Alanis: Daddy brought home this toy slide from training class today. I wasn’t very pleased and am quite angry that I wasn’t consulted before a new object came into the house.
JJ: I love the slide, which is why the trainer told him to bring it home so I can play on it!
Alanis: I am older, and I should get the last say on stuff like this. I was petrified – barking at it, refusing to approach it, crying on the staircase. Very traumatic.
JJ: That is because you are the world’s biggest diva dog. Seriously, if a chair is moved one inch out of place, you aren’t happy. So annoying.
Alanis: I can’t help it if I want everything to be in the same place that it has always been in!
JJ: Is it true that you didn’t like it if the training facility was rearranged every weekend?
Alanis: That is correct. I didn’t want to work if the room was changed in any way. I had to adapt to the changes before I did any activities.
JJ: You are a weirdo.
Alanis: It isn’t me who thinks dog hair floating in the air is a treat, so don’t call ME a weirdo, you little pain in the…
Me: Watch the language, Alanis – this is a blog that puppies may read.
Alanis: Sorry, but he is a hemorrhoid!
JJ: What does that mean?
Alanis: I don’t know what it means, but I hear our parents say it often!
JJ: It must mean “good dog” then.
Alanis: Whatever you say.
JJ: You eventually accepted the slide!
Alanis: I just need some time alone with it to get over my fears. I don’t like change!
JJ: You still won’t put your paws on it like I do!
Alanis: You don’t just put your paws on it. You want to jump on it, jump over it, knock it over like a bowling pin, etc.! I don’t know how you can be so brave.
JJ: It is just my nature. It doesn’t make me better than you (other things make me better than you)
Alanis: Ugh. This is so not true.
Me: JJ, that wasn’t nice. You are equals with different personalities!
Alanis: Thank you. Who plays with you EVERY NIGHT? Who gets excited when you come out of your crate? Who chews bones with you? Who doesn’t mind it when you curl up next to me to rest? ME! ME! ME!
JJ: Is there a violin handy?
Alanis: You are such a wise puppy.
JJ: You know it.
Alanis: There are rumors that more objects could come into this house in future weeks. Keep in mind, puppy, that I DESPISE skateboards! DESPISE!!!
JJ: More the reason to bring one home…
Me: It is true – JJ doesn’t have a fear in the world that we have discovered, while Alanis has always taken a more guarded approach. Once she warms up to an object, a person, another dog, she is fine and confident. Getting her to that place is sometimes a challenge. Her trainer always said that Alanis would have great survival skills because she is aware of everything that is in her space. JJ? He might be aware of things in his space, but he gives them no regard. He would treat a bear the same as a rabbit, while Alanis would hide from the bear and sniff the rabbit.
There are good things and bad things about how they look at life. JJ is not afraid of ANYTHING (so far). The only time I ever saw him hesitate is the first time he encountered garbage cans in the street. He got over that fear (without any help from me) by the time he got to the next block. Alanis? If she is scared of something, it tends to stick with her. I ran an experiment with her last weekend when we went to a different town for a visit. I decided to walk her around that town, and she had zero concerns. When I walk her around our town, there are certain roads she doesn’t like, etc. She is just very in tune with her environment, and that can lead to having a dog that is just not as confident as most dogs. Thankfully, her lack of confidence is not FEAR, and she doesn’t growl or bite if she is uncomfortable.
The problem with JJ is that his lack of fear means he doesn’t care if something ahead of him is dangerous or not. Jumping over a couch or spinning in a chair is one thing – but his lack of caution means he wouldn’t care if a truck was coming towards him, if a lion was approaching the house, or if the couch was 20 feet tall. He would try to jump on the truck, lick the lion, and scale the couch. That is how his mind works.
It is also easier to train a dog like Alanis to get over anything that is bothering her. It is obviously impossible to force anything to bother JJ. We just have to be cautious with him until he matures past his puppy stage, which can be a long time with a Golden. He may always be fearless, and that is OK – it is just a matter of putting him in situations where his lack of fear won’t get him hurt.
So far, we have owned four Golden Retrievers with four very different personalities. I am thinking of building a chart to show just how unique they all are. That is part of dog ownership – no two dogs are going to be alike, even if they are the same exact breed.
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