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Your dog's habits and golden quirks

1931 Views 15 Replies 16 Participants Last post by  goutes
I am just curious- what are some habits or quirks your Golden has? Here are some things our 9 month old Sammie does...is your dog similar?

-sometimes he will put his paw on your arm when you are petting him (particularly when he is calm and in a sitting position, and you are in front petting neck/chest area).

-the "golden flop" is when he lays down on the side of his body, arches his back, and attempts to swat my hand as I maneuver closer to his collar in order to move him from a spot that he does not want to move from.

-circles and sniffs at the grass or digs in sand/dirt followed by the "shoulder-bomb"/head rub/body rub into that particular spot.

-when he plays with other dogs, he uses his paws a lot more and also will play defense against the other dog by scooting his butt around to block the incoming play partner.

-loves to lay down and put his head to the ground when you have a fetch toy

-he's very vocal, and communicates his need for going outside, wanting to play, or wanting his crate

-his eyes and face are so expressive!

-most important of all -- he LOVES TO SNUGGLE!
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It sounds like you have a certifiable golden there! You will soon learn that the shoulder down is more often than not into something very smelly. The paw on your arm thing is only in some goldens (I have one of each) it is much more common in females. Goldens run the gamit from very vocal to very quiet. My two like to speak their minds. :doh:
my katie does the arm thing, but she has always closed her eyes when i pat her head and roos ist thinf in the morning.
Other then the vocal part, my Golden has all those traits! That's what makes them so endearing!
Riley is only 14 weeks so I haven't really seen any quirks....yet. Unless you count the fact that she thinks everyone she meets is specifically there just to greet her. But our previous golden loved to have the webbing between her toes rubbed. When she'd had enough on one foot she would switch to the other. She did this with everyone who came over. You could really tell the dog lovers...they were the ones who sat there patiently rubbing her webbing while she switched from foot to foot.
Lucy does the "paw thing"-(can drive you crazy at times)

The "shoulder bomb"-especially when she gets a new bone
or toy, she drops down on it and rubs all over it.

And she does the "vocal thing"-lots of roo-roos when we
get home or when someone visits!

Asia does many of these things. She also loves to lay froggie style when getting her butt rubbed her tail madly wagging the whole time. When she plays with her best neighbor lab friend, she fakes him out by starting to paw at hm and then pretends she is going to chase him and then when he runs she darts back to his owner for a cuddle and then does it over and over. She loves people so much. She is also quite vocal when she wants something and I soon learned what she is wanting from the different sounds she makes.
Bridger will always bring back ball or stick Sadie (lab) was playing with at river, once brought fish Obi (old gold) had caught -- it's like "oops, you forgot this".
Also, if we call & he doesn't come immediately (he's SLOW), he'll pick up a stick to bring - "I was busy getting this stick, that's why I'm late"
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Is this the "shoulder bomb"? If it isn't what would you call it?

I think these are two different behaviors and not just variations on the same one. Both are different from the stretch/bow... where his feet would be stretched forward.

The front view poolside, I've always perceived this as an invitation to come play.

The rear view, the only time Bob does this maneuver if after his dinnertime meal. But he does it every evening.

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Anatomy of a shoulder bomb -

identify good smell



push neck and shoulder through smelly stuff



roll on smelly stuff for a bit, or just contentedly lay on it



do not acknowledge mom and do not look at her when getting up from stinky stuff. this will enable you to pretend you didn't hear her yelling

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Lucky makes this absolute funny face. I wish I could explain but one side of his mouth goes up and the other stays straight (is the best way I can describe it). It makes me smile every time. My mom actually used (she passed away)to make the same face with her lips when she was being funny. I wish I could catch a picture of it. That and his infamous tongue on the side with his mouth closed.

Lucky also loves to plop. He never lays down quitely. It is just a nice big PLOP!

I do not know if Lucky starts with a shoulder bomb, but he will start at the top of our hill and roll all the way down it!

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I LOVE this post. Ellie also loves the "shoulder bomb." She will then spaz out on her back rolling around in what ever she bombed into for some time. She will also use her claws to pull herself around while she is flailing around on her back.

She also does the paw on your arm thing. It is so sweet.

To Luckypup, Ellie is also a huge plopper. Even when she was 9 weeks old, she would never lay down gently. We call her "harry plopper" sometimes. She will also plop down and make sure that some part of her body has contact with some part of mine.
Kaylee does the paw thing also, sometimes she uses both paws and it's like she just wants to give a hug :) She also does the plopping! Harry Plopper is really cute :D

She also LOVES watching tv, and is enamored with horses. Well, she hasn't seen any in real life, but she loves them on tv.

She has a yodely bark (like a beagle but not quite as hound like), and has a habit of leap frogging other dogs while playing. She likes to curl up in bed between me and my boyfriend and spoon with one of us, she's not a fan of the foot of the bed or her own dog bed (which she has chewed beyound repair).
Gunner will constantly walk or run through my legs as I am walking (and I'm only 5'4"). He thinks he is still a little puppy but he is 1 year old. He always puts his head down and his butt up in the air when he comes up to someone that wants to pet him. The biggest thing is he puts his head way back and moves it around when you are greeting him and petting him. I call him "Stevie" as in Stevie Wonder. LOL
Gilmour 'kicks'.

When he's wound up, he'll lie down and be completely still, then kick out really hard with all 4 legs. He'll do it 3 or 4 times.

He punched me right in the gut on the bed one night LOL
Annie gets really restless in the evening because she wants to be with us but she loves to lay on our hardwood floor (I think she likes how cool it is), which is just behind the couch. She will come and lay with me for a minute stand up, lay, stand up, lay, etc. Until finally just giving up and walking to the hardwood floor and flopping down.
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