# Dottie Gets The Mail (video)



## jeffreyzone (Feb 8, 2006)

Well, the quality isn't so great, and there are no titles or credits, but at least we've got a video. Dottie sends her special thanks to LaurJen Productions; this video wouldn't have made it without LauJen's help.

Enjoy!


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## Joe (Apr 9, 2005)

I think we will have to wait couple minutes. YouTube is still processing it.


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## jeffreyzone (Feb 8, 2006)

Yep, they must be hammered tonight. The clip is pretty small.


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## RickGibbs (Dec 16, 2005)

jeffreyzone said:


> Yep, they must be hammered tonight. The clip is pretty small.


I was having problems even getting on YouTube earlier tonight....


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## Joe (Apr 9, 2005)

It just started to work and let me tell you, that is amazing. I wish we would teach our dogs to do something else than bark at our postman 
Thanks for sharing, really great video. And thanks to Laurjen for her help.
Joe


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

Great video..... Thinking none of mine will ever do that....it would be eaten before i got it...


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## RickGibbs (Dec 16, 2005)

Awesome video....I don't know that Samson could do that, without shredding it. I don't know, maybe Cosmo could....


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## njb (Oct 5, 2006)

Oh I just love it! You can just see that dog has such a sweet soul! Thank you so much for sharing that with us!


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## RickGibbs (Dec 16, 2005)

I also wanted to say that I love how excited she gets when you're nearing the door.......getting that body wag going....


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## FranH (May 8, 2005)

Amazing! She is so proud 

How long did it take to "master" that trick??


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## LaurJen (Aug 10, 2006)

Wow, that was great!! I watched it a couple of times just to see her run out to the truck again--it is too cute! And your postman is a good sport


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## Baileysmom (Aug 5, 2006)

LaurJen said:


> Wow, that was great!! I watched it a couple of times just to see her run out to the truck again--it is too cute! And your postman is a good sport


I totally agree! :appl: That is an awesome video and a wonderful job for her to do! I loved watching that and you certainly can tell how proud she is. Thanks for sharing!


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## PeggyK (Apr 16, 2005)

Great video!! And a skill that is really useful-I'm thinking that on a rainy day you don't have to leave the house to get the mail!!!!!! Certainly beats the "Shake hands" trick!!!!!!!!


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## Prov31 (Aug 16, 2006)

That was truly inspiring! Thank you for sharing.


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## VeronicaLovesHerGoldens (May 27, 2005)

I loved your video! She's a beautiful Golden! Thanks for sharing.


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## Brandy's Mom (Oct 5, 2005)

Loved it! Loved it! Loved it! Wish mine would do that. Jenna is too polite to touch anything that's not hers, and Brandy thinks mail is an appetizer. 

Dottie looks like such a sweet, gentle soul.


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## JimS (Jan 2, 2007)

That's fantastic!......Looks like a wonderful neighborhood to live in.


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## Buffy & Abby's Mom (Nov 27, 2005)

That was great! Dottie is very beautiful, very smart & very proud of herself!!! I'd love to teach mine to get the paper. The worst thing about the country is having to go to the end of the driveway to get the paper at the crack of dawn. I'm used to just reaching out the front door. (Lazy - I know!) But I'm SO afraid of them taking off, I'd be too chicken to try even teaching it.


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## Gldiebr (Oct 10, 2006)

That's terrific! She is so happy to do her 'job'. And such a pretty girl. Thank you for sharing, and thanks LaurJen for your help. Love the audio!


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## jeffreyzone (Feb 8, 2006)

FranH said:


> Amazing! She is so proud
> 
> How long did it take to "master" that trick??


Thank you.  Dottie is a real sweetie. And she loves to carry things. But it took a while before we were confident enough to send her toward the street. She was four years old when we started pushing the envelope of little steps that would evolve into retrieving the mail.

In another post, I wrote about some of the things we did that have lead up to this point:

http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/golden-retriever-training/11939-retrieving-4.html

It's kinda funny to see how Barrington ran down there with Dottie. He was right behind me on a "wait," and I honestly didn't know where he was when I released Dottie. He'd assumed the same "wait" as Dottie. He properly interpreted the release to mean that I released him as well, which is normal for that exercise.


