Me: I figured I would start off this post, rather than the dogs. For those who have owned multiple Golden Retrievers, do you ever say to yourself “We have owned X number of this breed, and none of them have been alike!” My wife and I have said that many times, and it does make sense. As stated in my previous post, when you have multiple children, you will often find some similarities and some differences. It is no different with dogs, and if your dogs come from many different litters (ours have), it only makes sense that you would have dogs with different traits and personalities. More on that at the end of the post…
JJ: I am the agility dog of the group and the craziest. I am the Golden Retriever you read about – the one who counter surfs can go from “rest” to “zoomie” in 1.5 seconds and thinks that the word “No” is just a suggestion. If dogs were human children, I would be the party animal – the one who sneaks out late at night to go see my girlfriend and drink beer in the woods (admit it – you just had that visual in your head of your Golden doing just that!) I often can’t sit still and need at least an hour of walking per day just to take me from a 100 down to a 99.9. I jump over couches and jump over gates in my training class without even getting a running start. If you want to own a dog like me, be prepared for an ultimate thrill ride – turn your back on me for a second and that roast beef sandwich you prepared for yourself won’t be there when you turn back around. Believe it or not, I am also the only dog who has ever voluntarily gone into his crate to rest – I will walk into my wide-open crate just to take a nap. I love it in there!
Alanis: I am the cautious dog in the group. I am always aware of my surroundings – if I hear a slight noise from 20 miles away, I may just try to find the source. When I went to training class, the slightest outside noise would take me away from the task at hand and it was tough to get my brains back to where you wanted them. I was the dog who would refuse to walk into class…but would refuse to leave once it was over. I love to play sniffing games. “Hide the treat” is a game that I can play for hours and not get bored of it. I will play hide-and-seek with you. I tend to get yappy when I see people on walks, and it could scare them. Little do they know that I am “excitement barker” – it is not an easy thing to break me from. If I get excited, I will bark and try to force myself towards you. That said, there are streets in town that I don’t particularly love to walk down – who knows what traumatized me on those streets, but they sometimes are scary to me (other times, they aren’t!) I love to play fetch and prefer cold weather to warm.
JJ: Unfortunately, I wasn’t born yet when Josh and Jeter were here – can you let us know how they were, Alanis?
Alanis: Sure. Josh was the ultimate alpha dog but was also a gentle giant. He was independent and strong but also loved to sleep on the foot of the bed when Mommy took naps. He was one of the few Golden Retrievers in history who didn’t care about tennis balls. He had a favorite toy (an expensive stuffed “turtle” from Petco) and rumors have it that he went through at least 25 of them in his lifetime. He loved to prance around on the beach – of the four dogs who have been in this house, Josh is the only one who has ever been granted the freedom of being allowed to be on the beach with nobody holding his leash. When I first came into this house, Josh was a little older – I tried to get him to play with me, but he mostly ignored my advances. One time, I guess I was being a bit too pushy and he “snapped” at me – I learned my lesson from that. He didn’t “dislike” me – he was just retired from crazy antics. Jeter put him through enough of that. When I first met Josh in a dog park, he sniffed me for five seconds and pranced away to do his own thing. That was his sign of approval. Mommy and Daddy always say he was the perfect first dog.
Jeter would have crushed it in obedience competitions if Daddy would have decided to take him down that route. He was the dog in class that other dogs “hated” (I am being funny here!) because he learned everything within seconds of it being taught. He was the “trainer’s pet” – the dog that would often be used as the “demo dog” even though he was only weeks old at the time the behavior was being taught. There wasn’t an obedience command that was impossible to teach him. He was also the most nervous of us dogs – whether it be a thunderstorm, fireworks, or military training going on at a nearby base, Jeter would run for cover (and often go under the bed) when he heard those big, bad noises. Like Josh, he loved the beach. While Josh was not much for the ocean, Jeter used to love going into the water, often splashing in and out to retrieve balls Daddy would throw into the water (never off-leash, though!) He also had a fondness for sandpipers. He was the most sensitive of the dogs as well – you always knew when Mommy was having a really bad sick day just based on Jeter’s expressions. He would have been a great walking partner for you, JJ because he too would walk for more than an hour and want to go for more. Jeter was friendly but also cautious – when I first met him, he was not happy for about….five seconds. After those five seconds were up, we started running around and playing in the park. He was the perfect playmate and the dog I would often sleep next to at night. He gave me comfort. We were both submissive dogs, so we often had to go back-and-forth on which one was the “alpha” in any given play session.
JJ: They both sound like very special dogs!
Alanis: Yes. Josh wouldn’t let you get away with some of your crazy antics like I do. Jeter would have been a fun dynamic with you, given that it took him a little time to warm up to other dogs. Before he became sick, he likely would have loved to wrestle with you like he did with me. I just wonder if he would have “trained” you like Josh trained him.
JJ: This was fun, Daddy – we really are four completely different dogs!
Me: Yep! This is why it is important, as a Golden Retriever owner, to see exactly what type of dog you have. Some Golden Retrievers can be mellow (like Josh), which could mean you need to actually find ways for them to exercise – Josh used to do it by flailing around his favorite toys and going for walks. Some are like JJ, who can’t sit still for extended periods of time and can create mischief the moment you aren’t watching. Many breeders do testing in an attempt to figure out the personalities of each dog in their litter, but you can also go by the pedigree of the father and mother. Jeter’s father was an obedience champion. JJ’s mother and father are both agility dogs. Josh was bred to be a show dog, which is why he was more mellow. We don’t have any history on Alanis.
Does it ultimately matter to new Golden Retriever owners what kind of Golden they are going to get? In most cases, I would think not – if a Golden is well-bred, he is going to make you laugh and put an end to any dull moments you have in your life – they just do it in different ways. Even mellow Josh was a ham. When a Golden is described as “mellow”, it is often in comparison to other Golden Retrievers, and not the general dog population!
Our four dogs have definitely made our world a better place. We shall see what happens when we decide to add another one to the mix and what kind of unique traits he will have.