# Pointing



## audreyannlow

I know that goldens were originally bred to hunt both waterfowl and upland game. Does that include pointing?

I've only ever had (very wonderful!) rescues who I consider to be mutts with some golden quirks thrown in here and there. Is this one of them? My boy points mourning doves in the backyard. By point, I mean that he glides into a perfect point, foreleg tightly curved, body and tail rigid, nose quivering, until the dove flies off. Once, I even snuck up on him, picked him up, and set him down - he remained frozen the entire time. I unfortunately don't hunt (yet), but he is obviously a retriever and even handles nicely (overs and backs) despite never having been formally trained. He goes crazy for training bumpers that look like ducks and are scented as such.

His mom was registered as a golden retriever, and his dad was an "unregistered purebred" golden who looked even less like a setter than his wife. Most likely, the only pointing breeds in him are what every golden retriever has inherited from their original setter and spaniel ancestors.

How normal is it for a golden to be such a pronounced pointer? And how desirable - is this part of their purpose?


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## Megora

I know goldens do 'point' - as in they naturally stack themselves and hold extremely still when they see something. And sometimes if they are taking in the breeze and intensely concentrating on a specific smell, you might see them pick up one of their front feet and hold the pose for a brief second or two. 

As far as being useful in hunting - I know my current guy always spots rabbits and fowl long before I do. I usually see him go into his taut freeze at his end of the leash. So in theory, if I were hunting rabbits, he would be a good dog to bring along.

He's not the first golden I've owned who has done that. I imagine it is a common trait. 

Now freezing for prolonged periods and not giving in to the chase/retrieve instincts. That's pretty neat.


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## Swampcollie

Audrey,

Goldens today are for the most part flushing/retrieving dogs in upland settings. That being said the pointing trait (from their Irish Setter heritage) does surface from time to time. You really can't breed for it, it just happens once in a while when the genetic dice happen to come up that way. With some lines the trait is expressed more often than others but it is still for the most part an unpredictable random happening.


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## Maxs Mom

When I met my current husband, I had my 'supposed to be' golden. She was a mix, looked like a big Toller, but I suspect she was a cross between a golden and an English Setter. She had a setter head, and the coloring. 

Anyway, DH grew up on a large farm. His dad had almost 200 acres and most of it was set aside for the state. His dad got paid to NOT farm it. The birds that lived in those fields. We would walk down to the creek with my dog. She would be up ahead, the stop, point and wait for us to get about 25 feet or so from her and flush. Up would go a pheasant every time. DH was EXCITED he had a bird dog. Took her out opening day, sure enough Kayla found, held, pointed and flushed, and then the gun went off. OOPS Kayla was having NO part of guns. Our mistake what did we know about gun dogs.... From that day forward she was HORRIFIED of gun fire, and would only hunt mice. She was a great mouser. 

Ann


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## Griffyn'sMom

Griff did it when he was younger but doesn't any more.


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## hotel4dogs

Tito points at small animals more so than birds, exactly like the photo of Griff, and freezes totally....except he doesn't hold his tail up and stiff. It remains level with his back.


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## Enzos_Mom

Enzo does it all the time. He was pointing at a frog in the pond this weekend before he caught it. I have pictures at home...I'll add one when I get home from work.


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## audreyannlow

Griffyn'sMom said:


> Griff did it when he was younger but doesn't any more.


WOW that is so adorable!!!!! Don't get me wrong, Aspen loves chasing anything that moves - squirrels, rabbits, me and his other sister, etc. But he's only ever pointed birds, and he holds these for way more than a few seconds.

When upland hunting, are goldens supposed to be exclusively flushers? How much of the pointing instinct supposed to be retained in the breed? Are they intended to be more dual-purpose (upland/waterfowl) than the other retrievers, and is that why they were created from spaniels?


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## MillysMom

Milly points, mostly with furry animals, but sometimes with birds, too.


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## Enzos_Mom

This is kind of a picture of Enzo pointing...this is at the end of the point and the beginning of the pounce. lol He sure does love those frogs. 









He also points at bunnies and...uh...flowers that blow in the breeze. :doh:


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## Griffyn'sMom

hehe! Funny - and did you notice what Griff was pointing at? Yep... a leaf! :doh:: He's still very "blonde" but I love him.


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## Lennap

This post reminds me of a story we love to tell about my bf's golden. We had been dating for about 6 weeks before I met Custer - during that time I heard a ton about this grand master champion field trial dog and what an accomplished bird dog he was (btw he really was!). He was a flusher and a retriever. Being a NYC girl - I had images of a poor overtrained, repressed dog who just needed to find his wild side

The day I finally met Custer we were very late for a party. Our plans had been to leave Custer at my apartment and run to the party, just a few blocks away, for a few hours. Custer was very excited as he sniffed every room - until he found THE CAT he went into a perfect point! It was the one and ONLY time in his entire life he had ever pointed!

Being a good animal mommy and a good early stages gf I simply said ok we'll lock the cats in the bedroom while we are out. BF said don't be silly everything is fine. I just looked at him and said - your dog just identified my cat as prey - they will be locked up!!!!!

Needless to say as the cats and I got to know Custer we discovered a wonderful dog who had a joie de vivre that we can only aspire to possess! He became best friends with one of my cats (I'm convinced the cat waited to pass until he said goodbye to Custer) and was just an all around love.

We lost him about 4 years ago - he is very missed.


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