Goldendoodles are beloved for their intelligence, playful energy, and affectionate personalities. Their irresistibly cute teddy bear faces make them masters at winning hearts—and getting their way! However, just like raising a child, setting boundaries early is essential. If a puppy is allowed too much freedom without guidance, these small misbehaviors can become ingrained habits in adulthood, making correction much more difficult. One of the most crucial lessons to teach your Goldendoodle puppy is impulse control—the ability to resist immediate urges and make better choices. This will ensure they grow into a well-mannered, obedient companion rather than developing frustrating or even problematic behaviors.
What Does a Lack of Impulse Control Look Like?
A dog that lacks impulse control often displays behaviors that can be frustrating, dangerous, or difficult to manage. Here are some common examples of impulse control failure:
Jumping on People: Your Goldendoodle gets overly excited when guests arrive and jumps up on them, potentially knocking someone over.
Bolting Through Doors: The moment you open the front door, your puppy dashes out, creating a safety risk.
Leash Pulling: Walks become stressful because your dog is constantly dragging you toward every new sight and smell.
Counter Surfing: Your pup snatches food off the counter the moment you turn your back.
Excessive Barking: Your dog barks uncontrollably at the slightest stimulus without pausing to assess the situation.
Without addressing these issues early, they can persist into adulthood, making training more challenging and leading to potential dangers for both your dog and others.
How to Teach Your Puppy Impulse Control
The good news is that impulse control can be taught through consistent training and positive reinforcement. The key is to practice these skills daily! Goldendoodles thrive on routine and enjoy pattern games, making training both fun and effective. To build strong impulse control, maintain consistency in your home—set clear expectations and reinforce them regularly. No matter how adorable your pup looks, don’t let them bend the rules! Here are five effective techniques to help:
1. Teach “Sit” and “Wait”
Training your puppy to sit and wait before receiving something they want—like food, treats, or toys—helps them learn patience. Start with short durations and gradually extend the waiting time before rewarding them. Set a timer or try counting: start with 5 seconds and go up from there, increasing the 'wait' duration each time. The trick is to not push the wait past your puppy's capabilities. It's better to reward for a shorter wait and reinforce that behavior than to fail at a longer wait.
Pro Tip: Puppy has excelled with the 'wait' command before getting her dinner? How about you up the ante by adding more commands prior to getting her dinner. Make her go to her 'place' and wait, teach her to 'spin' or any other command and ask for this in addition to the wait command.
2. Doorway Boundaries
Before opening a door, ask your dog to sit and wait. Only allow them to pass through when you give the release command (e.g., “Break”). This prevents bolting and reinforces self-control. This is an incredibly important behavior for your dog to learn. Have them give you eye contact during this time so they learn to look to you for help.
Pro Tip: Don't just make puppy wait before going out the door, but also make her wait coming back inside. I always make my puppy sit as soon as she comes into the house. She waits for her treat. This does two things for us: 1. It gives me a chance to put her leash aside, reward her for eye contact, and wipe off dirty feet and 2. It gives puppy another opportunity to 'wait' before being released inside the home to play and run around. This is teaching impulse control.
3. Teach 'Place'
Encourage your puppy to remain calm by rewarding them when they settle down on their 'place' mat. Continuing to reward puppy on her spot is teaching her expectations where you want her to be. This is a challenge for us more than puppy. Why? Because it's so tedious constantly putting puppy back on her place mat when all we're trying to do is eat dinner. But it's important! Why? Because little puppies that get their way turn into big dogs that don't sit still!
Pro Tip: You HAVE to do it! There is no shortcut. There is no way around this one. You have to make puppy go back to her bed and lay down. If she pops up, you tell her to go back to her place. Be consistent. Use the same word every time. Bring treats--lots of treats. And keep doing it.
4. Leash Manners with “Heel” and “Leave It”
When walking your puppy, use commands like “heel” to keep them by your side. Teaching “leave it” prevents them from lunging at distractions, such as squirrels or food on the ground. Continuing through puppy classes and more advanced classes like Family Dog or Intermediate Family Dog to learn how to train a solid heel. This will take practice, and consistency when reinforcing with verbal cues and treats.
5. Reward Calm Behavior and Redirect Excited Greetings
When in the middle of a play session, be sure to practice calm moments. How do you do that? While in a play session, stop and ask for a 'sit' or a 'down'. Be sure to give puppy a treat with a calm voice, and when you're done, announce your release word (e.g., "Break!") and continue playing. Repeat this occasionally while playing. You don't have to do this during every play session, but you should do this sometimes because it reinforces puppy paying attention to you and giving calm behaviors quickly when asked.
If your puppy jumps on people, keep her on a leash when greeting and step on the leash so she can't jump. You can also use that 'place' command and reinforce 'stay' when guests come to visit. It takes time but don't let puppy break early! Every time puppy jumps after you try to reinforce calm behavior, just gives puppy permission to keep jumping on your guests. It's called intermittent reinforcement. Only reward puppy, with both treats and praise (e.g., 'yes!') when they stay calm and greet people appropriately.
Pro Tip: Use your praise word correctly! Be mindful of when you offer your praise word and treat rewards. There's no need to keep talking to your puppy, that just gets him more excited. Calm, quiet behavior is often more beneficial to success than continuing to 'chirp' to your puppy.
Final Thoughts
Training sessions do not have to be structured, pre-determined, set in stone events. Training can (and should) occur throughout the day organically incorporated into your routine. Before meals, going out to potty, greeting visitors, playing with the kids, going for walks. The idea is to expect these behaviors from your puppy all the time.
If you find yourself thinking:
It'll get better when he's older.
He's just burning off steam.
She's just so cute, how can I say no to that face?
She's almost a year old and still pulling on her leash.
He doesn't sit still when I ask him to
Then it's time to reset your relationship with your dog. Reset boundaries and expectations.
By setting boundaries, rewarding patience, and using structured training methods, you can prevent bad habits from developing and create a stronger bond with your puppy. The earlier you start, the easier it will be to shape their behavior for a lifetime of good manners and positive interactions!
Have you trained your Goldendoodle in impulse control?
Or are you having trouble getting your pup in line?
Share your experiences and favorite techniques in the comments!
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