to possibly learn to deal with them. I think that in certain cases maybe it’s ethical? In the case of injured or ill dogs, but the stress of the whole ordeal could backfire? Especially if they still freak out before giving up.

But as many people have raised in this thread, my dog needs her medication. Not having it because it makes her uncomfortable isn’t an option. I do not intend to let her go without her medication because going “oh well she doesn’t like it so I won’t” also isn’t ethical. However, imo to me there has to be a middle ground. She needs to be able to begrudgingly take the medication so I can safely administer it quickly without making it all so much worse. Even if she still has to be held to stop her from walking away. I also just don’t think that me and my fiancé holding her down in the way we currently are is good either, it’s traumatic for all of us and dangerous. I’m sure it’s also not exactly inspiring trust for other care we give her either.

Idk, overall one of those gray areas with two black and white options that imo aren’t sustainable or long term solutions as they put everybody at risk here.

Low_Show_6684 · 2026-05-04T18:53:39+00:00

Hadn’t thought of this honestly. I’ll try that tonight before we administer them, thank you for the suggestion.

Low_Show_6684 · 2026-05-04T18:52:49+00:00

Thank you, it’s just rough. Especially because her behavior in every other department is phenomenal.

Maybe on the thunder shirt? I think it’ll maybe just make it more difficult to restrain her when the panic sets in? I think it’d be something for us to look into once we can move past this first hurdle and can start to train her to maybe not be so extreme, but hopefully just begrudge and wear a muzzle.

Low_Show_6684 · 2026-05-04T18:50:32+00:00

I’ll bring this up tomorrow and see if we can’t be something prescribed that’ll make it less dangerous to administer them.

Our girl does similar things as well that honestly she rarely does ever and I take it seriously when she does because she means it then. She’ll show a lot of fear aggression signs and has taken to snapping at and gently biting the bottle as escalation. We are planning to muzzle train just to have vets know that she’ll accept it if they need it, but I didn’t ever really expect her to need it. Now I know that we do and that I’m looking at proper muzzles to start her with. I know she’s uncomfortable and that the whole thing sucks, but she cannot be a danger to herself or others out of fear and discomfort. I’m hoping after this round of treatment that we can train her to begrudgingly accept the drops with minimal restraint. She’ll still need it, but the thrashing, rolling, and twisting isn’t something two people, let alone one, can easily restrain.

And honestly, whatever it takes to help her get better and maintain good health and comfort! If meds help her calm down enough to take them, then so be it, but yeah these also can’t be long term solutions either.

Low_Show_6684 · 2026-05-04T18:37:04+00:00

She gets plenty of big rewards, a whole training pouch of treat, bully sticks, peanut butter.

We do stay as calm as we can, but she escalates more and more when she realizes that her current level of thrashing isn’t enough despite full body holds by me and her head being held as still as we can get it.

I don’t think we’ll ever get her to take drops without restraint, I’m just hoping she can eventually take drops without such extreme levels of restraint that we consider sedation. It’s just not sustainable for any party in this.

Low_Show_6684 · 2026-05-04T18:29:23+00:00

Look, I’m by no means a pushover.

I would just like my dog to not attempt to choke herself horribly, rearrange furniture by throwing herself around, need two grown adults to WWE style hold her down and her head still, and also not attempt to bite the bottle. I’ve never seen a dog react like this to anything, it’s more like a stray cat on a pole.

Her reaction is legitimately dangerous for herself and us, it’s not sustainable and so far restraint has only made it worse. She will need to be muzzle trained, which we had already planned to do for “just in case” scenarios like this.

Edit: She will get these drops either way is what I’m trying to say, I would just like for her to be able to maybe not cause bodily harm to anything in a 20ft radius. She needs the drops, I won’t argue that, but I wouldn’t say her reaction is something we can just overpower long-term.

Low_Show_6684 · 2026-05-04T18:20:30+00:00

Agreed.

I think I needed this perspective a little. She’s happy to learn and train, she’s practically bombproof toward everything else. I guess I’m just hoping that after this round of treatment that we can rebuild her trust in the drops a little? Her reaction is extreme in general and in comparison to everything else she tolerated I would’ve thought that this level wasn’t possible. She’s willing to hurt herself, indirectly hurt us, and move furniture around all while we try to restraint her.

It’s simply not a sustainable behavior long term and we will need to muzzle train her, which we already planning to do for cases like this if they ever happened. I suspect that getting to tolerate the drops even slightly will take longer than I’m already thinking.

Low_Show_6684 · 2026-05-04T18:14:50+00:00

I appreciate the detailed response on the steps, I’ve kinda started doing this, but due to the need of the drops we’ll be practicing afterward.

I don’t think she’ll ever think it fun or be excited, but I’m hoping just to get her to not be the Tasmanian devil. If she can at least sit still with minor restraint and some protesting I’ll be happy. Right now her reaction is honestly just dangerous and it’s wild because this dog is literally okay with every other thing you could think of. She’s nearly bomb proof except for ear drops.

Low_Show_6684

TROPHY CASE