A black and tan golden retriever mix

From http://www.bumperfound.org/ . This golden retriever mix shows the black and tan coloration that was once so prevalent in his ancestors: the St. John’s water dog and the wavy-coated retriever. Landseer had painted a dog very similar to this one. If such a dog were placed in the nineteenth century, he would instantly be recognized [...]

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What is this strange quail?

What is the idenity of this New World quail? BTW, New World quail aren’t closely related to pheasants, turkeys, or Old World Quail. And button quail are more closely related to shorebirds.

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Golden retriever puppy badly wants a bath!

From livingxoutxloud.

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Why working dogs are often poor pets

Working dogs are working dogs because they have behaviors that make them useful. Some of these useful behaviors have been further honed through advent of trials and working tests, although it is often debated about whether trials reflect the “real world” of a working breed. Either way, working dogs are bred behaviors, drives, motor patterns, [...]

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A good book to read

Tom Quinn’s The Working Retrievers. It is not merely a retriever training manual. It is really a wonderful piece of nature and dog writing, coupled with lots of helpful advice on how to perfect a retriever’s instincts. I don’t know whether I will follow all of his recommendations. I’m not a very good physical trainer. [...]

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The Real Great Dane

Everyone gets confused about a dog named the Great Dane. The Great Dane’s name in anglophone countries dates to the work of Buffon, who called the big, lightly built boarhound a Grande Danois. The truth is the dog we call the Great Dane is actually a German breed. Its name in German is Deutsche Dogge [...]

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Inbreeding and the Northern Elephant Seal

Northern elephant seals can be found in the Pacific from Alaska to Mexico. However, their main breeding beaches are on the coasts and islands of Baja California and the US state of California. Whalers killed the seals for augment train oil loads. The seals have a thick layer of blubber, which can be boiled down [...]

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Golden retriever enjoys the pool

This is wonderfully silly and eccentric. From b0zer. It’s an old-fashioned golden, and you know how much I love these dogs!

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Portuguese Water Dogs Will Be Ruined

The Obamas have picked a dog. They are rescuing it. That’s the good thing. Problem: it’s from a breed with really poor genetic diversity. In 1975, there were 66 Portuguese water dogs and 85 worldwide. All Portuguese water dogs descend from these animals. It’s not that this is a bad breed. It’s not. It’s that [...]

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The difference between show and field goldens

I have yet to find a video that so perfectly juxtaposes the mannerisms and movement of field-line goldens versus American show-line goldens. Well, here it is: From LindsayAndLumi.

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