The Golden Retriever is truly one of the most beautiful dogs on the planet.

They have a beautiful coat, an amazing face, a strong, sleek, and muscular body, a fantastic personality, a tail that never stops waging, and they are a joy to watch at work, when flushing a pheasant, swimming in the water, or chasing a Frisbee.

The Golden Retriever was originally bred as a hunting dog in Scotland, around 1908, but is now very popular as a house pet, a therapy dog in convalescent homes and children’s hospitals, and is used by law enforcement for drug detection.

Although they do not make very good guard dogs, they will bark loudly if a stranger approaches.

If you have children the Golden Retriever can be the perfect pet. Because of their natural nurturing instincts, and very gentle nature they make the perfect companion.

In 1974 President Gerald Ford made the First Family dog a Golden Retriever named Liberty.

If you are considering getting a Golden Retriever puppy, you need to find a reputable breeder that specializes in breeding Golden Retrievers.

There are plenty of pet shops and back yard breeders that are selling Goldens, that may have serious breed problems ranging from aggression, to hip and eye problems, and a host of other problems that may not be noticeable at the puppy stage.

A reputable breeder will check the blood lines of the parents carefully to make sure they do not have a history of these problems, before breeding. This will be your best chance at having a trouble free pet.

Training your Golden Retriever is not as hard as you may think. These are very intelligent dogs, and eager to learn. They want to please you, and hate to be scowled.

The first thing to remember is that puppies will be puppies, so don’t expect too much too soon.

You can start to bathroom train right away, but if there is anything around you care about within the puppies grasp like shoes, or your favorite slippers, I would put them away, because your puppy’s going to chew them if he gets them.

Give your puppy something of his own to chew. They are teething, and want to naturally chew things because their gums hurt. Make it clear early on that he or she is to chew what you gave them, and nothing else.

If you expect your Golden to respond to your commands, then you want to avoid confusing him. It’s easy to forget that they do not understand the English language.

They respond to certain sounds, or words, based on your body language, and tone of voice. The trick to making the training as simple as possible is to use a few basic words and stick with them.

If you want your Golden to get out of the trash, and you say “no” one time, and “stop” the next time, and then “hey” the next time, they never really get what you are telling them.

The six words that I have found over the years that work best are “NO” “SIT” “DOWN” “COME” “HEEL” and “STAY”. I find they work best if said without the dogs name. These are discipline words, and are better left by themselves.

It’s important that you show your Golden Retriever that you are the boss. You must establish that you are the leader to be successful with his training.

If you give one of your commands, and he does not comply, reinforce the command with a little different tone of voice until he complies.

If that still doesn’t work, don’t just walk away. That will send a bad message. Stick with it until you get the desired results. It will happen.

Never yell at your pet or hit them, or raise your hand in a gesture to do so. You also never want to use anything like a rolled up newspaper, or a belt, or any object of this type to discipline them.

This will only scare and confuse them, and loose their trust, which will make it much harder to achieve the results you are looking for.

If you use the word “No” Firmly, to stop him from what he is doing, or gently show him you want him to “Sit” or lay “Down”, or use the word “Come” when you want him to come to you, or say “Out” when it is time for her to go outside – I think you will be very surprised at how fast he or she learns.

Whatever words work for you are fine, as long as you keep them simple, and stay with the same words all the time I think you will get surprising results.

And don’t forget the most important word of all, GOOD. Using that word combined with boy or girl, or the dog’s name such as “Good Sammy”, can work wonders.

They learn to like that real fast. Saying Good Boy, or Good Girl, or What a Good Girl, with the right tone in your voice, combined with a pat on the head, a biscuit, or a rubbing of their belly, will practically send a Golden Retriever into orbit.

They are beautiful animals. Just be patient, and you will have a great friend for many years.

Glenn Downer
http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/puppy-training-is-easy-if-you-follow-the-basics-112471.html

I’m going hunting in Montana in a couple of weeks and I was wondering if you are required to wear florescent orange while hunting as you do when hunting elk or moose.

In most jurisdictions, yes.

And it’s a really good idea, even if it isn’t required, assuming you don’t want some half-drunk city dweller mistaking you for a game bird. They are entirely capable of that.

My friend John has cancer. Has for a couple years now.

I hadn’t talked to him in several weeks. So I called him at home and his wife picked up the phone.

I heard her say; ‘John and his two sons and his dad are in South Dakota hunting. It will be his last pheasant hunting trip.’

Ugh. My heart sank. I feared the worst. John’s condition must have taken a bad turn and he’s doing something he loves while he still can.

‘I see,’ I choked out, ‘how’s he feeling?’

‘Good. He went to his specialist in Houston and the cancer is not getting bigger. It’s not getting smaller, either.’

