Callie is a Golden Retriever, and Golden Retrievers were bred to retrieve. (Surprise!) Actually, they were bred in Scotland to retrieve shot game (mostly birds). On this morning’s walk, Callie started by carrying a dirty old wadded-up sock. Then she found a piece of eucalyptus bark about five feet long. She tried dragging that for a while, but it was pretty hard. Then she found a nice fresh jack pine cone. She wanted to stop and play with it, but I was able to get her to carry it while we kept walking.
After a while, Callie got tired of the pine cone, so she walked along looking for something else to retrieve. This time it was a stick about four feet long. She kept trying to carry one end of it, which made it hard to carry. Finally, she jiggled it in her mouth until it was more-or-less balanced, and she carried the stick for while. Then she spotted another pine cone and decided to trade the stick for the pine cone.
If you know what your dog was bred to do (and not do) you can build a better relationship with it. You can help it do the things it was bred to do. Or, at least, you can provide opportunities for it to do the things it was bred to do. The essential message of “My Doggie Says…” is that you have to understand your dog’s “nature” in order to “nurture” it.
Here are some other characteristics of Golden Retrievers, according to Wikipedia:
“Golden Retrievers are usually compatible with children, adults, and other dogs. They typically bark when startled, but generally their friendly nature makes them poor guard dogs. Golden Retrievers are particularly valued for their high level of sociability towards people, calmness,and willingness to learn. Because of this, they are commonly used as guide dogs, moblility assistance dogs, and search and rescue dogs.[1] ”
In addition to “retrieving,” Golden Retrievers are very social animals. We’ve been trying to give Callie every opportunity to socialize with people in our neighborhood, the men who work on the golf course, and other dogs we meet on our walks. Most of the time, it’s Callie who initiates these fun little encounters. But we encourage and support them.
Notice that if you’re looking for a guard dog, you should look to another breed. A Golden Retriever would probably greet a burglar with open arms and a wagging tail before barking a warning!
Wikipedia has detailed information on the breeding of over 500 different breeds. So it you’re not sure what your dog was bred to do, check it out. It’s fun, and it can help you reinforce your dog’s breeding and natural personality.
