I have been a retriever guy for over 30 years now. I have 3 Golden's right now. I also hunt waterfowl and any thing with feathers.....
I am not a fan of either 10 Minute Retriever or Water Dog! The first one, is of no use! Waterdog is a good look back at the old ways of training and has a lot of good information about training in General. Modern training has gone way beyond this...
At 12 weeks you dog should be working strictly on basic obedience, without this being well trained into the dogs behavior, and attempt to go beyond this will create more problems than what the dog can actually learn, without basic obedience.
Retriever basic obedience consists of these few commands, given in the order they are taught....
Heal - do so when told to, follow me at heal when I walk, follow me at heal when I turn both right and left. When I stop walking, sit at heal...Dog should heal on your left side if you shoot right handed and visa versa...
Sit - sit when I command sit, do it at anytime I tell you to. If away from me when I command Sit, sit looking directly at me, body must be aligned looking at me also..(No whistle yet, get a command sit trained first)
Down - lay down when I command down. If away from me lay down facing me.
Here - Come to me when I call you, come fast and come to heal! Most important, must be well trained, can save the dogs life or prevent injury. e.g. dog bolts to chase a cat across the highway. Or dog is chasing a rabbit towards a barbwire fence.
Drop or Give - use only one of these for command! Dog will drop whatever is has in its mouth....this command can save the dogs life...e.g. if a pill is dropped around the dog...
Kennel - Get in your kennel now!
These are the foundation of a good retriever program. Some will add a few more, but regardless these must be taught well with a better than 95% success when command is given. It takes time and patient to get these correct. Do not over train, young dogs cannot stay focused for long periods, I think 2 or 3 sessions 30 minutes a day followed by some simple but fun play. It is ok to use treats at this point, but at the dog matures maybe at 6-8 months the reward of love and play is all they need. I usually start out with 6 weeks in obedience class with other dogs, if you do this be sure the training covers the commands above and does not use clickers or some other trick to key the dog, you voice and relationship with the dog at this point is a critical part of this early training.
As far as programs to follow I prefer these, but other good ones are available.
Sound Beginnings Retriever Training DVD with Jackie Mertens
Evan Graham's Retriever Training Books & DVDs -- SMARTWORKS
They can be found on
http://www.gundogsupply.com or just search on Amazon.com
Sound beginnings is specifically retriever puppy training and obedience. Evan Graham's books and/or DVD's are a total training program for retrievers...step by step! Many others offer the total retriever training, but I have used these and like them best...
Good Luck