Obsession with fishing

[yukionna]

Does anyone else out there own a dog that is obsessed with fishing like mine is?! Ever since Cody, my Golden Retriever, spotted his first fish swimming under the dock, he spends every moment possible in the water looking at the fish. I'm not sure exactly what is going through his head but he is definitely obsessed with this new found activity. Every once in a while, I hear a splashing in the water and it is Cody dunking his head under in an attempt to catch the fish. Too funny.

[lewster]

And why not? Everybody needs an obsession....even the pooch!

[norbert]

maybe he is having a mid life crisis.....

[enduroryda]

This is my boy Triggy...Look familiar??!!! He spends all his time fishing...not sure if he's been successful yet but he sure enjoys trying!!

[markdoane]

This is a dangerous situation. My Riley (gone now for 9 years) developed the same obsession. He was a dead ringer for Cody.

When we moved to the lake, he spent the whole first day in the water. He soaked the pads off his paws. Left bloody footprints all through the house. He spent the next week on his back until they healed.

[AZstreamin]

My dog, Kosmo, pictured in Avatar likes to fish. In AZ in Dec and Jan several fish die off in our little lake (40 degrees is just to cold for a Phoenix Fish) My dog pulls the half dead ones out of the water and throws them in the air and runs all over the yard with silly amounts of joy. I need to get a video of her it may be worth 10,000 on AFV.

[yukionna]

Originally Posted by markdoane

This is a dangerous situation. My Riley (gone now for 9 years) developed the same obsession. He was a dead ringer for Cody.

When we moved to the lake, he spent the whole first day in the water. He soaked the pads off his paws. Left bloody footprints all through the house. He spent the next week on his back until they healed.

Sorry to hear about Riley. Cody is my sixth Golden Retriever -- I keep saying I'll never adopt another one but I'm a sucker for the breed and just can't say "no" if one needs a home.

Thanks for the info about the pads...I will definitely keep an eye on that and reduce his daily "lake time".

[maxandgeorgia]

That could be our Wally, Weimaraner. Wally was a dry land dog, appalled even by a raindrop that threatened to make him wet, until we moved to our country place with pond. The first day, he sniffed the water, waded in, and has been hooked ever since. Like Cody, he loves to stand in the shallows, lurk, pounce, snap. . .always thinks he's going to get the fish! What's more, when we feed the fish, he swims circles around the bluegill and catfish, snapping, and hoping! They of course just see him as a grey soggy nuisance. I love to see him swim; he has a long smooth stroke and glides in the water--must feel marvelous to this old arthritic almost 12 year old baby of ours. Now, his German Short Hair one-year old nemesis is more addicted to the water than Wally is. He'll just swim around in the pond for the sheer joy of it. He thinks his duty to the home place is keeping it goose and duck free, so any hapless fowl who lands on our pond soon gets chased away. I keep thinking that one day, some aggressive Canada is going to turn the game around and chase him! I too think their antics would be worthy of a good prize on World's Funniest Videos! Don't we love our comic dogs? ~G

[ZoominC6]

Our 13 year old Golden, "Crown", is the same. Aren't they all? You gotta love em. I think it was the Yankee's hall of famer, Joe Garagiolla (sp) who said, "Once in a lifetime, everyone needs to be touched by a Golden Retriever" or he said something to that effect on a broadcast from Westminster in NYC. No turer statement could have been expressed about this breed.

[Streamin 65]

Our Golden is very similiar to yours! Have you ever noticed one swimming? I'm convinced ours doesn't have a tail, it's more like a rudder! --dave

[cameront120]

My chocolate Labrador hasn't discovered fish yet, but he does like to fish for the rocks I throw into the water. He dives his head right under the water to get it andhas the most gleefull grin on his face when he gets what he's after. He first started doing this at about 6 months of age. So far, my black Labrador has shown no interest in fishing.

[yukionna]

Originally Posted by cameront120

My chocolate Labrador hasn't discovered fish yet, but he does like to fish for the rocks I throw into the water. He dives his head right under the water to get it andhas the most gleefull grin on his face when he gets what he's after. He first started doing this at about 6 months of age. So far, my black Labrador has shown no interest in fishing.

Try showing him the fish in the water and I bet his interest level will quickly change! But be forewarned, I've found it's far easier to train them to fish than it is to untrain them of the fishing habit!

[cameront120]

Originally Posted by yukionna

Try showing him the fish in the water and I bet his interest level will quickly change! But be forewarned, I've found it's far easier to train them to fish than it is to untrain them of the fishing habit!

They're Labs, I don't need any more obsessive behavior!

[maxandgeorgia]

". . .found it's far easier to train them to fish than it is to untrain them of the fishing habit! "

Amen to that! Now, whenever the dogs see our fishing poles, they go into high excitement, whining, pacing on the dock, peering down into the water, unable to contain themselves because they KNOW there'll be a fish to cavort around soon. Max gets totally irritated by them, but I think it's just fun. Moose, our GSH pup, points from the dock at a bobber, or lure, or bluegill that is in view, and trembles with such excitement that the whole dock trembles with him. Yes, just let your labs see a fish in the water and you'll have unleashed a new Pandora's Box with them

[SafeHarbor]

My Kensy, also a Golden, lasted 16 years. The only time I ever saw her desparately panicked was in my dad's Bayliner boat. She loved people, children, other dogs, mud, stinky dead things, and life. She was afraid of thunder and boats.

She died seven years ago, and I haven't had another dog since. I still grieve sometimes, but I'm looking for a "rescue" right now.

Lamar

[Barbara Peerenboom]

Garrison Keeler has some great stories about "The Fishing Dog"

[yukionna]

Originally Posted by SafeHarbor

My Kensy, also a Golden, lasted 16 years. The only time I ever saw her desparately panicked was in my dad's Bayliner boat. She loved people, children, other dogs, mud, stinky dead things, and life. She was afraid of thunder and boats.

She died seven years ago, and I haven't had another dog since. I still grieve sometimes, but I'm looking for a "rescue" right now.

Lamar

Sorry to hear about your loss of Kensy. It is so hard to lose our loyal friends. I grieved every day for the loss of each of my Goldens and the only "cure" for me was to adopt another one. We adopted a "rescue" for the first time back in 1990 and, six Goldens later, swear by that process now. In New England, we have a great resource for "rescue" Goldens -- the Yankee Golden Retriever Rescue (http://www.ygrr.org/). On their links page, they display a map of various Golden rescue groups across the country (http://www.grca-nrc.org/Localrescues.htm). FYI, there are two listed for Georgia:

1) Adopt A Golden Atlanta

2) Golden Retriever Rescue of Atlanta

Good luck in your search and post pics if you adopt one!

[cameront120]

I got my chocolate from a breeder and Kai is my first dog ever. I knew nothing about rescue. As I got educated about how disposible some people consider dogs and the plight of shelters all over North America, I decided my next Lab would be from a rescue. Samm came to me all the way from Kansas, thanks to a lot of very dedicated rescue people. I don't think I'll ever get another dog from a breeder.