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## jeffreyzone (Feb 8, 2006)

Buffy & Abby's Mom said:


> That was great! Dottie is very beautiful, very smart & very proud of herself!!! I'd love to teach mine to get the paper. The worst thing about the country is having to go to the end of the driveway to get the paper at the crack of dawn. I'm used to just reaching out the front door. (Lazy - I know!) But I'm SO afraid of them taking off, I'd be too chicken to try even teaching it.


Thank you.  Yes, Dottie seems to be getting even more beautiful as she gets older. And you are right about how proud of herself she is. Rick mentioned the bodywagging thing that she is doing at the end of the video. I thought y'all would appreciate seeing a happy Golden. 

EDIT: To Buffy and Abby's Mom - It's those small steps that you teach that eventually add up to your dogs going all the way to the end of your driveway to retrieve that morning newspaper. You can do it, but it takes time and small steps.

This video came together very quickly; if we'd had time to think about it, Karen would have stayed inside and sent Dottie from the house. But Karen was talking with the postman to get his permission to make a video. LaurJen is right when she says that the postman is a sport; he really likes seeing our two, and he gets a kick out of handing Dottie the mail.

When Dottie is running back toward the house, she glances at Karen. She's thinking about taking the mail to her, but Karen hasn't asked for the mail, and it's weird for Karen to be standing in that position, so Dottie just goes on back to the house as usual.

Thank you all for your kind words about Dottie. She is indeed a sweet soul. I've learned a lot from her.


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## ontariogolden (Oct 24, 2006)

Thanks so much for posting that! It's so terrific and amazing! Your dogs look like such perfect examples of great dogs!


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## jeffreyzone (Feb 8, 2006)

ontariogolden said:


> Thanks so much for posting that! It's so terrific and amazing! Your dogs look like such perfect examples of great dogs!


LOL! Thank you.  But have you read my post about how, during her first year with us, Dottie had a tendency to "mark" the territory of another female dog by deliberately cranking out a poo inside the female dog's house? Or how Barrington does not respect small children, and how he is not to be trusted with them, even today?  

I guess that dogs are a lot like people. They each have their own distinct personality. Of course, for us, Dottie and Barrington are our beloved family members. We try to savor every moment we have with them.

Thanks again.


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## Buffy & Abby's Mom (Nov 27, 2005)

That is so neat that she was able to problem-solve the part of Mom not being where she normally is and to go ahead & finish her task. You can tell she is really intent on getting that mail into the house, just like she is supposed to.


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## Buffy & Abby's Mom (Nov 27, 2005)

We have just now started allowing Buffy and Abby in the front yard without leashes in order to go to the car and no further. That has been allowed since we moved to the country and there is hardly any traffic at all. We were just too afraid of them darting into the street in town if they would spot a squirrel or something along that line. Like you say, small steps. Maybe I'll start allowing them to go to the mailbox with me without a leash.


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## jeffreyzone (Feb 8, 2006)

Buffy & Abby's Mom said:


> We have just now started allowing Buffy and Abby in the front yard without leashes in order to go to the car and no further. That has been allowed since we moved to the country and there is hardly any traffic at all. We were just too afraid of them darting into the street in town if they would spot a squirrel or something along that line. Like you say, small steps. Maybe I'll start allowing them to go to the mailbox with me without a leash.


You are making good progress.  And you are wise to go slowly when you're in an environment full of squirrels and other random wildlife distractions. It's not worth risking your dogs' safety to push the envelope beyond their current level.

When we started with the mailbox thing, we'd have Dottie on the leash as we walked down there, and then we'd ask her to sit while we got the mail from the box. Then, we'd remove the leash and offer her the mail, saying "_Take it to Mom (or Dad)_," who'd be standing at the top of the driveway, making sure to point her in the right direction with our body language. At first, the receiver would say "_Bring it!_"

And it just evolved from there. Once the dog is focused, and I mean _*really*_ focused, on the target of the newspaper, she'll go get it and bring it back regardless of the distractions, if she is really into carrying things.


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## Wrigley's Mom (Nov 6, 2006)

I just LOVE that video! Thanks for sharing it with us. I love the "body wiggle" Dottie does while she's waiting at the door. Wrigley does that all the time. Dottie looks like such a happy soul!


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## Buuddy (Jan 11, 2007)

Can I have this dog ?? that is really cool!!!!


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

Too cute! She's a really beautiful Golden.


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