Canis lupus hominis

Posted in Chesapeake bay retriever, working retrievers | Tagged Chesapeake bay retriever | 10 Comments

10 Responses

1. on February 10, 2010 at 6:32 am Pai

   Will you believe that my Rottie used to do this? She also loved to dive and dredge things up from the bottom of ponds… she once got a very bad injury from a discarded fishing line that way…

   She was born the wrong breed, obviously!

   
   
2. on February 10, 2010 at 10:37 pm Miki

   My first standard poodle, Mike, would do this – although the sticks weren’t quite that big in the pond he liked to swim in. He would stick his head underwater and look around for something to pick up and retrieve – yes, he would also blow bubbles. He liked his retrieving items wet and clean, not slimed with dog drool and covered with dirt. From an early age he learned to find a stray tennis ball at the off leash park, drop it in a water dish, move it around to clean it off and then bring it to me to throw. He was a handful or, as I like to say, he took up a lot of psychic space, but in a good way. I can only hope I’ll find another one like him some day.

   Man … I miss him. http://www.flickr.com/photos/luvlymikimoto/184299449/in/set-72157594188166947/

   
   
   • on February 10, 2010 at 11:15 pm retrieverman

     I had a golden that would do this, and she would also dive under water after objects.

     She’s very much the reason why I write about this type of golden retriever, and I would also love to find another like her.

     She looked almost exactly like the dog in this painting: http://retrieverman.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/binkss-golden-retriever.jpg?w=500&h=369

     You can see why I don’t like the white ones….

     
     
     • on February 10, 2010 at 11:36 pm Miki

       I saw this one in southern Minnesota last year. Not at all like the ones in the show ring, eh? She was a sweety.

       http://www.flickr.com/photos/luvlymikimoto/4346742549/

       
       
       • on February 10, 2010 at 11:43 pm retrieverman

         That’s exactly the type.

         It used to be in vogue in the show ring, but the puppies aren’t nearly as cute.

         Some of them are even darker than that:

         

         I haven’t seen one that dark in AGES!

         
         
         • on February 10, 2010 at 11:58 pm Miki

           My sister and her first-ex-husband (my sisters and I don’t do marriage well) bred goldens in the 70s. Their stud, Hector, was a very dark red, and very energetic – a beautiful dog and an excellent hunting companion. 30+ years later I’m not ashamed to say Hector loved me. I don’t know if the split then was as large as it is now, but I do recall that there were plenty of hunters who wanted puppies from Hector and Tina.

           My vet – a golden guy – used to call Mike a Golden in a Poodle Suit. I knew what he meant….

           Like I said – Man o mna – I miss that dog – http://www.flickr.com/photos/luvlymikimoto/241493045/in/set-72157594188166947/

           
           
           • on February 11, 2010 at 12:02 am retrieverman

             The northern part of the Midwest, reaching out into the Dakotas, is the known for its working goldens. It was where they were first established in this country in the 1920’s and 1930’s. They actually were responsible for supplanting the American water spaniel in Wisconsin as the working retriever to have. Then, the Labrador became really big.

             But the best are from that region– from Illinois to the Dakotas.

             
             
             • on February 11, 2010 at 12:26 am Miki

               The curly coat of the water spaniel can be a real PITA because – like poodles and curlies – those curls pick up everything they come in contact with. Mike would bring home twigs and weeds and small snails (live and dead) from the water. (We won’t talk about burrs from the fields.) Plucking/brushing/combing all that stuff out can make a long day longer. At the same time, grooming is an intimate, trust building activity. You really can’t just toss your curly coated water retriever in the kennel when you get home. Labs and goldens are/can be much easier.

               That being said, those curls really do serve a function – as with chessies, the curls of a poodle/IWS/Curly/AWS wick the water away from the skin – it’s amazing to watch (if the coat is properly harsh and not too soft).

               
               
3. on February 14, 2010 at 3:45 am Andrew Siff

   Yep, that’s what they do. And so much more… and more… and more. The energizer bunny stands no chance.

   
   
4. on November 28, 2011 at 2:14 pm matt

   i own a chessie,i once threw a football in a large pond for him to fetch,the ball was to large so he pushed it the whole length of the pond untill he got to the bank then pressed the ball against the bank and punctured it so he could swim back to me,chessies don`t quit.

   
   

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