Golden Retrievers were born to show off and clown around to make people laugh. Their sweet and friendly dispositions and outgoing personalities make them well-suited for teaching tricks. Keep in mind your dog's overall health and well-being, and if he is overweight, perhaps skip over a trick that requires lots of dexterity until he loses a few pounds. As with all training, it will help your cause greatly if you pay attention to your own dog's unique needs and motivations.

If you want your dog to work with you, you need to make sure you are offering him what he wants as far as reinforcers go. Be sure that your training plan makes sense to him. Offering boring dry dog food as a treat will not make him want to learn how to sit up and beg. In order to ensure that the behaviors you have taught do not fall apart, remember that once you have begun a behavior and your dog is starting to get it, be sure to start introducing distractions right away. This is the best way to make sure that the behaviors you worked so hard to establish do not fall apart at the first strange sight or sound. It isn't necessary to work very closely to a distraction at first. If your dog has a hard time performing with kids or other dogs present, by all means work at a distance until he can handle having them close by. Above all, have fun playing and training, and your dog will love learning tricks!