OK, I thought, that sounds pretty good. But I was ready for the hammer to drop with her next sentence.

‘And his new medication is working well and has no real side effects,’ she continued.

‘Great,’ I said, feeling still heavy but getting lighter.

Then I took the courageous step that was needed: ‘Then why is it his last hunting trip?’

‘Oh,’ she said, ‘it’s not HIS last trip, it’s his dad’s. John’s dad is really sick.’

It was one of the few times I’ve been happy to hear about someone being sick. John’s dad is about 90 and has lived a phenomenal life. At some point we all run out of time.

John still has time (at least with his cancer—he of course could be dead as I write this from some other cause).

I had been so locked in on John’s health that I didn’t really hear what his wife said. When I played it back in my mind sure enough she’d said it was his dad’s last trip, but I didn’t hear it that way.

I was locked in a paradigm; a particular perspective. So focused on John, worried that he might be doing worse, I mis-heard what his wife actually said.

This is not uncommon for me.

This is not uncommon for you.

The problem is we don’t know it’s happening. If we knew we were missing something because we were stuck in a certain perspective we wouldn’t be stuck in that perspective!

In our book, Who Will Do What by When?, (a leadership development fable in the style of “5 Dysfunctions of a Team”) a new leader, Jake, is stuck in a perspective on his staff that is dis-empowering. He thinks they are no good—and guess what? They are!

Through leadership training and coaching, Jake sets out to change his mind.

One of the most common errors we make as humans is to think our opinions and judgments are the Truth.

They aren’t.

Information comes into our brains and we process it and form our judgments and opinions.

Major breakthroughs in performances don’t come from incrementally gaining new skills, but in breaking through our limiting perspectives.

More poetically (Marcel Proust):

‘The true journey of discovery does not consist of searching for new territories but in having new eyes.’
There are many ways to develop “new eyes.”

For this article, I’ll simply remind you that you, like me, are stuck in a perspective. And as a leader, that’s dangerous.

Your takeaway homework—write down a list of each of your direct reports. Then write down what you think of each person. What’s your bottom line assessment of “how they are” as people and performers. Then challenge your perspectives—are they really the Truth?

Tom Hanson
http://www.articlesbase.com/coaching-articles/leadership-development-is-a-matter-of-perspective-70398.html

Starting up pheasant hunting and need to know whats the best type of shotgun to use. Is it practical enough to use a singleshot shotgun considering it’s less than a hundrad dollars? And I want to get a 12 gauge. I also hear people talking about adjusting the choke, what do they mean by that? Thanks.

If I had a dollar for every phesant that’s fallen to a single-shot 12gauge, I could probably retire a happy man.
You don’t have to shoot a phesant more than one time to kill it.

The Beagle, a fine scent hound used often in hunting is a dog that is full of energy and makes a great pet as he is eager to please his owner. Originating in England as a result of a cross between a harrier and other hounds, this dog is often used when hunting hairs, quails or pheasant. But even If you don’t want to do any hunting, you still might consider beagle as a pet as this sweet and gentle dog makes a great family companion.

The Beagle has been a member of the American kennel club since the late 1800′s and is part of the AKC hound group. This small sturdy dog weighs in at between 20 and 25 pounds and stands 13 to 16 inches tall. he has a sleek short coat that comes in any of the typical colors of a hound which include red and white, black and tan, lemon and white and orange and white. He has a broad slightly rounded skull with a square straight muzzle. The nose is black in the eyes are brown or hazel. The beagle has a pleading expression that makes many fall in love with him with one look.

Beagles are very sociable and need to have their family around them. In fact, if you will be gone for long stretches of time you might consider getting to beagles so they can keep each other company. these dogs are lively, sweet and curious and also very gentle. However, they can be determined and watchful so you will need to train them with a firm hand and have lots of patience.

Beagles are generally healthy however some of the things this breed may be prone to include epilepsy, heart disease, back problems and eye problems. Also some of them may be prone to dwarfism and warped front legs.

Although beagles are on the small side, they do like to be outdoors and would prefer a home that has a fenced in yard. They also need a lot of exercise so allowing them to play outside and taking them for long walks is a must.

Grooming the Beagle is a snap since their shorts move coat makes it very easy. They are only an average shedder and will not clutter your house up with hair during the shedding season. just mush them once in a while with the firm bristle brush and give them a bath and mild soap as needed. They will need to have their nails trimmed regularly in the issue be checked consistently for any signs of infection.

With proper care, regular veterinary checks and good quality food your beagle can be a loving companion for anywhere between 12 and 15 years.

Lee Dobbins
http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/if-you-want-a-dog-that-is-eager-to-please-then-the-beagle-might-be-for-you-92873.html